Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Rush
Rush tabs Rush discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Rush guitar tabs

CD reviews

Hold Your Fire

Rush - Hold Your Fire Audio CD

A fair review of the Rush "Hold Your Fire" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Rush reviews here, or go back to the Rush tabs.

Band: Rush
Title: Hold Your Fire
Rating:

Release Date: 1997-06-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Force Ten 2: Time Stand Still 3: Open Secrets 4: Second Nature 5: Prime Mover 6: Lock and Key 7: Mission 8: Turn the Page 9: Tai Shan 10: High Water

The Last Rush Album I Can Listen To
I don't think there could have been a bigger fan than myself pre Hold Your Fire. As the review title says, this was it for me and Rush. Between concerts, bootlegs, collectibles, and anything else I could get my hands on related to Rush, I had it. I even got to go backstage to meet the band on their Signals tour and they autographed a Rush biography, a book now out of print that I still have to this day. I think the albums Fly By Night through Exit Stage Left are some of the best progressive rock albums ever released, right up there with the best of ELP, Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. Signals marked a turning point for Rush, where all of a sudden keyboards dominated the album rather than being used as a texture device in earlier albums. Rush lost some die hard fans with that album but I loved it, even if Alex was buried in the mix (the remaster sounds much better). Alex had some burning solo's on that album and one of my all time favorite Rush Songs, Losing It. Even though keyboards become a staple in the songwriting, I love to this day Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows. Power Windows especially blew me away. I was enjoying this stage in Rush's career. Then Hold Your Fire was released. . .

My first listen through of Hold Your Fire back in 87 was a very underwhelming experience. It reminded me of eating angle food cake, light, somewhat tasty, but completely forgettable when finished. There wasn't a single song that grabbed and this was a first for me. Hold Your Fire became a record (yes, we still used records back in those days) that would be added to my collection, but not touched for many years.

As the years have progressed I've learned to appreciate this album a bit more than I originally did. The musicianship is at a very high level. Neil is on fire (no pun intended) on this album, with some of his most complex drumming up to that point. Geddy's bass stands out in this mix and he too puts in an incredible performance across the album. Alex's guitar is prominent in the mix with heavy use of chorus effect. Lots of chord work on this album, big, lush, full chords with the occasional arpeggiated line. His solo work on the album makes use of heavy tremelo bar usage, and chordal soloing rather than fast single note stuff. They work, but like most of the songs on the album, they are forgotten as soon as they're over. While I have learned to appreciate this album over the years, I still don't particulary like it. The Mission and High Water are my two favorites, while the only single released from the album (Time Stand Still) is my least favorite song. All of the songs are really busy, but they don't seem to go anywhere. There are no hooks and the songs all run into each other and start sounding the same. My three stars is for the incredible musicianship, thought provoking lyrics, but not the incredible songs. I play this album when I'm studying (studying for my MBA) as it makes perfect background music. I never thought I would feel that way about a Rush album, but as unmemorable as this album is for me, they got much worse on later albums.

Presto took one listen for me to know it was not for me, and the same can be said of 90's and 00 Rush. They just weren't the same band anymore and the songs bored me to tears. I know Rush of the 90's introduced them to a whole new audience, and more power to them, but they were not for me. But music is such a personal thing and touches people in different ways. A dud for me might be a treasure for someone else. If you're a Rush fan and you don't own this album I highly recommend you get it. As you can see by the many five star reviews there are plenty of people who love it. Maybe you'll be one of them.

Geddy's most organic bass tone !
Virtually every song has become a classic. I love this CD, RUSH's "Hold Your Fire" .

Expect all of the top notch song writing and musicianship that is RUSH.

Geddy Lee's bass tone is my absolute favorite on this CD. He plays his WAL bass. They are high end, very expensive hand made basses made in England. To me, it's his most organic, yet still "Geddy" tone. It is the impitimy of bass tone.

Nice, simple review. Bottom line, if you're a RUSH fan, you already own this CD.

Very Satisfied
I always purchase things from Amazon. Once again, I got another Rush cd and it was also in very good shape, no scratches. com and I've never had any problems. Thanks Amazon once again!.

The band that rhymed "feelings" with "ceilings"
Yes, the most cringe-inducing lyrics in rock music are firmly set down here. Don't laugh: it's right here on track 3 of this album. After all, if it weren't for the wisdom of Neal Peart, how would we ever know that:

'A spirit with a vision
Is a dream with a mission. '

Or that:

'Nothing can survive in a vacuum
No one can exist all alone. '

If you're wondering how Peart manages to play the drums and stroke his chin at the same time, here's how:

'I find no absolution
In my rational point of view
Maybe some things are instinctive . . . '

Or here's another profound observation:

'Folks are basically decent
Conventional wisdom would say. '

Or try this for grammar:

'How they suffered about it!'

I've heard of people 'suffering from' something or even 'suffering with' something, but 'suffering about'?

Such lyrics might be bearable if they not also being squeezed through the helium balloon of Geddy Lee's voice. There's a track on the 2007 album 'Snakes and Arrows' called 'Malignant Narcissism'. Rush did not have to wait until 2007 for that: on track 9 of 'Hold your Fire' you'll find Lee crowing that

'I stood on the top of the mountain
And China sang to me. '

Me, me, me: thousands of years of history and 1. 5 billion people, all singing to Geddy Lee and the self-absorbed lyrics forced upon him by Peart. Sigh . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any yet, and yet . . . I can't deny that my whole reason for buying this CD was to replace the tape I had about fifteen years ago while I was in college. At the time I really like Rush's melody. One's distaste for such lyrics grows stronger as the years go by, and still I find that if I can tune out the words, the actual music the band made remains lively and listenable. So, in summary, I think it's fine that Lee, Lifeson and Peart are still playing: it's just a shame that Peart is still writing. But for that - if I may employ a Rushism - I could probably see past Lee's singing voice.
.

Hold Your Breath
I'm honest about my reviews, and an album that's mediocre will get a mediocre review. Rush is my favorite group, but that doesn't make me biased. HOLD YOUR FIRE is an album that has me scratching my head. It starts off well with Force Ten, which is a good rocker. Then. . . . . well, the bottom starts to slowly but surely fall out. TIME STAND STILL (featuring Til Tuesday's Aimee Mann)is the type of song that has you wondering how it's possible to transform your band from something like 2112 to another extreme. Sing the chorus to Temples of Syrinx, then to Time Stand Still. . . . . . . what you get is all attitude to no attitude!!! Yes, Rush is a band that follows the trends, but this album pushed the envelope too much. There's a line to be drawn here, because it's almost as if they lost their identity for an album. While there are a few worthy songs, most of the album is pop-ish goody-two shoes stuff. The songs: FORCE TEN: A respectable starter that rocks (9/10) TIME STAND STILL: Too pop-ish (5/10) OPEN SECRETS: Very good song, though very pop-ish. Has some nice changes in the middle of the song. (9/10) SECOND NATURE: Too cushy, boring (4/10) PRIME MOVER: Not bad, a decent song with good changes (8/10) LOCK AND KEY: The best example of a Hold Your Fire track (7/10) MISSION: Very mellow for Rush, actually respectable in terms of substance and musicianship (7/10) TURN THE PAGE: Could never get into this song--very dry and bland-sounding (5/10) TAI SHAN: What on Earth were they thinking with this one? (1/10) HIGH WATER: Actually an enjoyable song (9/10) If you're just getting into Rush, delay the purchase of this album. Instead, get Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures or 2112 to start. .

You can see a complete list of all Rush discography, or go back to the Rush tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.