"Red Lenses" | |
---|---|
Song by Rush | |
from the album Grace Under Pressure | |
Released | 12 April 1984 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:42 |
Label | Anthem |
Composer(s) | |
Lyricist(s) | Neil Peart |
Producer(s) |
|
Grace Under Pressure track listing | |
7 tracks Side one
Side two
|
"Red Lenses" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure . In the album's liner notes, the song's title and lyrics are in lower case only.
The song was composed in the key of C-sharp minor, and is played in common time. [3] [4]
News stories from the Toronto-based newspaper The Globe and Mail inspired the song's lyrics. [5]
Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart said of the song:
This was probably the hardest song I ever worked on, in spite of the pleasure it gave me. It went through so many rewrites and changed its title so many times. Each little image was juggled around and I just fought for the right words to put each little phrase and to make it sound exactly right to me, so that it sounded a little bit nonsensical. I wanted to get that kind of jabberwocky word game thing happening with it, and also there are little things going on that your mind sort of catches without identifying, like a lot of poetic devices. You take the number of words that sound the same or start with the same letter or whatever. You just certainly don't start in the middle of it and go, "Oh, that's alliteration". [6]
Lee said in an interview: "There are a couple of tracks on the last few records where just before the fade-out, I try to put my two cents in (laughs). I did that on 'Red Lenses'. As it's fading out, I like to get loose -- it's almost a reaction to being so structured through the whole song". [7]
Although Odyssey thought it was the worst song on Grace Under Pressure, they rated "Red Lenses" 4/5, and wrote that it was the album's most experimental track. They also praised the drumming in the song, and thought "Red Lenses" was reminiscent of the Irish rock band U2. [8]
Christopher Thelen of The Daily Vault wrote that the song "adds a dimension of funk to Rush", and that Geddy Lee's bass work is perfectly suited to the genre. [9]
Ultimate Classic Rock ranked the song number 75 on their list of "All 167 Rush Songs Ranked Worst to Best" and wrote: "This one's a mixed bag, with Lee throwing down on some campy synth-horns that probably made Lifeson – and a lot of Rush fans – furious. But there are too many distinct moments to write it off, like Lee's funky slap-bass; some spooky, Talking Heads-ish synth and Peart's tightly wound tom fills on his Simmons SDS-V kit". [10]
Aleksandar Živojinović,, known professionally as Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that would later become Rush, with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Jones. Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee a month later, and Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974.
Geddy Lee is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined what would become Rush in September 1968, at the request of his childhood friend Alex Lifeson, replacing original bassist and frontman Jeff Jones. Lee's solo effort, My Favourite Headache, was released in 2000.
Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 1968 by Alex Lifeson, John Rutsey, and Jeff Jones, who was immediately replaced by Geddy Lee. After its formation the band went through several lineup configurations before arriving at its classic power trio lineup with the addition of Neil Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album. This lineup remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.
Signals is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 9, 1982 by Anthem Records. After the release of their previous album, Moving Pictures, the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album Exit...Stage Left. Signals demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. It is the last album produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974.
Fly by Night is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band, Rush, released in February 1975 on Mercury Records. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart.
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975 by Mercury Records. It marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock.
Roll the Bones is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released September 3, 1991 on Anthem Records. The band began working on Roll the Bones after a brief creative hiatus following the tour promoting their previous release, Presto.
Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released April 12, 1984 on Anthem Records. After touring for the band's previous album, Signals (1982), came to an end in mid-1983, Rush started work on a follow-up in August. The band had decided to not work with longtime producer Terry Brown, who had collaborated with Rush since 1974. The new material accentuated the group's change in direction towards a synthesizer-oriented sound like its previous album. After some difficulty finding a suitable producer who could commit, the album was recorded with Peter Henderson.
Power Windows is the eleventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on October 14, 1985 by Anthem Records. After touring in support of their previous album, Grace Under Pressure (1984), the band took a break and reconvened in early 1985 to begin work on a follow-up. The material continued to display the band's exploration of synthesizer-oriented music, this time with the addition of sampling, electronic drums, a string section, and choir, with power being a running lyrical theme. Power Windows was recorded in Montserrat and England with Peter Collins as co-producer and Andy Richards on additional keyboards.
Rush in Rio is a three-disc live album by Canadian band Rush, released on October 21, 2003. The album is also available as a two DVD set. With the exception of the last two tracks on the third disc, the album was recorded at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on the final night of the Vapor Trails Tour. The other two tracks were taken from previous shows on the same tour. "Between Sun & Moon" was recorded at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona, on September 27, 2002, and "Vital Signs" was recorded at the Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, on October 19, 2002.
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.
Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released October 19, 1993 on Anthem Records. After the band finished touring its previous album Roll the Bones (1991) in mid-1992, the members took a break before starting work on a follow-up.
"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.
"Between the Wheels" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure.
"Limelight" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It first appeared on the 1981 album Moving Pictures. The song's lyrics were written by Neil Peart with music written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. "Limelight" expresses Peart's discomfort with Rush's success and the resulting attention from the public. The song paraphrases the opening lines of the "All the world's a stage" speech from William Shakespeare's play As You Like It; the band had previously used the phrase for its 1976 live album. The lyrics also refer to "the camera eye", the title of the song that follows on the Moving Pictures album.
Gold is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on April 25, 2006.
"A Farewell to Kings" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It was released as the title track to their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings. A music video to the song was uploaded to YouTube in March 2018.
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"Witch Hunt" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1981 album Moving Pictures, and unlike many other Rush songs it was a true studio production, with a variety of percussion instruments and overdubs, and a separate keyboard player. It is the first of four songs in what has been called the band's "Fear" series, the other three being "The Weapon", "The Enemy Within", and "Freeze".