karkarius

CLICK HERE FOR CLOCKWORK ANGELS LINER NOTES

QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ May 1 2012, 11:03 AM) I think Jacobs Ladder isn't all that great. There - I said it! and not necessarily about Rush, but more about Rush fans... I do not now , and have not ever liked Star Trek. I never watched any of the series, but have seen 2 of the movies (the whale one and the one with Ricardo Montalban) Never been a Trek fan either, but I did love watching Shatner play Denny Crane on Boston Legal. When I met him and told him I wasn't a Trek fan but loved Boston Legal he seemed, for a brief second anyway, more happy to meet me than I was about meeting him. lol. I think he's really tired of talking about Star Trek.

QUOTE (Snaked @ Jun 14 2012, 10:20 PM) My Open Letter to RUSH: Fellas - Thanks for kicking my ass once again. -Snaked. LOL!

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Jun 14 2012, 07:56 PM) My reaction to my favorite artists' music has changed drastically over the years. I think it's normal not to react enthusiastically to new music from a familiar artist. I, too, rarely get an emotional rush from new Rush music. But I gotta tell ya, I like Clockwork Angels a lot. I don't think it's a masterpiece, but I feel it is a very adventurous and challenging listen. There are more gems on it than any album since the 1980's. IMHO! Also, I don't agree, at all, with bring back Terry Brown. It's not like the man was an innovator. Again, Terry Brown benefited more from Rush than Rush benefited from Terry Brown. And sometimes, a step back is a step back. And I think Peter Henderson did a terrible job producing Grace Under Pressure! And welcome! I wouldn't mind Terry Brown coming back. He did produce the best Rush albums of their entire catalog in my opinion. Henderson didn't do every track with perfection on that album but I've never thought it was terrible. I really like that album a lot. Almost every tune on it is great for me. I think many of you might be forgetting that youth itself plays a part in this. Some of you are still young, some are as old as me, whatever era was from your youth is often your favorite era of Rush. And that's normal in my opinion. And I'm glad these young fans exist, even if I don't always agree with them because if it weren't for them...Rush would be broken up into two other bands and a guy writing books and doing the occasional jazz video. The fans from my generation weren't loyal as much from about Signals on, to be honest with ya. I remember loving Signals and hearing other guys who had always liked Rush before saying, "Why is Rush trying to sound like Star Wars?" I'd be like, "What the F*** are you talking about? This album is good!" At least I have the satisfaction of knowing through experience that the CD I just got will grow on me more and more as I keep listening to it. A few months from now I'll be even happier than I am now. And I'm pretty damn happy.

QUOTE (Jmo2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 07:15 PM) I have been a hardcore Rush fan since 1983 when at age 13 I was blown away upon hearing Tom Sawyer while at summer camp. I was fortunate enough to get to see Rush at Radio City Music Hall that year when Rush was previewing songs that would end up on the Grace Under Pressure album. I remained a rabid fan up to and including Counterparts (even though I felt queasy about Presto along the way). Test for Echo is where the band lost me. Vapor Trails didn't win me back either, but Snakes and Arrows came along and yanked me back onto the train. For the most part. And now we have Clockwork Angels which is growing on me literally by the minute (have Headlong Flight in the headphones as I type this). But a few things nag at me from the recesses of my subconscious. What's keeping me from fully loving the recent output and feeling that deeper connection with my favorite band ever? I believe it boils down to the following points: 1. Rush are no longer giving me a *Rush*. In other words the chills I used to get upon hearing a new song/album aren't there. Not a one. I love the music, admire the musicianship and respect the songwriting but something is still missing. I attribute this in part to the fact that (as Neil admitted in his recent Rolling Stone interview) the boys are making music for different reasons these days. They need to make albums without necessarily wanting to so much. To my mind these leads into issue #2 2. Lack of experimentation. Not to be confused with lack of progressiveness. The boys still kill it with odd time signatures and concepts but where's the experimentation? Whether it be Neil's fills, Alex's solos or Geddy's vocals I'm not hearing the boundary pushing. Maybe this is connected to point #3... 3. KEYBOARDS! Where are they and will they ever make a comeback??? From 2112-Counterparts keyboards played a *crucial* role in defining Rush's sound. That leaves Rush-COS and Test For Echo-Clockwork Angels keyboard-less. Their catalog is kind of like meat lined with fat in this respect. 4. Production: call me a curmudgeon but I miss Terry Brown. Henderson did a bang up job on GUP but outside of that I can't say that I've heard a non-Broon produced Rush album that comes close to Permanent Waves. If anything the production value has deteriorated into a digital mess that peaked with Vapor Trails but is still present on the later albums. Alex's solos, Neil's snare drum and even Geddy's bass tone have all suffered as a result. Being back Geddy's Rick, Alex's Gibson hollow bodies and give Neil some analog love! That's my assessment. Many will disagree but let me end on an up note. Rush on a bad day (or album) are still better then the vast majority of bands in the galaxy. I wouldn't nit pick or take the time to write this if I didn't care. I have loved these guys for close to 30 years and will always love them. I just hope that they will produce one more album to 2" tape using keyboards with Terry Brown at the board! Wishful thinking, I know. But this is a band that inspires hope in many interesting ways! Peace. Jeremy I agree with things you said in this post. For me it all comes down to one thing, they aren't letting their music breathe anymore. The first non-keyboard album for me was something I was looking forward to, but when I got it and listened it seemed whenever Geddy couldn't fill space with keyboards he insisted on doubling vocal parts on top of each other of him humming, or singing the word 'oh' over and over again. I was like, WTF? They might as well have continued using the keyboards in my opinion. The music breathed more back when they did. Then they also have these acoustic tunes that are great because the songs get a chance to breathe. I love the Garden song on this new album, but I'd rather listen to progressive rock that breathes once in awhile. One only has to listen to A Farewell To Kings and then listen to this album...and if they can't see the difference...I don't know what to tell ya. lol. Alex has also gotten lazy with his leads. But, you also made another good point...even the worst of Rush can be a fun time. And I'm so glad to have a new Rush album.

I like this DVD a lot. It's one of my favorites.

Ghost of a chance is my fav on that one.

Cool. A dvd of a concert in my home state.

I really liked the album. I miss that whole keyboard era too.

That tour was the first time I saw them live so it means a lot to me. Great show too. Unfortunately there is no bootleg of it.

Wow. I'm really surprised that Red Sector A got so many votes. I love the lead in that song.

QUOTE (FoxxiStarr @ May 19 2011, 09:12 AM) Before we get the "Old Rush Good, New Rush Bad" arguement in here ... I would respectfully point you to "2112", "A Farewell To Kings", "Hemispheres", "Moving Pictures" to begin with ... ALL good I agree with that list.

That was cool.

I liked it. Good performance.

Well I just listened to the VH song Pleasure Dome. It's like many of VH's songs. Starts out interesting and then turns into a piece of shit.

I really like the way Earthshine starts. But there are so many. I usually prefer when Alex starts with a really hard sound.

I just snorted 300 lbs of cocaine.

Getting my air conditioning fixed after one of the most horridly brutal weekends ever.

The only Pearl Jam song I liked was Alive. It's a great song. But I never really got into them too much after that.

Cold Fire. The guitar intro often winds up in my head.