Hold Your Fire

Rush’s 1987 album comes from the era that many fans seem to have mixed feelings about, as the trio doggedly pursued their eighties sonic interests via state-of-the-art synths, electronic drum additions and a slicker kind of power. But that overlooks among other things how Neil Peart’s lyrics in particular had shifted to more generous outlooks, perhaps most typified by “Time Stand Still,” a thoughtful and suddenly melancholic reflection on aging and loss, with Geddy Lee’s lead vocal matched by a memorable Aimee Mann contribution.