Force Ten (song)
| "Force Ten" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"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 Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Writing and composition
"Force Ten" was written in three hours on December 14, 1986, the last day of pre-production for Hold Your Fire.[2][3] With nine songs already written, producer Peter Collins felt it was important to have one more song for the album.[3] 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.[3] Lyrically, the song describes the "storms of life," making a reference to a very high level of the Beaufort scale ("force ten" being near the scale's maximum of 12) as an analogy, according to the book Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United.[4]
Musically, "Force Ten" is composed in a A minor key, with changes into a major scale also occurring in the song. The song is set in common time at a fast rock tempo.[5] 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.[6] The opening is very atmospheric before the bass guitar starts playing, which Sputnikmusic said that it "picks up the pace."[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
"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 Rush, Retrospective II, The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987, Gold, Icon, and Sector 3.[10] It was also performed live on the band's Hold Your Fire tour.[11] 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,[12] while a Sputnikmusic reviewer named Chris K. described the song as "brilliantly paced and constructed, both technically and melodically interesting," and said it was "surely one of Rush's best songs ever."[7] The song would make it on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, peaking #3.[13]
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[13] | 3 |
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rush - Force Ten (Vinyl). Discogs.com. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Info from book adapted by the Rush Vault. Accessed from June 24. 2013.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Force Ten Sheet Music. onlinesheetmusic.com. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ↑ Peart, Neil. Firework: The Making of "Hold Your Fire". 2112.net. Accessed from June 22, 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rush - Hold Your Fire (album review 2). Sputnikmusic. December 28, 2005. Accessed from June 23, 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.
- ↑ Rush Tour Dates and Setlists. 2112.net. Accessed from June 19, 2013.
- ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Hold Your Fire - Rush. Allmusic. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Rush - Chart History: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Accessed from June 21, 2013.
