GRACE UNDER PRESSURE

3/5 Grace Under Pressure is Rush's 10th album, and features the radio-friendly synthesized sound that the band employed during the 80s. Rush don't really exhibit their full talent and prowess on this particular album (mainly because the 5 minute songs don't leave much room for instrumental 'noodling'). They do show, however, that they're able to write decent music, but if a person had only this Rush album to judge upon, they probably wouldn't be too impressed by the band. The lyrics on this album are alright, nothing special, but nothing too dreadful. This is an album which has some great songs, and some songs that really don't deserve to even be released. If I was to review this album in one sentence, I would simply say: "The first 4 tracks are great, the last 4 are bad". Elaborating on that a bit further, the first four tracks which take up all of side one have memorable hooks and riffs, and leave a good impression. The four tracks that take up side two are not very good, because they're boring and just overall uninteresting. Between The Wheels, the last song on the album, is the best on side two, but still isn't as good as anything on side one. Overall, this album is one that hardcore Rush fans should definitely own, but if you're just a casual listener, perhaps give this album a miss or just buy the first four tracks on their own.