Signals

Album Context

Signals is the album where Rush's transformation into a synth-driven band became undeniable — and it divided fans like nothing before. Following the massive success of Moving Pictures, the band doubled down on the keyboard-forward direction hinted at by "Vital Signs." Geddy Lee's synthesizers moved from accent to centerpiece, and Alex Lifeson's guitar was pushed further back in the mix than ever before.

The album was the final collaboration with producer Terry Brown, who had been with the band since Fly by Night. Tensions over the sonic direction contributed to the split — Lifeson later admitted that "the guitar on Signals took a bit of a back seat" and that "the keyboards were really upfront," acknowledging they may have "lost direction at times." Despite this, the album produced one of Rush's most beloved songs in "Subdivisions."

Recorded at Le Studio in the summer of 1982, Signals reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum. "New World Man" became Rush's highest-charting U.S. single, reaching #21 on the Hot 100. The album also includes "The Weapon," Part II of Peart's Fear tetralogy. The cover art by Hugh Syme features a Dalmatian sniffing a fire hydrant — a visual pun on "signals" that ranks among Rush's most playfully irreverent album covers.