''Signals'' is the ninth studio album by Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Rush, released on September 9, 1982 by
Anthem Records
Anthem Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company was formed in May 1977 by Ray Danniels and Vic Wilson with initial recording artists Rush, Max Webster, Liverpool and A Foot in Coldwater. The three ...
. After the release of their previous album, ''
Moving Pictures'', the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album ''
Exit...Stage Left''. ''Signals'' demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. It is the last album produced by their longtime associate
Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974.
The album peaked at No. 1 in Canada, No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and No. 10 in the United States. In November 1982, the album was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million copies in the United States. Rush released three singles from the album: "
New World Man
"New World Man" is a hit single from the 1982 album '' Signals'' by Canadian rock band Rush. The song was the last and most quickly composed song on the album, stemming from a suggestion by then-Rush producer Terry Brown to even out the lengths ...
", which became the band's highest charting single in the United States and a number-one hit in Canada, as well as "
Subdivisions
Subdivision may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Subdivision (metre), in music
* ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009
* "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2)
* ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005
* "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...
", and "
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
". The group supported ''Signals'' with a concert tour from April 1982 to May 1983. ''Signals'' has been reissued several times, including a remaster with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix in 2011.
Background and recording
In July 1981, Rush ended their tour in support of their previous album ''Moving Pictures''. The album became their most commercially successful of their history, granting them their first No. 1 album in Canada and selling over one million copies in the United States at the tour's conclusion. Rush then took a three-month break, during which they oversaw the production and mixing of their second live release, ''Exit...Stage Left'', at
Le Studio
Le Studio (later renamed Studio Morin Heights) was a residential recording studio in the Laurentian Mountains near the town of Morin-Heights, Quebec, Canada built in 1972 by recording engineer and producer André Perry, Nick Blagona and Ya ...
in
Morin-Heights
Morin-Heights is a town in the Laurentian Mountains region of Quebec, Canada. It is west of Saint-Sauveur and north of Lachute; municipally, it is within the Regional County Municipality of Les Pays-d'en-Haut.
It is primarily a tourist town, ...
, Quebec. In one of drummer and lyricist
Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...
's diary entries written during this time, he had been cleaning a Hayman drum kit that was housed in the studio and, in September 1981, began working out a song with two members of the band's road crew, the unreleased "Tough Break".
Peart was also working on lyrics, in particular a set which included "Subdivisions", a track the group would later record for ''Signals''.
[
Having arranged some material for their next studio album, Rush toured North America and Europe from October to December 1981 with a setlist that contained "Subdivisions". The group had their sound man capture their soundchecks on tape which provided a method of developing new songs, which was particularly the case for "Chemistry".][ The majority of ''Signals'' was written and rehearsed in early 1982.][ ]Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...
has said that the group were aware of how easy it would have been to " layit safe" and produce another ''Moving Pictures'', a mindset the band was entirely against. The album displays the band continuing to incorporate the synthesizer into their songs with less emphasis on guitar-oriented riffs which had been the focus of their sound in the 1970s. Lee considered ''Signals'' as the beginning of a new era for the band. In hindsight, he said it was considerably difficult to make because it took longer than usual for the band to achieve the right feel for each song. Some ideas that Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...
and Lee had initially saved for potential solo albums were used on ''Signals''. Writer and journalist Greg Quill
Gregory Raymond Quill (18 April 19475 May 2013) was an Australian-born musician, singer-songwriter and journalist. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and was an entertainment columnist at the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper from the mid-1980s unt ...
noticed a "cyclical framework" in ''Signals'', specifically the album opening in suburbia followed by contemplating escape in "The Analog Kid". Then, "universal human imponderables" are explored through humanity, sex, religion, and ageing, which ends in an actual escape in "Countdown". Quill spoke to Peart about this theory, to which the drummer replied: "You noticed that. We were hoping no one would. It's so unfashionable these days to construct grand concepts. We're being closed mouthed about it".
Recording began at Le Studio in April 1982, and ended on July 15.[ It is Rush's last album co-produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974. He was joined by engineer Paul Northfield with assistance from Robbie Whelan.][ Rush intended to finish the album in June, but had to spend additional time in the studio which led to a month's reduction in their planned vacation time.] Upon completion, the album was mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios.[
]
Songs
Side one
"Subdivisions" was one of the first songs Rush had arranged for ''Signals''.[ After Peart devised a set of lyrics, Lifeson and Lee wrote a collection of musical ideas to fit Peart's words. Peart recalled that his bandmates interrupted him as he was cleaning his car and set up a portable cassette player on the driveway outside the studio, and played him what they had come up with. Peart added: "I listened closely, picking up the variations on 7/8 and 3/4, the way the guitar adopts the role of rhythm section while the keyboards take the melody, returning to bass with guitar leading in the chorus, then the Mini-moog taking over again for the instrumental bridge", and told Lifeson and Lee that he liked it.][
"The Analog Kid" originated during the group's stay at ]Virgin Gorda
Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Geography
Located at about 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area ...
in the British Virgin Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Bri ...
in January 1982, travelling on a yacht named Orianda.[ Peart had written the words to the song initially as a companion piece to "Digital Man", which Rush had started working on in late 1981, and presented it to Lee. The two discussed what could be done with the lyrics in a musical sense, deciding on the opposite on what the words may suggest, with Peart describing the track as "a very up-tempo rocker, with some kind of a dynamic contrast for the choruses".][
"Chemistry" was developed during soundchecks on the ''Moving Pictures'' tour in 1981. It was during one particular session during the United States leg whereby, after each member checking each of their instruments separately, "a little spontaneous creation" came about which produced a song without the group realising it. Each member played a different part; Lee played what became the keyboard section for the bridge, Lifeson the guitar riffs heard in the verses, and Peart the drum pattern for the chorus.][ Upon listening to the soundcheck tapes, Lifeson and Lee took each section and arranged it into a complete track before they produced a demo which almost matched the version recorded for the album.][ "Chemistry" marked the first time that each member collaborated on the lyrics to a song, with Lifeson and Lee devising its title, concept, and several phrases that they wished for it to include. Peart then took their ideas and developed a set of complete lyrics. He named "Chemistry" as the easiest song to write for ''Signals''.][
"Digital Man" was one of the songs worked on during the late 1981 writing sessions at Le Studio, during which the music and lyrics for its verses, plus the ]ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
-influenced bridge, was worked out.[ The song was also heavily influenced by funk, with Lee's bass line described as "so funky and fluid its almost laughable". Its instrumental break has been compared with "]Walking on the Moon
"Walking on the Moon" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, ''Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to beco ...
" by The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
. The song developed further in March 1982 during the band's one month stay at The Grange in Muskoka Lakes
The Township of Muskoka Lakes is a municipality of the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. It has a year-round population of 6,588.
The municipal offices are located in Port Carling.
History
The area now covered by the township ...
, Ontario.[ Peart wrote the remaining lyrics by an open fire in his chalet while Lifeson and Lee worked on the music in the adjacent barn. After numerous attempts they devised a combination of suitable words and music for the chorus, and Peart wrote: "We were all very pleased with the dynamic and unusual nature of the part, it was so different for us".][ However, Brown expressed a lack of enthusiasm to record the song and remained so until the group had continually talked about why it worked "until he got tired of hearing about it".][ "The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man" served as the inspiration for comic book writer Troy Hickman to create heroes of the same names in his 2004 comic '' Common Grounds''.
]
Side two
"The Weapon" is the second part of Rush's "Fear" song series. During a writing session at a northern Ontario manor home in 1981, Lee and his friend Oscar devised what Peart described as the foundation of "a highly mysterious and bizarre drum pattern" with his drum machine.[ At a subsequent rehearsal, Peart learned to play the part on his own drum kit which required him to alter his usual technique, but took the experience as an enjoyable challenge.][
"New World Man" was put together in May 1982 when the backing tracks for the album's other seven tracks were completed, and there was enough space on the vinyl for a song under four minutes.][ Had the track become too long, the band would have put it down and used it for a subsequent release. "New World Man" began with Peart writing lyrics that tied in themes from other songs on the album, "and came up with a straightforward, concise set of lyrics consisting of the two verses and the two choruses".][ The group adopted a "fast and loose" approach for its corresponding music and worked swiftly, with the song fully arranged in one day and recorded in the course of the next.][
"Losing It" originated from a theme Lifeson had come up with which was used in subsequent rehearsal sessions to produce a demo with keyboards and drums.][ In June 1982, when the band revisited the song in the studio, they discussed the possibility of Ben Mink of the band FM playing the ]electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...
somewhere on ''Signals'', and decided that "Losing It" was the best track for his contribution.[ To cater for the part, Rush put down the basic track for a jazz-oriented solo section and invited Mink to the studio which included him multi-tracking various notes to resemble a complete string section.][ The lyrics include references to the latter years of writer ]Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
–"For you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee". It was not played live until 2015 when Rush performed it at five concerts on their R40 Live Tour
The R40 Live Tour was the final tour by Canadian rock band Rush that commemorated the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band in July 1974. The title hearkens back to Rush's 2004 R30: 30th Anniversary Tour that celebrated the 3 ...
.
"Countdown" was inspired by the band attending the launch of the STS-1 ''Columbia'' space shuttle in April 1981, the first of NASA's Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...
. They had been invited to the launch and observed it from a VIP area at an air base in Cape Kennedy
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
, Florida.[ The song features samples of radio communications recorded before and during the flight.
]
Artwork
The sleeve was designed by Hugh Syme
Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush ...
, who is credited with its concept, direction, and graphics, with photography from Deborah Samuel. Syme based his design upon receiving merely the album's title, and recalled a "great deal of trouble" in a cover that he and the group were satisfied with. "I decided that, with such a phenomenally important word with the kind of potency it potentially had, to go with something really dumb, really inane".[ He noted, however, that the cover still tied into the meaning of some of the songs on the album, in particular "Chemistry".][ The final concept came out from the result of several failed ideas, including one that Syme devised which would have involved Rush hooked up to electroencephalography machines as they played in the studio and a snapshot of their heartbeats and brain waves taken during a performance.][
The front photograph depicts a Dalmatian dog sniffing a red fire hydrant on a green lawn.] Samuel shot the image on the rooftop of her studio. The lawn is a piece of AstroTurf, and the hydrant was rented from Toronto and repainted the desired colour for the cover. She recalled a search to find a Dalmatian who could sniff on command, and placed dog biscuits underneath the hydrant multiple times to get the final shot. The back cover is a pretend blueprint of a neighbourhood with what Lee described as "make believe subdivisions",[ detailing Warren Cromartie Secondary School, a fictional school named after Canadian baseball player ]Warren Cromartie
Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the talk ...
. He and the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
are thanked in the album's liner notes.[ Syme considered the back cover "a little subtle, perhaps over-indulgent".][
]
Release
The album was released in September 1982. The album peaked at No. 1 in Canada, No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and No. 10 in the United States. In November 1982, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million copies in the United States.
Rush released five singles from ''Signals''. "New World Man" reached No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for three weeks in October and November 1982. It is the band's highest charting single in the US, and the only one to have reached the top 40.
Reception
At the time of release, ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' criticised the band's choice of "emphasizing synthesizers at the expense of Alex Lifeson's guitar," calling the album "mostly a wasted effort."
''Louder'' called ''Signals'' the 29th best album of the 80s.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
retrospectively praised the album, complimenting the band for not simply making ''Moving Pictures, Pt. II'', continuing their exploration of the synthesizer and introducing more contemporary themes into the lyrics.
Ultimate Classic Rock
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
placed ''Signals'' seventh in their list of "Top 10 Rush Albums," while '' Stereogum'' placed the album third (behind '' Moving Pictures'' and '' 2112'') in their list of "Rush Albums From Worst to Best," labelling it "the most audacious album of the band's career."
In the 2010 documentary film '' Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage'', Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
cited ''Signals'' as an influence for incorporating keyboards into hard rock. Canadian music journalist Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...
stated that ''Signals'' was his favorite Rush album because of the "creamy production."
Reissues
Track listing
Personnel
Credits are taken from the album's 1982 liner notes.
;Rush
*Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...
– bass guitars, synthesizers, vocals, arrangements, production
*Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...
– electric and acoustic guitars, Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...
pedals, production
*Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...
– drums, percussion, arrangements, spoken vocal on “Subdivisions”, production
;Additional personnel
* Ben Mink – electric violin on "Losing It"
;Production
* Terry Brown – arrangements, production
*Paul Northfield – engineer
*Robbie Whelan – engineer assistant
*JVC – digital mastering
* Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering Studios
*Brian Lee – mastering
*Hugh Syme
Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush ...
– art direction, graphics, cover concept
*Deborah Samuel – photography
*Kineblok Inc. – photographic colour optics
*Ray Danniels – management
* Moon Records – executive production
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signals (Album)
1982 albums
Rush (band) albums
Anthem Records albums
Mercury Records albums
Albums produced by Terry Brown (record producer)
Albums recorded at Le Studio