ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Surgeon General

1 A.ULAA. Sun City States Music And 2. Falco Viena Calling Partyin 3. Scritti Politti Perfect Way artying Are Not 4. Alexei Sayle Didn’t You Kill My Brother? Hazardous To 5. Echo &the Bunnymen __ Bring on the Dancing Horses 6. Love & Rockets Ball of Confusion Your Health 7. Peter Townshend Face the Face 8. Cats Can Fly Flippin’ to the “A” Side* 9. AHA The Sun Always Shines on TV 10. Paul McCartney Spies Like Us 11. ABC So Hip It Hurts 12. Platinum Blonde Somebody Somewhere* 13, B-52's 52.Girls 14. New Order Love Vigilantes 15. Grapes of Wrath Misunderstanding* 16. Gowan Cosmetics* 17. Eddie Murphy Party All The Time CIMN’s new sound needs YOU. 18 Rauch Mystic Rhythms* ; i 19. Arcadia The Promise Have an idea for a special oncom! aaa ve show? Join the rains of REN! afcattyani Adare’ ei Tina Turner It’s Only Love* 7HEEM Rl 22. Cabaret Voltaire 1 Want You 23. Rational Youth In Your Eyes* a xcrem sr Ers 24. One to One There was a Time* LL ie and the rest of our record. spinning maniacs.and spaced eS ae Sweetest; Taboo ous ¢adets. U2can béa BJ. (Pardon the pun, Bono.).® The state of Rock “Rush” Glen Boswall

Perhaps no band in the Cana- dian music establishment suffers more neglect than Rush. Ever heard of ‘‘Fly By Night”’, ‘2112”” “Permanent Waves’’, or ‘‘Mov- ing Pictures’’? If you said no then you are one of the many Cana- dians who are still unaware of one of their countries finest bands.

Rush formed in Toronto in the “mid-seventies. Their music began with a hard rock type format, progressing to the more synthe- sizer oriented, experimental sound

that has become the bands trade- mark.

They had their first big break in the North American market with the release of the album “2112” (read: twenty-one-twelve). Notice

that I say North American market meaning primarily the United States Canada, then as now, seemed unwilling to recognize domestic talent. To this day a lot of American music fans think Rush come from the good old USA.

After ‘2112”, Rush began to

slowly build a small, but fanatical following. There are few luke- warm Rush fans. This following grew with the release of “‘Hemi- spheres”, ‘‘Permanent Waves’,

and their very strong “Moving Pictures’’. All the time the band members were continually altering the group’s sound with the seem- ing approval of their fans. Some of this support was eroded by the controversial ‘‘Grace Under Pres-

sure’? LP. The record broke the band into the video market but many fans felt that the band had gone too far in altering its sound.

The album seemed to bear a heavy Police influence and drummer Niel Peart’s use of electronic drums for some cuts alienated many who still regarded Rush as a hard rock group.

While sales of “Grace Under Pressure’’ were not as high as the band had hoped, Geddy Lee (vocalist, bass player, keyboardist and driving force behind the group) announced that they would stick to the experimental

format as the band members felt that they could not grow musical- ly without it. Enter the new album, “Power Windows”.

Rush has got the magic formula back. The album features ex- tremely technical yet tasteful work by each member of the trio. The songs are powerful and catchy without a trace of the Police sound that crept into their last record.

The album opens with the first single/video release from the LP — “Big Money’’. Its just catchy enough to make the AM stations and good enough to stay on FM for some time.

“Big Money’? and ‘Grand Designs’’ are definitely the two highlites of the album. Neil Peart lays down a superb drum track which is overlaid with harmonious but distinct guitar, synthesizer and bass parts that go from clever to occasional brilliance.

The record has got a bit of everything. Anti-corporate and anti-nuclear ravings right down to mysticism.

Producer Peter Collins does a smashing job on ‘‘Power Win- dows’’. This sound is tight and clean. Get your Maxel and TDK

THE NETTED GEM

tapes out for this one because if you intend to record this album you are going to need good tapes and a great stereo to capture all the crisp highs and booming lows that Collins and ‘‘The Manor’’ (recording studio) have been able to capture on this record. Owners of compact disc players and audiophiles have another album to rave about.

Lest I sound too over enthu- siastic about the record, I do have a few criticims. Rush, to the de- light of their early hard rock fans, has a tendency to write lyrics that are slightly heavy on the mystical

side. While ther is nothing wrong with these lyrics in themsélves they do make it a little difficult for some to take the band seriously. The mystical tone of their songs has come down somewhat from their early days but songs like “Mystic Rhythms” from the new album keep it alive.

On this album, while each song has its own intensity, I find a lack of variance in tempo. All their songs with the exception of “Big Money’? move along at about the same speed. There is no mix of

fast, slow and moderate paced numbers. This lack of variety in tempo can leave you a bit dis- appointed after side one.

On the whole, I feel very good about this record. Its nearest rival for excellence is Yes’s ‘‘90125’’.

It is no wonder, however, that the album is such a showcase of skill and creativity. There are no weak links in Rush’s membership. Each member is not just good but is recognized as outstanding in their particular field. Geddy Lee has just been named Bassist of the Year by Guitar Player Magazine. Guitarist Alex Lifeson has a host of nominations, awards and re- cognitions for his playing as does drummer Neil Peart. 1 know of only one other band with such a talented line up but since Sting left to build his solo career, the Police no longer seem to be con- tenders.

Hopefully, this album will bring Rush the Canadian recognition it deserves. As Juno awards go year after year to either one-hit-wonders or Ann Murray, one may ponder about how long it will be before Rush moves to where they are more appreciated.

January 30, 1986,

age 11