Prog Digest – An Xperience Column

Prog Digest – An Xperience Column – by Klyde Kadiddlehumper.

“Under Pressure.”

A David Bowie song that, to the best of my knowledge, he only performed once live. Why? Because Freddie Mercury and Queen OWNED it.  Not as in they had the publishing rights – but like most things Freddie – why would you when he was alive?

The only performance I’ve ever seen Bowie do of this song was at a Freddie Mercury tribute following his passing. With Annie Freakin’ Lenox. Good Lord – were it not for Iman, the best looking couple EVER … but I digress.

This is really about “Grace Under Pressure.”

This being Prog Digest – we, of course, have to make mention of, and discuss a bit, the 1984 Rush album.  Still prog enough, but leaning a bit new wave, “Grace Under Pressure” was a real fit for 1984. From “Distant Early Warning” – “There’s no swimming in the heavy water – no dancing in the acid rain…” to “Who can face the knowledge that the truth is not the truth?”

As with the vast majority of Rush’s lyrics, they were penned by the Professor, Neil Peart. Drummer extraordinaire, voracious reader, and wonderful writer. He of the dystopian lyrics. He of the beats that kept Rush, well, Rush. Changing time signatures never seemed to bother him or the rest of the band.

Changing with the times, yet somehow always familiar.

A pre-synth work – but still a bridge work – this record does what Rush perhaps does best. Gives you pause to reflect a bit. To maybe think – gods forgive.

Of course, there are biblical references to “Grace Under Pressure.” That’s not a for discussion here, but interesting to note.

One of the cool things about Rush, and you can seriously hear it in the recordings, is about where they were recorded.  Early on – when it was still a pretty rough sound – recordings were done at Toronto Studios, through the seminal “2112.”  Then to Rockfield Studios, Wales for “A Farewell to Kings” and “Hemispheres.”  Things got seriously slick and what many of us think of as the quintessential Rush sound for “Permanent Waves,” “Moving Pictures,” and “Grace Under Pressure” to Le Studio, Quebec. What a place. What a sound. What record-making… so many artists beyond Rush – the Police, David Bowie, the Bee Gees, Cat Stevens, April Wine, Nazareth, Queensryche, and Celine Dion.

Those were the days.  Only thing better was heading to Montserrat – George Martin’s place – AIR studios.

Locally, way back when, it was Cathedral Sound Studios in Rensselaer. Klyde did some work there over the years in another life.  It was a real art to make voice-overs and narrations sound as lush as any band.

All this, of course, was simply to get you to the real point of the matter.

As time passed and the years caught up, Ernest Hemingway would always define courage as simply “grace under pressure.”  Calm and controlled demeanor in the face of adversity and stress.

This has become a topic of discussion amongst Klyde and many of his friends.

Whatever happened to style and grace?

Whatever happened to polite public discourse?

Whatever happened to Saturday night?

For that matter, whatever happened to Fay Wray?

As Constant Companion would point out, grace under pressure is the line to the ladies’ room at most shows. That’s why, while many times she is not so fond of the show itself, she really likes prog shows.  The line to the ladies’ room is so much shorter.

Let old Klyde leave you with this thought as you ponder all things grace under pressure. A dear old, departed friend of mine had a couple of phrases that have stuck with me over the years.  First, when asked how she was, her reply was often, “Able to spit blood. <pause>  Not MINE, of course.”  Beyond that, this is the most important:

“The best of us will, ultimately, be judged by how we treat the least of us.”

Certainly, this little column is not going to change you – or your life for that matter.

Perhaps I can make you feel, but I can’t make you think.

Until next time.

Klyde

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