Admittedly a sensationalized topic header - but I truly think this album is the bottom of their catalog.
However, I did enjoy this attempt
https://www.spin.com/2023/08/band-ju...old-your-fire/
Admittedly a sensationalized topic header - but I truly think this album is the bottom of their catalog.
However, I did enjoy this attempt
https://www.spin.com/2023/08/band-ju...old-your-fire/
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
I would place Presto, Counterparts, Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, and Snakes and Arrows all below HYF personally. It's far from perfect (especially the 80s production), but there are some killer moments and playing.
I bought this when it came out and mostly still love it (despite the 80s production and Alex's guitar tone). It's a solid album.
Totally. Just listen to the HYF songs live and you can hear it very clearly.Originally Posted by chalkpie
The bottom?? No way. That honor goes to Roll the Bones.
Agreed, HYF has some excellent Rush songs on it. I'm a big fan of that one.
"what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
- Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021
One of the best songs Rush ever did is on this album in Turn The Page. Too bed it was only played live on that tour & never done again. I seem to remember Geddy stating in an interview that it made him dizzy to play this song, due to the complex vocal, bass & keyboard arrangements.
F Yes!
Nope, Hold Your Fire is one of my many fave Rush albums. It rocks all the way through with only Tai Shan being skipped. It has light and shade and high drama on The Manhattan Project. Mission and Time Stand Still amongst others are fantastic. I saw them twice in London on this tour which was a blast and the Show of Hands VHS/DVD is probably my most played live music video ever - absolutely love it.
"Turn the Page" and "Open Secrets" are my favorites. The rest of the album could suck and I'd still own it for those two!
Not being a Rush follower, I didn't even notice the release of this at the time even though I had enjoyed the previous Power Windows a lot. When I noticed the next one, Presto, I picked it up because I had enjoyed PW. Not being a huge Rush fan, still haven't heard this one, HYF, more than a few times, it was years ago. Definitely coming back to it in the future, not only because it's 80s Rush but also because it gave 4 songs to the great live album A Show of Hands; Signals is sort of in the same category for me as HYF, from that perspective of not being not too familiar but having much obvious potential, and, so, looking forward to hours of listening to HYF and Signals and other 80s Rush releases in the future.
I even like Tai Shan. Manhattan Project is on Power Windows.
Add Roll the Bones for me. When HYF came out, I felt like it was Power Windows Junior. I've always skipped Tai Shan and High Water, and in more recent years, Second Nature has joined that list. But when it's good, it's good, and Neil absolutely smokes on this one.
Mission live is just glorious. Alex solo is one of his finest. Neil drum parts on Time Stand Still is a masterclass in drum writing.
Correct! I do think that PW and HYF make a perfect pair, both sounding very sonically similar. Love em both.
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Agree!
Oh no Hold Your Fire is ok. Medium level Rush.
1. Signals ****½
2. Moving Pictures ****½
3. Grace Under Pressure ****½
4. Permanent Waves ****
5. Clockwork Angels ***½
6. Hemispheres ***½
7. Presto ***½
8. Power Windows ***
9. Roll The Bones ***
10. A Farewell To Kings ***
11. Hold Your Fire ***
12. 2112 ***
13. Test For Echo ***
14. Caress Of Steel **½
15. Counterparts **½
16. Snakes & Arrows **
17. Feedback **
18. Fly By Night **
19. Vapor Trails **
20. Rush **
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
^He puts Feedback above Vapor Trails. That's just wrong.
OK Rush were incapable of making a bad album.
Like any band with such longevity, personal lists are likely to be influenced by your age/entry point.
Anything lower than Hold Your Fire? For me Roll the Bones maybe, possibly Test for Echo.
At the top;
1. Hemispheres
2. Permanent Waves
3. AFTK
4. Signals
5. Moving Pictures
In my local I'm a prog expert, here I'm a nobody......
This ended up being the first Rush album I heard, as it was the first one I found. Suffice to say it was not a good place to start IMHO. I found it really 'light' compared to what I was expecting at the time.
Now, I came back to it when I was more familiar with their later stuff and found some things to like. 'Force Ten', 'Turn The Page' and 'Mission' in particular. The last two songs though are dogs IMHO, particularly 'Tai Shan'.
When HYF came out I initially found it hard to engage with. This was still the vinyl era for me so I did what I had done with other similar "difficult" albums - made a tape and played it on continuous repeat while driving. When I did finally "get" HYF I was totally hooked. To this day this album includes three of my all-time favourite Rush songs - Prime Mover, Mission and Turn The Page. It also includes my favourite NP lyric from Mission:
It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were
Exotic and strange
They would likely have
Gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane
We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision
Is a dream with a mission
"One should never magnify the harsh light of reality with the mirror of prose onto the delicate wings of fantasy's butterfly"
Thumpermonkey - How I Wrote The French Lieutenant's Woman
"I'm content to listen to what I like and keep my useless negative opinions about what I don't like to myself -- because no one is interested in hearing those anyway, and it contributes absolutely nothing to the conversation."
aith01
And higher than Fly By Night too^He puts Feedback above Vapor Trails. That's just wrong.
And Test For Echo over Caress Of Steel
And Roll The Bones higher than Farewell To Kings
And higher than Fly By Night too
And Test For Echo over Caress Of Steel
And Roll The Bones higher than Farewell To Kings
HYF is the last album that I really enjoy from Rush. Yes, it's on a more soft side but all pretty good melodies and the last time the band used plenty of synths which was relevant for this period.
There are too many great songs on Hold Your Fire for it to be the worst. I’d probably go with the debut album for that title.
"It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters
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