SIGNALS

Signals marks the first Rush album where the synth starts to take over the sound of the band, and as a result Lifeson's guitar takes somewhat of a backseat. This is not to say this is a bad album, in fact their compositional skills seem to be unaffected. The prog is still present on this album, though not as much as their previous few albums. The songs are shorter, with none even reaching seven minutes, but I feel the length lends the songs a more tight and focused atmosphere.

The album opens with title track, which begins with a pulsating synth riff that segues flawlessly from 7/4 into 4/4. I believe this song puts to perfect use the synth that dominates all "post-pictures" albums.

'The Analog Kid' is an up-tempo number that is actually lower on the synth side. This gives Alex some room to perform some great guitar riffs and a blazing solo.

'Chemistry' appropriately mixes some sytnth heavy parts with Lifeson's heavy rock guitar. As always, the rhythm section in Lee and Peart is flawless.

'Digital Man' is based on some brain-melting bass lines from Geddy. Lifeson adds some more Reggae influenced guitar that were hinted to in their previous two efforts giving this song a sound similar to The Police.

'The Weapon' is pretty good instrumentally; Peart has some great hi-hat work throughout, and the synth is nice, though the vocal melodies in parts are decent at best.

'New World Man' is a more of a poppy Rush, which features some great bass and drum work and more of Lifeson's Reggae guitar. A delightful listen, but nothing mind-blowing. 'Losing It' is one of Rush's most emotional songs. The strings and synth add a rather melancholic feeling, which is rare for Rush.

'Countdown' is a great conclusion to a synth-heavy album, with its synth-heavy riffs throughout. Some of the lyrics feel a bit forced, but instrumentally it's fantastic.

Overall, Signals is a decent output from a band headed in a completely different direction. The synth is heavy, but luckily the 80's cheesiness hasn't caught up to them yet like it will in their later 80's works. Musically, this is still Rush at the core, and is a must have for Rush fans.

7/10