Grace Under Pressure
	Produced by Rush and Peter Henderson
	Released on April 1984
	UK CHART POSITION #5 . . . US CHART POSITION #10 . . . PLATINUM RECORD (6/26/84)
	Find it at GEMM
818 476-2 cover [high resolution scan]

A s cheerless a record as they’ve made, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some have cited internal strife as the catalyst, others the choice of new producer Peter Henderson, but regardless of the underlying reason for the change, Grace Under Pressure marked the end of the teenage fantasy and the beginning of a darker (and more mature) world view. Neil Peart emerges as a sullen sceneshifter, the weight of the world upon him (addressed in the opening “Distant Early Warning”), who finds his darkest voice in the concentration camp setting of “Red Sector A.” The arrangements are less exuberant than past efforts, though still crafted with care and precision. The knock on Grace Under Pressure is a lack of standout songs; “The Body Electric” (which recalls The Who’s “905”) and “Kid Gloves” are a fair match for anything on Signals, but beyond them only “Distant Early Warning” and “The Enemy Within” invite the comparison to vintage Rush. The rest of the record bristles with a dry energy, restless and resentful music that offers no solution to the problems it poses. Oddly, some have found their own dark sentiments echoed in this wasteland, hearing in Grace Under Pressure an elevated musical dialogue. Superimposing the problems of the past on a bleak future strikes too close to the bone, which is probably why I never liked 1984 so much as Brave New World. Perhaps seceding along similar lines, Rush fans are divided over whether Grace Under Pressure is a step forward or a step back.

818 476-2 booklet back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. DISTANT EARLY WARNING    4:59
2. AFTERIMAGE    5:04
3. RED SECTOR A    5:10
4. THE ENEMY WITHIN (Part One of Fear)    4:34
5. THE BODY ELECTRIC    5:00
6. KID GLOVES    4:18
7. RED LENSES    4:42
8. BETWEEN THE WHEELS    5:44
   
   Music by Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson, Lyrics by Neil Peart

CREDITS

GEDDY LEE -- bass guitars, synthesizers, vocals
ALEX LIFESON -- guitars and synthesizers
NEIL PEART -- drums, percussion, and electronic percussion
Peter Henderson -- engineer
Jim Burgess -- PPG Synthesizer programming assistance
Paul Northfield -- PPG Synthesizer programming assistance
Hugh Syme -- cover painting

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