1987’s ‘Hold Your Fire’ for me was a great listen, even if Rush and this album were swamped by the MTV legions and the deluge of the hair metal brigade.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Rush
ALBUM: Hold Your Fire
LABEL: Mercury
SERIAL: 832-464-2
YEAR: 1987
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Geddy Lee – bass, synthesizers, vocals * Alex Lifeson – guitars * Neil Peart – drums, percussion
TRACK LISTING: 01 Force Ten * 02 Time Stand Still * 03 Open Secrets * 04 Second Nature * 05 Prime Mover * 06 Lock And Key * 07 Mission * 08 Turn The Page * 09 Tai Shan * 10 High Water
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
By the late 80’s, Canadians Rush had developed into a different entity. Far different than they were a decade previous when ‘A Farewell To Kings’ was released. Probably the catalyst for change came with the 1982 ‘Signals’ LP, with noticeably shorter songs, much wider use of synths and modern technology driving much of the subject matter.
1987’s ‘Hold Your Fire’ for me was a great listen, even if Rush and this album were swamped by the MTV legions and the deluge of the hair metal brigade. Gone also was the familiar and witty artwork of Hugh Syme, the dominant red artwork a stark and arresting visual which adds to the overall package of this album.
The Songs
The album has a cooler than cool sound, which you hear on the lead off ‘Force Ten’, some icy synth work lays the foundation. ‘Time Stand Still’ is a popular track on this album, and one of the recognised tracks from this era.
‘Open Secrets’ has an expansive quality, hard to imagine that it’s just three guys delivering this. Plaintive piano leads the way on ‘Second Nature’ which is a tune about human progress, both the good and bad aspects of it. ‘Prime Mover’ keeps the introspective theme ticking along.
‘Mission’ is one of my album highlights, a smooth ‘made for the 80’s’ sound which completely belies their earliest origins. It’s clear by this point the album is not going to vary in tempo nor style, as tracks like ‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Tai Shan’ show, even if there are different flavours involved.
In Summary
As good as this album was, Rush were still riding the crest of a wave, and though subsequent albums such as ‘Presto’, ‘Roll The Bones’ and ‘Counterparts’ kept them in the public eye, much of the material didn’t cling that well to the musical consciousness.
Their pulling power waned due to the grunge onslaught of the 90’s decade, however the band found a second wind in the new century, firstly an excellent return with 2007s ‘Snakes And Arrows’, plus the awesome 2011 ‘Clockwork Angels’.
Video
Time Stand Still
[Gdazegod] Pretty strange video. Wish they would stay still for 5 seconds or more.
[Nick C] Not at all – although I really enjoy all their stuff up to Counterparts/Test For Echo period when I thought things started to get a little samey and the sound started getting a lot more “dense”. I still like those later albums though they don’t “stick” as much as anything prior for me, all the others I could play from start to end later albums I tend to cherry pick favourite tracks.