Monday, March 2, 2015

"New World Man" by Rush

Song#:  1184
Date:  09/18/1982
Debut:  72
Peak:  21
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Prog Rock



Pop Bits:  Rush started off the 80s with what would be their most successful LP, the four-times platinum "Moving Pictures." After a stop-gap live album, the band returned to the studio and came up with "Signals." And like the title, the LP signaled some changes in their music. Gone were the epic 10-minute suites/songs in favor of shorter, more concise tunes and they began to experiment more with synth sounds and other technologies of the day. The result was another platinum hit that reached #10 and spawned this single which became the band's first and only Top 40 entry. The song also became their first to reach #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

ReduxReview:  Rush was not one of those bands that hit my radar back then. Prog rock was not my thing. I was aware of this song thanks to it hitting the chart and thought it was just okay. These days I enjoy a lot of Rush's music and think this is a pretty great song. It's a very straight-forward pop/rock tune, which for them is a bit unusual, so it is not surprising it turned into their biggest US chart song.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  The three members of Rush all witnessed the inaugural launch of the space shuttle Columbia in 1981. The event inspired them to write the song "Countdown" that appears on "Signals." The song includes some of the recorded radio talk from Columbia's first mission. Sadly, on Feburary 1, 2003, the Columbia was destroyed on re-entry killing its seven crew members.

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