Rush - Grace Under Pressure (1984)

Artist:  Rush
Title:  Grace Under Pressure
Release:  1984
Format:  LP
Label:  Mercury Records
Catalog#  818476-1

“Grace Under Pressure” is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1984. It is the first Rush album since 1975’s “Fly by Night” to not be produced by Terry Brown, who was replaced by Peter Henderson (Supertramp, Paul McCartney). The change resulted in a slightly more accessible sound than its predecessor, “Signals”, and marked the beginning of a period where many Rush fans feel that synths and electronics were used too prominently in effect pushing guitarist Alex Lifeson into the background. The songwriting and lyrics were still strong however, as evidenced by the video/single “Distant Early Warning” (a tale about nuclear war) and the often-overlooked highlight “Kid Gloves,” one of the album’s few songs to feature Lifeson upfront. Other standouts include a tribute to a friend of the band who had recently passed away, “Afterimage,” the disturbing “Red Sector A” (which details a concentration camp), and one of Rush’s first funk-based songs, “The Enemy Within.” Whereas most other rock bands formed in the 1970s put out unfocused and uninspired work in the 1980s (which sounds very dated), Rush’s “Grace Under Pressure” remains an exception.


Side one
1.  Distant Early Warning  (4:45)
2.  Afterimage  (5:00)
3.  Red Sector A  (5:08)
4.  The Enemy Within  (4:33)

Side two
1.  The Body Electric  (4:58)
2.  Kid Gloves  (4:16)
3.  Red Lenses  (4:39)
4.  Between The Wheels  (5:36)

available at: http://www.ad-vinylrecords.com