Signals is the ninth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1982.
Signals was the follow-up to the successful Moving Pictures. Stylistically, the album was a continuation of Rush's foray into the technology-oriented 1980s through increased use of electronic instrumentation such as keyboards, sequencers, and electric violin. Other noticeable changes were decreased average song length and lyrical compression. The album reached #10 on the Billboard album charts and was certified Platinum (1,000,000 copies sold) by the R.I.A.A. in November 1982.
The opening track from Signals is "Subdivisions," which has been a staple of many of the band's tours since its recording.
"The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man" served as the inspiration for writer Troy Hickman to create the comic book heroes of the same names in the 2004 comic Common Grounds.
"Digital Man," a slightly reggae-based song, ultimately led to the end of the band's relationship with long-time producer Terry Brown. Brown was reluctant to leave behind the band's progressive-rock past, while the band members, especially Lee, wanted to explore new musical directions. The midsection of the song has been compared with the song "Walking on the Moon" by The Police. A slightly adapted version of the song was brought back for the 2007 Snakes And Arrows Tour, marking the first time Rush performed it in nearly 23 years.
"The Weapon" (Part II of the 'Fear' series) would be featured in the album's supporting tour and would include a video opening hosted by Count Floyd of SCTV fame.
"New World Man" became a surprise hit single for the band, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for three weeks in October and November 1982. It remains the band's highest charting single (and the only to reach the top 40) in the US to date. It also reached #1 on the Top Tracks chart for 2 weeks. Written and recorded with the intention of preserving the continuity of the then-popular cassette tape format, this allowed for two roughly 21-minute sides with as little "dead air" between them as possible.
Neil Peart's lyrics for "Losing It" reference, among other things, the latter years of writer Ernest Hemingway: "for you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee...". This song remains the only track from the album never to have been performed in concert.
The lyrics in the final track, "Countdown," describe the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981, which the band witnessed. The song features audio clips of some of the radio talk recorded during the maiden flight. It was a minor UK chart hit in early 1983.
Signals represented the band's last collaboration with producer Terry Brown, who had co-produced every Rush album since 1975's Fly by Night, and had engineered the eponymous first album in 1974.
The lyrics for "Chemistry" were written by all three band members. It is the last time to date that Lee or Lifeson have contributed lyrics to a Rush song.Signals is the ninth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1982.
Signals was the follow-up to the successful Moving Pictures. Stylistically, the album was a continuation of Rush's foray into the technology-oriented 1980s through increased use of electronic instrumentation such as keyboards, sequencers, and electric violin. Other noticeable changes were decreased average song length and lyrical compression. The album reached #10 on the Billboard album charts and was certified Platinum (1,000,000 copies sold) by the R.I.A.A. in November 1982.
The opening track from Signals is "Subdivisions," which has been a staple of many of the band's tours since its recording.
"The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man" served as the inspiration for writer Troy Hickman to create the comic book heroes of the same names in the 2004 comic Common Grounds.
"Digital Man," a slightly reggae-based song, ultimately led to the end of the band's relationship with long-time producer Terry Brown. Brown was reluctant to leave behind the band's progressive-rock past, while the band members, especially Lee, wanted to explore new musical directions. The midsection of the song has been compared with the song "Walking on the Moon" by The Police. A slightly adapted version of the song was brought back for the 2007 Snakes And Arrows Tour, marking the first time Rush performed it in nearly 23 years.
"The Weapon" (Part II of the 'Fear' series) would be featured in the album's supporting tour and would include a video opening hosted by Count Floyd of SCTV fame.
"New World Man" became a surprise hit single for the band, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for three weeks in October and November 1982. It remains the band's highest charting single (and the only to reach the top 40) in the US to date. It also reached #1 on the Top Tracks chart for 2 weeks. Written and recorded with the intention of preserving the continuity of the then-popular cassette tape format, this allowed for two roughly 21-minute sides with as little "dead air" between them as possible.
Neil Peart's lyrics for "Losing It" reference, among other things, the latter years of writer Ernest Hemingway: "for you the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee...". This song remains the only track from the album never to have been performed in concert.
The lyrics in the final track, "Countdown," describe the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981, which the band witnessed. The song features audio clips of some of the radio talk recorded during the maiden flight. It was a minor UK chart hit in early 1983.
Signals represented the band's last collaboration with producer Terry Brown, who had co-produced every Rush album since 1975's Fly by Night, and had engineered the eponymous first album in 1974.
The lyrics for "Chemistry" were written by all three band members. It is the last time to date that Lee or Lifeson have contributed lyrics to a Rush song.false2022-10-22 13:01:35Signals7.819971997-06-031997-06-0343Arena RockHard RockNew WavePop RockProgressive RockRock111615211375077487ff1-6087-34ef-b60b-596be3ce4b5b534ee493-bfac-4575-a44a-0ae41e2c3fe463ebc338-a01b-398c-8520-fdb055fbcd7b/media/data/media5/Music/Rush/Signals (1982)/folder.jpgRushAlbumArtistRushArtistRushRushRush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee (bass guitar, keyboards, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyrics). The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this line-up was kept intact for the remainder of the band's career.
Rush first achieved moderate success with their second album, Fly by Night (1975). The commercial failure of their next album Caress of Steel, released seven months after Fly by Night, resulted in the band almost getting dropped from their then-record label Mercury Records. Rush's fourth album, 2112 (1976), reignited their popularity, becoming their first album to enter the top five on the Canadian charts. Their next two albums, A Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978), were also successful, with the former becoming Rush's first to enter the UK charts. The band's popularity continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with albums charting highly in Canada, the US and the UK, including Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), Signals (1982), Grace Under Pressure (1984), Roll the Bones (1991), Counterparts (1993) and Test for Echo (1996). Rush continued to record and perform until 1997, after which the band entered a four-year hiatus due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. The trio regrouped in 2001 and released three more studio albums: Vapor Trails (2002), Snakes & Arrows (2007), and Clockwork Angels (2012). Rush performed their final concerts in 2015, with Peart retiring from music later that year. Lifeson later commented in January 2018 that the band decided not to resume activity following the R40 Tour, which was later cemented by Peart's death from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on January 7, 2020, at the age of 67. Lee and Lifeson have continued to periodically work together since Peart's death, including performing at the 25th anniversary celebration of South Park and tributes to then-recently deceased Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
Rush were known for their virtuosic musicianship, complex compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy and philosophy. The band's style changed over the years, from a blues-inspired hard rock beginning, later moving into progressive rock, then a period in the 1980s marked by heavy use of synthesizers, before returning to guitar-driven hard rock at the end of the 1980s. Clockwork Angels marked a return to progressive rock. The members of Rush have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each winning numerous awards in magazine readers' polls over the years.
As of 2022, Rush ranks 84th in the US with sales of 26 million albums and industry sources estimate their total worldwide album sales at over 42 million. They have been awarded 14 platinum and 3 multi-platinum albums in the US, plus 17 platinum albums in Canada. Rush were nominated for seven Grammy Awards, won several Juno Awards, and won an International Achievement Award at the 2009 SOCAN Awards. The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Some consider Rush to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time.