"The Big Money" by Rush

Song#:  2523
Date:  11/09/1985
Debut:  93
Peak:  45
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Prog Rock



Pop Bits:  The last time Rush was on the Pop chart was in 1982 with "New World Man," a #21 entry from their album Signals. It was at a time when the band began incorporating more synths and music technology into their prog rock. The album went to #10 and it encouraged the band to continue developing their new sound for the 80s. In order to do so, they thought it was time to part ways with their long-time producer Tom Brown, who had co-produced every Rush album with the band except for their 1974 debut. Wanting a fresh start, the band brought in Steve Lillywhite (U2) to co-produce, but then he dropped out to work with Simple Minds. After going through various candidates, they settled on Peter Henderson and recorded 1984's Grace Under Pressure. Despite not having any singles reach the Pop chart, the album got to #10 and went platinum thanks to the support of rock radio on a few tracks. Not happy with Henderson, they ditched him in favor of Peter Collins for their next LP Power Windows. Their evolution with synths continued and was on full display with this first single from the album. The song made it to #4 at Rock and then surprisingly did well on the Pop chart nearly getting into the Top 40. That result helped the album get to #10 (their third in a row to hit that spot) and go platinum. Unfortunately, it would be their final single to reach the Pop chart. Despite that, the band would continue to have hits at Rock grabbing fourteen Top 10's through to 2002 with four of them hitting #1. Rush would call it a day after a final tour in 2015.

ReduxReview:  Rush had been adding more layers of synths and effects ever since their classic 1981 LP Moving Pictures and it really exploded with Power Windows. The opening of this track sounds massive with the added layers of 80s technology. It sounded very regal and impressive at the time. The song itself is not necessarily pop radio fare, but the individual sections were quite hooky and when stitched together it created something that had a bit of commercial flare, which was not the norm for Rush. It did unexpectedly well on the Pop chart. The grand opening certainly drew me in and I liked Geddy Lee's spitting bass work on the track.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Over the years, Rush amassed 41 Juno nominations (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys). That has them tied for 5th on the list of acts with the most nominations. They would win 10 of the awards. While they would never win a Grammy, they were nominated seven times. In 2013, their career accomplishments and their musical influence got them inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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