Signals

[ucsteve667]

as real as online can be I figure. Lemmy himself doesnt consider Motorhead a metal band. So why would I? talk about real, yer all referring to a wiki list that has Billy Idol and Aerosmith as metal bands.

[treeduck]

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 10:53 PM)

as real as online can be I figure. Lemmy himself doesnt consider Motorhead a metal band. So why would I? talk about real, yer all referring to a wiki list that has Billy Idol and Aerosmith as metal bands.

I'm not bizarrely posting pictures of rodents yet though!

 

[An Enemy Without]

QUOTE (treeduck @ May 28 2011, 11:20 PM)

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 10:53 PM) as real as online can be I figure. Lemmy himself doesnt consider Motorhead a metal band. So why would I? talk about real, yer all referring to a wiki list that has Billy Idol and Aerosmith as metal bands. I'm not bizarrely posting pictures of rodents yet though!   That's only because cosy was being a dumbass and intentionally misinterpreting what he said.

[ucsteve667]

QUOTE (An Enemy Without @ May 28 2011, 11:27 PM)

QUOTE (treeduck @ May 28 2011, 11:20 PM) QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 10:53 PM) as real as online can be I figure. Lemmy himself doesnt consider Motorhead a metal band. So why would I? talk about real, yer all referring to a wiki list that has Billy Idol and Aerosmith as metal bands. I'm not bizarrely posting pictures of rodents yet though!   That's only because cosy was being a dumbass and intentionally misinterpreting what he said. heh, someone got it....Lemmings were once thought to blindly follow each other off cliffs and drown. It has been disproved, Cozy Im not so sure. as well as the pest/rodent comparison

Edited May 29, 2011 by ucsteve667

[treeduck]

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 11:57 PM)

QUOTE (An Enemy Without @ May 28 2011, 11:27 PM) QUOTE (treeduck @ May 28 2011, 11:20 PM) QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 10:53 PM) as real as online can be I figure. Lemmy himself doesnt consider Motorhead a metal band. So why would I? talk about real, yer all referring to a wiki list that has Billy Idol and Aerosmith as metal bands. I'm not bizarrely posting pictures of rodents yet though!   That's only because cosy was being a dumbass and intentionally misinterpreting what he said. heh, someone got it....Lemmings were once thought to blindly follow each other off cliffs and drown. It has been disproved, Cozy Im not so sure. as well as the pest/rodent comparison I think we know who the lemmings are now...

[GeddyLeeRoth]

QUOTE (nappy2112 @ May 26 2011, 07:53 PM)

I love Signals , but at the time it just killed the momentum they had going. It also lost them alot of (casual) fans.

This.

[willowroolz]

I remember racing home with the album on release day, sticking it on thr turntable and then feeling somewhere between elated, confused and disappointed. In the years since it's become one of my favourite Rush albums. In fact, I'd say that for me, despite liking a lot of what they've done since, it's probably their last truly classic album.

 

Did anyone else go to the laser show that did the rounds when the album was released?

[Solitudeix]

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 06:26 PM)

Metal has more to it than just the music, at least our crowd always thought so. And when was I a pussy for not being Metal.

IMHO, one of the greatest shortcomings of the "Metal" tag.

 

Needing to subscribe to a certain mindset to be considered "metal".

 

 

I am not "metal". But I make "metal" music.

 

[tangy]

Edited May 29, 2011 by tangy

[Unattractive Truth]

[Humbleanddumb]

Ive enjoyed reading everyones opinions on this so thought id offer mine.

 

Signals for me is a triumph although i can understand why it is seen as a lesser offering than MP. I do think that the bass & drums on Signals are amongst the best on any RUSH record. I have read reviews over the years about the lack of guitar, this is true, but when the guitar does make an appearance its done brilliantly on pretty much every part.

 

Subdivisions, Analog Kid & Chemistry are some of my favourite RUSH tracks & i even like the much maligned (by the band) Countdown.

 

At the end of the day we all have some songs/albums that we prefer over others. Thats because as we all know RUSH have never stood in one place for too long and always made music they find interesting, complex and challenging. The music they make seems to be primarily for themselves but it just happens that the fans love it pretty much each & every time.

 

So whatever your preference from the RUSH catalogue, enjoy it and dont EVER stop enjoying it. After all we are RUSH fans arent we?

 

[Cosy Toes]

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM)

Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost??

I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.

 

But then Englandland has better taste than the USA

[tangy]

QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM)

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste...........

[Humbleanddumb]

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 11:01 PM)

QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM) QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste........... ha ha, i can see that austin powers and the simpsons have done us in the UK no favours when it comes to the subject of teeth!!!!   i still have a full set (touch wood) and i ought to point out that noone, absolutely no on in the UK talks like powers or like the simpsons UK voices!

[Unattractive Truth]

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 03:01 PM)

QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM) QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste........... Yeah, how often do you and your friends say "Hey, let's go out for some English food!"?

[Humbleanddumb]

QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ May 29 2011, 11:25 PM)

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 03:01 PM) QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM) QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste........... Yeah, how often do you and your friends say "Hey, let's go out for some English food!"?       hey we eat english all the time, fish and chips, yorkshire pudding roast beef and gravy. give it a try!

[Unattractive Truth]

When your highest culinary achievement is wrapping fried fish in butcher paper, I think you still have some work to do...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1 of the 7]

Signals is my third favorite album...I'm a synth enthusiast, so if I'd been a bit older and more than just a casual Rush-listener at the time, I think the album would have turned me ON to Rush.

[Humbleanddumb]

QUOTE (Unattractive Truth @ May 30 2011, 12:57 AM)

When your highest culinary achievement is wrapping fried fish in butcher paper, I think you still have some work to do...

well, i never thought id lose a "culinary" debate to an american but it looks like i did!!!

 

all the best mate! keep rocking

 

[Tarkus406]

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ May 27 2011, 10:57 AM)

My best friend and I got it the day it came out. We rushed (hah) home and played it on his stepdad's awesome system. I remember being a little less than impressed at the end, but we agreed it was quite good. After Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures if just seemed like a let down. The one thing I still remember is that it seemed to capture the mood of the early 1980s, but there was something about the sound that bugged me. At 17 years of age I didn't know what mixing and mastering actually were. These days I wouldn't change a thing on it. A remix now would destroy that moment in time. It is one of the few 1997 remasters that sounds really good if you don't have the original vinyl.

I can never pronounce your handle so I just call you "back of the head guy"

 

random, I know, but it had to be said

[moving_signals]

Since this thread keeps hanging around, I'd like to add one more thing to my original post. One of the most overlooked things about Signals is that even though Alex got buried in the mix at times, and he only has 5 solos on the entire record, every one of the solos is excellent.

 

In fact, I'd put the solo in Digital Man right up there with the solo for Limelight (one of my favorites). The lead up to the solo is sweet with Alex's tone drenched in chorus and delay, and the solo itself is spectacular, particularly in headphones where you can clearly hear the long delay he has set panned hard right and left with each side at a slightly different delay, and just the right number of repeats and decay to play off the central channel. The note he strikes at 4:08 sends chills down my spine no matter how many times I hear the solo. The solo in The Analog Kid gets a lot of peoples attention, and for good reason, it smokes, he gets right to the point, and is a classic example of how Alex can shred, but in his own eccentric way, which is what makes him my favorite guitarist, he simply sounds like no one else, and no one else sounds like Alex. After all, Alex is all about the tone. But The Analog Kid solo takes 3rd place on the record for me, as the Weapon slips into number 2. His work here is yet another example of what sets him apart from all other Rock guitarists. Starting out slowly and taking a backseat to the keys while building in nice volume swells in the grand tradition of Xanadu. Then working his fantastic phrasing into the volume swells while simultaneously adding nice touches of tremolo, and then building tension by losing the volume swell technique while continuing his signature "stretching and squeezing" phrasing in an urgent build to the final releasing moments of the solo where the entire band comes out of "interlude mode" and works their way back to the verse passage.

 

I gather some here don't care for Chemistry, and I just don't understand why. I think it's a great song, having a lot of great bass lines, and a killer guitar solo. In fact, although it makes number 4 of 5 for me on this record, as I said, I think all 5 of the solos on Signals are stellar. A lot of the classic Lifeson elements are once again present here. He starts the solo off in a classic manner building right out of Geddy's final word (Chemistry, of course), works a few nice slides up and down the neck, into a few really sweet bends, which flow into some cool little licks that show off his "stretch and squeeze" phrasing, and finishing with the notes that bring the theme back with his guitar almost singing the words "seems to me, it's Chemistry", and he tops off the beauty of this solo with his fret hand sliding back down the neck with what I believe is likely some flanger (but really, aren't they all really just delay with slightly different algorithms?), that brings out the throaty tone of his rig. A triumphant finish to a song for almost the entirety of which he is buried by Geddy.

 

Lastly, the solo for Subdivisions. Short, sweet, and also to the point. It's a bit predictable, but it almost had to be. I'll bet this one popped right out of Alex's head when they wrote this song. It's a classic example of how a solo should be; an extension of the song, not an addition. It features classic artificial harmonics that show off just how monstrous Alex's tone is (especially when heard live), I put it at number 5, but it's an excellent solo. It just doesn't measure up to the other 4.

[ucsteve667]

QUOTE (Solitudeix @ May 29 2011, 11:31 AM)

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 06:26 PM) Metal has more to it than just the music, at least our crowd always thought so. And when was I a pussy for not being Metal. IMHO, one of the greatest shortcomings of the "Metal" tag.   Needing to subscribe to a certain mindset to be considered "metal".     I am not "metal". But I make "metal" music. i dont consider it a need to subscribe, but to say there isnt a certain amount of commonality in the genre I think isnt very accurrate. And if you "make Metal music, but I am not Metal" then that could open up a whole new avenue on motivation and what not that might be best discussed in a more open type of forum. Let me know if you'd like to discuss it for MY SHOW sometime. But I have to ask do you think RUSH was a Metal band with Signals and such before it? Or After?

[Cosy Toes]

QUOTE (Humbleanddumb @ May 29 2011, 11:10 PM)

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 11:01 PM) QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM) QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste........... ha ha, i can see that austin powers and the simpsons have done us in the UK no favours when it comes to the subject of teeth!!!!   i still have a full set (touch wood) and i ought to point out that noone, absolutely no on in the UK talks like powers or like the simpsons UK voices! I have a full set of teeth made of wood...

[Sarge]

QUOTE (Humbleanddumb @ May 30 2011, 12:10 AM)

QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 11:01 PM) QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ May 29 2011, 05:55 PM) QUOTE (tangy @ May 29 2011, 04:39 PM) Pretty sure that New World Man is rushs highest charting song ever? if thats true than its hard to argue that momentum was lost?? I think The Spirit of the Radio (sic) was.   But then Englandland has better taste than the USA perhaps fewer teeth leads to better taste........... ha ha, i can see that austin powers and the simpsons have done us in the UK no favours when it comes to the subject of teeth!!!!   i still have a full set (touch wood) and i ought to point out that noone, absolutely no on in the UK talks like powers or like the simpsons UK voices! Yeah Baby

[Solitudeix]

QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 29 2011, 11:37 PM)

QUOTE (Solitudeix @ May 29 2011, 11:31 AM) QUOTE (ucsteve667 @ May 28 2011, 06:26 PM) Metal has more to it than just the music, at least our crowd always thought so. And when was I a pussy for not being Metal. IMHO, one of the greatest shortcomings of the "Metal" tag.   Needing to subscribe to a certain mindset to be considered "metal".     I am not "metal". But I make "metal" music. i dont consider it a need to subscribe, but to say there isnt a certain amount of commonality in the genre I think isnt very accurrate. And if you "make Metal music, but I am not Metal" then that could open up a whole new avenue on motivation and what not that might be best discussed in a more open type of forum. Let me know if you'd like to discuss it for MY SHOW sometime. But I have to ask do you think RUSH was a Metal band with Signals and such before it? Or After? I think that a good portion of the music Rush was making from CoS - Hemispheres was more aggressive and "heavier" that most everything that was around at the time and considered "metal".     off subject... but related to your motivation thing...   I dont get into "scenes". I dont fit in any specific scene. Either by look or philosophy.   That is all.   And for music appreciation, I will listen to Bob Marley and Brutal Truth and Boris all in the same playlist without blinking an eye.