Clockwork Angels revisited

[Lorraine]

Where do you buy stereos? I never see them anywhere. Not that I go to that many places, but those I do go to, they don't sell record players.

 

I agree wholeheartedly that the sound of CDs stink. Stink. Stink. There's nothing like a vinyl album.

 

In any event, I am glad to hear this. They should never have downplayed them to begin with.

[The Analog Grownup]

Any shop with self respect that sells hi-fi equipment should at least carry one brand of turntable.

 

Mine is a NAD C555 like this one.

http://www.hifix.co.uk/graphics/pics/large/103766.jpg

 

One thing is for certain, though. Whatever options I have in Denmark, you have it 1000-fold in the states :)

[canadianice]

The Garden sucks.

So do you

[canadianice]

The Garden sucks.

So do you

[x1yyz]

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:

 

Yes and no. I'd like to think part of the reason for the ensemble was for the excitement of having other great musicians onstage, musicians who would add to the sound but not overwhelm it, and also not be rock musicians in their own right (not "special guests" for instance). But I assume the real reason is so they could have a big, full, layered sound without having to resort to backing tapes. So in a way that would be taking some of the stress off of Rush in terms of producing all the music themselves (either live or via backing tapes).

[canadianice]

As i stated 2 years ago, when the album was released, Clockwork Angels is a MASTERPIECE!!!!! nuff said :rush:

[Bangster of Goats]

Two years on (damn where does the time go) I still think it's a crackin' album. Was listening to it today as a matter of fact.

 

I'm not a fan of the mix and master (the older 'single' versions of Caravan and BU2B sound crisper and clearer... whadya do Nick?) buuutttttt... meh. I try not to let that get to me, but it does fatigue my ears after a while.

 

The one-two-three punch of the title track, the Anarchist, and Carnies still kicks my ass.

 

I'm a little puzzled by some people being a little turned off by BU2B2. It's essentially an "intermission" of sorts, a transitory piece. I kinda wish there were more atmospheric bits like that throughout the album. This is a pretty obscure reference I'm about to make, but Planet P Project's album Pink World (a concept double-album) has a few short atmospheric BU2B2-esque tracks between some of the primary songs that recall previous musical themes and lyrics, and I think it works great.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Bangster of Goats

[Tombstone Mountain]

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

You are obviously a person with great taste

[Tombstone Mountain]

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.

A—freakin—men!!!

 

It SOUNDS different. It's no accident it sounds this way. It is different. We're so lucky. They gave us 66 minutes of such textures.

 

What keeps me giggling to myself is the sheer balls of this album.

[Tombstone Mountain]

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.

 

CA could have been a great album but it just sounds ordinary with a few great moments thrown in.

With all due respect, and I mean this with great humility—what is "ordinary" about CA? If it sounds like no other Rush record, wouldn't that make it special?

 

I have an ear. I'm a musician. In fact, I'm a BassMeister (not self-proclaimed. thanks Narpski). What makes it "ordinary"? Because it's still kicking my ass two years since the release. It makes every previous studio album (save PeW, AFTK, PoW) sound dated and thin.

 

Yes. I said thin.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Tombstone Mountain

[Narps]

^^^^^ Anytime...... :)

[ThatLightInYourEyes]

Some of it was a little heavy-handed. I know Rush isn't known for its minimalistic approach, but did they really need that many string instruments? That, plus the maddening steampunk imagery everywhere on the tour came across as something that would collapse on itself any minute. If they ever decide to do something different, maybe cutting down on the excess would be a nice and refreshing start. Also, I'd prefer it if they would get someone to write jokes in those skits that are actually funny, rather than incoherent excuses to show more random stuff. I feel insulted at times as a fan when they stoop so low.

[Tombstone Mountain]

Also, I'd prefer it if they would get someone to write jokes in those skits that are actually funny, rather than incoherent excuses to show more random stuff. I feel insulted at times as a fan when they stoop so low.

Yeah they need the YBG staff bad to help 'em out.

[Slack jaw gaze]

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?

Because there is no sound row on an income statement.

[Slack jaw gaze]

My favorite Rush album can beat up your favorite Rush album.

[The Analog Cub]

Yes, the production is a bit muddy but that seems to be a trademark of whatever NR gets his hands on. Go listen to In Your Honor by the Foo Fighters, which he also produced. That album has its sound problems, too.

 

Enough of that BS, though, I'm no audiophile.

 

I love this album, and this is after that "new album euphoria" went away, it's been 2 years. I loved Snakes and Arrows when it came out, and now I have it sitting at #9 out of 19, so middle of the pack. Clockwork Angels is sitting at a very nice #6, behind Counterparts, Grace, Signals, Hemispheres, and MP.

 

The songs on this album are just top-notch to me. Solid opener, great followup, then you hit the first musical peak with the god-tier title track and DAT ANARCHIST :D Carnies is also a good song, with that gnarly Lerxst riff, then you get a really nice ballad, and a nice mid-album groove on SCOG. Then you hit the second musical peak with the best "single" of the album and then Rush's best live tune since Secret Touch or even Dreamline. Skip BU2B2, who cares. I still don't like Wish Them Well because it sounds too damn cheery-poppy, something that would've fit on anything from '87-'91 (yuck). Then the album's finished off nicely with The Garden. I don't praise it to the high heavens like a lot of people, but I like it, especially the guitar solo. It's quirky, but beautiful, a la Limelight or Between The Wheels or Alien Shore.

 

Well done, boys. You've succeeded in creating a masterpiece after decades of existence. Best album since Counterparts and Grace Under Pressure.

Edited May 22, 2014 by BowlCity

[Pause Rewind Replay]

Definitely passes the test.

 

Modern classics:

Caravan

BU2B

Clockwork Angels

Anarchist

7CoG

 

Very Good :

Carnies

Wish Them Well

HLF

The Wreckers (when this is maybe the 9th best song on an album... wow!)

 

Good: Halo Effect

 

Mostly Harmless: BU2B2

____________________________

 

:zzz: The Garden

[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.

 

CA could have been a great album but it just sounds ordinary with a few great moments thrown in.

With all due respect, and I mean this with great humility—what is "ordinary" about CA? If it sounds like no other Rush record, wouldn't that make it special?

 

I have an ear. I'm a musician. In fact, I'm a BassMeister (not self-proclaimed. thanks Narpski). What makes it "ordinary"? Because it's still kicking my ass two years since the release. It makes every previous studio album (save PeW, AFTK, PoW) sound dated and thin.

 

Yes. I said thin.

 

The problem is that it sounds like rehashed older stuff, but just not done as well. Personally I think the lyrics are really lacking and the music is just stale. Headlong Flight is the only song on the album that sounds like it could've been on an album pre-Moving Pictures. In other words, full of energy and more original. But even the guys admit that it's very similar to Bastille Day in chord structure.

[Tombstone Mountain]

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.

 

CA could have been a great album but it just sounds ordinary with a few great moments thrown in.

With all due respect, and I mean this with great humility—what is "ordinary" about CA? If it sounds like no other Rush record, wouldn't that make it special?

 

I have an ear. I'm a musician. In fact, I'm a BassMeister (not self-proclaimed. thanks Narpski). What makes it "ordinary"? Because it's still kicking my ass two years since the release. It makes every previous studio album (save PeW, AFTK, PoW) sound dated and thin.

 

Yes. I said thin.

 

The problem is that it sounds like rehashed older stuff, but just not done as well. Personally I think the lyrics are really lacking and the music is just stale. Headlong Flight is the only song on the album that sounds like it could've been on an album pre-Moving Pictures. In other words, full of energy and more original. But even the guys admit that it's very similar to Bastille Day in chord structure.

I see the bath salt epidemic has made its way to Pittsburgh

[H. P. L.]

I don't listen to the album as a whole, I skip to my favourites, like Caravan, BU2B, 7 cities and The Garden. There are some songs I can live without.

[bluefox4000]

Ah here comes ole negative Mick again. but we are having a discussion so.......The stuff that's done well on the album is done really well. but to me it come across as Rush going, "We can sound really cool let's layer it all. LOUDNESS WARS!!!!!" and pretty much failing, lol Instead of just 3 piece-ing it again with a different producer and hitting a REAL home run.

 

Mick

[Lorraine]

Also, I'd prefer it if they would get someone to write jokes in those skits that are actually funny, rather than incoherent excuses to show more random stuff. I feel insulted at times as a fan when they stoop so low.

Yeah they need the YBG staff bad to help 'em out.

 

I'll get busy writing. I always said I should have been a comedy skit writer. SNL would've loved me.

[Lorraine]

No one here thinks those skits are funny? I love the one at the end of the show.

 

Every time that big bird sits down next to the guy and says, "Howdy do. You are a very thin man!" I start laughing.

 

I also laugh every time I hear "Shake it toots!"

 

This could also mean I am nothing but a Rush moron.

[theanalogmiddleagedman]

I still love and consider all time greats:

Headlong Flight and The Anarchist

Really Like a Whole lot:

Caravan, BU2B, CA, Carnies, The Wreckers

Find myself really liking a lot for some odd reason:

Wish Them Well

Skippers:

Halo Effect, SCoG, The Garden

Don't Consider a song:

BU2B2

 

[x1yyz]

No one here thinks those skits are funny? I love the one at the end of the show.

 

Every time that big bird sits down next to the guy and says, "Howdy do. You are a very thin man!" I start laughing.

 

I also laugh every time I hear "Shake it toots!"

 

This could also mean I am nothing but a Rush moron.

 

I think they're funny, too. A little absurd, a little weird ... but I guess I'm that way too