SIGNALS

After a string of classic and groundbreaking prog-rock albums culminating in Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, Rush's music unfortunately became infected by the "new wave"/synth influences of the 1980s. Gone is the organic warmth of the production sound of the music - the way the rocking guitars, drums and bass fit together in a familiar yet original composite. Gone are the off-the-wall odd-time instrumental passages. Gone are the exhilarating riffs, epic songs and excellent songwriting. In other words, a large part of what made Rush so great is absent from this album. Cold and cheesy synthesizers dominate this disc. Practically the entire thing unfolds in uniform and predictable fashion (perhaps deliberate on the part of Neil Peart, to reflect the lyrical themes of conformity and the dominance of machinery) with eight five-minute verse/chorus/verse songs. The guitar solos are brief, and decent - but not amazing. I think this album might just have worked if the quality of songwriting was better. Alas, most of it is fairly uninspired. (Red Sector A and Distant Early Warning on the next album illustrate the synth approach actually working, due to good songwriting - but it doesn't happen here.) Dull.