SOTD: Digital Man (Rush)

This one kept running through my mind all day. It's the 4th track from "Signals," one of my top 5 Rush albums. As with "Moving Pictures" before it, the guys are in great form and there's not a weak song on the disc.

"Signals" marks the first of a new "cycle" of albums for the band; they maintained a habit for quite a while of doing 4 studio albums, then a live album that encapsulates their sound for that "cycle." With "Signals," Geddy Lee (bass/vocals/keyboards) started adding more keyboard textures. Guitarist Alex Lifeson had to change his guitar sound somewhat after this album because those keyboards tend to take up the same sonic space as a guitar--and it shows. The guitars just aren't as loud in the mix as I'd like.

With that in mind, "Digital Man" is a strongly drum- and bass-driven song. The bass line stands out--and Lee's got some wicked chops to take advantage of that. Very good for intimidating the hell out of beginning bass players: I've been playing for 5 years and still haven't "got" this song.