Signals

Rush - Signals

Signals
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Category: Music CD
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Rush
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1997-06-03
Music Label: Island / Mercury
Soundtracks:
  1. Subdivisions
  2. The Analog Kid
  3. Chemistry
  4. Digital Man
  5. The Weapon
  6. New World Man
  7. Losing It
  8. Countdown

Free Music Notes for Signals

Free Music Review: Signals: A mixed result
Hit: 3 Stars

I'll start with the biggest problem with Signals: The mixing/recording has been described as "muddy", "slushy", "blurry", etc. It's all true. Just click on the "Analog Kid" sample Amazon offers, and you'll hear a lot of midrange, but no clarity or brightness (and this is supposed to be the "rocking" track of the album). It was a poor, poor mixing job, and the re-master did nothing to improve it. It's a CD that sounds like a cassette, and if you were unfortunate enough to own a cassette in the 80's, it sounded like an old AM radio. Also, a couple of the songs are simply forgettable.

Now for the good: There are also some *really* good songs on here. Some of the songwriting is incredibly inspired, experimental, progressive, and thoughtful.

A critique of the songs:

SUBDIVISIONS: Great song. Great writing. Great arrangement. Heavy on the synths, and yet extremely well done. Great lyrics.

ANALOG KID: Great song. The most rocking song of the album, but with a major tempo change in the chorus. Great riffs for both guitar and bass. Great lyrics.

CHEMISTRY: An experimental song that never quite makes it. Once you've heard it twice, it becomes dull, and is forgettable. It was no better live on the Signals tour either.

DIGITAL MAN: Another experimental song, and this time with great results. A bass-lover's dream, and an altogether unique sound. Great lyrics, and they complement the lyrics of "Analog Kid". Still fresh 26 years later.

THE WEAPON: A forgettable song with a good idea behind it. While it could never have been a "great" song, it could have been a "good" song, but is far too long for what it does. The middle instrumental section is dull, and adds nothing to the song but length. A shorter arrangement would have been much better.

NEW WORLD MAN: A catchy single, easy to warm up to, interesting message in a small package. Really good song.

LOSING IT: A remarkable ballad. As a ballad, it's never going to be among the great Rush classics, but it's really a creative, interesting song.

COUNTDOWN: The biggest disappointment of the album. Tried to capture an emotional moment, and failed. Just not a good song.

Overall, I'd give it 3.5 stars. A better mix would have helped. A few different arrangements may have helped, but it is what it is: a mixed result.

Signals Poster

Rush had already begun using electronics and synth in their music by the time Signals was released in 1982, so the synth-heavy opener, "Subdivisions" (a song that proves that high-school separatism is older than last year), wasn't that great a departure from their previous material. Signals also contains the single "New World Man," which still gets heavy radio airplay almost 20 years later, as well as groove-heavy, tech-savvy songs like "The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man"--prescient comments on the forthcoming information technology revolution if ever there were any. This was Rush's first studio album following Moving Pictures, which arguably remains their strongest and most well-known effort, after 2112. That's a tough act to follow, and Rush did it in the best possible way--by maintaining their distinctive sound while updating it with 1980s touches. Signals indicates that it was a good move. -- Genevieve Williams

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