Signals
	Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
	Released on September 1982
	US CHART POSITION #10 . . . PLATINUM RECORD (11/10/82) . . . UK CHART POSITION #3
	Find it at GEMM
P2-10002 cover [high resolution scan]

S ignals returns to the theme of man’s alienation in a world of machines last heard on Moving Pictures. Yet in many ways it is a transitional record, caught between the fiery red of action and the cool blue of reflection. Thematically, it’s the last Rush record to adopt the vantage point of the teenager at the edge of adulthood. “Subdivisions” sets the problem, as the young adult feels the pull of the city from the suburbs, “the timeless old attraction.” From there, a final respite in the unhurried world of youth (“The Analog Kid”) before love beckons (“Chemistry”) and places our hero in the crosshairs of adulthood (“Digital Man”). At first, the young hero looks to be a cog in the big machine (“The Weapon”), but youth is also revealed as the breeding ground for change (“New World Man”). “Losing It” addresses the failed dreams of youth, but Signals ends on a high note, with “Countdown” showing how technology can be used for good. In many ways, Rush’s teenage heroes (from “2112” through to “Tom Sawyer”) reach maturity on Signals. Subsequent albums like Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows were as apt to see the world through the eyes of an adult. That transformation can be felt in the music as well: synthesizers have steadily crept into the foreground while Alex Lifeson’s guitar eschews the old pyrotechnics for technically precise textures. Geddy Lee’s voice is also more subdued, less likely to reach the emotional heights of a “Tom Sawyer” or “The Spirit of Radio.” Neil Peart, for his part, remains charged, designed to complement Geddy’s bass lines as dual engines of propulsion (heard to best effect on “Digital Man” and “Chemistry”). Signals signaled the end of one musical chapter and the start of another. It’s the last time that Rush played like their lives depended on it; subsequent albums seemed overly analytical, detached. Even when the trio regained some of their former form, it lacked the naturalness of Signals, making this for some listeners the last essential Rush album.

SRM-1-4063 front cover	SRM-1-4063 back cover	SRM-1-4063 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. SUBDIVISIONS    5:33
2. THE ANALOG KID    4:46
3. CHEMISTRY    (lyrics by Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson/Neil Peart)    4:56
4. DIGITAL MAN    6:20
5. THE WEAPON    6:22
6. NEW WORLD MAN    3:41
7. LOSING IT    4:51
8. COUNTDOWN    5:49
   
   Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, lyrics by Neil Peart unless noted. Arrangements by Rush and Terry Brown.

CREDITS

GEDDY LEE -- bass guitars, synthesizers, vocals
ALEX LIFESON -- electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus pedals
NEIL PEART -- drums and percussion
Ben Mink -- electric violins (7)
Paul Northfield -- engineer
Hugh Syme -- art direction, graphics, and cover concept
Deborah Samuel -- photography

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