SIGNALS

RUSH's Signals marks the beginning of the bands third musical phase which I call their "Synthesizer Period". All of these albums came out during the 1980's and represent the band's post Moving Pictures era. The albums are Signals (1982), Grace Under Pressure (1984), Power Windows (1985), Hold Your Fire (1987) and A Show of Hands "Live" (1988).

Signals was the first album of new material released after the hugely successful Moving Pictures album and tour. Moving Pictures ushered in a bold modern sound for Rush, utilizing many new keyboard and synthesizer sounds. With Signals, the keyboards really began to take a prominent role. Geddy Lee (bass/keyboards) even admits it was the first time he wrote entire songs on the keyboards and not a guitar. I think that Signals is the best album from this era. I give it a full 5 stars, even though I consider this the beginning of a "dark period" for Rush, where, in my opinion, their music just starts a downhill slide. I was very dissatisfied with the band's music by the mid 80's to the point where I actually did not even bother to buy their latest album upon it's release. I would rather wait to see what other people thought of it and see if it got any radio air-play. Signals is one of a core group of Rush albums that I really enjoy to listen to, especially all the way through. Signals is right up there on my top 5 Rush album list coming in at #3. As a RUSH ALbum, this one is essential.

Another thing to note is that Signals is the last studio album that Rush's long-time producer Terry Brown was involved with. Through the 80's dark period, Rush would use no less than four different producers. I think this added to the inconsistency and down-graded quality of the 80's releases.

Significant Tracks: Chemistry and Digital Man