Review Summary: Emotional shit
Power Windows. One of Rush's last records I got into. The average is cheating you like a fool, because it certainly deserves a higher place on the pedestal. I think it's pretty safe to say that Power Windows is one of Rush's most underappriciated numbers in their catalogue, owing that to the 70s Rush fans, those who adore the guitar more than the keyboards. Me, however, absolutely love this record. Rush never sat their music standard low, instead kept on always delivering new fresh material, even when they moved into new territories (pun intended(?)).
As you can imagine, this being released at the height of the typical 80's sound, contains a whole different sound than earlier Rush. "The Big Money" starts off blasting the horn-like synths of Geddy, the electronical drumbeat and Alex's experimental layered guitar approach, as oppossed to the previous riff driven Rush. I remember the first time I heard it, I was quite sceptical of their new sound. Grace Under Pressure certainly had its fair amount of synths too, but not as over-the-top as Power Windows. Despite this, I accepted it fairly quickly, particularily because I'm a sucker for synths, especially when they are as thick and great as on here. This shows off in many of their songs. Middletown Dreams and Emotion Detector being the main attractions, with keyboards mostly being the driving factor. The latter one of these capturing exactly what's so great about this album. The emotion.
I can't help but feel that the synths and Geddy's singing is unarguably the most important contributor towards a very pleasant rock sound. Most songs off here carry a very emotional chorus or middle part, specifically Middletown Dreams. At the one minute mark, Geddy gives off a very passionate cry, showing the frustration of the man living in the suburbs (similar theme to Signals' Subdivisions). However, all the credit must not be given only to Geddy. As I mentioned earlier, Alex Lifeson recorded several layers of guitar, overlapping each other creating a wonderful harmony. A great example of this is the 40 second mark on Emotion Detector. Last, but not least, the guitar solos. In all songs, Alex delivers his signature solos, at most times played unmelodic, but very eccentric. Of course there are exceptions, like in Marathon. While the guitar is not completely buried in the mix, it's not exactly very prominant either. But around the middle part of Marathon, he gets his well-deserved spotlight with his long guitar solo, this time delivering a more polished and melodious one, accompanied by a gorgeous synth.
Something that musn't go unnoticed is the production. To me, it's a quite unfamiliar sound. The production is cold and clear, but at the same time thick and warm. What's really great about the clear sound is the ability to differ the instruments from each other, giving the music a more dynamic and better sound, especially when you consider the work Alex put in with his guitar layering, but also the varied synths Geddy put in. To shift to another theme, Peart's lyrics. It feels like Peart really poured his soul into his work this time, and having introspective and thoughtful lyrics. Marathon's lyrics are very uplifting, and has a clear positive atmosphere, telling how you shouldn't rush (pun hehe) life, but things step by step. Emotion Detector is somewhat in the same area, focusing on human nature, and how our emotions work in different situations, for example how fame can corrupt you. Beside that, Peart expresses his frustration and anger with big corporations and global economy in The Big Money and the development if the atom bomb in Manhattan Project, quite the large variety of lyrical themes Peart masters..
In short, Power Windows' average deceives you, because it's most certain better than people say it is. Thoughtful lyrics, intrecate and delicious music, excellent selection of techniques and instrumental variety. So yeah, get this ***.
