Originally released in April 1984 and launched with the lead single, “Distant Early Warning”, the band’s tenth studio album was co-produced by Rush with Peter Henderson and recorded as the fourth in a series of Rush recording sessions ultimately held at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec as that saw the trio shifting gears to construct eight technology-driven tracks that were forward driving compositions from their previous works.
"...our songwriting had taken us to a different musical place," says Geddy Lee, "an expansion of our soundscape with a range of new technologies, not just keyboards and samples, but electronic drums too, while getting to know the new dude behind the console with a very different working style."
“Grace Under Pressure: Super Deluxe Edition” will be available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition 4-CD + Blu-ray, (2) Super Deluxe Edition 5-LP + Blu-ray, (3) Super Deluxe Digital Edition, (4) Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, and (5) Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984 at video DSPs.
The limited-edition version of the Super Deluxe Edition includes four CDs, one Blu-ray, and a 52-page hardcover book. CD1 features the album's original 1984 stereo mix newly remastered from the original analog stereo master tapes by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios. Although “Grace Under Pressure” was the first Rush studio album not produced by Terry Brown after a decade long healthy working relationship, CD2 now features Brown's brand-new stereo mix of the album, as created from the original studio album's analog multitracks.
CD3 and CD4 present the first-ever complete setlist of the show Rush performed on September 21, 1984, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, which was also newly mixed from the original multitrack audio masters and has now been retitled “Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984.”
The Blu-ray features the above concert on video newly edited & newly remastered in HD with the audio soundtrack offered in 48kHz/24-bit Dolby Atmos, 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo options, all newly mixed by Terry Brown. Its previous incarnation as 1986's Grace Under Pressure Tour concert home video and CD was somewhat incomplete, and this new full concert experience features 37 minutes of unreleased performances.
Also on the Blu-ray, the full 1984 studio album is newly mixed in 48kHz/24-bit Dolby Atmos and 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1 by longtime band associate, producer/engineer Richard Chycki, from the original album's multitracks along with the newly remastered 192kHz/24-bit and 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo.
Additionally, on the Blu-ray, Terry Brown's new album remix is presented in 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo, along with the band's music videos for "Distant Early Warning," "Afterimage," "The Enemy Within," and "The Body Electric," all of which have been visually remastered in HD and presented in 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and 48kHz/24-bit PCM stereo. ("The Enemy Within" was the very first music video shown by Canadian TV channel MuchMusic, now known as Fuse, on August 31, 1984.)
The Super Deluxe Edition of Grace Under Pressure will also include new liner notes penned by Geddy Lee, reflecting on his memories of finding a new producer for the album and reminiscing on a recent re-listen of the album proper. Original album designer Hugh Syme re-imagines the original album cover along with creating brand-new illustrations for each of the album's eight songs and other related visual elements in the book. Exclusive bonus collectibles in the box include a custom acrylic Grace Under Pressure LED light-up display; a replica of the Grace Under Pressure tour book; a replica Maple Leaf Gardens/Toronto show concert ticket; a Grace Under Pressure Tour total access backstage pass; "Pressure Release" a replica of the 6-page press release; three bandmember live photo lithos; and a poster from the Toronto show. All contents are housed in a premium lift-top box.
The second Grace Under Pressure configuration will be released in is a five-LP plus Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition, which is the analog equivalent of the four-CD edition. The LPs in the Super Deluxe Edition have been cut at Abbey Road Studios and pressed on 180-gram audiophile black vinyl at GZ Media in the Czech Republic.
Both the 4LP + Blu-ray and 5LP + Blu-ray Super Deluxe Editions will also be offered at the Rush Backstage online store with 3 exclusive bonus lithos of Hugh Syme's new illustrations.
The third Grace Under Pressure configuration will be the Super Deluxe Digital Edition, which is the digital equivalent to the physical Super Deluxe Edition audio tracks.
The fourth configuration, the Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, is the digital equivalent of Richard Chycki's Atmos mix of all eight tracks from the original 1984 album.
Finally, the fifth configuration is the Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984 newly edited, mixed and visually remastered in HD concert video made available to video DSPs.
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