Rush is a really good progressive rock band (or prog metal if you will, though they've never seemed particularly metal-like to me other than a few occasions).  Grace Under Pressure pretty much straight up abandons all the bands prog rock elements that they utilized so proudly on their 70's albums and with the mid 80's now firmly under their wings, they've updated their sounds to a synth rock, less heavy and more mainstream type of music writing.  Well... the results are a mixed bag.  For years I despised this new style that Rush apparently thought (and probably still thinks) is completely acceptable.  The reception by the fans is normally quite positive of this period too.

The problem is that these songs all blend together in my mind no matter how many times I try to separate them.  "Distant Early Warning" has a nice chorus that sort of places it above the other songs on the album, but this could be due to the fact it's track one so I'm sort of unintentionally giving it the most attention due to its place on the album (and also due to me having played it several times by now), but I'll be darned if I can make out a difference between this song and the follow-up titled "Afterimage".  They both feel structured identically.  "Between the Wheels" is sort of louder than the other ones so this one stands out too.  Actually this song is probably one of the best on here- the more I play it the more I can remember and enjoy it.  "A Red Sector" is a bit more repetitive than the others.  Another standout track.

As you can see I have mixed feelings with Grade Under Pressure.  It feels odd to me that Rush would get rid of a style that worked *so* much better than this commercialized 80's stuff that really takes advantage of the technology at the time.  Most of the space rock elements and Neil Peart's unique drumming aren't really noticeable on here at all.  It's just amazing that I'm still struggling to get into post-Moving Pictures Rush even after all these years, but at least I'm warming up to Grace Under Pressure a lot more than I did 10 years ago.  Back then I *really* hated mid 80's Rush.  Nowadays I sort of like it but not blown away by it.  So yeah, for progressive rock/metal fans, stick with 70's Rush.  For 80's mellow rock fans, I guess Grace Under Pressure is your ideal album.
Rush is a really good progressive rock band (or prog metal if you will, though they've never seemed particularly metal-like to me other than a few occasions). Grace Under Pressure pretty much straight up abandons all the bands prog rock elements that they utilized so proudly on their 70's albums and with the mid 80's now firmly under their wings, they've updated their sounds to a synth rock, less heavy and more mainstream type of music writing. Well... the results are a mixed bag. For years I despised this new style that Rush apparently thought (and probably still thinks) is completely acceptable. The reception by the fans is normally quite positive of this period too. The problem is that these songs all blend together in my mind no matter how many times I try to separate them. "Distant Early Warning" has a nice chorus that sort of places it above the other songs on the album, but this could be due to the fact it's track one so I'm sort of unintentionally giving it the most attention due to its place on the album (and also due to me having played it several times by now), but I'll be darned if I can make out a difference between this song and the follow-up titled "Afterimage". They both feel structured identically. "Between the Wheels" is sort of louder than the other ones so this one stands out too. Actually this song is probably one of the best on here- the more I play it the more I can remember and enjoy it. "A Red Sector" is a bit more repetitive than the others. Another standout track. As you can see I have mixed feelings with Grade Under Pressure. It feels odd to me that Rush would get rid of a style that worked *so* much better than this commercialized 80's stuff that really takes advantage of the technology at the time. Most of the space rock elements and Neil Peart's unique drumming aren't really noticeable on here at all. It's just amazing that I'm still struggling to get into post-Moving Pictures Rush even after all these years, but at least I'm warming up to Grace Under Pressure a lot more than I did 10 years ago. Back then I *really* hated mid 80's Rush. Nowadays I sort of like it but not blown away by it. So yeah, for progressive rock/metal fans, stick with 70's Rush. For 80's mellow rock fans, I guess Grace Under Pressure is your ideal album.