Clockwork Angels revisited

[x1yyz]

It's my favorite. It sits on the same shelf as PeW and AFTK. However, I recently added PoW to the top shelf of favorite Rush albums.

 

PeW, AFTK, & CA are my top three as well :D

[Segue Myles]

CA was my fourth album by Rush, and it took me from being a casual fan to a Rush fanatic! I bought the Classic Rock fan pack the day of its release and I was astounded from my very first listen. I have nevee skipped a sing, and in all honesty I think its my favourite Rush album since Power Windows.

 

Prior to this album, all i had heard was MP, PeW, and 2112. These fouŕ albums were the perfect introduction, and it wasn't long before my collection grew, and grew.

 

I thinj CA is one of the all time great rock albums.

[bluefox4000]

Also when i do listen to CA now it's my edited 42 minute playlist version. Just do not have the patience for 66 mins of it.

 

Mick

[Chronos]

It's held up very strongly for me. It's better than anything from Presto to S&A, inclusive. But it's a shame it has to peter out the way it does -- the final three tracks are by far the weakest on an otherwise remarkably solid album.

 

Those last three songs may not have the power of the earlier ones, but I think they are good in their own way. The lyrics are certainly meaningful. If the album ended with Headlong Flight it would leave you very energized and wanting more. Those three songs act as the falling action and dénouement/resolution in a book, releasing tension and wrapping everything up nicely.

 

Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for a satisfying lyrical dénouement, but to be honest the Clockwork Angels "story" as a whole isn't very compelling for me. And I'm all for a well-crafted musical resolution, but the music itself (especially in Wish You Well) just grates on me.

[Narps]

Being honest with myself Clockwork Angels is good and listened to it alot for a while and wanted to love it. I just can't. Do I like it? Yes. Is my perception that it is better than anything since Power Windows? Yes. Looking back over the past 30 years or so I am pretty sure it is the first "album" of any kind that I have bought since Power Windows. If I went through my fairly vast album collection I would be willing to bet everything was released pre 1981 with only a few exceptions. Signals, Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Clockwork Angels and I also have Vapor Trails remix. I tried like hell to love it too but just can't. There was a 25-30 year period were the only music I listened to was classic rock in the car and that was about it. I have also tried recently to listen to some of the albums from HYF to VT here and there and just can't get through them all the way. The music I love, I love with passion but like I said most of it was released from 1970 - 1981. Damn I must have been really busy with other things (life) from 81' to recently..... :sigh: :|

[Rushman14]

Being honest with myself Clockwork Angels is good and listened to it alot for a while and wanted to love it. I just can't. Do I like it? Yes. Is my perception that it is better than anything since Power Windows? Yes. Looking back over the past 30 years or so I am pretty sure it is the first "album" of any kind that I have bought since Power Windows. If I went through my fairly vast album collection I would be willing to bet everything was released pre 1981 with only a few exceptions. Signals, Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Clockwork Angels and I also have Vapor Trails remix. I tried like hell to love it too but just can't. There was a 25-30 year period were the only music I listened to was classic rock in the car and that was about it. I have also tried recently to listen to some of the albums from HYF to VT here and there and just can't get through them all the way. The music I love, I love with passion but like I said most of it was released from 1970 - 1981. Damn I must have been really busy with other things (life) from 81' to recently..... :sigh: :|

 

There was a lot of great rock music released after '81

[Narps]

Being honest with myself Clockwork Angels is good and listened to it alot for a while and wanted to love it. I just can't. Do I like it? Yes. Is my perception that it is better than anything since Power Windows? Yes. Looking back over the past 30 years or so I am pretty sure it is the first "album" of any kind that I have bought since Power Windows. If I went through my fairly vast album collection I would be willing to bet everything was released pre 1981 with only a few exceptions. Signals, Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Clockwork Angels and I also have Vapor Trails remix. I tried like hell to love it too but just can't. There was a 25-30 year period were the only music I listened to was classic rock in the car and that was about it. I have also tried recently to listen to some of the albums from HYF to VT here and there and just can't get through them all the way. The music I love, I love with passion but like I said most of it was released from 1970 - 1981. Damn I must have been really busy with other things (life) from 81' to recently..... :sigh: :|

 

There was a lot of great rock music released after '81

I am sure there was but sadly I just missed it..... :codger:

[Dscrapre]

Now, back in 2012, I was just as geeked as anybody else about this. I checked the web everyday for updates, feverishly speculated about the album, just in general went nuts for this thing. I got the leak as soon as it dropped and later went on to buy 3 copies of the album (for some reason ). So it is with a very heavy heart that I say....

 

CA seems like a backwards move for the band.

 

I know that Snakes and Arrows isn't the most popular album around here, but I've recently grown very fond of it. The thing I enjoy about SnA is it's textural qualities. Alex especially utilizes some very lovely guitar textures throughout the album. It's not their best album ever, but to me, it's a very mature album that manages to really play to the band's strengths and show a new side of Rush that had previously only been glimpsed at.

 

Clockwork Angels on the other hand really seems lacking in all of those regards. Sure, there are some really great songs on there (The Anarchist being chief among them), and two of the band's best ballads are featured as well, but I still get a "what's new?" sort of feeling from this one. Much of CA just feels like Rush trying desperately to be the band that they were in the 70's, and not really succeeding. This album marked the return of the Science Fiction/Concept themes of 2112 and Hemispheres but unfortunately included little of the inventiveness that made those albums exciting.

 

Alex, again, is the one who really makes this album what it is. Unfortunately in this case, what he ends up making is a undefined sonic mess. Many of the tracks feature layer after layer of shapeless, muddy guitars that transform potentially good songs into sludge. The title track suffers from this worse than any other, with the guitars forming this impenetrable wall of noise that grinds the track's momentum to a halt.

 

That is not to say that there are not great elements at work here too. While some of the lyrics are a tad on the unwieldy side (Wish Them Well) most of them range from good to down right excellent. Geddy's bass playing just keeps getting better and better. He is definitely the best he's ever been right now. While I do have reservations about the guitar on the album, even that has some really great moments. Alex's playing on Carnies is a particular highlight.

 

It's just that, to me, this isn't the "total package" Rush album that many people seem to regard it as.

 

All of this of course is strictly my opinion.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dscrapre

[Lorraine]

I like the older Rush albums better.

[Segue Myles]

Interesting points, snakes and arrows had some amazing musical moments, but as a collection of songs it lacks excitement, it lacks real Rush classics. Beautifully produced, and songs like Spindrift (which I at one time hated) and Far Cry are fantastic songs, the album ks let down by a lot of material that just feels tired. The sparks of invention are there, but the magic isn't.

 

However, CA is a stupendously enjoyable album! Although much of the album could be mistaken as one long song, such is the lack of variety, it works in this albums favour. Whereas earlier conceptual pieces such as 2112, Hemispheres and Caress Of Steel feel weighty, masterly and "classic" in the same sense as classic adventure stories of bygone days, CA feels like the musical equivalent of a summer blockbuster. A great blockbuster. Yes, it lack a lot of the imagination that pioneered the genre in its early days, but the skill used to create it results in a final product that provides instant thrills, and still leaves room for further discovery with repeated plays.

 

Rush created many well respected and enjoyable albums from HYF through to SaA, but CA is the most exciting and adventurous straight ahead rock album the band has released since Moving Pictures.

[LittleRushmonkey]

I love CA and my favourite songs on it are 'Wish them well' & 'The anarchist.

I wouldn't call it my favourite album but it does have some great songs.

 

 

:sundog: :sundog:

[Nate1647]

I could honestly see Xanadu as an opener.

[hcm]

I still love it!

 

I do wish they would clean up the production..and leave some 'white' space....along the lines of what they did with Vapor Trails

 

I really dig the video I took at a couple of the concerts I went too, even if it was my shitty cell phone.

[Narps]

Now, back in 2012, I was just as geeked as anybody else about this. I checked the web everyday for updates, feverishly speculated about the album, just in general went nuts for this thing. I got the leak as soon as it dropped and later went on to buy 3 copies of the album (for some reason ). So it is with a very heavy heart that I say....

 

CA seems like a backwards move for the band.

 

I know that Snakes and Arrows isn't the most popular album around here, but I've recently grown very fond of it. The thing I enjoy about SnA is it's textural qualities. Alex especially utilizes some very lovely guitar textures throughout the album. It's not their best album ever, but to me, it's a very mature album that manages to really play to the band's strengths and show a new side of Rush that had previously only been glimpsed at.

 

Clockwork Angels on the other hand really seems lacking in all of those regards. Sure, there are some really great songs on there (The Anarchist being chief among them), and two of the band's best ballads are featured as well, but I still get a "what's new?" sort of feeling from this one. Much of CA just feels like Rush trying desperately to be the band that they were in the 70's, and not really succeeding. This album marked the return of the Science Fiction/Concept themes of 2112 and Hemispheres but unfortunately included little of the inventiveness that made those albums exciting.

 

Alex, again, is the one who really makes this album what it is. Unfortunately in this case, what he ends up making is a undefined sonic mess. Many of the tracks feature layer after layer of shapeless, muddy guitars that transform potentially good songs into sludge. The title track suffers from this worse than any other, with the guitars forming this impenetrable wall of noise that grinds the track's momentum to a halt.

 

That is not to say that there are not great elements at work here too. While some of the lyrics are a tad on the unwieldy side (Wish Them Well) most of them range from good to down right excellent. Geddy's bass playing just keeps getting better and better. He is definitely the best he's ever been right now. While I do have reservations about the guitar on the album, even that has some really great moments. Alex's playing on Carnies is a particular highlight.

 

It's just that, to me, this isn't the "total package" Rush album that many people seem to regard it as.

 

All of this of course is strictly my opinion.

In bold. My problem with recent production in a nutshell..... :|

[Lorraine]

I'm almost afraid to post this for fear of the reaction, but I had a thought last week about why Rush used the backup strings for CA.

 

Does anyone here think that maybe they did that to get some of the stress off of them? What I mean is, with the CA String Ensemble, focus isn't on them exclusively?

 

:outtahere:

[RushBoingo]

It's my favorite. It sits on the same shelf as PeW and AFTK. However, I recently added PoW to the top shelf of favorite Rush albums.

Yeah you got 4 of my five favorites on there. I agree, these are their masterpieces, in this order for me though

1. POW

2. AFTK

3. CA

4. Pew

5. HYF

[Narps]

Seems to me it was done for two main reasons. A fuller music sound and extra stage energy and excitement....

[Rushman14]

Now, back in 2012, I was just as geeked as anybody else about this. I checked the web everyday for updates, feverishly speculated about the album, just in general went nuts for this thing. I got the leak as soon as it dropped and later went on to buy 3 copies of the album (for some reason ). So it is with a very heavy heart that I say....

 

CA seems like a backwards move for the band.

 

I know that Snakes and Arrows isn't the most popular album around here, but I've recently grown very fond of it. The thing I enjoy about SnA is it's textural qualities. Alex especially utilizes some very lovely guitar textures throughout the album. It's not their best album ever, but to me, it's a very mature album that manages to really play to the band's strengths and show a new side of Rush that had previously only been glimpsed at.

 

Clockwork Angels on the other hand really seems lacking in all of those regards. Sure, there are some really great songs on there (The Anarchist being chief among them), and two of the band's best ballads are featured as well, but I still get a "what's new?" sort of feeling from this one. Much of CA just feels like Rush trying desperately to be the band that they were in the 70's, and not really succeeding. This album marked the return of the Science Fiction/Concept themes of 2112 and Hemispheres but unfortunately included little of the inventiveness that made those albums exciting.

 

Alex, again, is the one who really makes this album what it is. Unfortunately in this case, what he ends up making is a undefined sonic mess. Many of the tracks feature layer after layer of shapeless, muddy guitars that transform potentially good songs into sludge. The title track suffers from this worse than any other, with the guitars forming this impenetrable wall of noise that grinds the track's momentum to a halt.

 

That is not to say that there are not great elements at work here too. While some of the lyrics are a tad on the unwieldy side (Wish Them Well) most of them range from good to down right excellent. Geddy's bass playing just keeps getting better and better. He is definitely the best he's ever been right now. While I do have reservations about the guitar on the album, even that has some really great moments. Alex's playing on Carnies is a particular highlight.

 

It's just that, to me, this isn't the "total package" Rush album that many people seem to regard it as.

 

All of this of course is strictly my opinion.

In bold. My problem with recent production in a nutshell..... :|

 

Now, back in 2012, I was just as geeked as anybody else about this. I checked the web everyday for updates, feverishly speculated about the album, just in general went nuts for this thing. I got the leak as soon as it dropped and later went on to buy 3 copies of the album (for some reason ). So it is with a very heavy heart that I say....

 

CA seems like a backwards move for the band.

 

I know that Snakes and Arrows isn't the most popular album around here, but I've recently grown very fond of it. The thing I enjoy about SnA is it's textural qualities. Alex especially utilizes some very lovely guitar textures throughout the album. It's not their best album ever, but to me, it's a very mature album that manages to really play to the band's strengths and show a new side of Rush that had previously only been glimpsed at.

 

Clockwork Angels on the other hand really seems lacking in all of those regards. Sure, there are some really great songs on there (The Anarchist being chief among them), and two of the band's best ballads are featured as well, but I still get a "what's new?" sort of feeling from this one. Much of CA just feels like Rush trying desperately to be the band that they were in the 70's, and not really succeeding. This album marked the return of the Science Fiction/Concept themes of 2112 and Hemispheres but unfortunately included little of the inventiveness that made those albums exciting.

 

Alex, again, is the one who really makes this album what it is. Unfortunately in this case, what he ends up making is a undefined sonic mess. Many of the tracks feature layer after layer of shapeless, muddy guitars that transform potentially good songs into sludge. The title track suffers from this worse than any other, with the guitars forming this impenetrable wall of noise that grinds the track's momentum to a halt.

 

That is not to say that there are not great elements at work here too. While some of the lyrics are a tad on the unwieldy side (Wish Them Well) most of them range from good to down right excellent. Geddy's bass playing just keeps getting better and better. He is definitely the best he's ever been right now. While I do have reservations about the guitar on the album, even that has some really great moments. Alex's playing on Carnies is a particular highlight.

 

It's just that, to me, this isn't the "total package" Rush album that many people seem to regard it as.

 

All of this of course is strictly my opinion.

In bold. My problem with recent production in a nutshell..... :|

 

there are actually more layers of guitar on Snakes and Arrows. the problem here is a bad mix by Nick.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Rushman14

[hcm]

Lorraine

 

I am sure that live having the strings helped take the pressure off. No need to trigger pre recorded parts. I also think though that they have always had a strong string component sound and I thought it was cool that they brought them live on tour with them.

 

I just wish they would have put Losing It out there on tour, it has a strong string element.

[Lorraine]

Lorraine

 

I am sure that live having the strings helped take the pressure off. No need to trigger pre recorded parts. I also think though that they have always had a strong string component sound and I thought it was cool that they brought them live on tour with them.

 

I just wish they would have put Losing It out there on tour, it has a strong string element.

 

I agree with you that they do well enough without having anything extra. And I do think that the CASE was a nice touch (I will never listen to Dreamline again without expecting them to hear them in the background). But, what I am trying to say is that it helps take the stress off Rush having other musicians around, now that they are getting older.

 

Maybe I am wrong. It was just a thought I had last week and thought to put on here to see what others thought.

[hcm]

I don't know, I saw them live 3 times on the CA tour and they still seemed to be working pretty hard. I wonder if it really does take the pressure off because they now have to coordinate with all the extra people on tour.

[EagleMoon]

Now, back in 2012, I was just as geeked as anybody else about this. I checked the web everyday for updates, feverishly speculated about the album, just in general went nuts for this thing. I got the leak as soon as it dropped and later went on to buy 3 copies of the album (for some reason ). So it is with a very heavy heart that I say....

 

CA seems like a backwards move for the band.

 

I know that Snakes and Arrows isn't the most popular album around here, but I've recently grown very fond of it. The thing I enjoy about SnA is it's textural qualities. Alex especially utilizes some very lovely guitar textures throughout the album. It's not their best album ever, but to me, it's a very mature album that manages to really play to the band's strengths and show a new side of Rush that had previously only been glimpsed at.

 

Clockwork Angels on the other hand really seems lacking in all of those regards. Sure, there are some really great songs on there (The Anarchist being chief among them), and two of the band's best ballads are featured as well, but I still get a "what's new?" sort of feeling from this one. Much of CA just feels like Rush trying desperately to be the band that they were in the 70's, and not really succeeding. This album marked the return of the Science Fiction/Concept themes of 2112 and Hemispheres but unfortunately included little of the inventiveness that made those albums exciting.

 

Alex, again, is the one who really makes this album what it is. Unfortunately in this case, what he ends up making is a undefined sonic mess. Many of the tracks feature layer after layer of shapeless, muddy guitars that transform potentially good songs into sludge. The title track suffers from this worse than any other, with the guitars forming this impenetrable wall of noise that grinds the track's momentum to a halt.

 

That is not to say that there are not great elements at work here too. While some of the lyrics are a tad on the unwieldy side (Wish Them Well) most of them range from good to down right excellent. Geddy's bass playing just keeps getting better and better. He is definitely the best he's ever been right now. While I do have reservations about the guitar on the album, even that has some really great moments. Alex's playing on Carnies is a particular highlight.

 

It's just that, to me, this isn't the "total package" Rush album that many people seem to regard it as.

 

All of this of course is strictly my opinion.

 

I agree with this completely. I just can't bond with Clockwork Angels. I think the songs individually are nice but as a whole it just seems like a sonic mess. Geddy has always been a bass god to me but he's been getting better and better over the years. CA could have been a great album but it just sounds ordinary with a few great moments thrown in. I wish they would go back to guitar, bass, and drums and quit all the layering. CA was a step in that direction but still sounds thick.

[The Analog Grownup]

Regarding the production:

 

It is considered to be mastered fairly "hot". From the lowest level to the highest is only 6 decibel (that's not a lot) which is why is seems squashed. Yes, it is dense but I like it anyway. There's excitement, energy and raw sound to it. I like how their albums sound different, because every time I put on a record it sounds fresh to my ears compared to one I heard before, and so forth and so forth. The only one I had a problem with was the original mix of Vapor Trails because it has clipping.

 

If you want your dynamics back buy a turntable. ;)

[Lorraine]

Regarding the production:

 

It is considered to be mastered fairly "hot". From the lowest level to the highest is only 6 decibel (that's not a lot) which is why is seems squashed. Yes, it is dense but I like it anyway. There's excitement, energy and raw sound to it. I like how their albums sound different, because every time I put on a record it sounds fresh to my ears compared to one I heard before, and so forth and so forth. The only one I had a problem with was the original mix of Vapor Trails because it has clipping.

 

If you want your dynamics back buy a turntable. ;)

 

If records sound better than CDs (and I think they do), why did the "powers that be" in the industry ditch vinyl records?

[The Analog Grownup]

Regarding the production:

 

It is considered to be mastered fairly "hot". From the lowest level to the highest is only 6 decibel (that's not a lot) which is why is seems squashed. Yes, it is dense but I like it anyway. There's excitement, energy and raw sound to it. I like how their albums sound different, because every time I put on a record it sounds fresh to my ears compared to one I heard before, and so forth and so forth. The only one I had a problem with was the original mix of Vapor Trails because it has clipping.

 

If you want your dynamics back buy a turntable. ;)

 

If records sound better than CDs (and I think they do), why did the "powers that be" in the industry ditch vinyl records?

 

They didn't. They just want to sell what the buyers will buy and interestingly the sales figures for CDs is going down, while records and online music is going up. It seems to me that listeners can be divided into two groups (very crude though); one likes their music to be convenient, the other wants music to be less convenient but sounding better ;).

 

Vinyl music is on the rise at the moment and it will continue to do so. At first I thought it was a bunch of hipsters and retro-freaks, but with the rise of online streaming I think people miss having the physical medium between their hands. :)