Classical Composer Reacts to RUSH: GRACE UNDER PRESSURE (Side 1) | The Daily Doug (Episode 902)

#rush #graceunderpressure

In this #masterpiecefriday edition of #thedailydoug, I'm moving ahead in my exploration of music from Canadian Rock Trio Rush, hearing Side 1 of their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure. We'll hear four songs, including: Distant Early Warning, Afterimage, Red Sector A, and The Enemy Within. I hope you enjoy!

🎶 Full album reactions and MUCH more on my Patreon! 🎶

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- Canon EOS M50
- Dell Ultrasharp Webcam WB7022 4K

[sapinva]

Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire were all great albums. Screw the synth haters.

[hubtal]

Many of us remember and honor Neil with words from Afterimage.
"Suddenly, you were gone
From all the lives you left your mark upon"

[Shnork]

One of my favourite rush albums. Can’t wait for side two! “Between the wheels” is an amazing song.

[Shreddah]

Red Sector A. One of my favorite Rush songs. Underrated for sure.

[matthewhoag]

“Are we the last ones left alive? Are we the only human beings to survive?” In an interview Neil talked about reading accounts of holocaust survivors. Towards the end some of them knew Germany was being pummeled from the air. They could hear the raids and could see fires. They feared the entire world was this way - bombed into oblivion with only pockets of humans left outside the walls - a literal fear the world was coming to an end. Talk about haunting.

[JamienautMark]

This was the album that got me into prog rock. Like 3-4 years ago I listened to Grace Under Pressure after months of being asked to by a coworker. Then got into Yes, which is my favorite band now. Sent me down a whole rabbit hole.

[reidsmith]

I heard Geddy speak this past Monday night at a local college on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Red Sector A is chilling to me now. His mother was originally at Auschwitz. She was transferred to and eventually liberated from the Bergen-Belsen camp.

[andreaspfau]

I am always impressed and astonished how openly Geddy speaks about his
family experiences in WWII in interviews. Of course it is a reasonable approach to
overcome and handle those memories but in the same way probably
most difficult to do. I guess noone can imagine the horror these people had to endure.
Being German I always asked myself how it feels for Geddy to play in Germany.
This is a very sensible topic more than anywhere else in the world.
And I hope he found out that in Germany we care as much as anywhere else
about our history and what had happend. At least the reasonable people.
Of course generations have gone. But still we all hold reponsibilty - no matter
where we are - to never ever let that happen again.
And that is why it is always good to spread the word in all forms possible.

[RichNosowicz]

A few notes specifically about Afterimage: it was only performed a few times on the GUP Tour because of how personal the lyrics were for Neil. If you watch the music video for it, you can see the genuine pain on Neil's face as he performs it. Its opening lyric is not only how we continue to honour Neil's memory since his death, but it was also printed in the liner notes of their live album Different Stages, which was released after the shocking deaths of Neil's first wife and daughter.

[robertpinazza]

Absalom, Absalom...!
There is something so powerful in how Geddy delivers those last two words... they’re actually haunting to listen to. Maybe it’s because of his Jewish lineage, and these words hark back to biblical times..., whatever, they’re just soul piercing.
Neil ends this song, alluding to King David’s 3rd son (Bible) who had the charisma but not the character to rule or lead the people of Israel, and because of pride /greed rebelled against his father and ended up dying in war against him. When his father saw his dead son he grieved deeply and spoke those words twice, which echoes the theme of the song for mankind- which is mankind cultivated pride and greed to a point where in our age, we brought all life to hang in the balance, as we stood on the brink of nuclear destruction.
Same story manifest on a global scale, thousands of years later.
Let the wise discern...
RIP master lyricist and poet of my generation, NEP.😪

[steamrll]

Doug, I have been watching your videos for quite a while now and the educational aspect is great but what really strikes me is your compassion and humanity. Things are looking pretty grim these days for those of us who value compassion and humanity, but as long as there is love there is hope. I love you dude. To other viewers who are feeling the crisis, I love you too. Keep the faith. the music of Rush has been a comfort to me in dark times, and will continue to be in whatever dark times may lie ahead.

[timothywolfe]

Grace under pressure was the first concert I ever went to

[thebdiddy]

This album was my introduction to Rush. What an absolute work of art!

[fredfirth]

I visited Dachau when my family was stationed in Germany. I was 11. That visit left a major mark on me, and it amazes me that there are those out there who deny it and, if given half a chance, would replicate it.

[johngrossenbacher]

I've always loved Alex's solos but the emotion he put into his solo in Afterimage, and his playing in the entire song for that matter, are so expressive. Couple that with Geddy's delivery of Neil's anguished lyrics and Afterimage has always been a standout for me. Great song from a great album.

[zackamanda]

This was my first album by RUSH. I won it at a stand on the boardwalk in NJ. I remember die hard RUSH fans from high school who were not happy with this album because of the synthesizers being used. I loved it and became a RUSH fan because of this album.

[seghj]

Their darkest album and really one of a kind. No other Rush album resembles this one. And it is fantastic!

[matthewhoag]

I understand your feelings of helplessness right now. Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Those of us who do study history are doomed to watch everyone else repeat it.

[santiagoalvareztabares]

This underated album is amazing, even more so considering where they came from and how they manage to preserve their essence ( though at the time this may have not been evident) through all the changes in sound, technology, songwriting etc. they were experiencing.
Grace under pressure is precisely what we find here

[richardjcranium]

“Suddenly you were gone, from all the lives you left your mark upon”

Those words took on so much more meaning after Neil passed… 😢