**Fan Reviews** Clockwork Angels Tour BD/DVD/CD

[The Owl]

BD quality is great.

[pablorkcz]

What i heard at the theater last night sounded like shit but I think that may have more to do with the theater sound system being better calibrated for a regular film rather than a concert video as well as the low quality of of the stream that Fathom Events provided (because I thought the pic looked like shit as well). I expect the Blu-ray will look and sound better.

 

In the meantime I downloaded and am listening to the HDtracks version while I wait for the Box set.

 

Meh, it could probably sound better but I'm okay with it. I hear a lot of the same things about the mix that others are pointing out.

 

One thing I am baffled at, and I have heard this in many live recordings lately, is the poor transition between some songs due to sloppy editing: where when a song starts and you suddenly hear the crowd volume level or texture jump or change because it hasn't been blended right. this seems to happen with a number of tracks on this one.

 

I never hear this on live albums before the digital era. With live albums from the '70s, '80s and some of the '90s this never happens.

[pablorkcz]

I think the instrumental break in Headlong Flight (mini drum solo + Alex guitar solo) is AWEsome! :)

 

I absolutely love Peke's Repose.

Edited November 20, 2013 by pablorkcz

[Cyclonus X-1]

Haven't watched the video yet, but did listen to the CDs. Some problems (like what someone mentioned regarding the bass in the Anarchist chorus), but sounds great to me all in all. I especially enjoyed the CA disc. Really good live album, much better than S&A and TM.

[drbirdsong]

You know I'm just certain that during Grand Designs I saw Geddy trying to be cool while passing gas. Why won't they let us hear that? And not ONCE have they ever let us hear Neil crack his knuckles. Dammit that's it, no more Rush for me!

[Lerxster]

I'm not going to comment yet on any "bass" issues on certain songs before I listen and tweek my system more, but I do want to bring this up: has anyone heard any staticy sounds on the bluray while in 5.1? While listening on my tower speakers yesterday, I thought I heard a static crackle at times in 5.1. I thought it was my speakers, but while listening to the CA set on the bluray through headphones this morning, I heard it again. I didn't hear it on 2.0. Anyone else hear this?

[Principled Man]

Picked up the Blu-ray yesterday and played a few songs. No time to do the entire show until this weekend.

 

My first impression was......there's a LOT of guitar! Defenitely too much Alex on some songs. Really drowning out Geddy and Neil.

[KennyLee]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

[Cyclonus X-1]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

 

Yes, it's been the subject of much lamentation.

[iluvgeddy05]

(deep breath)

 

I'm not much to complain about mixing and stuff, but I think the CA audio cd is awful. Geddy sounds like he is standing about 10 feet from the microphone - I have bootlegs of this show that sound better :( I was very disappointed! And it sucks because this tour pretty much held a dream setlist for me. I fell in love with Rush with the 80's tunes and hearing them live in 2013? Incredible! I just wish it sounded like that on my copy.

 

 

That said, the sound of the DVD in the theaters was way better and I'm expecting my Bluray copy to be the same quality (that's when Amazon decides to get the thing to me... supposedly Saturday!)

[Lerxster]

Picked up the Blu-ray yesterday and played a few songs. No time to do the entire show until this weekend.

 

My first impression was......there's a LOT of guitar! Defenitely too much Alex on some songs. Really drowning out Geddy and Neil.

:o no, not too much Alex. How can you even say that?!

[kevycanavan]

They say you can't polish a turd, but I think that's what happened here.

When I saw the show in Manchester the sound mix was absolutely awful. I complained about it at the time, on here, and was accused of being a troll.

The blu ray sounds maybe a bit rushed in places, ged's voice is too low on subdivisions for instance, but compared to the awful live experience of hearing nothing but a great big mush, with loads of bass frequencies, but no bass guitar, very little drums and distant synth, this is a dream mix for me.

It's a little but rough and ready, but it's not sterile like r30. Analog Kid is unbelievable.

[Lerxster]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

 

Yes, it's been the subject of much lamentation.

According to Geddy, the band did consider playing Losing It. Jonathan Dinklage, one of the members of the string section, had developed an interesting take on the song. This is all I've ever seen on that, and I never heard the reason why they didn't do it. One of those Jacobs Ladder things.. just didn't make it to the final setlist.

[theanalogmiddleagedman]

I am not much of an audiophile, so I loved my copy of the DVD. I can't nit pick the sound, but I thought the show was unbelievable to watch again. The Analog Kid, The Anarchist and Headlong Flight were the hi-lights for me - heck all the songs were.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by Geddy's voice. Interstingly, I thought the bonus clips from the other show were a little iffy, but he sounded great on the main show.

 

Just an FYI - don't watch the bonus clip of The Family Guy with children in the room...

[GeddysMullet]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

 

Yes, it's been the subject of much lamentation.

According to Geddy, the band did consider playing Losing It. Jonathan Dinklage, one of the members of the string section, had developed an interesting take on the song. This is all I've ever seen on that, and I never heard the reason why they didn't do it. One of those Jacobs Ladder things.. just didn't make it to the final setlist.

 

And Thank God for that!

[KennyLee]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

 

Yes, it's been the subject of much lamentation.

According to Geddy, the band did consider playing Losing It. Jonathan Dinklage, one of the members of the string section, had developed an interesting take on the song. This is all I've ever seen on that, and I never heard the reason why they didn't do it. One of those Jacobs Ladder things.. just didn't make it to the final setlist.

 

And Thank God for that!

 

Gm,

Not a fan of Losing It? What a great song!

[Smegger68]

Easter egg: If you hit the up arrow in the main menu on the Blu-Ray you'll get Alex telling his awful $20 joke :-)

[Lieutenant Dan]

I watched the BluRay last night in Dolby 2.0 and was MOSTLY amazed by this concert video.

 

PROS:

—What a great setlist! Those 80's tunes were played with a lot of juice and actually make me want to go back and re-explore those albums. I have always loved "The Analog Kid" and they knocked it outta the park.

—The CA material was amazing live.

—The strings worked great and those musicians brought a lot of energy. Reminded me of the young classical musicians in Yes's Symphonic Live; they didn't just play, they rocked (and many of them were extremely cute gals).

—Amazing overall energy from the band and brilliant playing.

—I've NEVER seen Neil so relaxed and enjoy himself live as he does here, even with the extra pressure of the cameras rolling.

—By and large, it was well-filmed and I liked the immersion.

—Pretty Alex-centric audio mix and not in a bad way...but almost!

—Nice extras....loved 'The Pass' and enjoyed the tour documentary a lot.

 

CONS:

—I'll have to run this show again through my headphones, but it might be a little anemic on the low end compared to other shows.

—Geddy's voice, to me, is at the limit of what he can do. He had to do work to get those 80's songs done, and 'Temples' in 2112 is just harder every year for him. Even some of the CA material seemed barely 'in-reach' for him. Part of it was the mix, but his singing was pretty indistinct through a lot of the show.

—The Alex-centric mix was fun for hearing Alex play SO well, but Geddy's bass was a little diminished and Neil didn't quite punch through like he usually does. The strings and keys all sounded great and leveled correctly. The dynamics were decent, not a 'squashed' sounding show to me. I will say the energy of the show made up for a lot.

—The tour film this time around actually just bored me. Did not work for me at all. I thought their best effort was the Time Machine Tour with the whole diner/Rash/schnitzel thing.

 

 

Overall impressions:

Spectacular imagery on bluray, loved the stage design and the setlist was very unique! Very high-energy show and I'm not sure I've ever seen the band so relaxed AND locked-in on video before, Neil in particular.

 

I know I have a sizable con list, but I really enjoyed this disc. I'd like to go back and watch S&A Live again as that might be my favorite Rush concert disc where all the elements seem to work, as well as containing my favorite Neil Peart drum solo.

 

However this 'Clockwork Angels Live" bluray right now stands right up there as one of two favorite live Rush blurays/DVDs because they play SO well, have such a great time doing it, a unique setlist that really worked, good extras, well-filmed, and a solid mix (even if it's lacking here and there, it still is dynamic).

 

Fantastic stuff, the band at the peak of their playing, Geddy's voice managed (barely) but hard to imagine him successfully singing the material live in two-four years from now. I agree with him that should they go out again, the shows will have to be shorter to maintain a certain level of quality and stave off exhaustion!

 

PS: DAMN! Does Neil really run SO fast he can board the bus and be rolling out of the arena before Geddy says 'Goodnight!' to the audience??? I knew he is a quick-exit artist but man...

Edited November 20, 2013 by Lieutenant Dan

[GeddysMullet]

I don't know if it has been brought up but here seems as good a place as any.

 

Doesn't it seem odd that Rush brought an entire string section on tour with them and didn't feel that was the PERFECT time to break out "Losing It"?

 

That would have been the talk of the tour, I think. Missed opportunity?

 

Yes, it's been the subject of much lamentation.

According to Geddy, the band did consider playing Losing It. Jonathan Dinklage, one of the members of the string section, had developed an interesting take on the song. This is all I've ever seen on that, and I never heard the reason why they didn't do it. One of those Jacobs Ladder things.. just didn't make it to the final setlist.

 

And Thank God for that!

 

Gm,

Not a fan of Losing It? What a great song!

 

Not a fan at all. I find it to be a depressing dirge, and completely contrary to the current spirit of what Rush is doing at this advanced stage of their career.

[bscsmkr]

I finally got around to watching the blu-ray in 2.0 last evening

My opinions:

 

PROS:

Visually stunning

The clarity of the picture in hi-def is fantastic

Great playing by the band. Everyone is in top form. I know Geddy struggles from time to time, but not that bad at all

Great setlist especially with all included tracks. All 80's tracks and CA material really comes alive

I liked the documentary feel of the shoot. I think they were going for Celebration Day part 2. I think they did a great job

Great documentary

 

CONS:

Sorry - still the audio mix

It's the only thing that really gets me

Losing the low end and Neil being too low in the mix

The Documentary being too short ( a nice year and a half in the life of Rush filling an entire disc would be nice) :)

A lot of quick jump cuts

Don't like the intro and outro videos - waste too much time. More songs could be played

 

Overall - not bad at all. better than TM to me

 

That's all

[brunosamppa]

The 2.0 track on the Blu-ray is DOLBY DIGITAL? No lossless in 2.0? WTF! a trully shame :(

[Apollo]

The 2.0 track on the Blu-ray is DOLBY DIGITAL? No lossless in 2.0? WTF! a trully shame :(

 

I am mad about that, it's going to make this a lot harder to rip the audio from. As for the blu ray itself, I agree with pretty much everything from Lieutenant Dan's review. Geddy's voice is definitely at or a little past its limits, but the setlist, performance, beautiful picture, everything else make this definitely my favorite Rush live release since the '80s. I am not a huge audiophile but am enough of one to properly hook up the lossless surround sound for blurays. I went back and forth a little bit between the DTS-HD and DD2.0 mixes and the DTS-HD sounded much better, the 2.0 just sounded thin. The sound was not as good as Gilmour's Remember That Night, which for me is the gold standard of blu-ray concert releases for sound.

[Xanadoood]

Where the hell are Neil's drums? And Geddys bass?

[Xanadoood]

I'm on Force Ten.. Yeah, this is the Alex show, audio wise

[Slack jaw gaze]

Don't like the intro and outro videos - waste too much time. More songs could be played

They're at their absolute max on number of songs. This line of reasoning makes no sense. It's fair not to like them, but they are simply "extra stuff", not replacements of anything.