Jump to content

Official Clockwork Angels Initial Reactions thread

The Owl

By The Owl,
in Rush

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 931
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Disk98
Disk98

It's still every bit as great to me now as it was four years ago. Clockwork Angels was, is, and always will be, an utter masterpiece in my eyes.

canadianice
canadianice

Clockwork Angels is a MASTERPIECE.

x1yyz
x1yyz

Yes. Yes it is.

danielmclark

danielmclark

Posted
Posted

I said in a thread a while back that I thought this might be a top five album... I think I was basing that on the first three releases because it was before the clips came out.

 

I think I wasn't wrong. I'm on my third listen now, and I do think this is a top five album for me... or close to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FountainOfSyrinx

FountainOfSyrinx

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Jun 4 2012, 11:26 AM)
I said in a thread a while back that I thought this might be a top five album... I think I was basing that on the first three releases because it was before the clips came out.

I think I wasn't wrong. I'm on my third listen now, and I do think this is a top five album for me... or close to it.

It's really great. I love the intro to BU2B. Love the new Caravan sound.

 

And love all the new tunes smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trenken

trenken

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Jun 4 2012, 11:26 AM)
I said in a thread a while back that I thought this might be a top five album... I think I was basing that on the first three releases because it was before the clips came out.

I think I wasn't wrong. I'm on my third listen now, and I do think this is a top five album for me... or close to it.

I like the album a lot but after 3 listens no way is it top 5 for me. This isnt on the same level as 2112, Hemispheres, PeW, MP and PoW. It's in the top 10 though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FountainOfSyrinx

FountainOfSyrinx

Posted
Posted (edited)

QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Jun 4 2012, 11:33 AM)
Can someone help a brotha out? I am going nuts

 

 

 

shhh

 

tempted.gif

Edited by FountainOfSyrinx
Link to comment
Share on other sites
danielmclark

danielmclark

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 4 2012, 10:34 AM)
QUOTE (danielmclark @ Jun 4 2012, 11:26 AM)
I said in a thread a while back that I thought this might be a top five album... I think I was basing that on the first three releases because it was before the clips came out.

I think I wasn't wrong. I'm on my third listen now, and I do think this is a top five album for me... or close to it.

I like the album a lot but after 3 listens no way is it top 5 for me. This isnt on the same level as 2112, Hemispheres, PeW, MP and PoW. It's in the top 10 though.

Fair enough. Personally, I put it over 2112 for sure. The others you mentioned... I don't know. I haven't really made a list, I'm just going on gut instinct - I *think* if I made the list, it would end up in or near the top five.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rushgoober

rushgoober

Posted
Posted (edited)

VERY INITIAL UNCENSORED IMPRESSIONS WARNING:

 

Only listened to once so far, so this could all change.

 

Caravan - improved mix, still don't love the song, but sounds cool - edited in: i actually think this song could grow on me having heard the whole album, something i haven't felt in a long while with this song - i doubt i'll ever outright love it, but anything's possible...

 

BU2B - intro is interesting, mix is improved, the lyrics are still terrible and kill the song for me - i think i'll need to read all the lyrics to see if this somehow magically falls into the story in such a way that it will all make sense, but on it's own it still fails for me, and it has to work on its own.

 

Clockwork Angels - GREAT song. Awesome solo - love how it breaks down into the slower section. I seriously need to see the lyrics on this one. This song has enough changes that I'd actually dub it with the term prog, but definitely "prog metal." No commercial appeal at all on this song, but that's not a bad thing!

 

The Anarchist - the 2nd 30 second clip did NOT do this song justice! Very interesting track that goes in cool directions - yay, it's not verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/solo, etc.! One guitar riff at the beginning of the song reminds me of MP-era, but it's brief. I REALLY need the lyrics on this song to see how well the lyrics work, but what I could make out sounded cool.

 

Carnies - again, a lot better than the 2nd 30 second clip let on - cool sound effects and instrumentation. not my fave song, but pretty good - again, knowing the lyrics would REALLY help!

 

Halo Effect - love the acoustic opening - very reminiscent of the 70's, but with definitely a more modern sounding Geddy. some nice melodies going on in this song - late 80's/early 90's feel to them - has lots of potential. i like that the song is short - doesn't get too ambitious, doesn't outstay its welcome.

 

Seven Cities of Gold - MAJORLY cool funky opening! Reminds me vaguely of VT in the way some of the lines are sung, but the instrumentation thankfully is much more interesting. The 30 second clip made him saying "Seven Cities of Gold" sound repetitive and annoying, but thankfully that's not the case - the chorus is actually nicely melodic with great lyrics (what I can make out) and has a very anthemic feel, and some of the guitar riffage in this song is REALLY cool. I would have loved a slightly less atmospheric and more distinct guitar solo, but still it sounded pretty cool. Again, somewhat proggy - nice changes. this song is a lot better than i thought it would be.

 

BU2B2 - this probably fits really well in the context of the album lyrically (which I can't read yet), but on its own I really don't like the lyrics AT ALL, but it sounds cool. i predict this and BU2B will be by far my least fave tracks - i simply don't like them on their own, even though i understand they're part of a larger concept.

 

The Wreckers - reminds me of Presto era in places. ok, so why the F*CK wasn't this the first single??? it's simple, it's catchy, it's accessible, it's not overly long, it's melodic, it's got some nice orchestral production touches that aren't overdone - this song has the biggest hit potential by far. admittedly, this was a guaranteed hit in 1991 - whether it would have a shot today or not, i have no idea.

 

Headlong Flight - skipped this as I wanted to get to the other tracks I haven't heard, but this song has been growing on me a lot lately. it's definitely one of the more accessible songs on the album.

 

Wish Them Well - i like the simplicity of this song when contrasted with a lot of songs that try to do a lot more - has somewhat of a more old school feel - nice melodies - the lyrics that i can make out sound pretty damn cool. this MIGHT be one of the weaker songs, but if that's the case, the standard set is pretty high as this is still pretty damn cool.

 

The Garden - there's no song i wish more that i had the lyrics to - what I can discern is really cool. could this song be this album's armor and sword? possibly. i doubt any song on this album will have quite the impact THAT song did on me, but if anyone might, it's this one... once i can read all the lyrics - it's really quite a beautiful song with some spinechilling moments - especially the part before the solo, and the solo is a very nice one - pretty clear. this song is destined to become a latter-day Rush classic.

 

 

Preliminary Thoughts:

 

strings not as prominent as i though they would be (which is fine)

 

geddy's voice sounds a lot better than i thought it would (which is great)

 

i was really afraid most of the songs would be a slave to the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/solo/verse/chorus etc. format, but very few were, and the ones that did really don't bother me, in fact they're a welcome reprieve from the songs that go off in a lot more directions.

 

more than any other era, i get a presto/rtb feel to some of these songs, but thankfully done much better than most of those songs, and a good bit harder edged - often with a VT heaviness, but with songs that are a million times better all around.

 

the only songs i really strongly don't like are BU2B and BU2B2, but even still, they're not horrible or embarrassing or anything - i just don't care for the subject matter and it drags down the songs for me personally.

 

i wish there were a few more old school guitar solos (longer and clearer) on the album, but it's a minor complaint.

 

the album is a LOT better than i hoped - i was hoping to love 2 or 3 songs, and while it's way too early to tell how these songs will age to me, i think that might have been conservative - i'm VERY happy after the first listen! biggrin.gif

Edited by rushgoober
Link to comment
Share on other sites
snowdog2112

snowdog2112

Posted
Posted

I'm trying to absorb it, I'm on my first listen and I'm on Seven Cities right now.

 

Here's my stream of poorly written thoughts: I really like the new mixes of Caravan and BU2B and the new BU2B intro. Clockwork Angels is going to take a while to get, on the first play there were two pieces that I really liked and the rest was kind of a mess as others have said. Not really hearing anything close to The Trees/Xanadu or late 70s in it. The Anarchist was pretty cool and has moments that do sound early/mid 80s, I really liked Carnies a lot, Halo Effect is fine but didn't really grab me melodically like I was expecting... ok, Seven Cities just ended and it's probably the first real grabber for me, really kick ass, BU2B2 is almost over now and it's what we were told it was, nothing really to it but just a bit of atmosphere and a story piece, nothing wrong with that. In all honestly my first playthrough of S&A gave me far more moments where I was just going "Yes!! I can't wait to hear that again!" and for the most part the choruses were much better on S&A. CA still doesn't sound as thinned out as we were led to believe either but listening through computer speakers to less-than-CD quality sound probably isn't helping any.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying it overall but I guess the thing for me is that I've already been enjoying Rush's albums for the past 20 years so I guess I just don't feel this sense of relief from it that others seem to be looking for. Even Test For Echo (which I know others hate) had more genuine riffing and heaviness to it.

 

Oh well, at the very least I hope this has given me some credibility with the people who think I'm a drooling fanboy. Oh wait, I don't give a shit about that. laugh.gif This certainly proves one thing to me even though I didn't need proof, I really think S&A is one of the best albums of their career and I wasn't just saying that because it had been the new album.

 

Like I said I'm not finished with this yet and I'll immediately go through it all again and then probably again tonight much louder and see what happens. I'm sure I'll get much more out of it with repeats like all other Rush albums.

 

 

Ok, time to hit play for The Wreckers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trenken

trenken

Posted
Posted

I think what you realize about this album is its more of a jam/loose style album. It doesnt really have that sort of very tightly structured sound to it that the songs on say MP have.

 

MP has very clear, anthemic style guitar riffs, super tight structures, and most of these songs are kind of loose in that theres a lot of parts squeezed together, the guitar is more loose, very few really noticeable riffs like say the beginning of Limelight. This album is very different that way. Lots of notes going on in places you wouldnt expect.

 

The songs really are not driven by the vocal melodies like their more refined albums were, PeW, MP, PoW, which is fine, change is always good to me just to add to the variety of their catalog, but if you were hoping for those kinds of songs, thats just not what this album is trying to be.

 

Its more driven by the musical journey than anything else, or so it seems to me anyway.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trenken

trenken

Posted
Posted

Basically what I meant is in the past they would jam out parts and put songs together that way, same way they do now, except back then you would never really know. This album does sound like jam parts put together so thats what I mean by loose. Doesnt sound as calculated as previous albums were.

 

I like it a lot, its different, has some good highs, some usual lows which is fine so its working for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ThinkingBig

ThinkingBig

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (ALifeson85 @ Jun 4 2012, 10:29 AM)
OK - my initial reactions...

Caravan - Just as awesome as it was 2 years ago. Noticed a few little subtle changes, but nothing major.

BU2B - I like the added intro. Still awesome and heavy as ever.

Clockwork Angels - LOVE IT...and dammit, I'm stickin' to it tongue.gif

The Anarchist - Pretty rockin' yes.gif

Carnies - Another "LOVE IT" tune 1022.gif

Halo Effect - Nice mellow song...

Seven Cities Of Gold - Not bad...Geddy's basswork is killer though yes.gif

BU2B2 - Short. Simple. Filler? Prehaps...but a neat little segue...

The Wreckers - AWESOME.

Headlong Flight - Yep - STILL an amazingly rockin' tune 1022.gif

Wish Them Well - Definatley the "weakest" track on the album. Not horrible, but not great, either.

The Garden - GREAT closing track. As Storm Shadow commented, it's very "purdy" yes.gif

Overall...GREAT ALBUM! yes.gif 1022.gif Better than Snakes & Arrows, for sure.

Great post, I'm rethinking my take and giving them another listen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
snowdog2112

snowdog2112

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 4 2012, 10:55 AM)
Basically what I meant is in the past they would jam out parts and put songs together that way, same way they do now, except back then you would never really know. This album does sound like jam parts put together so thats what I mean by loose. Doesnt sound as calculated as previous albums were.

I like it a lot, its different, has some good highs, some usual lows which is fine so its working for me.

I think what you said is accurate and is part of what the problem is for me so far, it's almost cacophony at times with lots of banging and strumming instead of definition and in that sense I do think it's much more like a cleaner sounding Vapor Trails. Wish Them Well is almost over now and I like it more than most here. The Wreckers was nice but again, I'm sort of astonished at the reaction because a lot of these have the same sense of style as the milder stuff on TFE and S&A which people seem to hate. There's a part of Wish Them Well that incredibly similar to Carve Away the Stone. The Wreckers has the same sort of melodically-catchy but mid-tempo non-riffy pop song style like The Color of Right or Good News First. That's fine, I'm just not sure why attitudes have changed all of a sudden.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...