My opinion on Clockwork Angels

[Pound of Obscure]

Fed up with Alex's current approach to guitar playing (1k layers of guitars, strumming all along + "I can't be arsed to play more than 3 notes" solos) and production.

 

Have to agree with this.

 

Same

But.. but.. there is minimal guitar layering on CA, and Alex solos more than 3 notes. Holy crap people, wake up! Stop referring to your VT/S&A complaint note cards when complaining about CA

You call that minimal? :o There's like 2-3 guitars in each song in almost every section.

Well if you've come down from 1,000 to 2, then we're on the same page :cheers:

 

Here's what Alex said:

I think the approach was a lot simpler with Clockwork Angels. We really made an effort to write Snakes & Arrows acoustically and when it came to recording, I missed those acoustics. So, we blended them in and consequently there's a density to that record that in retrospect I would have preferred to have thinned out. When we started working on this record, right from the get-go the idea was to make it more three-piece in order to make it a clearer-sounding record. So, for the most part, I might have double-tracked guitars and only on a few songs did I layer them up. "BU2B" has 100 guitars overdubbed on it, just playing the same thing to make it super heavy, but generally it's pretty much double-tracked guitar left and right. It was really refreshing to approach it that way. That's the way we used to record: two tracks of guitar and no rhythm guitar in the solo sections. Consequently, it's made reproducing them live simpler in some ways and also more satisfying in the context of having just one guitar player.

 

The guitars are much more dense and indistinguishable on CA than Snakes. I loathe Snakes as an album, but I could hear all the parts much better than CA. So either 2 to 100 layers was a failed sound experiment, or Nick really screwed it up.

 

I like S&A and I think the production was much better than CA as well. Even with all the layering on S&A you could definitely hear all the instruments. I would put CA next to Vapor Trails as far as sound quality goes.

 

Agreed.

Sorry but CA is no where near VT. VT sound like a train wreck in Siberia while CA sounds like the bells of the Vatican!

 

I think its just as bad, but in different sonic areas. VT is much worse in some areas where CA is much worse than VT in some areas. In total, CA is a hair better than VT, but not much.

 

 

There is no comparison. CA is sonically worlds better.

 

http://www.kylerutkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/crazypills.jpg

 

I wholeheartedly diagree. :cheers:

[Rod in Toronto]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/09b419019f9a0c2ccb16075a65fad403/tumblr_mhs9bpnX3J1r41unfo1_250.gif

[ShlappinDahBass]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/09b419019f9a0c2ccb16075a65fad403/tumblr_mhs9bpnX3J1r41unfo1_250.gif

 

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4qg7th2a91qgbuomo1_250.gif

[losingit2k]

Fed up with Alex's current approach to guitar playing (1k layers of guitars, strumming all along + "I can't be arsed to play more than 3 notes" solos) and production.

 

Have to agree with this.

 

Same

But.. but.. there is minimal guitar layering on CA, and Alex solos more than 3 notes. Holy crap people, wake up! Stop referring to your VT/S&A complaint note cards when complaining about CA

You call that minimal? :o There's like 2-3 guitars in each song in almost every section.

Well if you've come down from 1,000 to 2, then we're on the same page :cheers:

 

Here's what Alex said:

I think the approach was a lot simpler with Clockwork Angels. We really made an effort to write Snakes & Arrows acoustically and when it came to recording, I missed those acoustics. So, we blended them in and consequently there's a density to that record that in retrospect I would have preferred to have thinned out. When we started working on this record, right from the get-go the idea was to make it more three-piece in order to make it a clearer-sounding record. So, for the most part, I might have double-tracked guitars and only on a few songs did I layer them up. "BU2B" has 100 guitars overdubbed on it, just playing the same thing to make it super heavy, but generally it's pretty much double-tracked guitar left and right. It was really refreshing to approach it that way. That's the way we used to record: two tracks of guitar and no rhythm guitar in the solo sections. Consequently, it's made reproducing them live simpler in some ways and also more satisfying in the context of having just one guitar player.

 

The guitars are much more dense and indistinguishable on CA than Snakes. I loathe Snakes as an album, but I could hear all the parts much better than CA. So either 2 to 100 layers was a failed sound experiment, or Nick really screwed it up.

 

I like S&A and I think the production was much better than CA as well. Even with all the layering on S&A you could definitely hear all the instruments. I would put CA next to Vapor Trails as far as sound quality goes.

 

Agreed.

Sorry but CA is no where near VT. VT sound like a train wreck in Siberia while CA sounds like the bells of the Vatican!

 

I think its just as bad, but in different sonic areas. VT is much worse in some areas where CA is much worse than VT in some areas. In total, CA is a hair better than VT, but not much.

Even Harry is laughing at your comments! :laughing guy:

[losingit2k]

Fed up with Alex's current approach to guitar playing (1k layers of guitars, strumming all along + "I can't be arsed to play more than 3 notes" solos) and production.

 

Have to agree with this.

 

Same

But.. but.. there is minimal guitar layering on CA, and Alex solos more than 3 notes. Holy crap people, wake up! Stop referring to your VT/S&A complaint note cards when complaining about CA

You call that minimal? :o There's like 2-3 guitars in each song in almost every section.

Well if you've come down from 1,000 to 2, then we're on the same page :cheers:

 

Here's what Alex said:

I think the approach was a lot simpler with Clockwork Angels. We really made an effort to write Snakes & Arrows acoustically and when it came to recording, I missed those acoustics. So, we blended them in and consequently there's a density to that record that in retrospect I would have preferred to have thinned out. When we started working on this record, right from the get-go the idea was to make it more three-piece in order to make it a clearer-sounding record. So, for the most part, I might have double-tracked guitars and only on a few songs did I layer them up. "BU2B" has 100 guitars overdubbed on it, just playing the same thing to make it super heavy, but generally it's pretty much double-tracked guitar left and right. It was really refreshing to approach it that way. That's the way we used to record: two tracks of guitar and no rhythm guitar in the solo sections. Consequently, it's made reproducing them live simpler in some ways and also more satisfying in the context of having just one guitar player.

 

The guitars are much more dense and indistinguishable on CA than Snakes. I loathe Snakes as an album, but I could hear all the parts much better than CA. So either 2 to 100 layers was a failed sound experiment, or Nick really screwed it up.

 

I like S&A and I think the production was much better than CA as well. Even with all the layering on S&A you could definitely hear all the instruments. I would put CA next to Vapor Trails as far as sound quality goes.

 

Agreed.

Sorry but CA is no where near VT. VT sound like a train wreck in Siberia while CA sounds like the bells of the Vatican!

 

I think its just as bad, but in different sonic areas. VT is much worse in some areas where CA is much worse than VT in some areas. In total, CA is a hair better than VT, but not much.

 

 

There is no comparison. CA is sonically worlds better.

 

http://www.kylerutkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/crazypills.jpg

Its called death by association!

[Pound of Obscure]

Fed up with Alex's current approach to guitar playing (1k layers of guitars, strumming all along + "I can't be arsed to play more than 3 notes" solos) and production.

 

Have to agree with this.

 

Same

But.. but.. there is minimal guitar layering on CA, and Alex solos more than 3 notes. Holy crap people, wake up! Stop referring to your VT/S&A complaint note cards when complaining about CA

You call that minimal? :o There's like 2-3 guitars in each song in almost every section.

Well if you've come down from 1,000 to 2, then we're on the same page :cheers:

 

Here's what Alex said:

I think the approach was a lot simpler with Clockwork Angels. We really made an effort to write Snakes & Arrows acoustically and when it came to recording, I missed those acoustics. So, we blended them in and consequently there's a density to that record that in retrospect I would have preferred to have thinned out. When we started working on this record, right from the get-go the idea was to make it more three-piece in order to make it a clearer-sounding record. So, for the most part, I might have double-tracked guitars and only on a few songs did I layer them up. "BU2B" has 100 guitars overdubbed on it, just playing the same thing to make it super heavy, but generally it's pretty much double-tracked guitar left and right. It was really refreshing to approach it that way. That's the way we used to record: two tracks of guitar and no rhythm guitar in the solo sections. Consequently, it's made reproducing them live simpler in some ways and also more satisfying in the context of having just one guitar player.

 

The guitars are much more dense and indistinguishable on CA than Snakes. I loathe Snakes as an album, but I could hear all the parts much better than CA. So either 2 to 100 layers was a failed sound experiment, or Nick really screwed it up.

 

I like S&A and I think the production was much better than CA as well. Even with all the layering on S&A you could definitely hear all the instruments. I would put CA next to Vapor Trails as far as sound quality goes.

 

Agreed.

Sorry but CA is no where near VT. VT sound like a train wreck in Siberia while CA sounds like the bells of the Vatican!

 

I think its just as bad, but in different sonic areas. VT is much worse in some areas where CA is much worse than VT in some areas. In total, CA is a hair better than VT, but not much.

Even Harry is laughing at your comments! :laughing guy:

 

I could show you the waveforms. :dweez: :D :cheers:

[losingit2k]

Fed up with Alex's current approach to guitar playing (1k layers of guitars, strumming all along + "I can't be arsed to play more than 3 notes" solos) and production.

 

Have to agree with this.

 

Same

But.. but.. there is minimal guitar layering on CA, and Alex solos more than 3 notes. Holy crap people, wake up! Stop referring to your VT/S&A complaint note cards when complaining about CA

You call that minimal? :o There's like 2-3 guitars in each song in almost every section.

Well if you've come down from 1,000 to 2, then we're on the same page :cheers:

 

Here's what Alex said:

I think the approach was a lot simpler with Clockwork Angels. We really made an effort to write Snakes & Arrows acoustically and when it came to recording, I missed those acoustics. So, we blended them in and consequently there's a density to that record that in retrospect I would have preferred to have thinned out. When we started working on this record, right from the get-go the idea was to make it more three-piece in order to make it a clearer-sounding record. So, for the most part, I might have double-tracked guitars and only on a few songs did I layer them up. "BU2B" has 100 guitars overdubbed on it, just playing the same thing to make it super heavy, but generally it's pretty much double-tracked guitar left and right. It was really refreshing to approach it that way. That's the way we used to record: two tracks of guitar and no rhythm guitar in the solo sections. Consequently, it's made reproducing them live simpler in some ways and also more satisfying in the context of having just one guitar player.

 

The guitars are much more dense and indistinguishable on CA than Snakes. I loathe Snakes as an album, but I could hear all the parts much better than CA. So either 2 to 100 layers was a failed sound experiment, or Nick really screwed it up.

 

I like S&A and I think the production was much better than CA as well. Even with all the layering on S&A you could definitely hear all the instruments. I would put CA next to Vapor Trails as far as sound quality goes.

 

Agreed.

Sorry but CA is no where near VT. VT sound like a train wreck in Siberia while CA sounds like the bells of the Vatican!

 

I think its just as bad, but in different sonic areas. VT is much worse in some areas where CA is much worse than VT in some areas. In total, CA is a hair better than VT, but not much.

Yeah by as much hair on Harry's Body!

[hobo73]

lets face it, when we think of Rush, do we REALLY think of songs like Marathon or Presto

 

Show Don't Tell from Presto was the song that got me into the band, so I damn well DO think of it when I think of Rush

 

Not enough variety on Clockwork Angels? Listen to Caravan, Halo Effect, 7COG, Wreckers and Wish Them Well... none of them sound like each other. MP, Hemi, and Signals IMHO from your "golden" period are each far more uniform in tempo/style than CA is.

 

As for being stuck-in-the-past whiner #79476 to bleat "I want Terry Brown baaaack waaaaa :boohoo: ", Rush writes the songs, not their producers. Bringing Brown back would not result in Rush writing "Cygnus X-1 Book XIII". :crazy:

 

And in conclusion:

 

I'll just come right out and join this real quick- Presto is in my top 5 Rush albums. I love it! Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning (it really grew on me), Hand Over Fist-

 

On that note, I'll say CA is a masterpiece in my eyes. I am listening to Headlong Flight now, actually :)

Brilliant album. I fell in love with it immediately.

 

Fantastic post, dude! :goodone: lol

[Retrospective]

lets face it, when we think of Rush, do we REALLY think of songs like Marathon or Presto

 

Show Don't Tell from Presto was the song that got me into the band, so I damn well DO think of it when I think of Rush

 

Not enough variety on Clockwork Angels? Listen to Caravan, Halo Effect, 7COG, Wreckers and Wish Them Well... none of them sound like each other. MP, Hemi, and Signals IMHO from your "golden" period are each far more uniform in tempo/style than CA is.

 

As for being stuck-in-the-past whiner #79476 to bleat "I want Terry Brown baaaack waaaaa :boohoo: ", Rush writes the songs, not their producers. Bringing Brown back would not result in Rush writing "Cygnus X-1 Book XIII". :crazy:

 

And in conclusion:

 

I'll just come right out and join this real quick- Presto is in my top 5 Rush albums. I love it! Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning (it really grew on me), Hand Over Fist-

 

On that note, I'll say CA is a masterpiece in my eyes. I am listening to Headlong Flight now, actually :)

Brilliant album. I fell in love with it immediately.

 

Fantastic post, dude! :goodone: lol

 

I'm in agreement with both of the latter posts, but he did say "songs like Marathon or Presto", not Presto the album.

 

I personally think of Presto the song because it's one of my favorites.

 

But anyways. Carry on. :D

[coventry]

I don't think CA is going to have the "variety" of a Power Windows or a HYF simply because the band isn't as all over the place and technology-happy as they used to be.

[hughes&kettner]

the OP has a "REAL issue withe side 2 of MP"...so i have a real issue with the OP. kinda douche-Y post in general. the real problem is the OP's ears.