page_title: Rush (band)
section_title: 1982–1989: Synthesizer-oriented era
hierarchical_section_title: Rush (band) / History / 1982–1989: Synthesizer-oriented era
caption_attribution_description: Oberheim OBX syntesizer. (original: Cropped my original photo a bit. Looks cleaner now.)
context_page_description: Rush was a Canadian rock band consisting of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Formed in 1968, the band went through several configurations until arriving at its longest and classic lineup when Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first tour of the United States.
  Rush is known for its musicianship, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy. The band's musical style has changed several times over the years, from a blues-inspired hard rock beginning, later moving into progressive rock, and including a period marked by heavy use of synthesizers. In the early 1990s, Rush returned to a guitar-driven hard rock sound, which continued for the rest of their career. Rush announced plans to cease large-scale touring at the end of 2015, following the conclusion of their R40 Live Tour. After nearly three years of an uncertain future, Lifeson reluctantly announced in January 2018 that the band would not continue. On January 7, 2020, Peart died of brain cancer at the age of 67.
  According to the RIAA, Rush ranks 88th in the U.S. with sales of 25 million units in the country.
context_section_description: The band underwent another stylistic change with the recording of Signals in 1982.  While Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments ever since the late 1970s, keyboards were suddenly shifted from the contrapuntal background to the melodic front-lines in songs like "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions". Both feature prominent lead synthesizer lines with minimalistic guitar chords and solos. Other previously unused instrument additions were seen in the song "Losing It", featuring collaborator Ben Mink on electric violin.
  Signals also represented a drastic stylistic transformation apart from instrumental changes. The album contained Rush's only US top-40 pop hit, "New World Man", while other more experimental songs such as "Digital Man", "The Weapon", and "Chemistry" expanded the band's use of ska, reggae, and funk. Although the band members consciously decided to move in this overall direction, creative differences between the band and long-time producer Terry Brown began to emerge. The band felt dissatisfied with Brown's studio treatment of Signals, while Brown was becoming more uncomfortable with the increased use of synthesizers in the music. Ultimately, Rush and Brown parted ways in 1983, and the experimentation with new electronic instruments and varying musical styles would come into further play on their next studio album.
  The style and production of Signals were augmented and taken to new heights on Grace Under Pressure (1984). It was Peart who named the album, as he borrowed the words of Ernest Hemingway to describe what the band had to go through after making the decision to leave Terry Brown. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who gained fame with successful productions of Simple Minds and U2, was enlisted to produce Grace Under Pressure. He backed out at the last moment, however, much to the ire of Lee, Lifeson and Peart. Lee said "Steve Lillywhite is really not a man of his word ... after agreeing to do our record, he got an offer from Simple Minds, changed his mind, blew us off ... so it put us in a horrible position." Rush eventually hired Peter Henderson to co-produce and engineer the album instead.
  Musically, although Lee's use of sequencers and synthesizers remained the band's cornerstone, his focus on new technology was complemented by Peart's adaptation of Simmons electronic drums and percussion. Lifeson's contributions on the album were decidedly enhanced, in response to the minimalistic role he played on Signals. Still, many of his trademark guitar textures remained intact in the form of open reggae chords and funk and new-wave rhythms.
  With new producer Peter Collins, the band released Power Windows (1985) and Hold Your Fire (1987). The music on these two albums gives far more emphasis and prominence to Lee's multi-layered synthesizer work.  While fans and critics took notice of Lifeson's diminished guitar work, his presence was still palpable. Lifeson, like many guitarists in the mid-to-late 1980s, experimented with processors that reduced his instrument to echoey chord bursts and razor-thin leads. Hold Your Fire represents both an extension of the guitar stylings found on Power Windows, and, according to Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia, the culmination of this era of Rush. Whereas the previous five Rush albums sold platinum or better, Hold Your Fire only went gold in November 1987, although it managed to peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200.
  A third live album and video, A Show of Hands (1989), was also released by Anthem and Mercury following the Power Windows and Hold Your Fire tours, demonstrating the aspects of Rush in the '80s. A Show of Hands met with strong fan approval, but Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad dismissed it as "musical muscle" with 1.5 stars, claiming Rush fans viewed their favourite power trio as "the holy trinity". Nevertheless, A Show of Hands managed to surpass the gold album mark, reaching number 21 on the Billboard 200. At this point, the group decided to change international record labels from Mercury to Atlantic. After Rush's departure in 1989, Mercury
caption: An Oberheim OB-X synthesizer, as used by Geddy Lee on the albums Moving Pictures and Signals.
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