snowdog2112 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 You asked if we would ever see a mediocre review, here it is. This should make rushgoober happy. Rush - 'Clockwork Angels' (Wea/Roadrunner) CD Reviews Written by Jim Rowland Saturday, 19 May 2012 04:00 A few older readers may remember a BBC Saturday night game show called 'The Generation Game', where at the end of the show, the winners had a conveyor belt full of prizes whisked under their noses, and they had to remember as many of them as possible in order to take them home. That sprung to mind for me today as I'm sat in the lush surroundings of Islington's Angel recording studios, with 14 brand new Rush tracks, comprising the forthcoming 'Clockwork Angels' album, paraded past my ears, just once. My task is to remember as many of them as possible in order to review the album. The task is made even more difficult because this is a bit of a concept album, with some of the tracks interlinking with each other, making it a bit tricky to know exactly which track you're listening to. Oh, and there's a table at the back stacked with free booze. It's not looking good Uber Rockers. The first two tracks are easy, as the album kicks off with 'Caravan' and 'BU2B', the two tracks released a year ago on record store day. So that's the cuddly toy and the fondue set out of the way. Rush fans will be familiar with these tracks already, so there's no point in elaborating, other than to say both tracks are fairly representative of what follows, and there is a 'BU2B2' towards the end of the album. As already mentioned 'Clockwork Angels' marks a return for Rush into the realms of the concept album, with Neil Peart's science fiction inspired lyrics describing a "future as seen from the past". As this kind of sci-fi concept has perhaps more to do with Rush's past, such as groundbreaking albums like '2112' and 'Hemispheres', it was interesting working my way through the album to see if Rush were going to be heading into a musical future from the past. There are certainly moments of retro Rush riffing that give hints of tracks like 'By Tor and the Snow Dog' and 'Bastille Day', and the album really does heat up towards the end. One classic Rush sounding track towards the end, which I believe to be 'Headlong Flight' (though I may be wrong), certainly made a lot of ears prick up, and drew a loud "awesome" from one scribe seated very near to me. Indeed it sounded like the album's highlight even after the first listen. There's plenty of hard riffing throughout the album, countered by some orchestrated acoustic sections, and a belting anthem at the end entitled 'Wish Them Well'. There's also a very strong finish in the shape of the orchestrated 'The Garden'. As I say, it's hard to give an accurate assessment of the album on one listen, but my gut reaction is that 'Clockwork Angels' is a very good modern Rush album, easily holding up against, or even bettering, the likes of 'Vapor Trails' and 'Snakes And Arrows'. It isn't, however, something to rival the real classics like 'A Farewell To Kings', 'Permanent Waves', 'Moving Pictures' or 'Hemispheres'. http://www.uberrock.co.uk/cd-reviews/25-ma...roadrunner.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Caress Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Old Rush = Great New Rush= Good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUP1771 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Lackluster review. It was just as annoying to read as the one with the excessive adjectives was. Nothing really important to come from it. Oh who am I kidding. I'm cranky right now. I should give it another read in the morning when I am not tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 It is not possible to write an review of a Rush album based on 1 listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 19 2012, 10:57 PM)Old Rush = Great New Rush= Good Old Rush - Extraterrestial New Rush - Stellar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animate Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Wait a minute... the reviewer did not recognize Headlong Flight? Makes me a bit skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSHHEAD666 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (Steely Caress @ May 19 2012, 08:57 PM) Old Rush = Great New Rush= Good Old Rush = EPIC New Rush = FANTASTIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSHHEAD666 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (Animate @ May 20 2012, 12:11 AM) Wait a minute... the reviewer did not recognize Headlong Flight? Makes me a bit skeptical. That moron reviewer is on a RED EYE FLIGHT to NOWHERE MAN! Love, THE BEATLES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) First of all............my name is in a thread title. That's a first. Thanks for the post. Here is my first mediocre review. I was starting to get worried there. Interesting that his fav song has not been listed as a fav by others who have reviewed or by posters on this site who have supposedly heard. Have we been at the mercy of the RR hype machine? This reviewer calls Wish Them Well a " belting anthem" after other reviewers have been less than impressed. We will see soon enough. Sounds a bit like he wasn't even paying close attention though. There is next to no description of anything here after sitting through the whole record. I think he may have been partaking of the free booze in the back. Edited May 20, 2012 by presto123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 That reviewer could have written that based soley on what he has read in threads here on TRF...Nothing new there...hell he may have even been drunk by the time they played the CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenken Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Yeah he really just makes a lot of general statements without giving specifics, and at the end says its not up there with albums like Moving Pictures? Well duh! Who the heck ever said they thought it would be?? If that review is real and he has heard the album, it's just not specific enough to even matter to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) The review is at best vague, and at worst completely worthless. Edited May 20, 2012 by rushgoober Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE As I say, it's hard to give an accurate assessment of the album on one listen He should have started and ended his review with this one sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielmclark Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 20 2012, 07:00 AM) The interview is at best vague, and at worst completely worthless. My thoughts exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 20 2012, 06:13 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 20 2012, 07:00 AM) The interview is at best vague, and at worst completely worthless. My thoughts exactly. Sorry - review, not interview! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Meh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielmclark Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 20 2012, 07:31 AM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ May 20 2012, 06:13 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 20 2012, 07:00 AM) The interview is at best vague, and at worst completely worthless. My thoughts exactly. Sorry - review, not interview! I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughes&kettner Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (Snowman @ May 20 2012, 01:16 AM)It is not possible to write an review of a Rush album based on 1 listen. didn't you read the OP posting of the review? he gave a review after one listen...so i guess it IS possible. it's not possible for this guy to give a worthy review after one listen. most people around here could listen once and actually SAY SOMETHING about the tracks and the vibe of the album that was informative. give me the disc today (may 20) and i'll listen once and write a review. MK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merely Space Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 To me, it sounded like the guy was pissed off by the circumstances he was expected to write a review in (one listen), and took it out on the subject of the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlyJeff Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 QUOTE (snowdog2112 @ May 19 2012, 10:48 PM) my gut reaction is that 'Clockwork Angels' is a very good modern Rush album, easily holding up against, or even bettering, the likes of 'Vapor Trails' and 'Snakes And Arrows'. It isn't, however, something to rival the real classics like 'A Farewell To Kings', 'Permanent Waves', 'Moving Pictures' or 'Hemispheres'.[/b] I will be quite surprised if this isn't the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemical Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I stopped taking this guy seriously when he couldn't differentiate the tracks from one another and he thought Caravan/BU2B came out a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 It still could be the best record since the mid 80's even based on this "so called" review. Does anybody really expect it to top Moving Pictures or Permanent Waves? Didn't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softfilter Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I didn't find it overly negative or reviewer saying it was"mediocre". Generalized and vague not really listening or paying attention to what he was hearing/reviewing .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thizzellewashington Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I like how "It isn't up there with albums that are 30+ years old and drilled into the public consciousness" passes as "mediocre." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdog2112 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) Hold up a bit guys, I used the word "mediocre" a bit sarcastically only because presto123 and I had already had a conversation about how over the top glowing all the reviews have been so far. So when this one simply says it's good for a modern Rush album and holds its own against VT and S&A but is not at the level of the "classic" albums I deemed that mediocre in that context and as a comparison. Edited May 20, 2012 by snowdog2112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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