SIGNALS

Having been tested with synthesizer / keyboard punches on previous album "Moving Pictures" this album offers more keyboard especially on riffs that become a bed where other instruments play on top of it. It was actually quite surprised me with the intensity of keyboard used in "Signals" but it's a major progression for the band in terms of their musical approach. What I have already loved about Rush has been their ability to blend attractive, accessible and a bit complex arrangements with excellent lyrics, written by Neil Peart who is also playing the drums. The band has traditionally had a chunky, heavy rhythms and screaming vocals delivered by vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee. But in here with "Signals" he calms down his voice so that it sounds softer than previous albums. This is a good strategy, age-wise, because with the passage of time the God-given voice would deteriorate. If he can adjust into a softer one, one day - say 10 years from now, they can still play the music with vocal quality not that far from the original version recorded todate. Yeah, I think most rock vocalist should learn from Paul Rodgers (ex Free, Bad Company) who managed to create most of his voices in past records with relatively low to medium register notes.

That does not mean Rush has given away their muscular sound. Take a look at "Subdivisions" which has become my favorite track since I heard it the first time. It's definitely a keyboard/synthesizer-based heavy prog rock music which gives Geddy Lee an opportunity to align with the new style of music that Rush plays differently this time. The upbeat tempo and ambient created by the song moves forward this new music into a dynamic setting and it engages the mind of the listeners, I am sure. It's a great album opener!

"The Analog Kid" is a song that provides a constant motion. "Digital Man," is Neil Peart answer to the development of technology. It's about the right time they talked about this because I still remember that by 1984 some forms of records have been digitalized. "Chemistry," indicates a good example on how clever Neil Pert in penning the lyrics for the band.

If I look at album level, the songs that form this album flow naturally from one to the other. It gives an excellent experience whenever I listen to this album in its entirety. For those of you who keep an eye of Rush, it's a must having this CD. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW