Guitarist Reacts To RUSH!! Power Windows (Full Album Reaction!) Part 2

[@michaelbriefs9764]

I love that this video is exactly 21:12 minutes long!

[@lindaward5376]

I was wondering myself if anybody else would notice that!

[@obiwanbenobi4943]

Close (er too the heart!), off by a second... It's ok, we're there in spirit. :)

[@DirkGently04]

Middletown Dreams is one of the songs that shares time in my "this is my favorite song" rotation.So I definitely agree that it goes in the "perfect song" bucket 👍

[@tr_vmi4844]

This is the era of Rush I first go into, so it's one of my favorites.....so I agree with you. Territories, Mystic Rhythms and Manhattan Project definitely highlights.

[@surfeit5910]

I don't like to speak in absolutes, but... Power Windows is a perfect album. All three of them are perfect, and the way Alex just shreds through the rest of the music in each song... And Neils lyrics on this album are nothing short of genius - "big splashes, are just ripples in the pool".... ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@kato0828]

💯

[@DionysusAlS]

I only have 3 albums ranked ahead of Power Windows in their discography. It's sublime. It's enriched my life immensely. I'm very glad that you appreciated it.

[@shawnlilly2]

I love this video set up. That way the people who casually find your videos dont have to dig for the part 1s. And the true fans can come here and find the sections they want. Very clever. But yes this album is more mainstream but geddy gets better with every album. Neil started out amazing and Alex is just playing around with new tones and sounds. Geddy is just getting those 𝑆𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠

[@Malcolm1959]

Tim... Always good to see you doing your RUSH reactions 👍👍 Yours is the only channel doing this format and yes it hails back to the times when getting the new album was an event for us old guys 🤣🤣🤣 And I've said before, watching your reactions to the tracks brings back the feelings l guess we all felt at that moment the needle dropped ( the vinyl days ) Getting to hear what the guys could do next and waiting for the supporting tour dates to be announced... See you again "somewhere down the road" as Geddy used to say..... Have a great New Year 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@deadmeat_0152]

This album was my first Rush concert, one of 11th grade’s best memories :)

[@richierich398]

Yeah, this is a fantastic album. One of my favorites. Also, the first time I saw Rush live was on the power windows tour. Amazing show.

[@alexbonner2128]

First time I heard Marathon was live in ‘87 Hold Your Fire tour. So powerful it brought tears to my eyes. You’re gonna love Hold Your Fire

[@obiwanbenobi4943]

You can hear the bits of Tai Shan... When Tim said Middle East I was thinking Asian. It's all interesting which is why I kept listening as long as I have... :)

[@DirkGently04]

never once heard marathon live without tears when it drops back to half time at the end, from 1986 on

[@roybond4946]

"It fits the song"...those words pretty much exemplify everything I love about each of these musicians.

[@jonpage8667]

Your Rush reactions are the best on KZbin, love your stuff. Thank you for doing this :)

[@bookhouseboy280]

Alex: When we got to the mid 80s with Rush we really dove into the whole production thing working with Peter Collins - he came from that sort of background so the whole exploration of really developed keyboards happened. That happened in the recording process before the guitars ... So, it was a bit of experimenting when it came to putting down the basic tracks for the guitar. For me, that record was a challenge. But I thought: go with it and it will all work out in the end ... The keyboards are more interesting but the guitar doesn't suffer at all ... I think the sounds that we got were great and quite different for me--much cleaner, crisper sounds than I've ever had before ... I felt much more tied in with the whole band, instead of being a single musical unit. My style has developed more in that way. It's nothing incredibly new or different, but it's probably a little more matured and evolved. - Guitar Player Geddy: When you’re using that many keyboards, you’re taking up so much space on the record. Then the guitar has to fit around that. With a lot of the songs on Power Windows - songs like Grand Designs and Marathon - we had so many parts already done on keyboards that on previous records the guitar would have filled. So Alex had to figure out a way in. That’s really what it required of him ... Without the guitar riff, [Mystic Rhythms] doesn’t work. And I really like the sound of that album. I thought it was a really strong production. There are some great songs on that record ... Overall, I thought Power Windows was a great accomplishment for us. Neil: From a band point of view, we certainly worked on our musicianship first, then - armed with that increased facility and confidence in our individual instruments - expanded into paying more attention to songwriting, arranging, and production ... To us, [Power Windows is] totally satisfying and progressive. Perhaps from the view of an outsider who judges only on the superficiality of technique, it might seem simpler. Believe me, it's not.

[@caryd67]

I really love the “choppiness” of Alex’s playing. A perfect example is his solo in Limelight. It starts with some elastic sounding notes, and moves on to the next part which repeats twice; and there’s this sublime unevenness; this perfect imperfection that is just so… perfect. In later live performances, he kinda smoothed it all out.. and it wasn’t really the same after that. That’s the beauty of human imperfection in musical performance, it makes it a beautiful, human experience.

[@jacquesjrviens3384]

My favourite Rush period (I'm a drummer) is definitely From PW to PW, Permanent waves all the way upto Power Windows. This is Rush when nobody else sounded like Rush. They didn't sound like anything else that came before them and other bands hadn't quite yet started to try and mimic so they were alone on the Rush Island. Hold your fire is a great album in my opinion, which not many Rush fans share, and in that same Rush lane that only they could further in, but starting at Presto Rush seemed like they started to looki around for clues on where to go next. Presto has one of my favourite songs ever (Available Light) and Show don't Tell which is very unique, but the rest of the album have a lot of similarities with the surrounding late 80's bands. That's why I believe that Rush's best period is from one PW to the other. Perfect craftsmanship from all 3 during that time.

[@The_Badseed]

Hey man, just found your channel. Enjoy your analysis. This is also my favorite Rush era, love hold your fire album. Keep up the great work

[@BJM3497]

The period from Permanent Waves to Hold Your Fire is unmatched in my opinion.

[@omegakhrio9268]

Emotion Detector and Mystic Rhythms get better the more you listen to them !

[@ThisTrainIsLost]

Welcome back dude! Your insights into what I can only call the music of my life are both interesting and informative, a combination that adds up to a whole that is incredibly enjoyable. You have been missed and please do keep up the good work! I wish you a happy, healthy and wholesome new year! 😎🎸✌️

[@ericvonsteuben7533]

Power Windows is my favorite, and I think their best (although I'm obviously biased...). It has the perfect mix of drums, bass, keys, and guitar.

[@MJS-ON]

Hey Tim, hope to see you back soon. Happy New Year!

[@shawnlilly2]

Man I love this set up with the videos. I hope you get back to making these. They are about to transition in the next few albums to a harder sound when they leave the 80s. I’m curious what you’ll say about them. I hope you’re doing well

[@emobassist]

Geddy Lee digs in so hard when he plays its almost a popping technique and the strings bounce off the pickups and thats were those mids come from

[@badger6674]

In regards to Geddy- keep in mind that during all those incredible bass parts, he's singing, playing keyboards, and hitting Taurus pedals live at the same time. The amount of talent that one man has is staggering.

[@AnthonyKellett]

I hope you persist, through the next few albums. There are some great songs, but no great albums (at least for me). However, it ends with Clockwork Angels, which I consider to be one of their greatest. What a way to end! One suggestion, to store away... When you finish Clockwork Angels, listen to and watch 'The Garden' live, from the Time Machine Tour. Last song; last album... Has me welling up, every single time. Incredible performance!

[@kato0828]

Be honest with the next couple albums. Your just gonna have to struggle a bit, I expect. (Though some folks do love’em, actually.) Counterparts comes back strong. And then the masterpiece of Clockwork Angels.

[@cocoboobenstein]

Oh God-I know exactly what you mean. I loved The Garden as soon as I heard it. I was in the second row at the show in Newark, NJ. When they played The Garden, the woman next to us was absolutely bawling, and I’m like WTF? I know why now. After the death of Neil it just starts the waterworks every time. Also, loved the analysis of this album.

[@MegaSnowdog69]

Territories has a Native American vibe. Throughout their discography, you can feel vibes of other cultures' music like African, Middle Eastern, Scottish, Irish and Asian. Not bad for 3 boys from Canada. BTW, so much good music from many Canadians. I guess those long, cold winters lend themselves to music appreciation.

[@johnnorman7180]

That's the greatest part of Rush, lead bass, lead drums, lead guitar. They all fill in the missing parts.

[@TB6791]

This was one of my first CDs in 85 for my new Magnovox portable cd player. It is still one of my top 10s, I have been a Rush fan since mid 70s and I can't get past how this Era is been like blah,blah,blah... touch much synth... for me it got Alex to make more poignant placement of his notes. 🤯

[@hardenscragg3796]

You should really Really watch Exit Stage Left and Grace Under Pressure live concerts!

[@carlgibbons5777]

Would you stack this record right up against the all time Rush classics like 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals?

[@MegaSnowdog69]

Yes. Absolutely

[@neilweinstock4194]

Hot take: Power Windows was Rush's last perfect album. They had plenty of *good* albums after this, but none at this level of perfection. This album is criminally underrated and overlooked.

[@rationalwatcher7739]

I think Power Windows is the best of the three after Signals and leaving the comfort blanket of Producer Terry Brown. If I have a complaint it's not so much the keyboards came forward so much & often, or layers of synths took up all the aural space in many tracks.(Power Windows best at achieving Balance there) , it's that the synths/skeyboards sound palette used seemed very off-the-shelf from 80s synth sound store, The keyboards sounds aren't as unique or idiosyncratic as I'd expect from Rush. I'd choose Signal Synths' sounds in contrast, where there were just as much synths but sounds very unique to that Rush album, more sci-fi sounding that Power Windows Disney castle magic chimes. A generalization would that the keys sound is twee or pretty, kinda like ruffles on a guys shirt. Meanwhile Alex is being all kinds of experimental & technically ingenuitive out of necessity to fit in the arrangement, Neil taking new approaches accentuating Geddy's & Alexes flourishes . The keyboard issue came to a head on the next album hold your fire, peak keyboard drenched Rush, tide receding greatly on the following Presto where the arrangements found better balance & more bass playing.