| "Force Ten" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotional single by Rush | |
| from the album Hold Your Fire | |
| Released | September 1987 |
| Recorded | 1987 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:33 |
| Label | Mercury |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Force Ten" is a song written, produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush, released as a promotional single from their album Hold Your Fire . [1] It was the last song written for the album. The song has been critically positively received, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
According to Peart, the song describes the "storms of life," using storm level in the Beaufort wind scale as an analogy. [2] Peart, a self described "weather fanatic", makes references to "the eye of the storm" and circling hurricanes in the lyrics. He also "express[es] appreciation" for the disproportionally small number of female fans at Rush shows "singing along, or air-drumming, or even dancing" in the lyric "cool and remote like dancing girls". [3]
"Force Ten" was written in three hours on December 14, 1986, the last day of pre-production for Hold Your Fire . [4] [5] With nine songs already written, producer Peter Collins felt it was important to have one more song for the album. [5] Pye Dubois, who previously worked with Rush on their song "Tom Sawyer", had sent Neil Peart some lyrics for the song, and Peart would add more verses to it. [5]
Musically, "Force Ten" is composed in A minor, with changes into A major scale occurring in the song. The song is set in common time at a fast rock tempo. [6] Peart has said that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were "trying to explore some musical areas that we hadn't covered yet," when writing the music for the song. [7] Lee performed bass chords in the song, inspired to do so by his friend Jeff Berlin. [8] The song was described by The Cavalier Daily as "intense". [9]
"Force Ten" was released in the United States by Mercury Records as a 12" vinyl one-track promotional single in 1987. [1] It is the opening track of Rush's studio album Hold Your Fire , and the song later appear on compilation albums such as Chronicles , Retrospective II , The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987 , Gold , Icon, and Sector 3. [10] The song received a favorable critical reception, with Allmusic calling it "the band's [Rush] most immediate number in years," rating the song an AMG pick track. [11] The song would make it on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, peaking #3. [12]
Force Ten has been a staple of Rush’s live performances, as it has been played on every tour since its release up until the Vapor Trails Tour, when it was dropped. It was then put back in the setlist for their R30 Tour, and then dropped again for the next two tours, the Snakes and Arrows Tour and Time Machine Tour. It was then put back in the setlist for the Clockwork Angels Tour and removed for the R40 Live Tour. [13]
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [12] | 3 |
Rush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart. The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bass guitarist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this line-up remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.
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Hold Your Fire is the twelfth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 8, 1987. It was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, Air Studios in Montserrat and McClear Place in Toronto. Hold Your Fire was the last Rush studio album released outside Canada by PolyGram/Mercury. 'Til Tuesday bassist and vocalist Aimee Mann contributed vocals to "Time Stand Still" and appeared in the Zbigniew Rybczyński-directed video.
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Different Stages is a live album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1998. The bulk of the first and second discs were recorded at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, during the 1997 Test for Echo tour. Five other songs from various stops along the tour were included and three songs from the 1994 Counterparts tour. The third disc is taken from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the A Farewell to Kings tour in 1978.
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"Tom Sawyer" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, originally released on their 1981 album Moving Pictures as its opener. The band's lead singer, bassist, and keyboardist, Geddy Lee, has referred to the track as the band's "defining piece ... from the early '80s". It is one of Rush's best-known songs and a staple of both classic rock radio and Rush's live performances, having been played on every concert tour since its release.
The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 11, 2003. It includes many of the band's most popular songs from their Mercury Records era, but does not feature any material from their third album Caress of Steel. A special edition of the album included a DVD containing music videos for several songs, including "Mystic Rhythms".
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A Show of Hands is a concert film released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD by the Canadian rock band Rush. It documents a live concert performance by the band on their 1987-88 Hold Your Fire Tour. In 1989, the band released an audio album of the same name on vinyl LP, audiocassette, and compact disc. The video comprises an entirely different recording, and features a different track list.
Snakes & Arrows is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on May 1, 2007, by Anthem Records. After their R30: 30th Anniversary Tour ended in October 2004 the band took a one-year break, during which they agreed to start work on a follow-up in January 2006. The album was recorded in five weeks with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz, a fan of the group who was praised by each member for his approach and technique. It contains three instrumental tracks, the most on any Rush album.
Feedback is an EP by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 2004. The record features eight covers of songs that were influential for the band members during the 1960s. The outing marked the 30th anniversary of both the release of Rush's debut album, which featured the original lineup of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, and of Neil Peart's joining the band in the wake of Rutsey's departure. The tour in support of the Feedback album was called the R30: 30th Anniversary Tour. The record was remastered and reissued in 2013 as a part of the box set The Studio Albums 1989–2007. In 2016 it was reissued after being remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios following a direct approach by Rush to remaster their entire back catalogue.
"Mission" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush from the 1987 album Hold Your Fire.
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