vital signz

Phenomenal interview. That's the stuff I love to read. Sounds like Alex really drove a lot of this album...

I have tried to "get" Porcupine Tree, but it hasn't hit me yet. I love the talent of the band. Gavin is simply amazing. I do not like very much the songs. Yes I like, Genesis I do too, but not nearly as much as Rush. They simply are not as good of song writers IMHO. That is PURELY my opinion. No question their collective musicianship equals those in Rush. I also have a great deal of respect for the longevity of Rush. Did you know Yes has had 18 members in their 20 studio albums? Genesis has had 11 members during their 15 albums. Genesis stopped being progressive and more 'poppy' in 1978...Yes has at least four years of very pop rock stuff in their Rabin years... It's hard. I love good jazz, but sometimes it just moves my mind only and not my soul. Yes and Genesis are like that to me. Rush moves both. Deeply. Porcupine Tree moves my mind, but not my soul.... I will have to give them more time. More "study and work"

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 11 2012, 03:31 PM) Gentle Giant Van der Graff Generator Thx...I will check them out Goob!

Clockwork Angels is a classic example of a typical masterpiece recording by Rush, that takes some time to fully comprehend the depth of meaning of the songs and appreciation of the incredible construction of the music. A lot of their efforts require this effort, some more than others, and man o' man it is such a rewarding process to go thru..... This recording really is that good...Christ! This one I "got" quickly...around the third listen... Anyways, it got me thinking about other bands out there like them that require 'study' if you will... Any other band you feel falls into this type of category? And I also came to the realization that the reason Rush fans are so loyal to the band is that the band is so loyal to us fans. They don't just off some bullshit three chord songs that a monkey can dance to, they work at their creativity and place great effort into compositions that require us to "digest". They feed our musical souls ladies and gents. This is what makes being lucky enough to be born with a brain capable of internalizing these compositions and appreciating them for what they are so incredibly special. Can any of us imagine how much it would suck if someone who cared about us came to us and said "hey...got the new Rush album. It sure is amazing...wanna hear it?" And we could only reply, "I don't get Rush...it's not for me..." We are the lucky ones members of TRF, and those out there who love this band. We have the gift to appreciate Rush. It should not be taken for granted! I have made friendships that have lasted a lifetime over these guys' creations. Their music has been a common bond for us. Their music brings me peace in times of stress, excitement in times of boredom and happiness in times of despair unlike any other band on earth. I would love to find some other bands that could require work and study, but somehow I doubt any will quite measure up to what the Holy Triumvirate provides!

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 08:01 PM) Wish Them Well REALLY clicked with me yesterday. The lyrics are really uplifting and positive! Carnies is also a really good song. The only thing close to mediocre for me so far is BU2B2. me2

QUOTE (goose @ Jun 11 2012, 01:15 AM) QUOTE (eshine @ Jun 10 2012, 11:27 PM) QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 10 2012, 05:45 PM) QUOTE (third hand grace @ Jun 10 2012, 03:39 PM) I love Rush, been my favorite band since I was NINE years old in 1981. 43 concerts under my belt well...just gonna say it... I do not understand why Geddy does so much with his (old) voice! Im REALLY struggling with the vocals on this one (CA). I've listened to every song about 7x. I just keep finding spots where I cringe. I'm no singer/musician, but to me it just seems like he's trying to do "too much" for lack of technical words. musically I like it, and conceptually I LOVE the idea. I need to step away for a few days... His vocal abilities are extremely diminished. He's been abusing it for decades through touring and smoking, which he quit but the damage is done. He's doing the best he can, and something is better than nothing at all, isnt it? I think he sounds dreadful on some of these songs, especially when he tries to sing low and from the heart. He sounds like an old man in those moments, but sometimes he sounds decent too, for his age of course. He's never going to sound like he used to again and he's not going to stop singing the way apparently he likes to sing. He sounds bad when trying to sing form the heart?? as opposed to what, when he fakes it? What does that even mean?? Do you guys even listen to music or is it all about exact technical proficiency for you? It's about melody, which Geddy achieved on S&A songs like "Working Them Angels", and missed on tracks like "Spindrift". From what I hear, CA is too much along the lines of the "Spindrift" wailing as opposed to finding a passionate melody within his current range. Just how I hear it. From taste they are all entitled to their opinions, but from a musicians perspective, even though sometimes they think they know what they are talking about, they may not be as on target as they think they are...I have heard Trenken on more than one occasion go on and on about how he knows musicianship. Well so do I and I can tell you that he isn't always right about everything he says. But I can respect how he and THG and Goose feel about the fact they don't LIKE his voice. I have been a musician for 30 years and played professionally for 5 of those years before going into my career which is decidedly different. I still play and record regularly for my own joy and happiness. I only say that so Trenken will maybe give what I have to say some credence, so he just doesn't automatically come at me with What is the truth is Geddy is still pitch perfect in the studio. His voice is not dreadful. Dreadful is missed pitch, horrible tone, horrible quality...His range is diminished as are the dynamic qualities of his voice (the ability to yodel say, for example....or like David Lee Roth's old ability to instantaneously go into those high pitched caterwauling moments of his in the days of old, which he cannot do at all now)...but his ability so sing on pitch in the studio is perfect. His vibrato is also quite good. William Hung singing Rush would be dreadful. What these guys should be saying is that they do not LIKE his voice anymore. Not that he doesn't have it, or has lost it. They don't care for his tone, his register, his dynamic ability. It sure as heck isn't dreadful. A great example is Johnny Cash. He had a smoothness as a young man, a gruffness as an old man, but he could still stay on pitch and sing with emotion. The song Hurt by Trent Reznor, was performed far better by Mr Cash than by Reznor, as stated by Trent himself. Yet when you here it, there is nothing fancy there at all, no range to speak of, no smoothness or vocal acrobatics whatsoever. It is just emotive. He can barely get the words out, but it is from his heart. Dreadful? I think not. I happen to care more for Cash's voice later in life than younger days. I feel the same about Geddy. I much prefer his voice from Moving Pictures forward than in the earlier days. So while Geddy's voice has changed, the ability is there in the studio. That is what we are talking about at this moment, right? Dreadful just isn't the right word. "I don't care for it" may be a better way to phrase it. Now, live----that is another story. I sing and play guitar simultaneously and I can tell you that there is always lost ability to maintain pitch and tone while doing two things at the same time. The more complicated the playing the more ability is lost. That is just science. So expect Geddy to miss notes in concert. Different ones each night. As one ages, this will get worse from a neurological perspective. Expect more missed notes in concert in these later years. But give him acceptance I say, because I'll bet no one here on this forum can play the runs from this album and sing the songs, all while maintaining perfect pitch. So I LIKE middle aged Geddy's voice. Others don't, that's ok. But it's not due to wrong choices or mistakes. The musicianship is there. The pitch is right and the tone is right. The emotion is right. But you may not find it pleasing YOURself. To Geddy, Alex and Neil, I am sure they love it just fine. To legions of fans its great and to scores its not the same and they don't care for it anymore. Goose states he doesn't understand why Geddy chooses to sing the way he does. But I can assure you its not a CHOICE of Geddy's. It is what it is. I sure would not call it dreadful like Trenken did, just as I wouldn't call Cash's version of Hurt dreadful. It is emotive and that's more important. Cash didn't choose to sing Hurt the way he did, it simply was the way it was. And like Trenken said, "he's doing the best he can, and something is better than nothing" I do think Trenken knows a lot about musicianship, I just think the way he is judging Geddy's voice is wrong.

QUOTE (Chicken hawk @ Jun 10 2012, 09:28 PM) I haven't heard it yet. i cant find the thread to hear the 30 seconds samples either. I ordered my Clockwork from Amazon. Check the most popular video site in the world my friend! Edited to add, even tho I have been listening, I pre-ordered four copies of the CD. I just simply could not wait. It was 100x worse than Christmas for me!

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 10 2012, 04:19 PM) After my initial listen yesterday I must say that CA is nowhere near as focused as S&A. It is much more meandering. There is a disconnect between much of the vocal lines and the supporting music. There is no real sense of cohesion. There are some great textures and some parts are intriguing but I think the strongest tracks are the first two and the Wreckers, which is the least Rush like track on the album. It has the most impactful melody. For the most part there is a wash of guitars. I like the the really rare instances of bare, punchy guitars which only happens occasionally. I would say it doesn't suck, but it's not great. But that's me. I expect a lot from Rush. I rank it higher than HYF which is really the only bad Rush album. Well although you are certainly entitled to your opinion, you are by a large margin in the minority here! And I would respectfully disagree with you that CA is meandering. I haven't seen this band as focused since 1979.

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Jun 10 2012, 09:01 PM) QUOTE (ThinkingBig @ Jun 10 2012, 06:55 PM) QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jun 10 2012, 05:42 PM) Hopefully they'll play the CA songs contiguously so I can also take an "epic", without rush (no pun intended). Okay, people we have to stop posting stuff like this. I want to hear SOME of CA too on the new tour. But there are 19 other albums with good and great songs. If RUSH starts reading these, 'Play is all' threads, they may get that really bad idea in their head. There's a lot of us holding $150 that are getting nervous that we'll be seeing a CA concert, not a RUSH concert which is what we paid for. It's a great album. But let it stand the test of time the way MP has before RUSH considers playing it all. A.) unless you want a 90-year old Rush to play it whole, then waiting the same length of time that passed for MP isn't gonna happen. B.) I paid for a Clockwork Angels Tour ticket. I'm not sure why yours says "Rush Tour", but mine says "Clockwork Angels Tour". So yep, if they decide to bust out the whole album, I wouldn't call that deceptive or wrong-headed. It's right there in the title... Clockwork Angels Tour. Damn right! Now during the Vapor Trails Tour, I wish my ticket said Rush Tour... (kidding... I loved that tour....but I did not want to hear all of Vapor Trails. I DO Clockwork Angels!)

QUOTE (Slack jaw gaze @ Jun 10 2012, 07:58 PM) One of the hardest things about writing songs must be not repeating oneself. It's a hell of a lot harder to write good songs when you've already written LVS, Xanadu, Tom Sawyer, and over 150 (mostly good) songs. Thank the Watchmaker they aren't writing Bytor Part II. The rocket sauce still flows readily. Excellent point!

QUOTE (The Big Money @ Jun 10 2012, 01:17 PM) That is just stupid. Who finds entertainment in watching that. Apparently Joe Rogan and the Danes!

It's boneriffic!

Wow... Wonderfully moving and impactful. I enjoyed all 118!

No way they will do Fear... Not enough set list space to include The Enemy Within and Freeze, and no way Witch Hunt gets a nod this time around. I do believe there is a chance we could see The Weapon, but not a big chance.

QUOTE (losingit2k @ Jun 9 2012, 11:47 PM) Clockwork Angels is everything that S & A lacked. It's like the Peddlar visited S & A and asked "What do you lack?". The answer was: I need to rock harder, I need to jam, I need to be Epic. And the Peddlar provided! man that is well said...

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ Jun 10 2012, 05:28 AM) I think that's a bit of a stretch. I guess I kind of hear what you might be talking about, but they really don't sound similar, certainly not to the extent that they reworked that riff for Carnies. No way. Also, comparing them to Van Halen in any way is sickening. agreed...

One other thing... If you are a fan of art at all, I can see a comparison to artist's works... Look at some of Picasso's earlier works...totally different than where he ended up. Same for Dali, Monet, Rembrandt, hell everyone. The earlier works are distictly excellent and representative of only what that artist does, but the creativity and evolution of the style is a wild and creative ride often ending up with something wondrous to behold. Rush is like this. I would not put all bands in this light, as so many get old and lazy and just stop developing, playing their old hits over and over again. Geddy, Alex and Neil are true artists and keep growing cerebrally based on the sum of all of their experiences, and sometimes their growth takes them onto an area a lot of people just can't get like Caress of Steel and Vapor Trails, but sometimes you get the 2112's and the Clockwork Angels's...

I have to say I like it better than 2112 at this time. 2112 is one of the greats however and stands the test of time, so like previously said, only time will tell where this goes over the next year. For me, The 2112 Overture, Temples of Syrinx, Lessons, and Twilight Zone are the standouts on the album. Passage to Bangkok, Tears and Something For Nothing are very very good, but Tears, gets skipped a lot, due to its slow, dirge-like qualities, and Something For Nothing is the Geddy Voice of yesteryear, which although, phenomenal, a bit harder to take that his voice from Permanent Waves onward...The rest of 2112 (Discovery, Presentation, Oracle, The Dream, Soliloquy, & The Grand Finale) gets skipped by me almost always... So if I was on a desert island and had one of these two albums with me, I would have Clockwork Angels...right now at least. Okay, I ready for the assault that will follow...

I just posted in that thread yesterday that it would be great to redo the voting since so many people keep shifting their feelings for what they consider the best song.

I think it's, like Hold Your Fire, AWESOME. Simple, yet deep with meaning. HYF just says so much with the three spheres placed on a red background. This says a lot more. This cover says a lot to me given the total package here. The subject matter of the album, the 12 songs each with deep meaning, not just lets go get drunk and bang some girls, hence 12 symbols each with God knows what they mean. You already get the clue that there is something to figure out here. This all placed amidst swirling clouds ala a 'clockwork universe', and it all glowing a crimson red which could be metaphorically standing for a lot of different things. It just says to me, 'this is a deep and complex album pal, understand that before you open it'.... That's my $0.02

Joe says its the most disgusting thing he has ever seen! http://www.fourwinds10.net/resources/uploads/image/45758-13.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...&v=OUSAisUWr4g#!

QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Jun 9 2012, 05:48 PM) I've just listened to the streaming versions of each song and I'm sad to say they've really bombed this last attempt to create something special. Each directionless mess-of-a-song really only sounds like a variation of the other, all with that repetitive downbeat, brooding/bleating feel, stuck in an aural pre-migraine-inducing vocal trough. Guitar is schizophrenic, unstructured, and lacks any cohesion whatsoever. What is so fascinating to them about this style of music?? I'm bitterly disappointed. They'll be in this dark vein for the rest of their "creative" career, imo. PUHLEEZE give this a few more listens. While I respect your opinion, I really want you to give this at least 4 listens before you bail. Every time I have heard this it gets sweeter and more understandable, and I dare say it is the best effort since Power Windows, and might even be possibly the best effort since Moving Pictures as a whole album is concerned. And the thing is, most everyone I know who has heard this agrees. This is totally surprising. Never has there been such cohesion regarding a new release between me and my friends.

QUOTE (eshine @ Jun 9 2012, 12:54 PM) QUOTE (J2112YYZ @ Jun 8 2012, 07:43 AM) QUOTE (Storm Shadow @ Jun 8 2012, 06:23 AM) QUOTE (J2112YYZ @ Jun 7 2012, 07:49 PM) QUOTE (lifeson90 @ Jun 7 2012, 05:55 PM) from the opening note in concert, this song is going to kill everyone there I doubt that. It's a new song and it's a slow song so it might not go over too well. Anyone remember how bad of a reception The Larger Bowl got on the S&A tour? It killed all right, the crowd completely died during it. Don't be surprised if this song gets the same sort of reaction IF it's played live. The Larger Bowl is terrible though. I can't imagine most people who like CA not wanting to hear The Garden live. I think the Larger Bowl is an ok song but I get what you're saying. It's a big risk to take a slow new song that many don't know and play it live though. The same thing happened with Resist on the T4E tour. The crowd was compeltely dead and couldn't care less about the song. That's why I think playing The Garden might not be a wise choice. What's the risk - that some fans might not like it?? Given the amount of songs they play, I don't think Rush concern themselves with making sure every single song completely wows the crowd. Yes, it's about entertaining the audience - but let's not forget they are artists presenting their work. The Garden does this to Resist or The Larger Bowl: http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs1/1913954_o.gif