September 9, 1982 - Signals

Nearly two months since my last release and a year and a half after "Moving Pictures", Rush released their ninth studio album "Signals" on September 9, 1982. While Rush had been increasingly using more keyboards over the past several years, this album would take things to another level where Geddy Lee plays a ton of synthesizers and things have a bit more of an 80s vibe to it. I think Geddy is one of the best bassists ever so it's a little disappointing that he plays so many keyboards, but this is still Rush and I'm sure this album will still be great. Let's check it out!

The album begins with the hit single "Subdivisions" and the 80s influence is apparent from the start as Geddy kicks things off with some slow droning synths that sound pretty good. Neil Peart comes in with a nice drumbeat and Alex Lifeson's guitar is present, but it's pushed to the background as the synths carry this opening and the first verse. Geddy sings in a nice voice to lead the verse and even though this may not sound like your typical Rush riff, it's still pretty smooth and catchy. Lifeson's guitar picks up as he plays some more complicated stuff to start the chorus and we finally hear Geddy play some bass as well, and it sounds pretty awesome! It's Peart who we hear say the name of the song followed by some solid singing by Geddy about how everything seems subdivided these days, "the basement bars, in the backs of cars, be cool or be cast out". It's a pretty catchy chorus and it sounds quite good and it leads right into a short little synth solo by Geddy as they blend their older and newer styles nicely together on this one. This leads right back into the main riff and after another solid verse and chorus Geddy plays another short synth bit before they return to their roots. Most would call this part a "guitar solo" but it's a perfect example of Rush at their best because Lifeson plays some cool guitar, but the rhythm section is probably even better than the actual solo! Geddy plays sole great backing bass and Peart continues his excellent drumming throughout this whole song. They connect  nicely back into the rest of the chorus and finish things off with an epic synth ending that also has Peart playing some pretty amazing drum fills. It's certainly a different style of music for these three, but things still sound pretty sweet. Up next is "The Analog Kid" and they kick right into the main riff which has all three guys playing some great stuff. Lifeson's guitar is all over the place and sounding great and Geddy's bass is freaking amazing; nobody else can make such an impact with the bass guitar than the great Geddy. It's a great main riff and Geddy begins singing a smooth first verse overtop. When the chorus hits we hear a loud epic synthesizer take over as Peart plays a cool little beat, but more notable to me is the complete lack of both bass and guitar. Don't get me wrong, this chorus is very epic and Geddy's vocals sound nice but it is a huge shift from their past albums to drop both those essential instruments for so much time. The guitars return for another verse and I think the verse is much more exciting than the chorus as things are are bouncing and sound great! After another chorus the synths continue into a new part and Geddy sings a short bridge before we reach a real guitar solo. Lifeson is in the spotlight here and he plays some incredibly fast guitar that sounds awesome! It's a really great little solo and it leads right into another short bridge verse before they once again end the song on a nice epic note. Track 3 is "Chemistry" and it was developed from a bunch of jams Rush would play when they were warming up on tour. Geddy is on synths again playing some loud droning stuff while Lifeson plays a simple but effective guitar part and adds some nice high notes in the background as well. After a minute of this opening they switch into the first verse and Geddy switches to bass, definitely my preferred instrument for him. Geddy's vocals sound good as usual and the band play a nice and simple rock riff that sounds decent enough. The synths do return in the verse but the bass doesn't stop as I believe Geddy is playing the keyboards with his feet, as he likes to do! We hear the opening riff again and it turns out that this is the chorus as Geddy sings ,"electricity, biology, seems to me it's chemistry", and boy do these guys have great chemistry. They play another catchy verse and chorus before Lifeson takes over for a guitar solo. It's a slower one that isn't very flashy but it sounds pretty good and fits the vibe well. After the solo they wrap things up nicely and I love how they are ending all their songs with nice finishes instead of just jamming out the chorus over and over. The final song on this side is "Digital Man" and it opens with a nice fast-paced riff led by some more snazzy bass playing by Geddy. The guitar and drums are pretty good as well, as you'd expect, but the bass sounds phenomenal. Geddy leads a solid verse and after a brief instrumental bit they go right back into another verse. Around the three minute mark they finally reach the chorus where things slow down and Geddy plays some more epic synths to lead the way. It's a fairly simple chorus but Geddy returns to bass afterwards and continues to play some really cool stuff. He sets the stage for Lifeson's guitar solo and Alex plays some pretty sweet stuff as he takes the reins for a nice solo. Peart plays some great drums as well and after a really great fill they connect things seamlessly back into the main riff for a final verse, and it seems I have jinxed things, as they jam out the chorus a couple times over until the side fades to a close. Well, I guess 1 out 4 ain't bad!

Side two opens with "The Weapon" and Peart plays a nice little drum beat while Geddy plays some synths in the background and Lifeson plays a nice slow guitar riff. The synths drop out for the verse as Geddy sings in his solid voice overtop a decent but pretty tame main riff. He also plays some decent bass in the verse, although it's quiet, but he switches back to synths for the chorus. It's a slow and simple chorus with lots of droning synths and Geddy singing nicely along and Peart plays some cool drums before they bring it back to the verse. After another largely unexciting verse and chorus they move into a slow, trippy instrumental part with some different synths by Geddy. Lifeson is kind of soloing overtop all the synths, and I prefer the guitar to the very 80s keyboards any day. Alex plays some decent stuff but it's nothing amazing like we know he can do, and after another cool drum fill by Peart it's back for a final chorus before they slowly fade it out to the end. I didn't think this was one of their best songs; it's still solid, but a far cry from the Rush of even just last year. Up next is "New World Man", another successful single that is pretty catchy and upbeat. It starts with an interesting keyboard noise that keeps the beat for the whole song before all three guys join in to form a smooth main riff. Lifeson's guitar sounds pretty good and Geddy starts singing a catchy verse in his nice high voice. The pace picks up for the chorus as Peart and Lifeson speed things up and Geddy plays some really great bass as well as singing the catchy chorus. It's easy to see why this was a single as it's very smooth and memorable. Geddy plays some more sweet bass to segue into the next verse as they slow it down nicely. After another great verse and chorus they jam out the chorus riff until the end of the song, which normally I feel is a cop out, but when Geddy is playing such great bass in the chorus I don't mind hearing it a few more times and think that it works in this rare case to end the song nicely. Track 7 is called "Losing It" and it features guest Ben Mink on electric violin. Geddy opens the song with a decent synth riff but I just hate how 80s it sounds; a more ELP-style of keyboards I think would sound way better, but alas. Mink's violin sounds decent along with the synths but this is very much unlike your typical Rush and I can see why it made some fans confused and angry as to their new musical direction. Geddy starts a slow verse overtop of this opening riff and Peart and Lifeson eventually join the mix, but neither contributes anything amazing as Geddy continues to lead the way on keyboards and Mink adds some interesting violin that sounds pretty good. They play a couple slow verses before Lifeson takes over with some slow droning guitars to start a new riff and Geddy sings some more slow lyrics in this chorus that isn't epic in the usual sense, but it still seems a fitting word. After the chorus Peart picks up the pace a bit with a nice quick drum beat and we're treated to an electric violin solo by Mink. It's not a bad solo, in fact it's quite interesting, but I'd much rather be blown away by a classic guitar solo. Lifeson comes in at the end of the violin solo and plays a nice little bridging riff that takes us to a final slow chorus to finish it off. The final song on the album is "Countdown" and Rush were inspired to write this song after watching a space shuttle launch in person. The opening part of the song actually features the same dialogue from the launch that Rush witnessed. Geddy plays some more very 80s synths and Peart adds some nice snare drumming while we hear the astronauts doing their countdown. I'm sure seeing the launch was very cool, but it doesn't translate well as I think it's a pretty boring opening by Rush's standards. Geddy sings a couple verses in his nice high voice but there's way too many synths for me in this long opening. It's over two minutes before we hear Geddy play some bass and when he finally does it sounds great! The keyboards continue to dominate though in this new verse as Geddy does it all. This verse moves nicely into a new synth riff that does sound pretty cool as we hear the astronauts once again. I find the parts where the astronauts are counting down pretty bland, Geddy sings another nice epic verse and he sounds great, but I'm not overly impressed with everything else. Geddy plays a full-blown synth solo that sounds pretty good, but the 80s effects are just too over the top for me. The final minute is more jamming and more astronaut talk and for a near six minute song, I didn't think there was a lot happening for most of it.

That is the end of "Signals" and I thought while it certainly had some cool songs, overall it was nowhere near the awesomeness of the Rush we've all come to know. The sound of the band has drastically changed and I don't think it's for the better. The use of keyboards was much lower and more tasteful on their more recent albums but it's dominant on this newest effort, and when you have some of the best guitar, bass and drums rock could ever ask for, it's pretty disappointing to see keyboards be the focal point for most of this album. I don't think it was a bad album by any means; compared to most of the music at this time it's still way better, but by Rush's lofty standards, I think "Signals" easily takes the bottom rung on my proverbial ladder, coming nowhere close to the greatness of even their previously lowest rung "Fly By Night". All of their first 8 albums are fantastic, but this one I think is just good. Where will Rush go with their next album? I can't wait to see!