SIGNALS

I honestly can't believe that I haven't submitted a review of this album yet. I discovered Rush just after Moving Pictures was released, so this was the first anticipated Rush album for me as a wide eyed 14 year old. I wasn't so jaded because I was so new to the band, so hearing this was like hearing Rush for the first time.

Now that I'm a few years down the road, I'm able to listen to it with a seasoned maturity and it's still a great album to these ears. This is the period where the band really began experimenting with synthesizers to the point it really began to be a vital ingredient to their music. The brilliant thing about Signals (and Rush, in general) is they didn't saturate their music with synth overkill. Additionally, you could hear how truly good Geddy was on the keyboards. Sure, he's no Rick Wakeman, but on the album's initial track "Subdivisions", Geddy pulls off a very good and brief synth solo prior to Lifeson's solo. He does this throughout Signals, but this song and his synth on "Countdown" really sparkles.

As for Mr. Lifeson, it's well documented that the Signals sessions frustrated him greatly. Possibly due to the heavy use of synths, his parts do sometimes get swallowed up. Still, that doesn't diminish the fact he rips out some amazing guitar solos--most notibly during "The Analog Kid" and "Chemistry". The latter was actually played and recorded outdoors up on a hilltop. Oh, how wonderful it must've been to see a sillhouetted Lifeson up on the hill grinding out a solo.

One surprise is the very slow and ballad-like "Losing It". Almost heartbreaking, it's a song about being well beyond your prime to the point of your past talents and glories being a faded memory. It's a beautiful song, with FM's Ben Mink playing violin.

Signals straddled the old Rush that played 10+ epics, to the modern Rush who shortenend their songs and went for a more straight ahead approach. It also ended an era as it was to be the last time Rush would have worked with longtime producer, Terry Brown. Nonetheless, it's such a powerful, well produced album that still sounds fresh to this day. It's one of the few albums that sound better today than it did when it was first released. An absolute masterpiece! 5 strong stars!!!