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Clockwork Angels—Stock up or down?


Tombstone Mountain
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Almost one year since the release of Clockwork Angels  

136 members have voted

  1. 1. How has Clockwork Angels matured for you?

    • Better than when I first got it, but still "meh" Stock down
      14
    • It's a real disappointment—Stock Down
      5
    • The album is among their very best efforts—Stock up
      104
    • It's the best work they've done—period!!! Stock up waaay up
      13


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Actually, RS gave the album a more positive review :D

 

The biggest problem with this record is that songs are indistinguishable from another aside from the first two songs and Headlong Flight.

 

Take, for example, La Villa Strangiato. It's 10 a minutes long instrumental but has multiple distinctive themes, memorable moments, melodies and even hooks. And it doesn't need 5 layers of guitars all maxed out to sound grandiose.

 

Nothing on CA even approaches the quality of songwriting on that one. Dunno how can anyone call this album a classic.. It's dreadful.

 

What song on the album sounds like the Garden? Which one sounds like The Wreckers, or 7cog, or Wish Them Well or Clockwork Angels or Halo Effect?

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Actually, RS gave the album a more positive review :D

 

The biggest problem with this record is that songs are indistinguishable from another aside from the first two songs and Headlong Flight.

 

Take, for example, La Villa Strangiato. It's 10 a minutes long instrumental but has multiple distinctive themes, memorable moments, melodies and even hooks. And it doesn't need 5 layers of guitars all maxed out to sound grandiose.

 

Nothing on CA even approaches the quality of songwriting on that one. Dunno how can anyone call this album a classic.. It's dreadful.

Yeah they did those kind of songs before...they've moved on :codger:

Headlong Flight is perhaps the most rocking song the band has EVER made, and in my opinion it's not even the best song on the album

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Cannot wait to hear songs from CA in the flesh in Amsterdam on 2 June. :chickendance:
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Actually, RS gave the album a more positive review :D

 

The biggest problem with this record is that songs are indistinguishable from another aside from the first two songs and Headlong Flight.

 

Take, for example, La Villa Strangiato. It's 10 a minutes long instrumental but has multiple distinctive themes, memorable moments, melodies and even hooks. And it doesn't need 5 layers of guitars all maxed out to sound grandiose.

 

Nothing on CA even approaches the quality of songwriting on that one. Dunno how can anyone call this album a classic.. It's dreadful.

 

What song on the album sounds like the Garden? Which one sounds like The Wreckers, or 7cog, or Wish Them Well or Clockwork Angels or Halo Effect?

 

Obvious troll is obvious.

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Actually, RS gave the album a more positive review :D

 

The biggest problem with this record is that songs are indistinguishable from another aside from the first two songs and Headlong Flight.

 

Take, for example, La Villa Strangiato. It's 10 a minutes long instrumental but has multiple distinctive themes, memorable moments, melodies and even hooks. And it doesn't need 5 layers of guitars all maxed out to sound grandiose.

 

Nothing on CA even approaches the quality of songwriting on that one. Dunno how can anyone call this album a classic.. It's dreadful.

 

What song on the album sounds like the Garden? Which one sounds like The Wreckers, or 7cog, or Wish Them Well or Clockwork Angels or Halo Effect?

 

Obvious troll is obvious.

He does seem to possess some trollish qualities I must admit
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Actually, RS gave the album a more positive review :D

 

The biggest problem with this record is that songs are indistinguishable from another aside from the first two songs and Headlong Flight.

 

Take, for example, La Villa Strangiato. It's 10 a minutes long instrumental but has multiple distinctive themes, memorable moments, melodies and even hooks. And it doesn't need 5 layers of guitars all maxed out to sound grandiose.

 

Nothing on CA even approaches the quality of songwriting on that one. Dunno how can anyone call this album a classic.. It's dreadful.

 

What song on the album sounds like the Garden? Which one sounds like The Wreckers, or 7cog, or Wish Them Well or Clockwork Angels or Halo Effect?

 

Obvious troll is obvious.

He does seem to possess some trollish qualities I must admit

 

Well, I mean, if someone Clockwork Angels is not to their taste, that's perfectly reasonable, different strokes for different folks, horses for courses, etc., but to say that the album is "dreadful" and that the songs are indistinguishable from one another is simply ridiculous. That's like saying that rare steak and raw beets are indistinguishable because they both bleed!

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Almost a year has passed since the release. The tour has been a successful one, and the band is admittedly playing better than they ever have. Live, Clockwork Angels material has been given a big thumbs up by fans...it translates extremely well.

 

The detractors to CA are relatively few. When the album was released, critical acclaim was not hard to come by—a first for the band and 40 years into their profession. When the band comes out with the next album they certainly must set their sights high to eclipse this modern masterpiece.

 

 

How has Clockwork Angels matured for you?

  1. Better than when I first got it, but still "meh" Stock down (9 votes [8.04%])
    Percentage of vote: 8.04%
  2. It's a real disappointment—Stock Down (3 votes [2.68%])
    Percentage of vote: 2.68%
  3. The album is among their very best efforts—Stock up (88 votes [78.57%])
    Percentage of vote: 78.57%
  4. It's the best work they've done—period!!! Stock up waaay up (12 votes [10.71%])

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I wasn't trying to say that "track X from CA sounds like track Y from VT", rather that all tracks from CA are pretty much interchangable with tracks from two previous albums.

 

And for "The Wreckers" lovers here's a 30 secs clip of its main "riff" repeatead. God only knows how much I loathe this kind of "riffs" that've been plaguing Rush albums starting with VT.

Edited by Vicious
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Oh, yeah. Totally.

 

When I try to listen to their last three albums it just sounds like Vapor Snakes and Angels.

 

No separation at all.

 

:eyeroll:

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I would have to be like this :smoke: to think CA is a great work . Sorry to be a Danny Downer but I am not feeling it . I hope one day when I get excited by a Rush song again we all can appreciate it . I am not holding my breath though . Gosh I hate being such a wet mop all the time . :16ton:
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I wasn't trying to say that "track X from CA sounds like track Y from VT", rather that all tracks from CA are pretty much interchangable with tracks from two previous albums.

 

And for "The Wreckers" lovers here's a 30 secs clip of its main "riff" repeatead. God only knows how much I loathe this kind of "riffs" that've been plaguing Rush albums starting with VT.

 

You post like there's dozens----------------It's three including VT. Too bad you don't dig the riff I like it a lot.

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Well, it's just strumming?.. How can anyone dig THAT? :P

 

I... wha...

 

I mean - have you ever heard jazz/blues comping? That's just strumming and I know tons of people who dig it AND learn from it.

 

Don't diss the strumming, man. :Alex:

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Well, it's just strumming?.. How can anyone dig THAT? :P

 

And playing a power cord can be just one strum, yet people really dig that.

 

I want all Rush fans to learn the tab below and play it for Vicious.

e|---0-----------------0-------------||------1-------------------0-------------|

B|---1-----------------0-------------||------1-------------------1-------------|

G|---0---x16-----------0------x16----||------2-------x16---------2-------x16---|

D|---2-----------------2-------------||------3-------------------2-------------|

A|---3-----------------2-------------||------3-------------------0-------------|

E|---------------------0-------------||------1---------------------------------|

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I don't mind if some doesn't get emotionally stimulated by Clockwork Angels. But to say the production is horrendous ... can't take that serious. It is mastered very hot, but I don't notice any clipping. Kind of makes me think someone is listening to lossy mp3s. I bought the LP and downloaded the tracks as FLAC files afterwards, and it sounds great to my ears. When I spin the LP it is even better (can't be any better actually).

 

To those who say the production is "crap", how do you feel it is compared to other modern music being made? Production-wise? I'm not trying to stir up a fight, but am genuinely curious :)

 

At first it took me some time getting used to, I thought the arrangements were confusing with too many little parts. Over time it grew on me, and after seeing most of the album live, I think it's fantastic. My favorite tracks have shifted over time also. The Anarchist is one of my faves. There is something that reminds me The Camera Eye, that "here comes the hero to save the day" kind of vibe. Knowing what the The Anarchist is about, might have to get my brain checked :crazy: :wacko:. Wish Them Well is still not there, but I like the heavy part in the middle or somewhere. The Garden is fantastic as is Clockwork Angels and The Wreckers.

 

Heck, I like it all. I like the direction Rush has taken, and I can't fault them for wanna go somewhere else than they have gone before. Thank God they're not a nostalgia band.

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Anyone who thinks CA sounds like VT is smoking stuff that I don't want to smoke.

 

Well only because since I'm searching for a job they might decide to test me...

 

But anyway....CA sounds like VT? no freaking way! CA is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the sound on VT...in fact, I think the first album is sonically better than VT!

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I don't mind if some doesn't get emotionally stimulated by Clockwork Angels. But to say the production is horrendous ... can't take that serious. It is mastered very hot, but I don't notice any clipping. Kind of makes me think someone is listening to lossy mp3s. I bought the LP and downloaded the tracks as FLAC files afterwards, and it sounds great to my ears. When I spin the LP it is even better (can't be any better actually).

 

To those who say the production is "crap", how do you feel it is compared to other modern music being made? Production-wise? I'm not trying to stir up a fight, but am genuinely curious :)

 

At first it took me some time getting used to, I thought the arrangements were confusing with too many little parts. Over time it grew on me, and after seeing most of the album live, I think it's fantastic. My favorite tracks have shifted over time also. The Anarchist is one of my faves. There is something that reminds me The Camera Eye, that "here comes the hero to save the day" kind of vibe. Knowing what the The Anarchist is about, might have to get my brain checked :crazy: :wacko:. Wish Them Well is still not there, but I like the heavy part in the middle or somewhere. The Garden is fantastic as is Clockwork Angels and The Wreckers.

 

Heck, I like it all. I like the direction Rush has taken, and I can't fault them for wanna go somewhere else than they have gone before. Thank God they're not a nostalgia band.

 

There comes a point where it just gets tiring trying to explain stuff to people. Would it make a lot of sense to someone who isn't familiar with the terms to say the CD is too compressed in the range of approx. 100-800hz? If someone can't hear the bad production, that doesn't mean other people can't. But for those of us that can, it's just disappointing that it wasn't better done.

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It's been a year now. CA was released June 12, 2012, and it's now June 12, 2013. I've had CA rotating in the car player pretty much continuously since it was released. After a couple of months, the only songs I would sometimes skip were Caravan, BU2B, BU2B2 and The Garden. That's right, "The Garden".

 

Now, 365 days after the albums release, I've really gotten into "The Garden". BU2B2 still usually gets skipped. I still can't figure out why the guys thought it was a good idea to sink everything into a feeling of despair and regret directly after the thrill and force of "Headlong Flight".

 

"HF" is my favorite on the album and has been since I first heard it. Also absolutely love "The Wreckers". To me, these two songs are true Rush classics.

 

Not gonna make it to the show this tour (first tour missed since I first saw them during the Moving Pictures 1981 tour.) Can't wait for the DVD coming out next fall. I just hope it's not another 4 years til we get the next new Rush.

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I read a comment in another thread that alluded to Clockwork Angels material sounding so much better live...what does that say about CA as an album? I wanna play it more than my older favs.
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I think it sounds a lot better live. The songs have more depth, clarity and balls in concert. The album to me sounds a little sterile. Caravan, Headlong Flight, and The Garden sound about the same, but the rest of them are greatly improved. Especially Carnies and The Anarchist. They just have this power that they don't have on the CD.
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I love it! I think it's a great record. The only thing I would change would be the mastering....too much pressure, fatiguing to listen to. It's not the mix, it's the mastering. Edited by LerxstLuthier
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