You can hear that they were fans of the police at this time, especially Alex and his style of guitar playing. ... And Neil was a big fan of Stewart Copeland. It's all good!

I remember so many people when this was just released either loving it or hating it because of the heavy synthesizer use by the band. Seems nobody noticed that Moving Pictures, the album just before this one had really kicked off the 80's Rush synthesizer era that lasted most of the decade. I personally loved this album, I first owned it on cassette tape!

Another track from this album to check out. Analog Kid! It’s a banger!!!

Don’t underestimate Alex Lifeson 🎸🎸 . Been a minute since I’ve heard this. Thanks!

MORE RUSH!!!

Great reaction guys!! This was Rush channeling The Police - Neil had a definitely respect for Steward Copeland (they would become very close friends as time went on), and this vibe is totally from their playbook! Listen to the rhythm from 'Walking On The Moon' - you'll see the similarity. Rush still did their own thing though - reggae influenced groove, but their own bass lines, guitar riffs & of course, time signature changes! They were constantly evolving their sound. For me, Rush never fell into a static state. Cheers.

Digital Man, off this same album, is lit.

Every Rush song has a GROOVE!

Great point that Rush music requires repeated listens to truly appreciate. They pack so much multi-layered brilliance into each song. You spoke to their use of various elements of genres here (ska/reggae with their usual prog transitions executed seamlessly). Valid points. However, you didn’t comment at all about Neil Peart’s lyrics-another whole ball of wax. Not criticizing you-a lot to take in for a first reaction. Like I said, repeated listens required.

Rush's only US Top 40 hit single. Alex Lifeson: “I agree with the consensus that 'Signals' is among our most important and interesting records." Released in September 1982, 'Signals' topped the charts and went platinum... Its more user-friendly contents served to polarise the opinions of diehard Rush fans. “Some people love it, others hate it,” nods Lifeson in agreement. “That’s inevitable... and there were times when I might’ve felt [reservations] at certain points back then, but now I’m very proud of it.” - excerpts from Louder

What an incredible band

They follow unbelievable time signatures. A truly unique band.

They were heavily influenced by reggae, specifically The Police. They were very in touch with the music at the time and what was cool.

Def gotta love the bass line

I've loved this song since I was a kid with a K-tel record with this on it.

Signals is one of my favorite Rush albums and it was right after Moving Pictures. Subdivisions is my second favorite Rush song next to Red Sector A. Every album from Moving Pictures and prior had been heavier rock, but I found Signals to be a phenomenal album, too. I had no problem with it being not as hard as their previous albums. I saw them in Albuquerque on that tour, loved everything about that concert and I even bought the concert t-shirt. This is a great song you're reacting, too. Thank you for your reactions especially for: Kansas, Boston, Journey, Toto, Styx, Rush, and Yes.

This is 80s Rush and it's another step in the band's evolution. Great ear on hearing the Reggae vibe before the first chorus! Keep up the great work!

Perhaps needless to say, this is one of my favourites!

Losing It from that album is one of my favorites. It's a bit simpler and softer than most of their stuff. Lyrics hit me.

The Rush bass line is one of my favorite parts of their music, and it's recognizable both in tone and just how it is thumpin' and bumpin' all over the place.

I love the bass line.

🤗 THIS WAS MY JAM!!!! ☺️ This 45' stayed on the Record Player. 🖖🏿 Happy 1st Contact Day! 🥰🐰

For a change of tempo, hit the song Losing It from this album, or Available Light, I think off the Presto album.

Different Strings off the Permanent Waves albums has a real unique tempo and sound.

Great motivational song!

I knew Rush would grow on you guys. The more you listen, the more you appreciate how amazing that band is. Please finish the rest of the Moving Pictures record. It's a masterpiece. Banger after banger!

Nice guy's.I was fortunate to see Rush many times in Vancouver. Loved this song!!!🇨🇦

Check out, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by The Police, Sting leads with a similar tempo, Reggae feel.

Ear worm city! Cranked at max volume in the car! Cruising with the NWM! Rush on!

You just read my mind guys, they gave us a little bit of Reggae in this song.

Even Eddie Van Halen admitted he loved and used Loftons harmonic guitar plucking was awesome. The Lyrics are filled with intelligence dialogue

My favorite Rush song love you guys

Great extended outro on the live track too!

👌 Rush!

Rush was the New World Man Libertarian thought processes. They made you think. Best verse/Bar from Tom Sawyer lyrics - change is not permanent BUT Change IS!

HEY LAH AND CHE!😊DEFINITELYYYY ONE OF MY FAVORITE RUSH ALBUMS GUYS ( SIGNALS )👍ENJOYYYY!

Gold.

Back to Rush, all right!

For over forty years, listening to Rush has filled me with an incomparable quality of joy. Such amazing and positive music. Since Neil passed away a few years ago, this joy is diminished and now there is always a part of me that is crying when I hear them play and remember all the times I saw them live. He was a unique and driven person. My 2 Rush hot takes (something to chew on); Neil was a great drummer, but he was an even better lyracist. Alex was the most talented member of Rush. 🤟🧙‍♂🤟 Rich the Ancient Metal Beast

Ghost Of A Chance is a great and very underrated song IMO. Check it out!

This was the era where RUSH was heavily influenced by the Police, and the Police were into reggae-ish beats. I'm not surprised you caught that. This song was the only #1 hit for RUSH despite it being written in a day to fit into the last 2:30 of the Signals LP.

DaT Basss 🔊 dougH...🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Signals is fantastic! Like others, my interest waned a little with later offerings, but still some select gems throughout!

Check out Digital Man off of this same album, Signals. Amazing bassline!

As with the title track off Black Sabbath's Paranoid, this was the last song written for album, like hey we another song to fill it out let's just throw it on as an afterthought. They both became the band's biggest hit.

Rush at this stage was listening to and inspired by The Police.

Great start to the weekend, fellas. Appreciate you 🙏 ❤

In the pre-chorus, he hits a timbale, which is on the left hand side of his hi-hat. Part of his kit for decades.

Digital Man from this album, you guys will love it, especially a live version!!

I love your reactions, fellas! Thanks to you, half of my day has been spent in your Rush rabbit hole! Good stuff (your reactions, not my being at my computer all day))

Digital Man vs. Analog Kid

My favorite Rush album

Neil loved reggae ❤🇨🇦

Not a typical song for Rush, but my favorite by them.

More stuff from ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE please! Their first live album and one of their greatest achievements!!

There's bits of reggae sprinkled throughout Rush's catalog

Everybody does Tom Sawyer and a few others. So glad you did my favorite Rush song

Nice call

Keep it up guys

This. Was the album that was the turning point to a new more 80s sound. But still really good!

Great reaction and analysis. This song and album, is a sentimental favorite of mine. A departure from Moving Pictures, but still very impactful. If you want something with a different tempo, check out Losing It. Very deep, very emotional song...see what you think.

It’s the way they “fill the space”, IYKWIM.

This to me is an ok song. Two of my favourite songs off the album are Analog Kid and Digital Man.

Nice boys! La you da man! ✨️🎶✨️

Neil was keeping time but remember, all the lyrics were his too. My impression is that, in this song, he was suggesting hope that the current industrialization of society would stop long enough to recognize that the values of the old world (perhaps third world people from less “developed” nations) would maybe be more sustainable than the current system (the new world) of allowing billionaires to dictate everything from government to economic policy. Just a guess. I didn’t know Neil personally but I think he was a conscious individual.

That was good, thanks

They were listening to a lot of the Police obviously! lol

This song, I believe, is about a new kind of man, one ready to lead a new path out of the old system and into the new. The song highlights a imperfect person moving forward regardless of the outcome, because the old way is suicide to the sovernity of nations, and the right to be competitive, to control your own future, regardless of the outcome, we just want our own control back. He will break the system at all costs.

Great album, guys! NWM is just one of many great songs! You should check out a song called "The Weapon" on there (1982's "Signals"). It's really proto-Electronica/Industrial. It's dark and epic!

The path layed out with Moving Picture towards New Wave sound and Police influences came to fruition with this album. Not my fav Rush phase but they tried out contemporary music to weave into theirs.

You gotta listen to “Analog Kid” from this album. Total banger!

Neil was definitely the captain of that ship!! If it wasn't for Neil...😞 Rest In Power, Professor.

Bit of a forgotten track off Signals. I enjoyed this one. Thanks guys

I’m an old school Rush fan, but never picked up on the Ska beat that Niel lade down in the middle, nice pick up!

I heard that reggae beat right in there

This album was a real departure for RUSH. They decided not to repeat what they had done in the past. They were always true to themselves. It was a big risk and they lost a lot of fans, but in the end won even more. As for me, I always loved what they put out (with few exceptions). Great reaction!

This song is about the America. Our history, our present and our future

Bad Company - Live for the Music

Lots more Rush guys! Try Distant Early Warning from Hold your Fire, one of their better songs from their mid 80s stuff!

By the way, you have to wait till the very end of the song to hear the bass solo which fades out very faint, but fantastic to listen to

Spirit of the radio also has the Ragee vibe. Tom Sawyer was the best sound and lyrics for them.

You guys are the best Like your reactions

This was an album and bit of a phase when the music was very much a formula for them. Still, every song gave you the adrenaline bit and there has never been a more appropriately named band ever.

One of my all time misheard lyrics…”He’s a radio receiver tuned to factories and farms” I always heard as “factory tampons” 😂

Rush channeling their inner Police.

It’s Reggae the same vibe of the Police. White Reggae styles which were big in the 80s. But still obviously Rush.

to rush fans they are not underated but they have so many underated songs

❤❤❤ 🙏❤🌹 Neil 🌹❤🙏

Reading the comments I guess I’m in the minority. Loved all but one album of theirs! The one with the rock guy on the cover. Tour was great though

This was a very Police like song to me, which is also very influenced by reggae.

Remember guys, the drummer write the words1

Rush's only Top 40 hit and Rush fans rarely even mention or care for this short track.

The New World Man and Tom Sawyer ("the modern day warrior") seem like the same person to me. Although, musically you gotta hand it to Tom Sawyer. More great lyrics from Neil Peart.

As others have said, this album divided Rush and rock fans. Rush's previous offering -- Moving Pictures was a real rocker, so when they released this "80s synth rock" stuff, a lot of us were like....hhhhmmmmm, what's this? Yes, it’s Rush, but....I don’t know." Personally, I loved it. But with newer, heavier stuff hitting us in early 80s --- Ozzy, Sabbath, Dio, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, among others --- 80s synth Rush got lost in the mix.....

This album took some time to grow on me

I believe they were influenced by the Police around this time

Getty up

Signals was the album that had the purist Rush fan from their start jumping ship.they had songs that were good after this point all be it very sparse and limited. The sound became homogenized. The success of moving pictures was well deserved and was a breakout album for sound.......but after moving pictures they changed and sadly not for the better

All y'all haters and trolls can take your ball and go home. This song is a banger and for a bass player, Geddy's runs in here bridging the phrases are true ear candy. Some folks don't get it. But I do. Where they started to lose me was with the next release, 1984's Grace Under Pressure and subsequent 80's albums. But even those albums had some hidden gems and fantastic musicianship. 1984 is where the guitar thinned out noticeably and the synth started to play a larger role. So, I'm team Alex there, although I understand Geddy's desire to explore the keys more as a musician. But 1982's Signals is much more closely related to Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures (same producer so it makes sense). As a kid, (like a lot of people) my first introduction to Rush was 1981's "Tom Sawyer." I think I heard it on the school bus and was immediately hooked. Signals was the first album released after I knew who they were and I LOVE this album. For me, it's part of a trilogy of top albums released starting with Permanent Waves in 1980. I hope you love their work on Signals as much as I do. Okay, now you gotta check out the live version (live in Toronto 1984). My only criticism of the first 6 releases is that, at times, the music sometimes sounded a bit halting and choppy and not as cleanly produced (some early Yes classics hit me the same way, though I love them too - notes cut off when sustain was called for - which comes across as more harsh to the ears - talking mainly about Alex Lifeson and Steve Howe's playing and solo techniques). With Permanent Waves, Geddy's vocals approach changed (he came down to his normal register more - i.e. less shrill screaming - also easier on the ears) and Neil's lyrics shifted from fantasy to reality and the production from 1980 to 1982 was pristine. So clean. It was meant for CD technology that was emerging a the time and was best enjoyed with quality headphones. Signals - like the 2 albums preceding - is great from start to finish. My least favorite track is Chemistry. But it's grown on me over the years. There's a theme of boyhood to manhood from Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, and New World Man to Digital Man and I love that about this album. I also love Losing It, a commentary on the sadness that can accompany aging. And as a Gen X kid, we were all caught up in the Space Shuttle program and space exploration and Countdown gives me goosebumps thinking about that very first Space Shuttle flight. Just beautifully written and executed by the band.

Their reggae influences arent specific to this song. Rush was getting into that stuff on a lot of songs in the 80s across multiple albums.