MusicRadar: Clockwork Angels full album review

[RushBowler2112]

QUOTE (deslock @ May 8 2012, 05:04 AM)

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM) I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years. I agree that the comparisons to MP (which have been happening since HYF) get tiresome. But I also think their last few albums have been getting gradually better. IMO, since MP:   PoW ~ MP > SnA > CP ~ VT > Sig ~ RTB ~ T4E > Presto ~ GUP ~ HYF This whole "better than album x" discussion is silly. I consider CP standing above all other albums but obviously many do not agree.   CP / SnA / PoW / RtB / HyF / Presto are my consistent plays PW / Hemi / AftK / Signals / TFE are my sometimes plays the rest are rarely plays including MP   But guess what....aside from Caress of Steel which I consider decent, EVERY other album kicks extreme ass in my book.

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 8 2012, 12:05 AM)

QUOTE (losingit2k @ May 7 2012, 10:09 PM) I guess the only downside is that: There isn't one Instrumental in the whole thing! Vapor Trails is the only album in the past 20 years that *hasn't* had an instrumental, and the last one had three. The lack of an instrumental is not something to lament. Agree. I'm neither for nor against. If it fits to have one (or three) then fine. If not, fine. There is no "rule".

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM)

I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years.

Hate to disappoint you, but this happens with just about every band. For instance, Kiss has been calling every album since Crazy Nights "Destroyer meets....."

Edited May 8, 2012 by Presto-digitation

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 04:07 AM)

QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 8 2012, 12:05 AM) QUOTE (losingit2k @ May 7 2012, 10:09 PM) I guess the only downside is that: There isn't one Instrumental in the whole thing! Vapor Trails is the only album in the past 20 years that *hasn't* had an instrumental, and the last one had three. The lack of an instrumental is not something to lament. Agree. I'm neither for nor against. If it fits to have one (or three) then fine. If not, fine. There is no "rule". I was hoping for at least one. I found the 3 instrumentals on S&A, while certainly not being as great as La Villa, YYZ or Overture, were easily their best post-MP instrumentals.   That said, is it really 100% definitive based on the descriptions of the songs in this review that there are no instrumentals? I would think if one song was that he would have stated that emphatically, but also I don't recall him talking about the lyrics in each song, so maybe there still could be one?

[Phantom]

It's great to read a description of each song. It gives me a sense of how each song is structured.

 

As for the descriptions themselves, these are clearly not " reviews ", but rather " promotion ". I'm ok w' that, but I don't for a minute consider it to be unbiased.

 

Once I hear it myself, I'm sure I'll love some of it, and won't love other parts of it.

 

Based on what I've heard to date though, overall, I'm expecting a great album.

[tas7]

Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM)

Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song.

Oh, so you've heard it?

 

Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high.

Edited May 8, 2012 by rushgoober

[EmotionDetector]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 08:35 AM)

QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM) Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song. Oh, so you've heard it?   Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high. Yep, I agree.   Just because one person claimed it to be 'the best song on CA', it doesn't mean that YOU will feel that way.   Hell, I legitimately love songs like Virtuality and Neurotica that most people bury deep down in the basement as far as Rush song rankings. We all hear different things...so we have to reserve judgement until our own ears get to soak in the new songs.   With that said, 'Halo Effect' is certainly one of the cooler-sounding titles IMO.

[Merely Space]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 06:38 AM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 04:07 AM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 8 2012, 12:05 AM) QUOTE (losingit2k @ May 7 2012, 10:09 PM) I guess the only downside is that: There isn't one Instrumental in the whole thing! Vapor Trails is the only album in the past 20 years that *hasn't* had an instrumental, and the last one had three. The lack of an instrumental is not something to lament. Agree. I'm neither for nor against. If it fits to have one (or three) then fine. If not, fine. There is no "rule". I was hoping for at least one. I found the 3 instrumentals on S&A, while certainly not being as great as La Villa, YYZ or Overture, were easily their best post-MP instrumentals.   That said, is it really 100% definitive based on the descriptions of the songs in this review that there are no instrumentals? I would think if one song was that he would have stated that emphatically, but also I don't recall him talking about the lyrics in each song, so maybe there still could be one? I think someone said earlier that there were two songs that the reviewer did not explicitly mention vocal performance for, so they could be instrumental. But my reading of the review certainly left me with the impression that they all had lyrics. Then there are also the Pedlar passages alluded to by another previewer in comments. Those might constitute instrumentals, albeit brief.   I am a little surprised at the apparent lack of instrumentals. Not that I thought they'd make or break the album for me. I just figured they'd want to give Geddy a rest occasionally!

[GangsterOnBoats]

QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ May 8 2012, 07:53 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 08:35 AM) QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM) Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song. Oh, so you've heard it?   Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high. Yep, I agree.   Just because one person claimed it to be 'the best song on CA', it doesn't mean that YOU will feel that way.   Hell, I legitimately love songs like Virtuality and Neurotica that most people bury deep down in the basement as far as Rush song rankings. We all hear different things...so we have to reserve judgement until our own ears get to soak in the new songs.   With that said, 'Halo Effect' is certainly one of the cooler-sounding titles IMO. Yeah, "Halo Effect" sounds like a cool song title...   http://i1144.photobucket.com/albums/o492/dsiebold/HaloEffect.png

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 07:35 AM)

QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM) Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song. Oh, so you've heard it?   Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high. it's too late. hype level has reached collossal proportions. i even heard a few cooks talking about it behind the counter at my local chinese takeout as they were making my chow mein.

[Gilbertk]

This may be a super fanboy, paid advertisement, or it could be genuine. I don't know how he would have heard it if he hadn't been paid to write a review, but even if he was, he could have been totally honest!

 

I say everyone just needs to read his review of Caravan, BU2B and Headlong Flight. Agree with it? Be excited. Disagree? Don't get too hyped.

[Steely Caress]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 06:08 AM)

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM) I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years. Hate to disappoint you, but this happens with just about every band. For instance, Kiss has been calling every album since Crazy Nights "Destroyer meets....." Ha, yes of course, I know this happens, and Kiss has been coming out with the New destroyer/love gun for the past 25 years I still think it is silly to do.

[Alexmai]

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 08:16 AM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 06:08 AM) QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM) I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years. Hate to disappoint you, but this happens with just about every band. For instance, Kiss has been calling every album since Crazy Nights "Destroyer meets....." Ha, yes of course, I know this happens, and Kiss has been coming out with the New destroyer/love gun for the past 25 years I still think it is silly to do. Sonic Boom is an hell of an album, and Monster claims to be better. So I do believe in miracles... and hype

[snowdog2112]

QUOTE (Merely Space @ May 8 2012, 06:54 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 06:38 AM) QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 04:07 AM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 8 2012, 12:05 AM) QUOTE (losingit2k @ May 7 2012, 10:09 PM) I guess the only downside is that: There isn't one Instrumental in the whole thing! Vapor Trails is the only album in the past 20 years that *hasn't* had an instrumental, and the last one had three. The lack of an instrumental is not something to lament. Agree. I'm neither for nor against. If it fits to have one (or three) then fine. If not, fine. There is no "rule". I was hoping for at least one. I found the 3 instrumentals on S&A, while certainly not being as great as La Villa, YYZ or Overture, were easily their best post-MP instrumentals.   That said, is it really 100% definitive based on the descriptions of the songs in this review that there are no instrumentals? I would think if one song was that he would have stated that emphatically, but also I don't recall him talking about the lyrics in each song, so maybe there still could be one? I think someone said earlier that there were two songs that the reviewer did not explicitly mention vocal performance for, so they could be instrumental. But my reading of the review certainly left me with the impression that they all had lyrics. Then there are also the Pedlar passages alluded to by another previewer in comments. Those might constitute instrumentals, albeit brief.   I am a little surprised at the apparent lack of instrumentals. Not that I thought they'd make or break the album for me. I just figured they'd want to give Geddy a rest occasionally! Neil just said that each symbol was chosen to represent a set of lyrics, since there are 12 symbols and 12 songs it seems obvious that all the songs have lyrics.

[EmotionDetector]

QUOTE (Alexmai @ May 8 2012, 09:22 AM)

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 08:16 AM) QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 06:08 AM) QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM) I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years. Hate to disappoint you, but this happens with just about every band. For instance, Kiss has been calling every album since Crazy Nights "Destroyer meets....." Ha, yes of course, I know this happens, and Kiss has been coming out with the New destroyer/love gun for the past 25 years I still think it is silly to do. Sonic Boom is an hell of an album, and Monster claims to be better. So I do believe in miracles... and hype Yeah, with KISS...I definitely believe the hype this time.   Sonic Boom was fantastic...and if Monster is in the same vein, then it should be sweet!

[snowdog2112]

QUOTE (Gilbertk @ May 8 2012, 07:16 AM)

This may be a super fanboy, paid advertisement, or it could be genuine. I don't know how he would have heard it if he hadn't been paid to write a review, but even if he was, he could have been totally honest! I say everyone just needs to read his review of Caravan, BU2B and Headlong Flight. Agree with it? Be excited. Disagree? Don't get too hyped.

I agree it reads like a promotion but another reviewer from Audio Times immediately followed that up on RIAB by saying he has heard it and agreed with everything this guy said. That still doesn't mean we'll all feel that way, no matter how great some of us will think it is when we hear it others will hate it just as much. Rush has simply been around so long and has so many albums that there's no way they can make all of their fans happy at this point. My point is simply that Music Radar is not alone. The guy at Audio Times is the one that said "This album, to these ears anyway, is their best since Moving Pictures by a mile. It is truly epic; beautifully written, arranged, produced and superbly played." and likeclockwork who posts here said it's their best in decades. So there's at least a small consensus forming that it's pretty damn good.

 

 

 

[Steely Caress]

QUOTE (Alexmai @ May 8 2012, 08:22 AM)

QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 08:16 AM) QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 8 2012, 06:08 AM) QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 8 2012, 12:51 AM) I hate when they always say "best album since Moving Pictures"! It seems their last 4 studio albums have been hyped this way. Never gonna fall in that trap. If it is their best since counterparts it would be a win for me. But i try to let each album stand on its own with Rush, as it is pointless to compare to classics that have been around for 30 years. Hate to disappoint you, but this happens with just about every band. For instance, Kiss has been calling every album since Crazy Nights "Destroyer meets....." Ha, yes of course, I know this happens, and Kiss has been coming out with the New destroyer/love gun for the past 25 years I still think it is silly to do. Sonic Boom is an hell of an album, and Monster claims to be better. So I do believe in miracles... and hype Not for me. Kiss got a musical vasectomy without Ace's distinctive guitar sound.

[greyfriar]

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it - I'm about to lose control but I think I like it ... ups, stepping error in my head.

[MMCXII]

Ok all the Kiss talk on here is kinda ruining the thread for me.

 

Just sayin..

 

Carry on..

[Rush-O-Matic]

The review doesn't talk about the lyrics much, and how much they draw from Voltaire's Candide. I wonder if that's because the music is so awesome you don't notice the lyrical story.

 

QUOTE

Candide, is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, . . . It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with optimism by his mentor, Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating an enigmatic precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds". Candide is characterised by its sarcastic tone, as well as by its erratic, fantastical and fast-moving plot.  Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through allegory.

 

Sounds interesting. I haven't read Candide, so I don't know how Carnies and the Halo Effect fit in there.

[lifeson90]

QUOTE (snowdog2112 @ May 8 2012, 08:30 AM)

I agree it reads like a promotion but another reviewer from Audio Times immediately followed that up on RIAB by saying he has heard it and agreed with everything this guy said. That still doesn't mean we'll all feel that way, no matter how great some of us will think it is when we hear it others will hate it just as much. Rush has simply been around so long and has so many albums that there's no way they can make all of their fans happy at this point. My point is simply that Music Radar is not alone. The guy at Audio Times is the one that said "This album, to these ears anyway, is their best since Moving Pictures by a mile. It is truly epic; beautifully written, arranged, produced and superbly played." and likeclockwork who posts here said it's their best in decades. So there's at least a small consensus forming that it's pretty damn good.

best album since moving pictures?

 

the guy talking outa his arse

 

no way could he have thrown himself into any phase of rush music over the past 3 decades if thats what he's concluded

 

the man just isnt a serious rush head and i cant take that comment seriously at all

 

not if it's meant to be a serious critique anyway

 

i could accept it as a passing comment from someone who never really took rush deadly seriously but thats all

 

wayyy too many great rush albums out there to just dismiss out of hand..... i dont care how good CA is you cant just say it beats everything since moving pictures no way

Edited May 8, 2012 by lifeson90

[Gilbertk]

QUOTE (lifeson90 @ May 8 2012, 10:39 AM)

QUOTE (snowdog2112 @ May 8 2012, 08:30 AM) I agree it reads like a promotion but another reviewer from Audio Times immediately followed that up on RIAB by saying he has heard it and agreed with everything this guy said. That still doesn't mean we'll all feel that way, no matter how great some of us will think it is when we hear it others will hate it just as much. Rush has simply been around so long and has so many albums that there's no way they can make all of their fans happy at this point. My point is simply that Music Radar is not alone. The guy at Audio Times is the one that said "This album, to these ears anyway, is their best since Moving Pictures by a mile. It is truly epic; beautifully written, arranged, produced and superbly played." and likeclockwork who posts here said it's their best in decades. So there's at least a small consensus forming that it's pretty damn good. best album since moving pictures?   the guy talking outa his arse   no way could he have thrown himself into any phase of rush music over the past 3 decades if thats what he's concluded   the man just isnt a serious rush head and i cant take that comment seriously at all   not if it's meant to be a serious critique anyway   i could accept it as a passing comment from someone who never really took rush deadly seriously but thats all   wayyy too many great rush albums out there to just dismiss out of hand..... i dont care how good CA is you cant just say it beats everything since moving pictures no way So you've heard the album too then? I'm glad you have enough faith in the band to not even believe they can improve.   Don't make bold declarations like "..you can't just say it beats everything since Moving Pictures; no way" (I corrected your grammar errors) if you haven't heard the thing. Maybe it will be better! Never know. I like to believe Rush can improve.   And it's just his opinion. Maybe CA is his favorite since MP. Is he wrong because you disagree before you've heard the album? I don't think so... We all have our own top 10 list, nobody's is wrong.

[losingit2k]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 07:35 AM)

QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM) Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song. Oh, so you've heard it?   Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high. I don't know, I set my expectations for "Headlong Flight" Pretty damn high and they surpassed it!

Edited May 8, 2012 by losingit2k

[losingit2k]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 8 2012, 07:35 AM)

QUOTE (tas7 @ May 8 2012, 05:08 AM) Knew Halo Effect was going to be an awesome song. Oh, so you've heard it?   Sorry, don't mean to single you out, but really this review is one person's opinion. You might not agree at all with it. I just think we need to keep the hype and ridiculous level of enthusiasm of this review in perspective, lest we set our expectations too high. I don't know, I set my expectations for "Headlong Flight" Pretty damn high and they surpassed it!

Edited May 8, 2012 by losingit2k