SIGNALS

Once again I feel a bit sad that I didn't documented my feelings about an album when I was younger because it would be so interesting to see how things change. Excluding Subdivisions which belongs to the top-5 Rush songs of mine and one of my ever-beloved in general, I don't remember I was too excited about this record. I scratched my head in disbelief when I was reading views that for many fans Signals was considered as the last essential Rush album. But it was an album that marked (signaled?) trouble in the fold of Rush. From the get-go it was Terry Brown that didn't like Digital Man whereas they did and it was the first time that they didn't come around to his point of view. Moreover, the band decided to go for a different and more up-to-date and relevant direction where the guitar role would be somewhat diminished and the keyboards would take a more leading role, but as it turned out it was a direction that they weren't quite happy. Still, the album is quite strong for my taste. Aside from the pick of the bunch (Subdivisions, of course) truly remarkable are The Analog Kid, the melodious Chemistry (and I think it is the only song where all three band members contributed to the lyrics), The Weapon (the second part of the Fear which deals with the ways people are kept down and submitted) and New World Man. There is an interesting story about this one, it was called Project 3:57 because they were one song short, but it shouldn't exceed this duration or else there would be mastering problems (perhaps this is why the song just fades out). It was written in one day, unlike all other songs - Subdivisions was eight months old when they entered the studio. The nearly same-titled Digital Man doesn't appeal to me that much. Losing It is quite different. For starters, the leading role is given to someone else outside the group and this guy is Ben Mink, the violinist from the band FM. FM is a Toronto-based band that replaced the long-time support act Max Webster when they disbanded because they couldn't handle their growing success. As a result, perhaps, the role of Alex Lifeson is more diminished than ever. Countdown conveys in music the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the names of John Young and Robert Crippen that feature on the thanks notes were the astronauts whose voices are heard in the song while communicating with ground control.

From time to time I've read objections about the production, but it isn't a nuisance to my ears. The band later would express doubt about the album, they almost broke up since everyone seemed to be more interested in following solo careers (most of the material was destined for G. Lee solo project), things got worst, but they were Rush and they made through it.