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 Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"Force Ten"
Promotional single by Rush
from the album Hold Your Fire
ReleasedSeptember 1987
Recorded1987
GenreProgressive rock
Length4:33
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, Pye Dubois
Producer(s)Peter Collins

Writing and composition

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

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