I would take it to 1982. Subdivisions is one of Rush's best love songs. On a par with Limelight, 2112 and Spirit Of Radio. Even fans who hate the whole 1982 - 1987 period love that song.
I am looking forward to all of the sets I assume will be coming out from Grace onward. It could be really interesting.
I know they've repeatedly said there's nothing in the vault (and I truly don't believe that there is), a curated collection of Rush demos would be a really neat thing for diehard fans. I mean, the "Big Money" demo isn't all that different from the finished track structurally, but of course Rush fans are exactly the kind of people who feed off the sort of minutia most people don't, and would enjoy something like that.
It's weird. Power Windows is easily a top 3 album for me, but GUP might be my least favorite Rush LP, depending on how I feel about the self-titled on a given day. I don't know why I feel such disparity between the two, but I just don't find much appealing about GUP to my ears. Whereas I couldn't imagine my life without the follow-up.
Yeah. I think fans would love it. And I imagine there's similar demos for other albums, maybe not the full tracklisting but certainly some tracks. I think they'd be much more interesting for the 80's albums than 70's ones, as the sonic palette expanded from Signals onward as well.
For those who curse early digital and are angry about 4 Rush albums that will never get a remix of any kind read this. It is from the Sony web site. "...Some people in the recording industry actually formed a group called MAD (Musicians Against Digital), and they declared their position to the Audio Engineering Society (AES). Amid all this, Doi and his colleagues drew support from various camps. Famous artists like Stevie Wonder and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock were taken by the sound of Sony's digital tape recorders. At an AES Exhibition, these artists sat in the Sony booth while playing back demo tapes they had recorded digitally. By doing so, they gave a tremendous boost to Sony's efforts to promote digital technology. A growing number of musicians began to say, "If Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock say they like digital sound, then perhaps we should consider it ourselves." In the classical music world, Maestro Karajan promoted the quality sound of the CD. These great performers played a major role in popularizing the CD. Doi and his colleagues used the PCM-1600, two-channel digital recorder to successfully bring digital technology to the world of classical music. They were also successful several years later in developing the PCM-3324, a 24-channel multi-track digital recorder, which gained worldwide acceptance from popular music recording artists...." My own foot note: The Sony PCM 1600 is fine if you are just doing a straight digital copy. But even a modern $200 USB ADC interface has a better converter. The 1600's analog front end is better though.
Maybe I am dreamer but there has to be a good cassette copy of the demo somewhere. Originally these demo tapes were only in the hands of the engineer and band members. And then they just got copied around to god knows who. I am just appalled at how bad the pirate copies sound. Back in the 1980's I knew how to make a good high quality cassette copy. Apparently, no on else did.
That's all well and good, I don't disagree with any of it. I love RUSH, and have since my early teens! It's not like I haven't tried. I don't know if it's the production, per se, but I didn't really like Power Windows when it came out -- and to this day it's still a hard listen for me. And I do listen to it, hoping that one of these days it will click. 35 years later, it still hasn't happened.
I purchased a CD of PW and a bunch of other Rush albums for which I did not have a decent CD copy. These will be for those times when I'm too lazy to play the LPs. I like Power Windows. It isn't my favorite Rush album, but I like it a lot.
Although I completely disagree with Chest Pain Productions I have to say that from his point of view he is right. I know what it is like when your favorite band jumps the shark. My brother and I felt that in 1981 with ELO's Time. And more so with Secret Messages. Also another let down was Air Supply's 1991 disaster The Earth is..... A rock band committed to making beautiful love songs with 100 piece string sections was doing environmental songs and other nonsense. I was like, "What the hell is this?!" And the Vanishing Race was worse. Back in 1981 the member in question had a great hard rock band he loved. And then all of a sudden in 1982 with no warning, Rush turns into a Poor Man's Genesis.. And then in 1985 the final insult: orchestra and choir? What the fudge?!?!? And even more keyboards. Most of us and the critics may consider Power Windows a classic album but to Chest Pain Productions it is crap. Can you blame him for seeing it that way? I can't.
I own the first 14 Rush albums, plus Clockwork Angels, and for me Power Windows is the last album that really clicks. I still listen to mostly Caress of Steel through Signals though, as I think that is the sweet spot. Also, as I get older I am less critical and opinionated about these things, but also, as I get older and I see time flying by I don't mess with mediocre stuff.
Signals would be a GREAT album if it was just a one-off thing they did instead of ushering in a new sound for the 80's.
Oh, I think Power Windows is definitely better. I love Signals, but to me that has like four god tier Rush tunes and four other songs which are all good, while Power Windows has seven god tier songs and one good song (Emotion Detector).
Some Rush fans will pass Windows off as 80's plastic fluff. Spectacular Peter Collins & Rush production on this album it took awhile to get into it. When the album first was released fall 1985 I had a friend who constantly played the cassette on his boombox when we hung out. Over time the loud playing finally got in my head by late 1985. Power Windows oozes & speaks 1985 right out of the listeners speakers or headphones. I just love that album cover. Gotta fire this album up tonight or tomorrow. Great thread indeed.
Okay, this thread has me listening and remembering, and I think I have it all straightened out regarding Power Windows, Grace Under Pressure, Signals: I give Power Windows an edge over Signals, and both of them are better than Grace Under Pressure. I keep thinking about my life back then, bought all three albums right when they came out, saw the Signals tour and the Power Windows tour, but I guess I was too busy for Grace Under Pressure. Power Windows (the 5th time I had seen them) was the last time I saw them until Clockwork Angels. Clockwork Angels was a great show because I took a life long friend that had NEVER seen them and treated him. That was in Seattle.
I hated the album when it came out. It was boring with none of the Rush sound we had come to know and love. With the exception of Subdivisions, Analog Kid (dumb name for a Rock song) and New World Man the rest of the album sounds like Rush was asleep. Whereas GUP sounds like they woke up and have 3 cups of coffee. GUP rocks but Signals doesn't. Now I can appreciate the great bass line in Digital Man and the complex Jazz like structure of Losing it. But for a 13 year old back in 1982 the album was SNOOZE FEST. And the cover was equally stupid.
You would think right?... But cassette demos get lost, handed out and or stolen. Ask JIMMY page. You really think Geddy has every demo tape of every song from every album? That would be nice yea. LOL Seriously, not likely. If this was the case we would have seen demos for all the anniversary releases in the past few years. As Geddy has said many times, "We don't keep that stuff around." Let's hope I'm wrong.
Finally. I thought I was the only on that like EMOTION DETECTOR. Not a great Rock song but what a moving chorus. Makes my bones shiver. Story of life too. It sounds like Geddy is crying at the end. Too me anyway. I don't think he actually is....It is just the tone of his singing.
The Rush albums that lacked quality for me: Roll The Bones Test For Echo Feedback (oh please! Covers?) Snakes And Arrows (Except for the first song it is super crappy. And supposedly according to the engineer it is an audiophile record. Done all analog, distance between mikes properly measured to avoid phase issues, etc. Sorry but I don't hear it.
I can beat that. Check out every Air Supply album cover from 1975 until today. It is disgusting! 1981 smash million seller THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE has a freaking hot air balloon. A freakin' hot air balloon in the day sky! What the......