Hold Your Fire
Released Mercury, 8 September, 1987.
- Force Ten (4:28)
- Time Stand Still (5:07)
- Open Secrets (5:37)
- Second Nature (4:35)
- Prime Mover (5:19)
- Lock and Key (5:08)
- Mission (5:15)
- Turn The Page (4:53)
- Tai Shan (4:14)
- High Water (5:32)
Geddy Lee - Bass/Synthesizers/Vocals. Alex Lifeson - Acoustic & Electric Guitars/Taurus Pedals. Neil Peart - Drums/Percussion.
Additional Musician: Ben Mink - Electric Violin (Track 7).
Lyrics by Peart, Music by Lee/Lifeson, except Track 3 lyrics by Lee/Lifeson/ Peart.
Produced by Rush and Terry Brown. Engineered by Paul Northfield. Assisted by Robbie Whelan.
Burning bright… The concept behind ‘Hold Your Fire’ centred on the creative process itself, according to Geddy. “It relates to the burning desire to do something and how important it is to keep your fire lit, regardless of circumstances,” he explained. Trouble is, for the band the contextual circumstances couldn’t be better, as indicated by this slickly produced album released by a band at the peak of their popularity, during a period of poppy, highly produced music. Look no further than the opening track: if “tough times demand tough songs,” this isn’t one of them. Neither is ‘Lock and Key’ – ‘I don’t want to face the killer instinct’, says Geddy in ‘Lock and Key’ – but when exactly would he have to, given this level of comfort? The concepts are well-considered, but become less believable against such a background of gloss.
Most songs work better than these, not least ‘Second Nature’, ‘Open Secrets’ and ‘Time Stand Still’ which say little but say it well, the latter with choruses supported by fellow Canadian Aimee Mann. The music is straightforward, the hooks are catchy and everything works. There are also opportunities to be technical – Geddy’s busy bass on ‘Turn The Page’, for example, supporting a cacophonic layering of guitars that somehow works.
Contrary to public opinion, Neil was not writing about himself on the album. “If I chose to write them from the perspective of the ‘first person singular’ then it was because that was the most effective way of transmitting my thoughts,” he commented. Despite this, there was room for allegorical parallels with the band. “Who you are and what you’re going through is very much a part of the record,” said Geddy, and ‘Mission’ in particular, was unashamedly autobiographical. “It grew out of a conversation Neil and I had about the kind of people we consider ourselves to be, people who always knew what they wanted to do in their lives and always had this ambition and desire,” said Geddy.
The last two songs are more concerned with the environmental – first ‘Tai Shan’, returning to the peaceful serenity Neil discovered on the holy mountain during his cycling visit to China. Then ‘High Water’, again a travelling song. So many Rush songs are journeys, and the band journeyed far to come to this point but on arrival, it finds the destination somewhat lacking. All the same every choice is now available – when they start out again, the route may lie in a different direction but the long walk is over.