| Hold Your Fire | ||||
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| Released | September 8, 1987 (1987-09-08) | |||
| Recorded | January 5 – April 24, 1987 | |||
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| Length | 50:21 | |||
| Label | Anthem | |||
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| Rush chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hold Your Fire | ||||
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Hold Your Fire is the twelfth studio album by Canadianprogressive rock bandRush, released on September 8, 1987.[1] It was recorded atThe Manor Studio inOxfordshire,Ridge Farm Studio inSurrey,AIR Studios inMontserrat and McClear Place inToronto.[2]Hold Your Fire was the last Rush studio album released outside Canada byPolyGram/Mercury.'Til Tuesday bassist and vocalistAimee Mann contributed vocals to "Time Stand Still" and appeared in theZbigniew Rybczyński-directed video.
The album was not as commercially successful as most of the band's releases of the 1980s, peaking at number 13 on theBillboard charts, the lowest chart peak for a Rush album since 1978'sHemispheres.[3] However, it was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA.
After Rush's 1986Power Windows tour ended, the band members took the summer off to spend more time with their families. A few months passed, and the group decided to start getting back into writing material.[4]Neil Peart began writing lyrics in a cottage in early September. Meanwhile,Geddy Lee started to compose on his keyboard setup controlled on aMacintosh computer using software calledDigital Performer,[5][6] which would be useful for both the writing and production stages, andAlex Lifeson was doing experimental tapes at home.[6] Peart also used the Mac to write some lyrics for the album.[5] Peart wanted to do something in the same vein asPower Windows, this time working around the theme of time. However, after writing lyrics for the first song he wrote, "Time Stand Still", Peart started to create more material that would turn the theme into "Instinct,"[6] which was the reason for titling the albumHold Your Fire.[7] In an afternoon later that month, Peart and Lee together showed what they had been working on, and also discussed a few lyrical ideas they weren't able to write on paper, which would be included in "Mission," "Open Secrets" and "Turn the Page."[6]
The group started writing sessions in Elora Sound Studio,Ontario on September 27, 1986.[4] Lifeson showed his experimental tapes, while Lee brought soundcheck jams he had done that year. According to Peart, Lifeson's tapes "would yield some good parts for several songs" and Lee's soundcheck jams were "sorted and labeled as potential verses, bridges, choruses or instrumental bits, and thus they served as a reference library of spontaneous ideas that could be drawn upon at will." Lifeson used adrum machine to write drum parts, which Lee tracked on a Lerxst Sound recorder. By early November, eight songs had been written, which the group felt wasn't enough for the album to have a good amount of musical variety. Peart said, "We decided we'd go a bit further this time. We were aware of the fact that only a small percentage of people actually buy records anymore, the vast majority choosing cassettes or CDs. Thus, we figured, why should we worry about the time limitations of the old vinyl disc? We thought we'd like to have 10 songs, and go for 50 minutes or so of music. So we did."[6] ProducerPeter Collins came in to Elora Sound in early December to give the band suggestions to improve the songs. Among many small changes, a couple of major suggestions were new verses to "Mission" and chorus revisions to "Open Secrets."[6] With nine songs already written, Collins also suggested the band make a 10th track for the album, and the song "Force Ten" would be written on the last day of pre-production, December 14.[4]
Recording ofHold Your Fire began January 5, 1987, atThe Manor Studio in England. This was where the drums, bass, basic keyboards, lead guitars and lead vocals were recorded. The keyboards, guitars and vocals were recorded digitally, while the drums and bass, as preferred by Peart,[8] were taped using ananalogtape recorder, later converted into a digital tape.[4] On February 7, the band went toRidge Farm Studio forAndy Richards to perform additional dynamic keyboards and exciting "events," as well as put all recorded instrument tracks into a digital machine.[7][9] Lifeson was also able to write guitar overdubs while recording at Ridge Farm.[6]
The band headed off toAIR Montserrat on March 1 to start producing guitar overdubs,[6][7] and later to McClear Place Studios inToronto three weeks later to finish the overdubs, record orchestral arrangements by Steve Margoshes for "High Water,""Mission" and "Second Nature," and track additional voice parts, such asAimee Mann's vocals for "Time Stand Still" and "Prime Mover," andgospel choir.[6][7][10] Recording was finished by April 24,[10] and mixing took place starting May 7 at William Tell Studio inParis. Lee mastered the album withBob Ludwig at Masterdisk inNew York City by mid-July.[11]
Lee played aWal bass guitar forHold Your Fire, as well as being vocalist and keyboardist.[9] The synths and other electronic instruments and devices used, all programmed with the assistance of Andy Richards and Jim Burgess,[9] were severalAkai S900 samplers, twoProphet synths, a PPG 2.3, a Roland Super Jupiter and a D-550, two Yamaha KX-76 MIDI controllers, two QX-I sequencers and a DX-7, two MIDI Mappers, Korg MIDI pedals, and Moog Taurus Pedals.[6] Peart played on a combination ofLudwig-Musser drum set, a plated-hardware ofPearl Drums, Premier drums andTama drums,Avedis Zildjian cymbals, and aSimmons pad through one of the Akai samplers, which made sounds oftemple blocks, atimbale,crotales, aTama, agong bass drum,cowbells,wind chimes, andmarimbas.[4][6]
The song "Tai Shan" was an experiment in composition. It was influenced by classical Chinese music, and its title was a reference toMount Tai in China'sShandong province, which Peart first became aware of during a bicycle trip in China.[12] A backward sample ofAimee Mann's vocals from another track is used at the end of the song. In a 2009 interview withBlender, Lee expressed regret in including "Tai Shan" on the album, calling it an "error" and saying "we should have known better."[13] Lifeson called the song "a little corny" in a 2012 interview withTotal Guitar.[14] Lifeson, in 2016, considered "Tai Shan" and "Panacea" the worst songs Rush ever recorded.[15]
Hold Your Fire has been categorized asnew wave,[16]pop rock,[16][17]heavy metal/hard rock,[18]stadiumprogressive rock,[19] and "thin and reedy"progressiveBritpop.[20]: 118 The songs are driven by bass guitar that is a mixture of punchy and melodic.[19] Although there are moments of distorted, extreme leads, Lifeson's electric guitar work on the album is mainly textural, withSteel-string acoustic guitar serving a rhythmic role, causing a glossy overall sound.[19]
Hold Your Fires comments on the socio-political state of the modern world, with the existential angst ofThe Joshua Tree (1987) byU2.[18][21]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Evening Sun |    [22] |
| Kerrang! | [23] |
| Metal Hammer | 6/6[24] |
| NME | 3/10[25] |
| Omaha World-Herald | [26] |
| Sounds | [27] |
Hold Your Fire was critically acclaimed upon its release, with music publications such asMetal Hammer,Kerrang! andSounds giving it perfect scores.[24][23][27]Kerrang!'s Stefan Chirazi claimed it was one of the best albums of 1987, another Rush LP with "class, quality and consistency" and a rare record to contain ten perfect tracks.[23]Sounds' Paul Elliot praised the band for not losing their "warmth", "heart" and "humanity" despite the studio polish twelve albums in.[27]
Rush's progression withHold Your Fire was a prominent topic in reviews, with a variety of responses. On the positive side, some critics perceived the band continually expanding their musical and sonic territory while maintaining their perfectionism and compositional intricacies.[a] Neil Randall of theKitchener-Waterloo Record wrote the approach was "unhurried" on the album, which he attributed to the length being longer than Rush's other LPs.[28] Some appreciated the album for being more accessible to mainstream listeners and having tighter compositions than prior records.[29] Elliot praised Rush for abandoning the "overwrought chaff" andmelodrama of 1970s progressive rock such asA Farewell to Kings (1977), allowing for simpler compositions with a style relevant to the contemporary decade. He gave particular note to the "rich and insistent" melodies, giving the overall product "fire and spirit".[27]
Less favorably,Guitar for the Practicing Musician categorized the album as more of the same "wordy", "self-involved" and "grand" lyrics and "musical dramatics" that are "totally enveloped in its own seriousness", but with even more "technical sophistication" thanPower Windows. The publication claimed the album was brought down by the "backbreaking" sterility and predictability of Rush's latest sound that the album's redeeming qualities failed to overcome.[30]Omaha World-Herald reviewer James Healy thought it consisted of stale cliches prevalent in their older work, worsened by the synthesizers.[26]NME, a publication that historically panned Rush's music and their socio-political beliefs, joked, "Locked in a timewarp along with the music, [Peart] is still bent on devising an LP based on aconcept."[25] At worst, Nester Aparicio ofThe Evening Sun labeled the overall product "wimpy" and "fluffy", with none of the "glory" of albums like2112 andMoving Pictures.[22]
Elliot and thePress & Sun-Bulletin's Anand Agneshwar described the lyrics as human and personal, with vulnerability and introspection.[27][29][31] Conversely, "they are too cumbersome and distanced to be embraceable" forGuitar for the Practicing Musician.[30]
Hold Your Fire peaked number 13 in theBillboard 200 album chart, the first time a Rush studio album outside the Top 10 since 1978'sHemispheres.[3] AlthoughHold Your Fire was certified gold in the United States shortly after its release, it failed to reach platinum status according to theRIAA, becoming the first Rush studio album to not do so since 1975'sCaress of Steel.[32]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [33] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [34] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 5/10[35] |
| Metal Storm | 7.7/10[36] |
| MusicHound Rock | [37] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [38] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4/5[39] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of 80s Music | [40] |
For Adrien Begrand,Hold Your Fire was the best Rush album of the era starting withSignals, containing a much smoother balance between the U2/Big Country-style rock and cutting-edge electronic sounds thanPower Windows.[17] Conversely,Loudwire's Jordan Blum considered it the worst of the band's keyboard era, an "uninteresting and awkward slog that can't help but feel dated and misguided".[41]
When it came to rankings of Rush's 19 studio albums,Hold Your Fire was number 17 in one byUltimate Classic Rock in 2014.[42] The generally-satirical publicationThe Hard Times, in a serious list, rankedHold Your Fire the eighth-best, which was heavily skewed by the quality of "Time Stand Still".[43] Among rankings in 2025,Spin placedHold Your Fire at number 17,Mojo number 16, andMusicRadar number 12.[16][44][45]BBC Music Magazine andClassic Rock put it at the bottom of their lists, but even these presented opinions that were mixed rather than outright negative. They noted their technical proficiency and self-reflective lyrics but also a lack of "dynamic punch", energy and "quirkiness" of their better albums.[46][47] Many of these lists noted the album's smooth production, which was the considered the slickest in the band's discography and alienating to fans.[16][42][45][46][47] They also were the harshest of tracks outside of "Time Stand Still", "Force Ten" and "Mission", calling them "bland" and "forgettable" "filler", where the "songwriting quality-control dips as the record progresses".[43][44][47]
A remaster was issued in 1997.[2]
Hold Your Fire was remastered again in 2011 by Andy VanDette for the "Sector" box sets, which re-released all of Rush's Mercury-era albums. It is included in theSector 3 set.[48] For the 2011 remaster, master tapes containing different mixes ofHold Your Fire were inadvertently used, with the result that the mix is noticeably different from previous releases in several places; particularly during "Mission", where string parts that were not present on the original release can be heard, and in the introduction to "Tai Shan", where wind chimes have been added. There is also a panning stereo effect on the vocals during the first pre-chorus of "Turn the Page" which is absent from the original mix.
In 2015 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee atAbbey Road Studios following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue.[49]
All lyrics are written byNeil Peart except "Force Ten" by Peart andPye Dubois; all music is composed byGeddy Lee andAlex Lifeson.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Force Ten" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Time Stand Still" | 5:09 |
| 3. | "Open Secrets" | 5:38 |
| 4. | "Second Nature" | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Prime Mover" | 5:19 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lock and Key" | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Mission" | 5:16 |
| 3. | "Turn the Page" | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Tai Shan" | 4:17 |
| 5. | "High Water" | 5:33 |
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (RPM100)[50] | 9 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[51] | 40 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[52] | 9 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[53] | 34 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[54] | 21 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[55] | 67 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[56] | 10 |
| USBillboard 200[57] | 13 |
| Chart (1987) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[58] | 56 |
| Information |
|---|
"Time Stand Still"
|
"Force Ten"
|
"Lock and Key"
|
"Prime Mover"
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[61] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[62] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[63] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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