Power Window Dressing

Ladies and gentlemen.... Rush's road crew! (1984)

Once upon a time - for a long time, I was a rabid Rush fan. Everything in my life revolved around that band's music. Rush's eleventh album, Power Windows, was released in 1985. I'd already been deep in Rush fandom for several years, having collected all of their albums to this point, not to mention scads of posters, patches, buttons, T-shirts, concert programs, and books. And a massive 3-ring binder loaded with news clippings, magazine articles, photos.... you name it.... all documenting the chronological history of Rush. Still got it, though the one binder has now become two. 

The arrival of Power Windows brought me to my knees. It took me a little while to warm to the previous album, 1984's Grace Under Pressure. GUP, while a slight return to more guitar-oriented prog-rock, was still tucked under the shadow of 82's keyboard-laden Signals. Signals was an even tougher nut for me to crack. It took years for me to get around to buying that one (until that time, I listened to a tape recorded from a friend's record). That music simply didn't capture my attention the way everything else prior did. GUP was a step in the right direction but much of it was still kind of muddied by keyboards. 

Power Windows, on the other hand, was a fresh blast of guitars, with keyboards tucked into the background for effect. The opening track, Big Money, was the perfect intro to this new "era" of Rush music. A fun, bouncy, almost pop sensibility entered the equation here, though Lifeson's thick, bright axe sound remained in the rock realm. And the rest of the album explored territory never traversed before by the band. Mystic Rhythms and Territories revealed exotic old world/world-beat influences. I detected Middle Eastern and Asian rhythms and guitar patterns and flourishes. 

It was in March of '86 that Rush played two nights in their hometown of Toronto, Canada. My friends and I, through careful early planning, snagged tickets to the first show. That was a terrific time, as was expected. But even closer to the date, we came upon tickets for even better seats - on the floor this time - for the second night's show. That was an experience.... my one and only time seeing a band from the floor in an arena. Thankfully, I was a tall young fellow, so my line of sight to the stage was clear. Perfect! So my gang and I attended both shows on back-to-back evenings. The thing is that memories of the first concert were erased from my mind after taking in the second gig, in which I felt more a part of the proceedings, closer to the action, and I suppose Rush amped things up a bit more for their second performance before their hometown crowd. 

Goodies from those '86 tour shows