 | ILikePie (49)
02/20/2008 |  Signals was the first really synth-heavy Rush album (the beginning of the eighties was the real switch to prog for the trio), and it really changes their style. From Moving Pictures, only a year before Signals, and the wacky instrumental of YYZ, the rock thumper of Limelight and even the reggae influence in Vital Signs to a huge sea of synthesisers and effects. They hit a perfect ten with the brilliant opener (which went on to become my favourite Rush song) - Subdivisions. From the pounding rhythm the guitar gives to the zany synthesized bridge to Geddy's cry of "Conform or be CAST OUT!", the song is brilliant. Sadly, the rest of the album doesn't quite live up to this masterpiece. The two 'hits' of the album, namely 'The Analog Kid' and 'New World Man' become slightly irritating after a while. The opening of the former is reminiscent of 'Finding My Way', and the slightly unimaginative chorus of the latter scrapes through the ears. Sadly, with the new prog outlook (and lack of song of 'epic' length), there is more filler than you would usually find on a Rush album, and it is not of the quality of Circumstances (if you can call that filler). The last two tracks 'Losing It' and 'Countdown', although they are not bad songs, just do not interest me, and I cannot, in fact, even remember how they go. Luckily, the rest of the album is made of strong songs, even if it is a slightly novel approach from the trio. Alex Lifeson's guitar work is a lot less prominent than in the likes of YYZ and Vital Signs, where it is really the centrepiece of the song. 'Chemistry' and 'The Weapon' are very strong , as is 'Digital Man' (which reverts back slightly to the 'classic Rush'). Either way, despite its flaws, Signals is a very good album, and any album with Subdivisions can't go too far wrong.
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