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So...Do you like Headlong Flight?


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So...Do you like Headlong Flight?  

267 members have voted

  1. 1. So...Do you like Headlong Flight?

    • Love it!
      173
    • Like it.
      67
    • It's ok.
      21
    • Don't like it.
      5
    • Hate it.
      2


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QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 19 2012, 09:55 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 09:48 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 11:16 AM)
Ill post some examples of what I think are great melodies since Im bored as shit at work. lol

These are from the new Mars Volta album because it's fresh in my mind, and it took Cedric 1 solid year to write the lyrics and put these melodies together. To me these are FAR greater than anything Ive heard from Rush in the last 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p07-byXUJ9E#t=02m07s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=02m55s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNjs4M9mlY4#t=03m52s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=05m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_RzGWYbWo#t=03m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AximRP7U50M#t=00m28s

Now keep in mind this is a prog band, or were anyway. Their past albums were f***ing nuts musically. Really difficult to play, and then they come out with this, simplified and great vocal melodies, and it took the guy over a year to put it together, not 3 months like Rush spent on CA.

I wasnt trying to make some sort of commercial promoting Mars Volta. In fact I dont think those links I posted are even close to their best albums, I just posted them since they're from their new album and are fresh in my mind.

 

If you dont like those clips thats totally fine, but they are examples of vocal melodies that are easy to digest. They flow with the music, none of them sound like they dont fit, and are very well constructed and easy to sing along to.

 

Like all of music not everyone will like it, but if you look at the comments on all of those clips, tons of people do. They are a modern day Rush. Hardcore prog beginnings and just now starting to write shorter, normal songs.

 

Then I listen to Headlong Flight and I hear music that sounds like 5 different jams glued together with some vocals slapped on at the very end. It just doesnt sound like a rock solid song to me. It's kind of a mess. I dont get what they're doing now. Im not the kind of fan where if Geddy just rips a little im ready to say its the best theyve been in a long time. Without strong melodies the song means nothing to me.

those examples you provided, and i'm not a mars volta basher, are absolutely brutal to listen to. i listened to the first one and than every other one and the vocals sound forced in certain areas and like they were shoehorned in there. maybe that's the style of music they make? confused13.gif

Totally cool you feel that way. I would never argue that. They are a band who is/was at the forefront of modern prog music.

 

If you listen to Delous through Bedlam in Goliath, tons of really odd song structures, stuff very difficult to play for the best musicians out there (trust me), and have a huge following.

 

They were literally modern day 2112 Rush. Its not like those sort of bands could never exist again. Mars Volta was that band, and their new album has very accessible songs like Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures, but with a much more modern sound to them, not dated.

 

You dont have to like it, but for someone like me who has spent many years focusing on great melodies in songs, some of those parts I posted I keep humming. What is there to hum in Headlong? It sounds so goofy to me. And trust me that doesnt bother me. I got like 17 albums out of them that I love.

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Just downloaded the single from iTunes and as I thought (hoped) the stream version does it no justice at all.

 

I agree with some sentiments on this thread that the lyrics and melody are a bit clunky, but I guess that vocalising someone else's lyrics is not always that easy.

 

Rush do sometimes suffer for this.

 

It sounds as if the music and structure was was pretty much written already and it was recorded pretty quickly as the last song on the album.

 

Popping those lyrics on top was probably not that easy.

A bit like the last page of a 10 page essay....a bit rushed maybe ??

 

Aside from all of that, I'm still reeling from my first listen to it up loud and with all of the sonic stuff sounding as it was intended.

 

Wow.....massive sound (if a little heavy on the bottom end for my liking)

Neil is benefitting absolutely from the goading of Nick to really push it every time......he sounds like he's having a huge amount of fun.

 

Geddy is singing in a lower register for obvious reasons and maybe forcing it a little at times, but on balance his vocals sound great compared to the stream version...much higher in the mix.

His bass sounds low and growly but it's nice that you can hear all the instruments clearly with so much of the spectrum filled with bottom end.

I'm pretty I can hear the Taurus pedals in there too....

 

Alex really does let rip on this track and yes I'd agree with another poster who said he should have kept going for longer with the solo.....

He has a huge full sound as usual but it really does sound like Nick second time around has kicked on to a new level as regards the production.

I think the band (and us) are really lucky to have him.

 

 

All in all this one is a grower and it really bodes well for the rest of the album.

 

They really are in fine fettle playing wise and hopefully recording the album between back to back tours will be the way forward from now on.

 

One thing they stressed about SnA was their attention to detail as regards the "song" and particularly the chorus.

There were some great melodic choruses on SnA and I hope they continue more in the vein of BU2B than Caravan or Headlong Flight as regards that.

 

Us Rush fans are a very picky lot aren't we ....!!

 

Really hope they come back to Dublin next year....

 

 

trink39.gif

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QUOTE (Bastille Dave @ Apr 20 2012, 06:03 AM)
Best thing I've heard from Rush in years. I'd love to hear the vinyl version of it, if it is released in that format, and I'm sure it will be.

Yeah, it's available for preorder on Rush's site.

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I said like.

 

I'm a new Rush first kind of guy. Vapor Trails is my favorite Rush album. Snakes and Arrows is up there, as is Counterparts and Presto.

 

The instrumentation is good. The chops seem to be flowing.

 

However, things sort of seem to be chopped up and put together. On most Rush songs, sections seem to flow well, but it seems like the "Big Steel Wheels" chorus kinda brings the song to a brick wall.

 

Also, I can't remember hearing Geddy singing this poorly on a studio release. Maybe it's the quality, but in the same way most of the new live releases are trying because Geddy is clearly forcing it, so to is this. Especially the, "I wish I could LIVE it all again" part. The word live is so strained, and I wonder if he's even hitting the not itself. I'm not a trained singer, so someone could tell me.

 

Also, the vocal melody just doesn't seem to match the instrumentation of the rest of the song.

 

I don't like the Bastille Day reference, because just go play Bastille Day.

 

Such are my thoughts. I still like it. But it's easier to point to why I don't love it.

Edited by New World Kid
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QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 10:03 PM)
QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 19 2012, 09:55 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 09:48 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 11:16 AM)
Ill post some examples of what I think are great melodies since Im bored as shit at work. lol

These are from the new Mars Volta album because it's fresh in my mind, and it took Cedric 1 solid year to write the lyrics and put these melodies together. To me these are FAR greater than anything Ive heard from Rush in the last 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p07-byXUJ9E#t=02m07s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=02m55s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNjs4M9mlY4#t=03m52s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=05m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_RzGWYbWo#t=03m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AximRP7U50M#t=00m28s

Now keep in mind this is a prog band, or were anyway. Their past albums were f***ing nuts musically. Really difficult to play, and then they come out with this, simplified and great vocal melodies, and it took the guy over a year to put it together, not 3 months like Rush spent on CA.

I wasnt trying to make some sort of commercial promoting Mars Volta. In fact I dont think those links I posted are even close to their best albums, I just posted them since they're from their new album and are fresh in my mind.

 

If you dont like those clips thats totally fine, but they are examples of vocal melodies that are easy to digest. They flow with the music, none of them sound like they dont fit, and are very well constructed and easy to sing along to.

 

Like all of music not everyone will like it, but if you look at the comments on all of those clips, tons of people do. They are a modern day Rush. Hardcore prog beginnings and just now starting to write shorter, normal songs.

 

Then I listen to Headlong Flight and I hear music that sounds like 5 different jams glued together with some vocals slapped on at the very end. It just doesnt sound like a rock solid song to me. It's kind of a mess. I dont get what they're doing now. Im not the kind of fan where if Geddy just rips a little im ready to say its the best theyve been in a long time. Without strong melodies the song means nothing to me.

those examples you provided, and i'm not a mars volta basher, are absolutely brutal to listen to. i listened to the first one and than every other one and the vocals sound forced in certain areas and like they were shoehorned in there. maybe that's the style of music they make? confused13.gif

Totally cool you feel that way. I would never argue that. They are a band who is/was at the forefront of modern prog music.

 

If you listen to Delous through Bedlam in Goliath, tons of really odd song structures, stuff very difficult to play for the best musicians out there (trust me), and have a huge following.

 

They were literally modern day 2112 Rush. Its not like those sort of bands could never exist again. Mars Volta was that band, and their new album has very accessible songs like Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures, but with a much more modern sound to them, not dated.

 

You dont have to like it, but for someone like me who has spent many years focusing on great melodies in songs, some of those parts I posted I keep humming. What is there to hum in Headlong? It sounds so goofy to me. And trust me that doesnt bother me. I got like 17 albums out of them that I love.

Bedlam in Goliath is phenomenal....

 

 

Unfortunately they had to fire Thomas Prigeon....guy is completely out of his mind but I guess from what I heard anyway....a tad immature. Who knows the real story?

 

 

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the one thing a poll like this cannot factor in is time.

 

when S&A came out, 95% of everyone did nothing but rave about it. it was only with time, when people got over the initial hysteria of hearing new rush after years of nothing were they able to get cooler heads and assess what they really thought, giving it time to sink in and more objectively compare it to their catalog.

 

all i'm saying is everyone tends to be over the moon by new rush, but will they feel the same way in a month? in 6 months? usually it seems to take at minimum of a year before people can approach anything resembling objectivity, but of course no one has the patience for that. wink.gif

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QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 20 2012, 11:49 AM)
the one thing a poll like this cannot factor in is time.

when S&A came out, 95% of everyone did nothing but rave about it.  it was only with time, when people got over the initial hysteria of hearing new rush after years of nothing were they able to get cooler heads and assess what they really thought, giving it time to sink in and more objectively compare it to their catalog.

all i'm saying is everyone tends to be over the moon by new rush, but will they feel the same way in a month?  in 6 months?  usually it seems to take at minimum of a year before people can approach anything resembling objectivity, but of course no one has the patience for that. wink.gif

Agreed.

 

Caravan and BU2B have held up really well for me. So much that I knew right away after hearing Headlong Flight for 5 straight listens that those 2 tracks are better than HF. I like HF...good jam. But as far as Rush songs go....they have written so much better. Speaking objectively.

 

But man Geddy's bass has had a rebirth on the CA stuff thus far...it sounds downright thick and has a lot of pop. I have not heard him sonically like this since Signals.

Edited by Todem
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QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 20 2012, 11:49 AM)
the one thing a poll like this cannot factor in is time.

when S&A came out, 95% of everyone did nothing but rave about it. it was only with time, when people got over the initial hysteria of hearing new rush after years of nothing were they able to get cooler heads and assess what they really thought, giving it time to sink in and more objectively compare it to their catalog.

all i'm saying is everyone tends to be over the moon by new rush, but will they feel the same way in a month? in 6 months? usually it seems to take at minimum of a year before people can approach anything resembling objectivity, but of course no one has the patience for that. wink.gif

Good point. The initial excitement/ honeymoon period for a new Rush album is nice, but the real test is with our opinion of the product over time. Good to keep things in perspective.

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QUOTE (Gedneil Alpeart @ Apr 20 2012, 04:47 PM)
QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 20 2012, 11:49 AM)
the one thing a poll like this cannot factor in is time.

when S&A came out, 95% of everyone did nothing but rave about it.  it was only with time, when people got over the initial hysteria of hearing new rush after years of nothing were they able to get cooler heads and assess what they really thought, giving it time to sink in and more objectively compare it to their catalog.

all i'm saying is everyone tends to be over the moon by new rush, but will they feel the same way in a month?  in 6 months?  usually it seems to take at minimum of a year before people can approach anything resembling objectivity, but of course no one has the patience for that. wink.gif

Good point. The initial excitement/ honeymoon period for a new Rush album is nice, but the real test is with our opinion of the product over time. Good to keep things in perspective.

TRF (if it had existed then) circa 1996: TEST FOR ECHO KICKS ASS!!! OMG TEST FOR ECHO IS AWESOME!!! BEST RUSH ALBUM SINCE MOVING PICTURES!!!

 

TRF circa 2002: ONE LITTLE VICTORY KICKS ASS!!! OMG VAPOR TRAILS IS AWESOME!!! BEST RUSH ALBUM SINCE MOVING PICTURES!!!

 

TRF circa 2007: FAR CRY KICKS ASS!!! OMG SNAKES AND ARROWS IS AWESOME!!! BEST RUSH ALBUM SINCE MOVING PICTURES!!!

 

TRF now: HEADLONG FLIGHT KICKS ASS!!! OMG CLOCKWORK ANGELS IS (shaping up to be presumably) AWESOME!!! BEST RUSH ALBUM SINCE MOVING PICTURES!!!

 

and so it goes.... biggrin.gif

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QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 19 2012, 09:55 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 09:48 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 11:16 AM)
Ill post some examples of what I think are great melodies since Im bored as shit at work. lol

These are from the new Mars Volta album because it's fresh in my mind, and it took Cedric 1 solid year to write the lyrics and put these melodies together. To me these are FAR greater than anything Ive heard from Rush in the last 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p07-byXUJ9E#t=02m07s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=02m55s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNjs4M9mlY4#t=03m52s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=05m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_RzGWYbWo#t=03m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AximRP7U50M#t=00m28s

Now keep in mind this is a prog band, or were anyway. Their past albums were f***ing nuts musically. Really difficult to play, and then they come out with this, simplified and great vocal melodies, and it took the guy over a year to put it together, not 3 months like Rush spent on CA.

I wasnt trying to make some sort of commercial promoting Mars Volta. In fact I dont think those links I posted are even close to their best albums, I just posted them since they're from their new album and are fresh in my mind.

 

If you dont like those clips thats totally fine, but they are examples of vocal melodies that are easy to digest. They flow with the music, none of them sound like they dont fit, and are very well constructed and easy to sing along to.

 

Like all of music not everyone will like it, but if you look at the comments on all of those clips, tons of people do. They are a modern day Rush. Hardcore prog beginnings and just now starting to write shorter, normal songs.

 

Then I listen to Headlong Flight and I hear music that sounds like 5 different jams glued together with some vocals slapped on at the very end. It just doesnt sound like a rock solid song to me. It's kind of a mess. I dont get what they're doing now. Im not the kind of fan where if Geddy just rips a little im ready to say its the best theyve been in a long time. Without strong melodies the song means nothing to me.

those examples you provided, and i'm not a mars volta basher, are absolutely brutal to listen to. i listened to the first one and than every other one and the vocals sound forced in certain areas and like they were shoehorned in there. maybe that's the style of music they make? confused13.gif

I'm listening to it now....it's funny how within the 2.gif community how we still have differing tastes. I love the song, I've been waiting for something like this for a long time...since VT. Some who liked VT didn't like SA like myself and vice versa. I can't wait for Tampa and then the second leg when they come down to South Florida...4 more shows and I hit my 50th!

 

Peace

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QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Apr 19 2012, 07:55 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 09:48 PM)
QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 19 2012, 11:16 AM)
Ill post some examples of what I think are great melodies since Im bored as shit at work. lol

These are from the new Mars Volta album because it's fresh in my mind, and it took Cedric 1 solid year to write the lyrics and put these melodies together. To me these are FAR greater than anything Ive heard from Rush in the last 10 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p07-byXUJ9E#t=02m07s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=02m55s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNjs4M9mlY4#t=03m52s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSyc2s4eeA#t=05m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_RzGWYbWo#t=03m10s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AximRP7U50M#t=00m28s

Now keep in mind this is a prog band, or were anyway. Their past albums were f***ing nuts musically. Really difficult to play, and then they come out with this, simplified and great vocal melodies, and it took the guy over a year to put it together, not 3 months like Rush spent on CA.

I wasnt trying to make some sort of commercial promoting Mars Volta. In fact I dont think those links I posted are even close to their best albums, I just posted them since they're from their new album and are fresh in my mind.

 

If you dont like those clips thats totally fine, but they are examples of vocal melodies that are easy to digest. They flow with the music, none of them sound like they dont fit, and are very well constructed and easy to sing along to.

 

Like all of music not everyone will like it, but if you look at the comments on all of those clips, tons of people do. They are a modern day Rush. Hardcore prog beginnings and just now starting to write shorter, normal songs.

 

Then I listen to Headlong Flight and I hear music that sounds like 5 different jams glued together with some vocals slapped on at the very end. It just doesnt sound like a rock solid song to me. It's kind of a mess. I dont get what they're doing now. Im not the kind of fan where if Geddy just rips a little im ready to say its the best theyve been in a long time. Without strong melodies the song means nothing to me.

those examples you provided, and i'm not a mars volta basher, are absolutely brutal to listen to. i listened to the first one and than every other one and the vocals sound forced in certain areas and like they were shoehorned in there. maybe that's the style of music they make? confused13.gif

i absolutely can't stand the mars volta.

 

it's too bad too because their music is creative and awesome, but it's just destroyed by horrendous vocals imho... unsure.gif

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