wilb1972

I love myself more. You know, you can tell me selfishness is wrong -- but it was for me not you that I came to download these songs!

Now that I've had a few days to absorb CA, here's my take, for what it's worth: Of course, its impossible to measure anything Rush has done in the last 15 or 20 years with anything they did in their "salad days" -- just not the same guys, they've grown and evolved, as players, as writers, as people. That last point is what struck me most about the story of Clockwork Angels. The protagonist is not the same young man who felt life was not worth living, and ended it all in a "grand finale" on 2112; no, this guy is a guy who has grown up and seen that life is worth living, and all you can do is make the most of what life hands you, wish everyone well, and move on, which incidentally, has become my philosophy over the last several years as well as I have grown. This attitude is the sign of a more mature Neil Peart and gives The Garden more poignancy. But backing up a bit ... As I said, this is "new Rush". And I define that to include everything from Presto through CA. And out of that batch, the only thing that could beat CA in my mind is Counterparts. Vapor Trails would be a close third, hampered only by its production. Track by track ... Caravan. Love the new changes to the track. A great song is even greater! BU2B - the same for this song, the little introduction adds to an already great track. Clockwork Angels -- took me a couple of listens to get into this one but I find myself going back to it regularly now. One of the strongest tracks on the album. The Anarchist -- solid track, but doesn't really distinguish itself in the way other tracks do on the album. Carnies -- another one that took a couple of listens. The riff is great. Love the feel of the song. Its reminds me of a cross between "Battle Scar and ELP's "Black Moon". Halo Effect -- nice change of pace. Not the most outstanding track, but gives the listener a breather. Seven Cities of Gold -- another strong track that is steadily growing on me. The Wreckers -- really digging this one! A standout for me personally. Headlong Flight -- still as good as it ever was! BU2B -- serves the story, but out of context is unnecessary. Wish Them Well -- felt repetitive and weak the first time through, but I can't stop humming it! It really is catchy. And I love the lyrics. The Garden - sublime, and about the most beautiful song Rush has ever recorded. Reminiscent of The Sphere. It's not a perfect song, but it is a fulfilling climax to the album. Overall, it beats SnA by miles.

QUOTE Is it really proggy? I'm abstaining from listening, but I've heard some comments that it's not proggy at all and in the vein of recent Rush, while some of you say it's very proggy, even the proggiest thing since Natural Science. I sure hope it's got some prog to it. Depends on your definition of "prog". If a concept album constitutes "prog", then yes, its proggy. If ten to twenty minute tracks define prog for you, then no its not. If pushing the boundaries of your own sound and constantly trying to better yourself with each album, evolving and growing is how you define prog, then yea, I guess it is, but at the same time its not. Wait...

Oh wait, you are serious? Nick is the best thing to happen to this band since Peter Collins produced Counterparts.

The Garden is phenomenal. Nice way to close out the album.

QUOTE My hubby talked me into listening to it early. I was going to hold out until the official release but gave in I must say I was not dissappointed at all. It is all I had hoped it would be. The guys sounded like they were having a great time. They were loose and weird (in a good way). The strings that I think we were all leary about are not over done. I totally enjoyed it and can not wait to get home to listen again. The songs that stood out the most to me (aside from the 3 we already know) are The Garden, The Wreckers and Carnies. I am so happy for the guys and for us as fans. I am so excited to see these songs live, we get to see them Nov 1 in the ATL !!!! It is so awesome. ROCK ON !!!! Well put, dear! But then I am biased, I am married to you! We sat and listened to this monster of an album and well ... I am almost scared by how much I like it. And its only getting better with each listen.

QUOTE Well, I was wondering how long it would take someone to bitch about the waveform and the compression. A day. It took a single day. Congratulations. The album sounds great. The music is awesome. The vocals are not too far down in the mix. If you're an audiophile that isn't happy unless everything is 100% perfect, well... that's you. That's not 99.9% of the rest of us. I swear, "over compressed" is the most overblown thing I've ever heard about modern music. Honestly, it's beginning to sound like the kind of thing people say when they want to appear smart about audio production or they're just looking for something to be contrary about. This.

QUOTE Ok, so things got a tad out of sequence today. I'm sure that everybody is aware that CA leaked. I'm weak. I couldn't help myself. Still gonna finish the marathon My wife and I gave in as well, since it was the complete album. We will get back to the marathon shortly as well.

QUOTE You could wait a week and buy the album. Oh I have the album on order. Ready and willing, but reading all of this feedback on the leak is making me too excited now. I know its just one more week, but dang it! I wanna hear it now.

RUSH - Before and After FBN - In the End COS - Bastille Day 2112 - Tears AFTK - Xanadu HEMISPHERES - The Trees PERWAVS - Jacob's Ladder MP - Tom Sawyer SIGNALS - The Analog Kid GUP - The Enemy Within POWIND - Grand Designs HYF - Turn the Page PRESTO - The Pass RTB - Neurotica CP - Cut to the Chase T4E - Driven VT - Vapor Trail S&A - Far Cry CA - anything!

QUOTE Youtube really degrades the quality. Why would you listen to it on Youtube? Because I have no other way of listening since I can't download these, ahem....

So how long before these end up on YouTube?

This afternoon my wife and I listened to Snakes and Arrows, an album that ranks low on my list of Rush albums. But in the spirit of the marathon, for the first time in over a year and a half, I thought I would give it a chance. I tried not to spoil my wife's listening experience too much, though she knows it's never been a favorite of mine, and thus she hasn't really heard much from it beyond a few select tracks. As we listened, I realized more than ever that this album is just ... poorly written. And its a shame because the production is so great!! After VT, with its well-known technical flaws, I had high hopes for this one. And after hearing Far Cry, again I thought this was going to be a strong album. But this album is one of the most boring, plodding, ill-paced things Rush has ever produced. Poorly executed melodies, and long mid-tempo track after track... It was tedious! My wife tried to be more forgiving, but even she found it lackluster. The only tracks we dug are the ones that stood out before: Far Cry, The Main Monkey Business, Workin' Them Angels, The Way the Wind Blows and Malignant Narcissism. Everything else is pretty forgettable. Which is why we are all the more excited by what we have heard from CA thus far -- the three songs we have thus far are miles better than the whole of S&A, in our opinions at least. So we were going to do Snakes and Arrows Live next, but felt the need for a break.

On first listen, some of these sound very mid-tempo-y, Snakes and Arrows sort of things ... Not a lot of variation in the clips. However, on second listen, I found them very promising. Impossible to say more without hearing them all, but right now I get a sort of MFH, S&A, even a little VT ... blended together, which makes sense, those are the bands most recent releases. They are building off of what they have done most recently. That's what they do. So yea, still have a good feeling about the album overall.

Okay my evening has been made... and I am sick. So thanks.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEE me some King's X!

Okay back from the anniversary trip, recovering and chilling out to some college softball and ... RUSH! We did Different Stages, Vapor Trails, Rush in Rio (CD) and Feedback! That would be all we could cram into our little evening. Different Stages is my favorite live album, despite the circumstances surrounding its release at the time. "Suddenly, you were gone..." Vapor Trails is a great album, even with the crappy production. My wife loves it as well. One Little Victory, Secret Touch ... all the usual suspects, plus Nocturne and Out of the Cradle, Freeze and Sweet Miracle... Listened to Rush in Rio, and found it to be the most musically diverse of any Rush live album. Now onto the weirdness that is Feedback. Love Summertime Blues. For What It's Worth is the most un-Rush like recording by Rush ever! Strange! If the CA album leaks, we do not plan on listening until the official release date, so we are still on pace to finish our listening marathon maybe by tomorrow evening. We might listen while we watch more softball tomorrow (ROLL TIDE!!!)

If you just went off of the samples you would think Rush was some sort of neo-metal /world fusion / new age sort of band. Maybe they always have been and we just didn't know how to describe it? At any rate, these samples served their purpose -- they made me and then

QUOTE You know, what would be kind of cool would be photos of unusual places you are at while listening to CA I won't be able to get anywhere unusual really -- I plan on throwing it in the CD player the moment I get my grubby little hands on it, and that will most likely be in my living room.

Okay update time: We stuck with the videos last night and finished them all! So you can add these: Show, Don't Tell The Pass Superconductor Roll the Bones Stick it Out Nobody's Hero Half the World Driven Resist (live, R30) Secret Touch (live, R30) The Seeker (live, R30) Far Cry Malignant Narcissism Headlong Flight Tonight we plan on Different Stages and maybe VT if we have time. Then tomorrow we will be off the radar until Sunday.

And its inevitable sequel: Time Piece Cherry!

I heard they were doing the 700 Club.

QUOTE Yep, they fricken LOVE The Boss, and U2 for that matter I love U2.