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Signals


Yokkov
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I've been on a lot of forums lately and I've seen a lot of people saying that Signals was such a big let down after Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures angry.gif . I just got signals on vinyl and have been listening to it all the time. Its really really good! It might not be as good as the preceding albums but it is way above being a let down!
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Were you born when Signals came out?

 

The answer appears to be "no".

 

At the time Signals was a schismatic album. So what? What does it matter to you 30 years down the line?

 

FWIW it was Moving Pictures that was the big let down. Jeez, how could a band that had recorded the mighty HEMISPHERES release such a pander to the masses blatantly commercial releases angry.gif

 

AT least that's what daddy tells me...

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QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ May 26 2011, 06:11 PM)
A letdown?

The album with Subdivisions, Analog Kid, and Digital Man on it?

The one with New World Man and The Weapon?

A letdown?

Methinks NOT!

angry.gif


wink.gif

And chemistry? And the sheer keyboard nerdy bliss that is Countdown?

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A top notch set of tunes that just wasn't mixed well. My main complaint about Signals is that Terry Brown was unable to capture this particular shift in Rush's evolution the way he had captured the shift from 2112 to A Farewell to Kings. I've always believed that Signals had the potential to be better than Moving Pictures had it been properly balanced, and recorded. The musicianship, in my opinion, is a definite step forward for each Alex, Geddy and Neil. The keys are a bit overemphasized and the guitars too low in the mix in a lot of places. Geddy absolutely kills with every bassline on the record, but the bass sounds a bit "dull" as if being restrained; a bit of a frustration given the skill Geddy shows on the record. If Signals had similar production to Grace Under Pressure, I think it would be on par with, or better than Moving Pictures, and likely wouldn't be viewed as near the letdown it was for many at the time it was released.

 

Even with it's faults, I consider this one of the greatest Rush albums. I can never quite decide if it's number 3 or number 4. In the last 10 years, it's likely gotten the most listens of any Rush album.

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I think MP was a letdown compared to something like PeW or certainly Hemispheres, but that's a whole other debate..

 

But Signals? No! It was the start of the epic keyboard era, the start of a new direction for the band. (I see MP as the transition.) In fact there are some of the songs on Signals I like far better than some on MP.

 

I know, I know, it's preposterous, but I was never really all that fond of MP. It's a great album, but the best..? Naaah.

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QUOTE (CMWriter @ May 26 2011, 07:14 PM)
...I was never really all that fond of MP. It's a great album, but the best..? Naaah.

but definitely one of the best, though - yes?

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QUOTE (ghostworks @ May 26 2011, 08:29 PM)
QUOTE (CMWriter @ May 26 2011, 07:14 PM)
...I was never really all that fond of MP. It's a great album, but the best..? Naaah.

but definitely one of the best, though - yes?

yes.gif

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QUOTE (CMWriter @ May 26 2011, 07:14 PM)
I think MP was a letdown compared to something like PeW or certainly Hemispheres, but that's a whole other debate..

But Signals? No! It was the start of the epic keyboard era, the start of a new direction for the band. (I see MP as the transition.) In fact there are some of the songs on Signals I like far better than some on MP.

I know, I know, it's preposterous, but I was never really all that fond of MP. It's a great album, but the best..? Naaah.

WHHHAAATTT???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

young lady- go listen to moving picutres 10 times with headphones and open your mind!!!!!!!!! MP= awesome...

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QUOTE (Good,bad,andrush @ May 26 2011, 06:14 PM)
QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ May 26 2011, 06:11 PM)
A letdown?

The album with Subdivisions, Analog Kid, and Digital Man on it?

The one with New World Man and The Weapon?

A letdown?

Methinks NOT!

angry.gif


wink.gif

And chemistry? And the sheer keyboard nerdy bliss that is Countdown?

uum, Losing It ??!?!

 

can be my favorite rush song any given day

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When Signals came out I was disappointed, it took me about 6 months to really get used to it. The whole approach just wasn't as METAL as it was before, the synths had encroached upon the guitar space, Geddy's hair had got shorter, the jackets and ties were becoming de rigeur, the faux reggae of Vital Signs was permeating certain tracks, the Geddy shriek was mellowing, the heavy riffs were diminishing and crystallizing into almost clean guitars...

 

Now though I'm ok with it, it's a cool album...and it is what it is...

 

cool.gif

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It certainly doesn't match the majesty and brilliance of the 2 preceding albums, so in that sense it's definitely a let down. At the time it was a disappointment to me in that it seemed they were going more towards a new wave direction. It's still easily my least favorite out of the first 11 studio albums. They were experimenting and trying different things which weren't entirely successful but it's still a good solid effort.
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I never thought of Signals as being too radically different from Moving Pictures. Grace Under Pressure however seemed a radical shift to me.
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QUOTE (treeduck @ May 26 2011, 09:38 PM)
When Signals came out I was disappointed, it took me about 6 months to really get used to it. The whole approach just wasn't as METAL as it was before, the synths had encroached upon the guitar space, Geddy's hair had got shorter, the jackets and ties were becoming de rigeur, the faux reggae of Vital Signs was permeating certain tracks, the Geddy shriek was mellowing, the heavy riffs were diminishing and crystallizing into almost clean guitars...

Now though I'm ok with it, it's a cool album...and it is what it is...

cool.gif

I agree, it took me quite a while to like it after I bought it in 1982, but I love it now. Not as much as the earlier releases but more than the albums that came after.

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I was buying 2.gif albums on day of release since 1977 and remember when Signals came out & just loving it. What would we give for Clockwork Angels (crap title) to be as high a standard as Signals.
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