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Power Windows (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Power Windows | |||||
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| Studio album by Rush | |||||
| Released | October 21, 1985 | ||||
| Recorded | 1985 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive rock | ||||
| Length | 44:30 | ||||
| Label | Anthem Records (Canada) Mercury Records |
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| Producer | Peter Collins and Rush | ||||
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| Rush chronology | |||||
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Power Windows is the eleventh studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1985 (see 1985 in music). The album was recorded at The Manor in England, Air Studios in Montserrat and at Sarm East in London.
Power Windows introduced more keyboard synthesizers into the band's sound, and featured very precise drumming and guitar. Generally, short, echoey guitar "bursts" tend to outnumber solos as well as riffs. The result is a very open and dynamic yet somewhat spartan sound. Although some fans consider the album to be too sterile, others view this period as the pinnacle of the group's career. “The Big Money” and “Mystic Rhythms,” arguably the two most popular songs on the album, were each made into music videos featured in MTV's rotation at the time. Many fans will agree that repeated listening is key to the enjoyment of Power Windows. The album also continues the typical style of Geddy Lee’s bass lines.
Power Windows' lyrics are focused primarily on various manifestations of power, be they overt (nuclear weapons) or personal (frustration at one's lack of power). For example, the song "Manhattan Project" explores the origins and consequences of the U.S. military's development of the atomic bomb. "Territories" comments on nationalism around the world. Like "Subdivisions," from the album Signals, "Middletown Dreams" explores suburban monotony and the average person's attempts to escape it temporarily.
As a whole, Power Windows represents the peak of Rush’s “synthesizer period,” although the next release, Hold Your Fire, features a similar amount of synthesizers.
Contents |
All music by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee and lyrics by Neil Peart.
- "The Big Money" – 5:35
- "Grand Designs" – 5:06
- "Manhattan Project" – 5:05
- "Marathon" – 6:09
- "Territories" – 6:19
- "Middletown Dreams" – 5:15
- "Emotion Detector" – 5:10
- "Mystic Rhythms" – 5:53
- Geddy Lee - bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals
- Alex Lifeson - electric and acoustic guitars
- Neil Peart - drums, percussion
- Andy Richards - additional keyboards
- Anne Dudley - strings arrangement
- Andrew Jackman - conductor, arrangements
- Jim Barton - engineer
- Hugh Syme - artwork, cover design
- The intro to "Mystic Rhythms" was used as the theme music for a news magazine show, "1986", which aired on the NBC network (US) and was hosted by Connie Chung.
- The album art continues Rush's trend of playing on words. The cover shows television sets, which are a type of "power window". The subject is using a remote control to operate his sash window. Another illustration of the album shows the front cover's subject looking through another type of 'power window', a set of binoculars.
- The televisions shown on the cover are a 1949 General Electric Bakelite "Locomotive" and two 1958 Predictas [1]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
Although the original recording had a SPARS Code of DDD and was considered to be of good quality[2], a remaster was issued in 1997. The remaster follows the trend of newer albums, as it is considerably louder.
- The tray has a picture of three fingerprints, light blue, pink, and lime green (left to right) with THE RUSH REMASTERS printed in all caps just to the left. All remasters from Moving Pictures through to Hold Your Fire are like this. This is just like the cover art of Retrospective II.
- Includes original black border around back cover image plus lyrics, credits.
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Pop Albums | 10 |
| Information |
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"The Big Money"
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"Territories"
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"Mystic Rhythms"
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"Manhattan Project"
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"Marathon"
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