I clearly recall asking “Where’s Alex?” when first spinning Rush’s Signals when it was released in 1982. The ninth studio album from the Canadian trio of Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart marked a clear sonic shift in that more keyboards were infiltrating these Rush tunes than ever before. Indeed bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Lee was coming to color Rush’s output of the mid-to-late 70s with more of his keyboard playing than the band had used previously. And this album signaled (if you will) a true departure for the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees from the creative guitar wailing they had been known for into a rush (if you will) of albums in the 80s that, frankly, I wasn’t so fond of.
But as I listen to the 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of Signals, including the 2015 remaster of the original album, I have come to see more merit across the album’s eight tunes. Sounding pristine, we get that most distinctive and quickly recognizable opening heavy thrumming synth from “Subdivisions,” which still marks one of the best expressions of suburban teenage angst in a rock song. Lifeson and Lee manage some sure quick riffing on “The Analog Kid,” and Lee’s upfront bass riffing on the prescient tale of “Digital Man,” which ends the first side, all make for a decent side A.
On side B of the original album, there’s “The Weapon” (subtitled “Part II of Fear”) with its quickly picked guitar. Part of a song cycle that played across three other Rush albums, Lifeson is thankfully present here for a spacey, wailing middle section, his vibrato bar making a sure appearance. Peart manages some truly amazing snare rolling as well. Another big hit from this album, the reggae-vibing “New World Man” follows, with the whole concoction ending on “Countdown,” a song that features audio of actual voice communications between astronauts and ground control. This ender meanders a little too much and there’s really no distinctive turn from Lifeson.
Signals (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) includes a CD, a Blu-ray Disc, an 180-gram LP, and new artwork from original album designer Hugh Syme. There are also four 7-inch singles for “Subdivisions,” “Countdown,” “New World Man,” and “The Weapon (Single Edit)” with all new artwork. The Blu-ray Disc features HD and Surround sound mixes of the album with new animated visualizers and vintage promo videos for “Subdivisions” and “Countdown.”
A 40-page hardcover book featuring song illustrations and more Syme artwork, plus unreleased photos from the Signals tour, lithographs, the original album cover sketch lithograph, and a double-sided 24×24-inch poster new Signals artwork on one side and an outtake photo from the original album cover shoot on the other. Altogether, this set is something most diehard Rush fans would want in their collections.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
