Grace Under Pressure

Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). A nickname for the album is “P/G” (grace under pressure).

The album is notable for the radical new influences it displayed, especially reggae and ska. It is also notable as being the first Rush album that had no program music.

Following the amicable departure of Terry Brown as producer, Rush initially approached Steve Lillywhite to produce the album. All three members of Rush and Lillywhite were in agreement, but shortly before recording sessions were to begin, Lillywhite pulled out, saying he was not right for the band. Rush eventually produced the album themselves, with assistance from Peter Henderson, whose previous credits included Supertramp, Frank Zappa and King Crimson. Lillywhite apparently pulled out due to his desire to produce an album for the NYC band Crossfire Choir, who had agreed to record in London where Lillywhite could be close to his new wife, Kirsty MacColl.

One track, “Red Sector A”, is notable for its allusions to The Holocaust, inspired by Geddy Lee’s memories of his mother’s stories about the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, where she was held prisoner. “Between the Wheels” is one of the band’s most synth-driven songs since Subdivisions from Signals. While the album’s opening track, “Distant Early Warning”, has been interpreted as dealing with the pressure involving the aftermath of nuclear holocaust, Peart deumurred in a contemporaneous interview, saying, “It’s about a lot of stuff.”