Deluxe, Multi-Format Editions Mark Rush’s ‘Pivotal’ Ninth Album ‘Signals’
In a new interview, Alex Lifeson describes the record as ‘a step towards what we did next.’
The much-awaited 40th anniversary editions of Rush’s ninth studio album Signals, long discussed by fans and officially confirmed early last month, is now on release.
Shop the best of Rush’s discography on vinyl and more.
Widely regarded as one of the most unusual records in their canon, and much-discussed at the time of its 1982 release for its dramatic change in sound and direction, the album had a strong focus on Geddy Lee’s synthesizers. But it also contained some of Alex Lifeson’s best guitar work, underpinned as ever by the drums and percussion of the incomparable Neil Peart.
The new edition is available as a Super Deluxe Edition, a one-LP Picture Disc Edition, and the Dolby Atmos Digital Edition. A limited edition Super Deluxe box with eight lithographs of Peart’s original hand-drawn lyrics for each track is available only via the official Rush online store.
Visualizer videos from the box set have been emerging over the past few weeks, of which the latest is for “Losing It.” There are also visualizers for “New World Man,” “The Weapon,” “Digital Man,” “The Analog Kid,” and “Chemistry,” plus an unboxing video for the set. The Rush Backstage Club has been running an online sweepstakes, in which the winner will receive a Super Deluxe Edition of the set. Various items of Signals merchandise are also available at rushbackstage.com, including a “filmstrip” t-shirt, baseball cap and raglan, all featuring the distinctive and memorable fire hydrant design from the album cover.
Discussing the record’s direction in a new interview with Prog magazine, Lifeson says: “I guess you could stay where you are and do the same thing over and over and over again, but that’s not the kind of band we are. Progress is important to us. We always need to go somewhere else. We always wanted to evolve.
“[Signals] was a pivotal record for us as a band, because it continued a writing style that we’d embraced with [1981’s] Moving Pictures and it was a step towards what we did next.”
Buy or stream the 40th anniversary editions of Signals.
