So this is Rush's highest charting single ever. It was written in one day and recorded the next day, the last day of the session.They had a little over 3 minutes of space to fill to even out album side lengths. Terry Brown suggested they fill that space out but not go over 4 minutes or mastering would be more difficult. So became "Project 3:57" While Signals is definitely a synth record, it is also some of Geddy's most amazing bass work. Next up, Digital Man and the Analog Kid.
What a cracking song, that’s going back on my playlist. Will never be able to play the bass line but I can appreciate it even more now with your analysis!
Pretty sure Ged used a Jazz Bass on “New World Man.” He started using that Steinberger L2 on the “Grace Under Pressure” record. I believe he used a Steinberger live a lot more than in the studio.
Fun facts about NWM: It was the last track written for Signals and had to fit into a certain time length to fit on the album and complete it. That's why it uncharacteristically for Rush fades out while they are still jamming out. Also, it was their highest chart topping song ever.
This song, I found out, was the last recorded for the record. The working title was 'Project 3:57'. They had space they needed to fill to finish the record and quickly worked up this song.
@@TwoandaHater - Yes! And it also would be a more apt representation of 80's 'synthy' Rush, including a completely different bass sound and the use of digital synths as opposed to analog ones like on 'Signals'! 🙂
I've been into Rush since the late 70s - a long journey. Am always happy when I learn something more, particularly from a 'younger generation' of people who appreciate the band and just how superb they are. Many thanks for this.
As a 30+ year bass player this might be almost my favorite Rush tune. The bass is so prominent and awesome that I had to re-listen several times before realizing how great the lyrics are as well. For me it's up there with 'Xanadu' and 'Temples of Syrinx' among their best.
Three of my top 5 rush albums are from this era in Signals, Grace under Pressure and Power Wondows. Some of geddys best bass work can be found all over these albums.
Of course the big one of this album is subdivisions and then new world man which is actually one of their biggest hits chart wise . But in the years to come Analog kid has become my favorite one of that album . You should check that one out you as a bassist will love it.
I’ve started to do a deeper dive into the 80s Rush albums, and honestly there’s a lot of fantastic tracks throughout all the albums, from Signals all the way to Hold Your Fire! Also, if you want some fantastic melodic bass lines, all of the songs from Chris Squire’s solo album Fish Out of Water (but especially Hold Out Your Hand and Lucky Seven) are absolutely genius
I was gonna mention project 3:57 but I see lots of people already mentioned it. We Rush fans really know our stuff ! 1st song on this album, Subdivisions, is amazing, at first it's like, it's OK, then you listen again and it starts to sink in, then it becomes addictive ! More great songs from the 80's : Losing it, Middletown dreams, The Pass, Manhattan project, I could just put them all, they are all good !
You should review/react to the bass in "Alien Shore". It's my favorite Geddy bass part for what, I feel, are extremely subtle and impressive nuanced parts that I would wager most people aren't noticing when they hear that song.
The great thing about Rush is they never stopped listening to new music and picking out the things they thought were cool about it, but they still always sounded like Rush. The "synth era" has Geddy's funkiest and most active bass playing, including the reggae/ska idioms on Signals and some slapping starting on Grace Under Pressure. And to your point about his vocal melodies, they got more independent from the bass playing later in the 80s as the bass got more active.
I know some don’t like synth era Rush but really the sonic capabilities that opened up with the synths added some nice touches. I can dig all eras of Rush but I’m more partial towards the less synth stuff and this is coming from a bassist/keyboardist guy
My understanding is that Geddy had gone back to his 1972 Jazz bass during the recording of Moving Pictures, and stayed with it while recording (most of?) Signals. He got the Steinberger just before the Signals tour started, so I suspect he didn't have it for any of the recording.
His best bass lines from the synth era were on Middletown Dreams and Emotion Detector from the Power Windows album. Would love to see you do a video on one of those songs!
The songwriting and orchestration really changed more so on the next album Grace Under Pressure. I think Signals still has more in common with the 2112 - Moving Pictures era than not. With Grace Under Pressure, Geddy completely changed his vocal style to more what a pop singer would sound like (the inflections, phrasing, melodic lines all became "warm", the prior albums sounded more clinical and matter-of-facty by comparison). The song structures became more concise, and individual instrumentation took more of a back seat to a focus on producing textural, sonic passages. More production effects, digital and electronic gizmos, etc.
1982 was the year when I started fading listening Rush. I tried to digest that kind of music but I couldn’t. 1982,1984,1985 then I jumped to 1989,1990 and was over. I think they were looking the music from Jupiter and Saturn, I was looking for pro rock….. not pro pop like Genesis,Yes, The “ Synchronicity “ by The Police in 1983, Styx and many others. The music changed a lot on that year, everyone wanted to sound super ear candy 🍭. The Music Industry softened all the Heavy Metal bands and made super musical salads USA or two rock singers from different kinds of rock music singing a power love ballad….
The "Graceland"/Paul Simon parts are Bass parts from a Ska music-style. Do you know Ska? Check out The English Beat and The Police (along with The Untouchables, among many others) for exposure to Ska. It is SO MUCH FUN!
The Steinberger era started with the next album, Grace Under Pressure, but I think he began experimenting with the Steinberger at this time and used it on this song.
IMO this was the album with the tightest, most to-the-point songwriting without sacrificing the gritty sound they built through PW and MP. The fact that Ged hadn't yet switched to the Wal helped a lot. Many hidden gems here like Chemistry and Countdown.
If you want some modern Rush with a heavier bass tone, check out Headlong Flight off their last record Clockwork Angels from 2012. They were exceptional for their entire career.
If I'm not mistaken, he was using the 4001 with the bridge's built in dampening on for those "palm muted" sections, I remember reading something about that in the late 80s when I got my first 4001 and was looking into that neat feature of them.
You have a great ear, mate! Kudos to you. :) One a side note: one of the the first musicians ever to start playing with those "unusual" mediant regions was Beethoven. For instance, if you are playing on, say, C minor and are playing a C minor chord and want to play the chord a third away from the tone, you'd normally play the Eb major chord. But Beethoven would simply play the Eb minor chord instead. There are a number of examples of how he subverted our expectations by changing the mediant chords when you look at his scores, and it's very interesting the way how he started expanding the harmony this way, which also helped leading to the development of the Romantic style.
Great analysis. Paul Simon / Diamonds reference was a great connection. Think of The Police's hit, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic." The pre-chorus (i.e "Learning to catch the heat...") is a reggae inspired section. I've heard Neil and Stewart Copeland were fans of each other's work. I would really put Signals in with Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. I feel like their sound really went more synth heavy with 1984's Grace Under Pressure, their first album without Terry Brown as producer. Signals still has that Terry Brown signature production sound. I love Geddy's runs in NWM. I think you would love this album if you listened all the way through. Subdivisions is definitely more "synth heavy" but The Analog Kid, New World Man, and Digital Man go heavy on the bass. The Weapon, Losing it, Countdown (tribute to the first Space Shuttle launch) and Chemistry are more synth oriented, though Countdown definitely has its "bass moments.' I think you would really like all 3 "kid/man" songs. Also '84's p/g album was where the Steinberger entered in. Pretty sure he was still running with the Rick and the Jazz bass on Signals, though the bass line in New World Man does have a similar tone to the Steinberger. Though jarring to me at first, as a HS freshman in 1984, p/g and 1985's Power Windows have grown on me as the decades have passed. There are some gems on those two albums as well. They kinda lost me with 1987's Hold Your Fire. Then, later, they won me back with Counter Parts. The synth/keys reportedly was really something Geddy wanted to explore but understandably, Alex, wanted to keep the sound guitar and bass-heavy.
It's funny at the end of the video you were like "where's all the synth?" haha but I think Signals is considered one of the main synth-era albums because it's so prominent in Subdivisions. I dig your comparisons to Paul Simon too, that hadn't occurred to me in all the times I've listened to Rush but that totally makes sense in retrospect. If you do more post-Moving Pictures Rush picks I'd love to see Roll the Bones (I might be the only one though!)
Synth era Rush up to Power Windows is some of their best work and most Rush fans seem to agree. It doesn't have the big epics but Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows has many of their biggest hits and the band is at their most consistent. Those three albums are flawless and have become true classics. Geddy is at his best here. I really think you'd enjoy them immensely.
fed is definitely using the Steinberger on this album. You know right away because you loose the low end growl you get from the Rickenbacker or a fender Jazz bass. This song actually became pretty big radio single from this album.
When I first heard this song, I really didn't know what to think. I was taken aback. Vital Signs was a hint of what was to come but I wasn't nearly sophisticated enough at the age of 12 to pick up on the hint. Therefore, I was perplexed by this short, almost beatle-esque song by them. Great song though. Sounds so mainstream pop but as your analysis suggests, not quite as straightforward as it seems.
In 1974 I was 20 and a junior in college, I was a Rush fan from the first listen to Working Man. Some of the old fans lost interest when Signals came out, but I liked what they were doing. Since they've used synths since 2112, and both synths and guitar are featured in Xanadu and Tom Sawyer, it wasn't anything really new for me. Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows were less guitar driven. They knew what their true fans wanted.
Neil liked to say they introduce the themes of a song and then add more and more variations. By the end of the song it is so complicated and intricate, keeping with their progressive rock roots. My favorite thing to show new Rush listeners is how in Tom Sawyer, Neil never plays the same through each verse and chorus, each has a twist and different fills... They all do it. Then to prove their awesomeness, listen to different live versions and realize that it is all planned that way.
Live video from ‘84, my dad had this concert on VHS and we watched it till the tape broke. He’s playing the Steinberger and it looks like he’s doing some sort of muting in the beginning ua-cam.com/play/RDFgcMM-Z5ITo.html&playnext=1&si=4YvP6qCu2x1qEwDC
Geddy did start using a Steinberger during the Signals tour for select songs, used it on YYZ and possibly for a few others but it was mostly the Ric used for the live tour. There is video footage of him playing New World Man with the Steinberger and the tone is identical to that on the album track. Sounds nothing like the Ric or Jazz bass to me.
The drumming in the 2nd verse is way harder than it sounds, playing 16th notes on the ride with the upbeats on the china cymbal, and adding fills and punches in between. He does that alot !
Peart always made every verse change pattern and created some strange ones to compliment the music. Each complex yet different. He’s amazing. I’d have loved to met and ask him about that process. Howard stern likes to dig into songwriting habits. Shame he never got into Rush at all. I’d love to have heard him and Alex banter a bit
You're right, there WAS a lot of "WTF, Man!!!?!" from the older hard rockers in 1981. I was only 13, but even though I liked the new sound, it took some getting used to. (Virtually every one of their albums involved some "new sound," so the first listen of ANY Rush album required at least some taste for novelty.
They were pretty upfront about how much they liked the current music of that time period and would point out bands like The Police. I hear a lot of Police in the instrumentation of this song, especially the part you found reminds you of Graceland.
“Red sector A” is a fantastic song from this era of Rush. It’s more synthy than new world man and the bass line isn’t as prominent, but the lyrics are great and Geddy crushes the vocals on it. If nothing else you should check it out for yourself.
@@surfeit5910 nah, no hidden meanings in my comment. I just think it’s a well written and well played song. Wish Geddy would have played bass in it though 😀
I wouldn't say at all that Signals is "new era" Rush. If anything, it's only a slight progression from Moving Pictures. Any song on this album with the possible exceptions of "Countdown" and "The Weapon", could have been on Moving Pictures. P/G (Grace Under Pressure), is when the "new era" begins, that album is brilliant, but also a huge departure from their traditional sound, with both heavy synths AND electronic drums. "Distant Early Warning" is a sonic masterpiece, that era to me, is just as good as anything they did before it...
Yes, Rush leveraged electronics to make it sound like the band was bigger. Preprogrammed stuff on pedals etc. but nobody did it better, nobody sounds as clean. And nobody has such instrumentality that fits together so well. I miss them tremendously. Best band ever
Stewart admired Neil so much. Even to this day to hear him talk about Neil is beautiful. They had a kinship in how they approached drums differently than most
Yeah, the "synth era" RUSH did upset a lot of their fans. It probably lost the band some long time fans, but it also gained them some new ones! The heavy synth sound hit hard with the album after SIGNALS, 1984s,' GRACE UNDER PRESSURE!🏆
When I was a little kid, I thought the singer for Rush was Warwick Davis from Willow. That was my favorite movie when I was 6 when I started paying attention to music. 6 year old me would be so canceled
Rush's ONLY Billboard Top 40 hit, officially making rush a "One Hit Wonder" band... believe it or not. This era of Rush, especially for a bassist, is THE era of Rush to listen to. Geddy had some amazing and fun songs throughout the 80's and even into the 90's Digital Man and Big Money are definitely worth listening to and even more complex and nearly impossible to play. And just to add, 2/3 of Rush were high school dropouts. They never analyzed chords structures, keys, or theory and the one who did finish high school was almost entirely self-taught. They just... played what sounded good. I always find it hilarious when "musicians" go back through their catalog years later, analyzing their songs and picking out all of these details. So many years and college courses wasted to still not hold a candle to high school dropouts. 😂
Mixed feelings about this one, I was 12 years old upon it's release and had already been a fan of Rush for a few years at this point. When I heard signals for the first time I knew they were going in a direction that I couldn't follow. New World Man is the only song on the album that I liked and with the benefit of adult hindsight that I didn't possess back then it was a multitude of factors, overuse of keyboards, thin production, Alex Lifeson becoming in effect just a textures player and taking more of a back seat in the overall scheme. During this period they did put out some songs that while good-were hampered by that same thin sound, a good example of this would be the song 'The Pass', the studio version went past me but in later years when the played it live it sounded like an absolute monster thanks to a beefier sound. Even taken in retrospect and with a more mature ear....I still don't like this Rush period. A few other gripes I have about this time was the choice of equipment. Geddy went through stuff like Steinberger and Wal basses, the former being used on the Live album 'A Show of Hands' which featured Geddy using the Wal on YYZ, to my ear it's bloody horrible sounding and it makes him sound like he's lost the fluidity of earlier versions.
'Signals' was the last album on which Geddy had used the Rickenbacker; He switched to a Steinberger for the following album, 'Grace Under Pressure', which still sounded fairly similar, but then he moved on to Wal basses for the next three or even four albums, and those sounded radically different! 80's Rush is my favourite era of the band, but that Wal sound is rather terrible, to _my_ ears 😅 And well possible he's not playing the Ric on this song! It may even be the Steinberger's very first appearance!? 😀 HAPPY NEW YEAR! 😀🙌💚🌈☀️🎵🍀🦋🌻
Geddy and alex dont really know much theory. They are songwriters who just do what feels right for the song. All this stuff youre talking about they dont know anything about. But man what songwriters they were for decades. Iconic
Speaking of Canadian classics with great bass, you should do I Mother Earth "One More Astronaut." Gotta do the album version with timbale and bass break down, rather than the video edit.
Lots of "The Police" going on with this song... they've inserted those tasty reggae licks here and there ever since they got to be fanboys of Sting and the gang.
This is probably the only song that I would hear from RUSH in the top 40 station when I was a kid riding on the school bus. Their only true big hit. Just because now everyone hears Tom Sawyer, etc...that didn't make it big hit back then. A lot of great songs didn't make it big.
@@LowEndUniversity I'm talking about a top 40 station, not an album oriented rock station. Those songs were played a lot, but not in a top 40 station. I'm 58 so I was there at that time.
@@lazarochavez1 Yep I never heard Rush on Top 40, but I remember the rock and metal stations would play plenty of classic Rush as well as any new singles out of respect to their legacy if nothing else. For example, it was quite bizarre when I heard "SuperConductor" playing on KNAC the main hard rock/metal station in L.A. in the late 80s. Imagine that pop synth song squeezed between Iron Maiden and Ozzy, lol.
Not the type to try to cause a ruckus on this channels comments but I had never heard that song before, it was not very enjoyable. Super repetitive, vocals sounded very "treated", reminds me why I stopped listening to them. It's like they remove their balls everytime they write a new song now.
One of the biggest regrets I'll have in my life is that I never got to see Rush live. I Idolized Neil Peart as a kid and their music has aged like wine as I've gotten older.
I bought this album on release, back when I was in high school. Rush is fabulous, and you can't go wrong with more reactions. For a more recent example of excellent low end, I highly recommend "Hate" by Band-Maid. ua-cam.com/video/yfORoQIqB3E/v-deo.htmlsi=OZJQ1cJYJUYoVeuq
![Rush - Natural Science [REACTION & ANALYSIS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Sx2qf5jwzY/mqdefault.jpg)
“Digital Man” is the jam for bassists from that album.
A big "YES" from me to that!
😀👍
That song's an absolute BANGER
@@SGBassplayer One of the best bass workouts in their entire catalog. So much fun. Monster tone too
Drummers too. Neil puts on a clinic as well
Ohhhh baby what a tasty bass track.
The way Rush built, morphed, and evolved their sound from album to album is endlessly fascinating to me. I can't get enough of them.
Every single album was an experiment. They were so good.
So this is Rush's highest charting single ever. It was written in one day and recorded the next day, the last day of the session.They had a little over 3 minutes of space to fill to even out album side lengths. Terry Brown suggested they fill that space out but not go over 4 minutes or mastering would be more difficult. So became "Project 3:57"
While Signals is definitely a synth record, it is also some of Geddy's most amazing bass work. Next up, Digital Man and the Analog Kid.
I was really fascinated by this! I did see this bit mentioned on the album’s Wikipedia page.
Yes digital man and analog kid....excellent
Digital man has great bass, there are isolated bass and drums that are awesome
@@peter-pikesloan2361but don’t miss Alex’s ripping solo, one of his top 5 solos by my count.
Analog kid is one of my favorites
What a cracking song, that’s going back on my playlist. Will never be able to play the bass line but I can appreciate it even more now with your analysis!
Pretty sure Ged used a Jazz Bass on “New World Man.” He started using that Steinberger L2 on the “Grace Under Pressure” record. I believe he used a Steinberger live a lot more than in the studio.
Fun facts about NWM: It was the last track written for Signals and had to fit into a certain time length to fit on the album and complete it. That's why it uncharacteristically for Rush fades out while they are still jamming out. Also, it was their highest chart topping song ever.
Super cool, especially considering so many bands have this same story. Throwaway, speedily-written track ends up being their biggest hit.
It sounds like it could be the Police when it starts.
@@moebius21 - I was going to add that myself. The Police had had quite an influence on Rush for the length of several albums, too!
That charted higher than time stands still? I’m shocked by that. Wow
This song, I found out, was the last recorded for the record. The working title was 'Project 3:57'. They had space they needed to fill to finish the record and quickly worked up this song.
You really should checkout Analog Kid and Digital Man from Signals
The bass line from Analog Kid is dope. I love it!
@@luizarruda3229Alex’s guitar work also was amazing on that song
Love all the rush songs you do. Marathon would be a crazy one to do, because how busy it is.
@@TwoandaHater - Yes! And it also would be a more apt representation of 80's 'synthy' Rush, including a completely different bass sound and the use of digital synths as opposed to analog ones like on 'Signals'! 🙂
Listened to Rush all my life. Never paid attention to this song. I’ve missed out. Great video again Mark.
I've been into Rush since the late 70s - a long journey. Am always happy when I learn something more, particularly from a 'younger generation' of people who appreciate the band and just how superb they are. Many thanks for this.
this era had LOTS of influence from The Police. and its great
Yeah. And Reggae music in general.
As a 30+ year bass player this might be almost my favorite Rush tune. The bass is so prominent and awesome that I had to re-listen several times before realizing how great the lyrics are as well. For me it's up there with 'Xanadu' and 'Temples of Syrinx' among their best.
Three of my top 5 rush albums are from this era in Signals, Grace under Pressure and Power Wondows. Some of geddys best bass work can be found all over these albums.
Grace, Windows and HYF is the trifecta for me!
Power windows was such an amazing album
Nice reaction! Digital Man off this album is excellent for bass!
You gotta cover this song. The bass lines are insane!
Definitely need to do The Big Money next!!!
@@rushtabconvideo - That song's definitely a better representation of 80's synthy Rush, too! Including a very different bass sound! 🙂
@@mightyV444 Wal for the win!
Of course the big one of this album is subdivisions and then new world man which is actually one of their biggest hits chart wise . But in the years to come Analog kid has become my favorite one of that album . You should check that one out you as a bassist will love it.
Digital man is insane ! How he sings on top of those lines is ridiculous,
Damn, Homie, you’ve been crushing it lately!!!! Good stuff. Keep killing it, dude. Happy New Year, everyone. ✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻
I’ve started to do a deeper dive into the 80s Rush albums, and honestly there’s a lot of fantastic tracks throughout all the albums, from Signals all the way to Hold Your Fire!
Also, if you want some fantastic melodic bass lines, all of the songs from Chris Squire’s solo album Fish Out of Water (but especially Hold Out Your Hand and Lucky Seven) are absolutely genius
Chris Squire is/was THE GOAT in my humble opinion
This was my first concert. Great show.
You should definitely check out Dreamline or Roll the Bones for some nice Ged tones.
Love Dreamline
Geddy used the Steinberger from 1982-1986
I was gonna mention project 3:57 but I see lots of people already mentioned it. We Rush fans really know our stuff ! 1st song on this album, Subdivisions, is amazing, at first it's like, it's OK, then you listen again and it starts to sink in, then it becomes addictive ! More great songs from the 80's : Losing it, Middletown dreams, The Pass, Manhattan project, I could just put them all, they are all good !
So many amazing bass examples that my favorite one never seems to get mentioned: Turn the Page
You should review/react to the bass in "Alien Shore". It's my favorite Geddy bass part for what, I feel, are extremely subtle and impressive nuanced parts that I would wager most people aren't noticing when they hear that song.
That song has such sick bass work. Some of Geddy's funkiest playing ever.
Good shout - I love Counterparts (probably my favourite Rush album) and Alien Shore has a great band sound and fantastic bass work
love his bass on that somg
Thanks for this one. I have always loved playing this one on bass.
Great review! Another great track where Geddy’s bassline builds is Test for Echo.
The great thing about Rush is they never stopped listening to new music and picking out the things they thought were cool about it, but they still always sounded like Rush. The "synth era" has Geddy's funkiest and most active bass playing, including the reggae/ska idioms on Signals and some slapping starting on Grace Under Pressure. And to your point about his vocal melodies, they got more independent from the bass playing later in the 80s as the bass got more active.
I know some don’t like synth era Rush but really the sonic capabilities that opened up with the synths added some nice touches. I can dig all eras of Rush but I’m more partial towards the less synth stuff and this is coming from a bassist/keyboardist guy
My understanding is that Geddy had gone back to his 1972 Jazz bass during the recording of Moving Pictures, and stayed with it while recording (most of?) Signals. He got the Steinberger just before the Signals tour started, so I suspect he didn't have it for any of the recording.
Exactly!!
His best bass lines from the synth era were on Middletown Dreams and Emotion Detector from the Power Windows album. Would love to see you do a video on one of those songs!
The songwriting and orchestration really changed more so on the next album Grace Under Pressure. I think Signals still has more in common with the 2112 - Moving Pictures era than not. With Grace Under Pressure, Geddy completely changed his vocal style to more what a pop singer would sound like (the inflections, phrasing, melodic lines all became "warm", the prior albums sounded more clinical and matter-of-facty by comparison). The song structures became more concise, and individual instrumentation took more of a back seat to a focus on producing textural, sonic passages. More production effects, digital and electronic gizmos, etc.
1982 was the year when I started fading listening Rush.
I tried to digest that kind of music but I couldn’t.
1982,1984,1985 then I jumped to 1989,1990 and was over.
I think they were looking the music from Jupiter and Saturn, I was looking for pro rock….. not pro pop like Genesis,Yes, The “ Synchronicity “ by The Police in 1983, Styx and many others.
The music changed a lot on that year, everyone wanted to sound super ear candy 🍭.
The Music Industry softened all the Heavy Metal bands and made super musical salads USA or two rock singers from different kinds of rock music singing a power love ballad….
it's a fender jazz. He did many recordings on it including songs on Moving pictures but always featured the Rick during live shows during this era.
The "Graceland"/Paul Simon parts are Bass parts from a Ska music-style. Do you know Ska? Check out The English Beat and The Police (along with The Untouchables, among many others) for exposure to Ska. It is SO MUCH FUN!
The Steinberger era started with the next album, Grace Under Pressure, but I think he began experimenting with the Steinberger at this time and used it on this song.
IMO this was the album with the tightest, most to-the-point songwriting without sacrificing the gritty sound they built through PW and MP. The fact that Ged hadn't yet switched to the Wal helped a lot. Many hidden gems here like Chemistry and Countdown.
If you want some modern Rush with a heavier bass tone, check out Headlong Flight off their last record Clockwork Angels from 2012. They were exceptional for their entire career.
If I'm not mistaken, he was using the 4001 with the bridge's built in dampening on for those "palm muted" sections, I remember reading something about that in the late 80s when I got my first 4001 and was looking into that neat feature of them.
You have a great ear, mate! Kudos to you. :)
One a side note: one of the the first musicians ever to start playing with those "unusual" mediant regions was Beethoven. For instance, if you are playing on, say, C minor and are playing a C minor chord and want to play the chord a third away from the tone, you'd normally play the Eb major chord. But Beethoven would simply play the Eb minor chord instead. There are a number of examples of how he subverted our expectations by changing the mediant chords when you look at his scores, and it's very interesting the way how he started expanding the harmony this way, which also helped leading to the development of the Romantic style.
Great analysis. Paul Simon / Diamonds reference was a great connection. Think of The Police's hit, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic." The pre-chorus (i.e "Learning to catch the heat...") is a reggae inspired section. I've heard Neil and Stewart Copeland were fans of each other's work. I would really put Signals in with Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. I feel like their sound really went more synth heavy with 1984's Grace Under Pressure, their first album without Terry Brown as producer. Signals still has that Terry Brown signature production sound. I love Geddy's runs in NWM. I think you would love this album if you listened all the way through. Subdivisions is definitely more "synth heavy" but The Analog Kid, New World Man, and Digital Man go heavy on the bass. The Weapon, Losing it, Countdown (tribute to the first Space Shuttle launch) and Chemistry are more synth oriented, though Countdown definitely has its "bass moments.' I think you would really like all 3 "kid/man" songs. Also '84's p/g album was where the Steinberger entered in. Pretty sure he was still running with the Rick and the Jazz bass on Signals, though the bass line in New World Man does have a similar tone to the Steinberger.
Though jarring to me at first, as a HS freshman in 1984, p/g and 1985's Power Windows have grown on me as the decades have passed. There are some gems on those two albums as well. They kinda lost me with 1987's Hold Your Fire. Then, later, they won me back with Counter Parts. The synth/keys reportedly was really something Geddy wanted to explore but understandably, Alex, wanted to keep the sound guitar and bass-heavy.
Time to listen to Geddy on "Malignant Narcissism" live Snakes & Arrows tour....you'll love it. Geddy on a Jaco Pistorius fretless Jazz bass.
It's funny at the end of the video you were like "where's all the synth?" haha but I think Signals is considered one of the main synth-era albums because it's so prominent in Subdivisions.
I dig your comparisons to Paul Simon too, that hadn't occurred to me in all the times I've listened to Rush but that totally makes sense in retrospect.
If you do more post-Moving Pictures Rush picks I'd love to see Roll the Bones (I might be the only one though!)
From Geddy's brief Steinberger era.. that probably explains the more subdued bass tone.
This is the album that got me into Rush, some seriously interesting, flashy basslines on Signals
Synth era Rush up to Power Windows is some of their best work and most Rush fans seem to agree. It doesn't have the big epics but Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows has many of their biggest hits and the band is at their most consistent. Those three albums are flawless and have become true classics. Geddy is at his best here. I really think you'd enjoy them immensely.
Grace Under Pressure is such an amazing album
fed is definitely using the Steinberger on this album. You know right away because you loose the low end growl you get from the Rickenbacker or a fender Jazz bass. This song actually became pretty big radio single from this album.
When I first heard this song, I really didn't know what to think. I was taken aback. Vital Signs was a hint of what was to come but I wasn't nearly sophisticated enough at the age of 12 to pick up on the hint. Therefore, I was perplexed by this short, almost beatle-esque song by them. Great song though. Sounds so mainstream pop but as your analysis suggests, not quite as straightforward as it seems.
Digital man... that´s a very interesting bass line
In 1974 I was 20 and a junior in college, I was a Rush fan from the first listen to Working Man. Some of the old fans lost interest when Signals came out, but I liked what they were doing. Since they've used synths since 2112, and both synths and guitar are featured in Xanadu and Tom Sawyer, it wasn't anything really new for me. Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows were less guitar driven. They knew what their true fans wanted.
Neil liked to say they introduce the themes of a song and then add more and more variations. By the end of the song it is so complicated and intricate, keeping with their progressive rock roots. My favorite thing to show new Rush listeners is how in Tom Sawyer, Neil never plays the same through each verse and chorus, each has a twist and different fills... They all do it.
Then to prove their awesomeness, listen to different live versions and realize that it is all planned that way.
Live video from ‘84, my dad had this concert on VHS and we watched it till the tape broke. He’s playing the Steinberger and it looks like he’s doing some sort of muting in the beginning
ua-cam.com/play/RDFgcMM-Z5ITo.html&playnext=1&si=4YvP6qCu2x1qEwDC
You should do one on cop shoot cop. 2 bassists, drums with found metal pieces, and keyboards/ samplers. they added a guitar on the later stuff.
Geddy did start using a Steinberger during the Signals tour for select songs, used it on YYZ and possibly for a few others but it was mostly the Ric used for the live tour. There is video footage of him playing New World Man with the Steinberger and the tone is identical to that on the album track. Sounds nothing like the Ric or Jazz bass to me.
The drumming in the 2nd verse is way harder than it sounds, playing 16th notes on the ride with the upbeats on the china cymbal, and adding fills and punches in between. He does that alot !
Peart always made every verse change pattern and created some strange ones to compliment the music. Each complex yet different. He’s amazing. I’d have loved to met and ask him about that process. Howard stern likes to dig into songwriting habits. Shame he never got into Rush at all. I’d love to have heard him and Alex banter a bit
You need to check out the bass line on their song prime mover.
You're right, there WAS a lot of "WTF, Man!!!?!" from the older hard rockers in 1981. I was only 13, but even though I liked the new sound, it took some getting used to. (Virtually every one of their albums involved some "new sound," so the first listen of ANY Rush album required at least some taste for novelty.
Alien Shore has probably THE busiest bass line from Ged. I don't even understand how he writes stuff like that, you should really check it out next!
They were pretty upfront about how much they liked the current music of that time period and would point out bands like The Police. I hear a lot of Police in the instrumentation of this song, especially the part you found reminds you of Graceland.
Hi there, I’m new to your channel. Your bass sounds really good.
Hey, thanks!
@ I’m sort of old school… not a big fan of 5 strings, but yours does sound really great, what is it?
It’s a Jackson Spectra 5. They have 4-string models too!
“Red sector A” is a fantastic song from this era of Rush. It’s more synthy than new world man and the bass line isn’t as prominent, but the lyrics are great and Geddy crushes the vocals on it. If nothing else you should check it out for yourself.
I saw what you did there
@@surfeit5910 nah, no hidden meanings in my comment. I just think it’s a well written and well played song. Wish Geddy would have played bass in it though 😀
I wouldn't say at all that Signals is "new era" Rush. If anything, it's only a slight progression from Moving Pictures. Any song on this album with the possible exceptions of "Countdown" and "The Weapon", could have been on Moving Pictures. P/G (Grace Under Pressure), is when the "new era" begins, that album is brilliant, but also a huge departure from their traditional sound, with both heavy synths AND electronic drums. "Distant Early Warning" is a sonic masterpiece, that era to me, is just as good as anything they did before it...
RUSH liked the Police! This songs sounds like the Police! Neil was friends with the drummer of the Police!
Yes, Rush leveraged electronics to make it sound like the band was bigger. Preprogrammed stuff on pedals etc. but nobody did it better, nobody sounds as clean. And nobody has such instrumentality that fits together so well. I miss them tremendously. Best band ever
Paul McCartney has some interesting bass and vocal work
Nice. You can tell Rush was looking to the Police on how to enter the 80's.
I was JUST about to comment on that! 😮👍Neil's best Stewart impression IMHO
Stewart admired Neil so much. Even to this day to hear him talk about Neil is beautiful. They had a kinship in how they approached drums differently than most
Would love to see you react to Analog Kid by Rush. Maybe my favorite tune by them. Thanks
You should check out "Turn The Page" from their 1987 "Hold Your Fire" album.
Yeah, the "synth era" RUSH did upset a lot of their fans. It probably lost the band some long time fans, but it also gained them some new ones! The heavy synth sound hit hard with the album after SIGNALS, 1984s,' GRACE UNDER PRESSURE!🏆
When I was a little kid, I thought the singer for Rush was Warwick Davis from Willow. That was my favorite movie when I was 6 when I started paying attention to music. 6 year old me would be so canceled
New World Man was written one day and recorded the next. Not the usual script for Rush.
I think you’ll really enjoy Snot by Snot! Really looking to get your reaction on tone
Rush's ONLY Billboard Top 40 hit, officially making rush a "One Hit Wonder" band... believe it or not. This era of Rush, especially for a bassist, is THE era of Rush to listen to. Geddy had some amazing and fun songs throughout the 80's and even into the 90's Digital Man and Big Money are definitely worth listening to and even more complex and nearly impossible to play.
And just to add, 2/3 of Rush were high school dropouts. They never analyzed chords structures, keys, or theory and the one who did finish high school was almost entirely self-taught. They just... played what sounded good. I always find it hilarious when "musicians" go back through their catalog years later, analyzing their songs and picking out all of these details. So many years and college courses wasted to still not hold a candle to high school dropouts. 😂
BTW, there is no "synth era" Rush. There is only Rush. They've been using synths on records since 2112.
word.
Always liked the bass in this one. 😊
This is their dabble in reggae a' la the Police.
Dreamline from roll the bones is a killer opener
Signals and Grace Under Pressure are great albums. I didn’t give them a fair listen until I got older and a little more sophisticated.
Still haven't seen Tony Franklin on here yet.
Mixed feelings about this one, I was 12 years old upon it's release and had already been a fan of Rush for a few years at this point. When I heard signals for the first time I knew they were going in a direction that I couldn't follow.
New World Man is the only song on the album that I liked and with the benefit of adult hindsight that I didn't possess back then it was a multitude of factors, overuse of keyboards, thin production, Alex Lifeson becoming in effect just a textures player and taking more of a back seat in the overall scheme.
During this period they did put out some songs that while good-were hampered by that same thin sound, a good example of this would be the song 'The Pass', the studio version went past me but in later years when the played it live it sounded like an absolute monster thanks to a beefier sound.
Even taken in retrospect and with a more mature ear....I still don't like this Rush period. A few other gripes I have about this time was the choice of equipment. Geddy went through stuff like Steinberger and Wal basses, the former being used on the Live album 'A Show of Hands' which featured Geddy using the Wal on YYZ, to my ear it's bloody horrible sounding and it makes him sound like he's lost the fluidity of earlier versions.
'Signals' was the last album on which Geddy had used the Rickenbacker; He switched to a Steinberger for the following album, 'Grace Under Pressure', which still sounded fairly similar, but then he moved on to Wal basses for the next three or even four albums, and those sounded radically different!
80's Rush is my favourite era of the band, but that Wal sound is rather terrible, to _my_ ears 😅
And well possible he's not playing the Ric on this song! It may even be the Steinberger's very first appearance!? 😀
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
😀🙌💚🌈☀️🎵🍀🦋🌻
I think this album was the beginning of the synth era, so it wasn't too heavily featured yet
Geddy and alex dont really know much theory. They are songwriters who just do what feels right for the song. All this stuff youre talking about they dont know anything about. But man what songwriters they were for decades. Iconic
My favourite Rush album, my favourite group. It's a religious experience for me.
Awesome
"The era where Rush was experimenting a bit" doesn't exactly nail it down
Prime Mover from Hold Your Fire!!
Speaking of Canadian classics with great bass, you should do I Mother Earth "One More Astronaut." Gotta do the album version with timbale and bass break down, rather than the video edit.
Lots of "The Police" going on with this song... they've inserted those tasty reggae licks here and there ever since they got to be fanboys of Sting and the gang.
They were trying to copy The Police a little bit at this time.
You should do The Analog Kid
This is probably the only song that I would hear from RUSH in the top 40 station when I was a kid riding on the school bus. Their only true big hit. Just because now everyone hears Tom Sawyer, etc...that didn't make it big hit back then. A lot of great songs didn't make it big.
My local station wore out Limelight and Tom Sawyer. Never anything else, haha.
@@LowEndUniversity I'm talking about a top 40 station, not an album oriented rock station. Those songs were played a lot, but not in a top 40 station. I'm 58 so I was there at that time.
@@lazarochavez1 Yep I never heard Rush on Top 40, but I remember the rock and metal stations would play plenty of classic Rush as well as any new singles out of respect to their legacy if nothing else. For example, it was quite bizarre when I heard "SuperConductor" playing on KNAC the main hard rock/metal station in L.A. in the late 80s. Imagine that pop synth song squeezed between Iron Maiden and Ozzy, lol.
1981 by green day! Amazing bass skills
Not the type to try to cause a ruckus on this channels comments but I had never heard that song before, it was not very enjoyable. Super repetitive, vocals sounded very "treated", reminds me why I stopped listening to them. It's like they remove their balls everytime they write a new song now.
Clockwork Angels
'82 to '86 Rush is peak Rush. With Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows being the peak of the peak. I said what I said.
30 years ago as a teen I would have laughed at you. Today, I just nod my head and smile knowingly.
@@katskillz Same! It took me decades to truly appreciate their early to mid '80s stuff. Now it's my favorite Rush era.
Steinbereger era started with Grace Under Pressure, this was still his Jazz bass in studio
One of the biggest regrets I'll have in my life is that I never got to see Rush live. I Idolized Neil Peart as a kid and their music has aged like wine as I've gotten older.
Dude, you and me both. I had an easy ticket in 2015 but was a little busy that week and told my family I’d catch them next time. There wasn’t one. 🥺
Surprised more people didn't recommend The Analog Kid over NWM 🤷🏽♂️
I bought this album on release, back when I was in high school. Rush is fabulous, and you can't go wrong with more reactions. For a more recent example of excellent low end, I highly recommend "Hate" by Band-Maid. ua-cam.com/video/yfORoQIqB3E/v-deo.htmlsi=OZJQ1cJYJUYoVeuq
Just stating...."I know nothing"...but think "Police" ramped up. Zenyatta Mondatta? Even the drums are Copeland 'esque".