Summary
"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.
| "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) |
|
Writing and composition edit
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]
Release and reception edit
"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] It was performed live from the Hold Your Fire Tour through the Test for Echo Tour, then later on the R30 Tour and Clockwork Angels Tour. 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]
Charts edit
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[12] | 3 |
References edit
- ^ a b Rush - Force Ten (Vinyl). Discogs.com. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ^ Jim Berti, Durrell Bowman (2011). Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United. Open Court Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 978-0812697162.
- ^ Peart, Neil. (2006). Roadshow : landscape with drums : a concert tour by motorcycle (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: Rounder. ISBN 1-57940-142-2. OCLC 71643376.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2004). Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away. ECW Press. p. 134. ISBN 1770901418.
- ^ a b c Banasiewicz, Bill (1997). Rush Visions. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0711911622. Info from book adapted by the Rush Vault. Accessed from June 24. 2013.
- ^ Force Ten Sheet Music. onlinesheetmusic.com. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ^ Peart, Neil. Firework: The Making of "Hold Your Fire" Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine. 2112.net. Accessed from June 22, 2013.
- ^ Tolleson, Robin (November/December 1988). Geddy Lee: Bass Is Still The Key. Bass Player. Accessed from June 24, 2013.
- ^ Arnold, Dave (October 8, 1987). Lost urgency, strained vocals mark latest Rush LP. The Cavalier Daily. Accessed from June 18, 2013.
- ^ Force Ten - Rush. Allmusic. Accessed from June 24, 2013.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Hold Your Fire - Rush. Allmusic. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Rush - Chart History: Mainstream Rock Tracks. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Accessed from June 21, 2013.