10 Rockers That Went Pop (And Nailed It)

In the grand tradition of Rush's records, the '80s period is when some of the prog snobs tend to jump off the bandwagon. The era of long songs and tales about otherworldly beings may have been fun, but what the hell happened on songs like Subdivisions, where Alex Lifeson's guitar was being buried beneath the squelchy sounds of a synthesizer? This was the moment where the word 'sell out' was being thrown around a bit too much, but underneath all of that synthesizer fluff, Rush were tapping into something much more emotional.

Of all the band's synth period records, Grace Under Pressure might just be their unsung masterpiece, going through different scenarios that anyone would have a hard time putting into words. There are definitely some more fantasy elements on songs like Distant Early Warning, only to be followed by songs like Afterimage, written in tribute to a friend of the band who passed away during the making of the album, along with Red Sector A telling a harrowing story of what Geddy Lee's mother went through trying to survive Nazi concentration camps.

The solos don't really let up here either, with Alex trading in some of his screaming Jimmy Page licks for making sonic textures on guitar, using delay and sustain that could put the Edge to shame on his best day. The Flock of Seagulls haircuts might not have been the best idea, but no one can touch you when you're talking about songs from the heart like this.