Clockwork Angels - Might actually be better than Moving Pictures

[Snyder80]

Sadly, just no. We shouldn't blame Rush for this though.

 

There seems to be a general arc to most bands who last a long time. It is generally in three stages. (Note the word 'generally')

 

STAGE ONE - Hungry. Flat broke. Trying to get noticed.

During stage one, most people are not masters of either their instruments or the art of songwriting/arranging. They get better, and with the good bands the curve is steep, but it takes a little time. Hopefully they get a minor hit or two which keeps the record company on their side. Moments of genius are exciting enough that bit by bit, they garner a good loyal following.

 

STAGE TWO - Still hungry. Enough money to live on. Getting noticed and some acclaim.

This is where the rewards for their efforts are in sight. They sell more records. Tours get bigger. Then something clicks and the record buying public catches on. The band is on fire now and becomes hungrier than ever. Their chops and songwriting hit a peak. This stage lasts five or so years. Everything they do, even if it doesn't quite work, has that feeling of "on a roll". They get serious money.

 

STAGE THREE - Fat. Rich. Guaranteed audience.

The band spend less time together, even when on tour. They practice their instruments less. They have hobbies and families. Maybe divorces and stints in rehab. Life exists outside the band now. They make more money than ever, but the fire is dwindling. Eventually, the band has become a business. Depending on their talent and chemistry, maybe they still have some of that old magic, but it is diminishing returns.

 

You coud distill that and make an age judgement.

 

16 - 24 You'd die for your band. You sleep on each others' socks and don't complain..

25 - 35 You'd die to help each other make the band the best it can be.

35+ You'd die to stop your wife leaving you, or be able to fit into your old jeans, but you still kind of like your band mates.

 

Rush haven't exactly followed this format - they had a terrible interlude - but I remember reading things from interviews with the guys like -

"I didn't pick up the guitar/bass the whole summer"

"Am I prepared to spend all that time obsessively working out that drum part?."

"I enjoy producing ..."

"My latest passion is wine/motorbikes/baseball/cooking etc"

 

When Rush released "Moving Pictures" they were at that pinnacle. They had got their chops to a frightening level and then, only the album before that, they had discovered mass appeal songwriting. They made a fortune, floated on that extraordinary wave of creative euphoria that must have brought, and then released another two (three) amazing albums. Then the slide began. They still make interesting music, and CA was a nice elevation that resembled former glory years, but it only resembled it. I like the album, much better than most things they have done in a long time, but they will never, not even if all their money, cars, homes, testicles, are taken from them, scale the heights that they reached from 1979 to 1984.

 

Rant over. Dismiss as you wish, or add boiling water and leave for five minutes. Nom nom.

 

This is so true I can't even stand it. As much as I enjoy some of the new material, the older I get, and the more I revisit albums like AFTK, PeW, Hemispheres, MP, I can't even find a resemblance from those albums on the newer stuff. It really pains me to say this but sometimes I wonder if Lifeson ever sits and listens to a song like Natural Science or Xanadu and then listens to Far Cry or Wish Them Well and thinks, What in the f**k am I doing???

 

I realize it's all stylistic development and creative nonsense that I'll never fully understand but I also think that if you can't hear the difference in musicianship, effort and creativity between the aforementioned songs then you might be deaf, crazy or both.

[bathory]

CA's pretty good, but I don't pull it out often. really I never listen to it. I was pretty crazy about it when it first came out, but even then I never thought it was close to moving pictures, or even grace under pressure. it's the best since hold your fire, overall, but there are songs on presto, roll the bones and counterparts that I listen to more regularly than anything from CA (or the other albums after CP). it does seem like they have trouble writing enough catchy melodies to fill up the amount of time they want to fill up on a disc.

[Xanadoood]

No. Not even close. CA is a solid late career album and proves how passionate Rush are to their craft. They never make the same album twice, and that's part of why they kick so much ass. But MP was Rush at their peak. I like most of their catalogue, but nothing overall touches the 75-85 years. It's like comparing 80s/90s micheal Jordan to the 2000s version.

[micgtr71]

While I think it is a better album than the previous six albums it is no where near as good as Moving Pictures...imho

[clem]

Wow! Wasn't expecting such a reaction to my post!

 

I guess it all boils down to the fact that we're all different (how boring this planet would be if we were not?)

 

I still love CA more and more. Don't really care about "production". As long as it doesn't sound like Vapor Trails I, then I'm good.

 

The only song I don't like is BU2B2, and since that's kind of a "reprise", I can easily ignore (i.e. skip) that track. The only other track I think that is less than spectacular is "Wish Them Well", but the awesome lyrics push that song into positive territory for me.

 

Now, on Moving Pictures, the only song that I think is less than stellar is "Witch Hunt". Great, but not stellar.

 

Then again, I like "Snakes and Arrows" and don't really care for "Caress of Steel", so maybe I'm just weird.

 

Let's all have a great 2015, regardless of whether or not they tour :)

 

Clem

[Anthemic]

i like it better than moving pictures for sure. it's my favorite rush album by A LOT.

 

before clockwork angels rush was just that band my wife liked!

[x1yyz]

I've had 2 1/2 years to listen, reflect, digest, ensure that there's no "novelty effect", etc.

 

I think this is now, officially (for me, that is), Rush's best album.

 

 

thoughts?

 

Clem

 

I love it. It is definitely in the top five for me, maybe even the top three.

[driven_to_xanadu]

Clockwork Angels and Moving Pictures, hmm that's a comparison I can't really make.

 

I prefer to compare CA with their other recent albums (S&A and VT) in which case it can be seen in a good light.

 

MP is a LONG way ahead of CA for me, from a production perspective it's night and day.

[bluefox4000]

I can't talk i perfer Snakes to CA and that is an album that get's dumped on too. Is Snakes great.......no it's just good. but......and i'm rambling here.......what I don't get is Nick R. did Snakes. Which I think sounded great. What the hell happened with CA? Was it Rush or nick who said......."Ya know what.......that snakes record sounded great.......but i'd rather sound like Nickelback and the Foo fighters!"

 

Disgusting, lol

 

Mick

[Segue Myles]

I dont hear any Nickleback or Foo Fighter.

 

CA is 100% Rush for me. Just not peak form Rush.

 

And I swear Wish Them Well is a great song. Takes me back to the second side of 2112.

[Geddy's Soul Patch]

I dont hear any Nickleback or Foo Fighter.

 

CA is 100% Rush for me. Just not peak form Rush.

 

And I swear Wish Them Well is a great song. Takes me back to the second side of 2112.

I think he was just referring to the production

[bluefox4000]

I dont hear any Nickleback or Foo Fighter.

 

CA is 100% Rush for me. Just not peak form Rush.

 

And I swear Wish Them Well is a great song. Takes me back to the second side of 2112.

I think he was just referring to the production

 

Bingo......i just hear Foo fighters in it. and it makes me very ill, lol

 

Mick

[Disk98]

Caravan: 9.3

BU2B: 9.5

Clockwork Angels: 10.0

The Anarchist: 9.0

Carnies: 9.2

Halo Effect: 8.6

Seven Cities of Gold: 8.9

The Wreckers: 9.6

Headlong Flight: 10.0

BU2B2: 8.5

Wish Them Well: 9.1

The Garden: 9.7

 

OVERALL: 9.3

[goose]

I can't talk i perfer Snakes to CA and that is an album that get's dumped on too. Is Snakes great.......no it's just good. but......and i'm rambling here.......what I don't get is Nick R. did Snakes. Which I think sounded great. What the hell happened with CA? Was it Rush or nick who said......."Ya know what.......that snakes record sounded great.......but i'd rather sound like Nickelback and the Foo fighters!"

 

Disgusting, lol

 

Mick

Uploading Snakes.. to the I-Shuffle right now. It is a great sounding album, with a few great songs included along with some good ones. Not too shabby these days.

[antiquark]

Deleted! Edited December 31, 2014 by antiquark

[bluefox4000]

I can't talk i perfer Snakes to CA and that is an album that get's dumped on too. Is Snakes great.......no it's just good. but......and i'm rambling here.......what I don't get is Nick R. did Snakes. Which I think sounded great. What the hell happened with CA? Was it Rush or nick who said......."Ya know what.......that snakes record sounded great.......but i'd rather sound like Nickelback and the Foo fighters!"

 

Disgusting, lol

 

Mick

Uploading Snakes.. to the I-Shuffle right now. It is a great sounding album, with a few great songs included along with some good ones. Not too shabby these days.

 

A very good album. one i'd take over CA anytime.

 

Mick

[goose]

I can't talk i perfer Snakes to CA and that is an album that get's dumped on too. Is Snakes great.......no it's just good. but......and i'm rambling here.......what I don't get is Nick R. did Snakes. Which I think sounded great. What the hell happened with CA? Was it Rush or nick who said......."Ya know what.......that snakes record sounded great.......but i'd rather sound like Nickelback and the Foo fighters!"

 

Disgusting, lol

 

Mick

Uploading Snakes.. to the I-Shuffle right now. It is a great sounding album, with a few great songs included along with some good ones. Not too shabby these days.

 

A very good album. one i'd take over CA anytime.

 

Mick

Much more listenable. It even has a few songs with melodies you can sing, or at least hum.

[movinghemispheres]

I can't compare CA to MP but still CA is a very good album with some great songs as well (The Garden, Headlong Flight). And let's not forget its an album made by a band that's been around for 40 years, so with that in mind, I think the album is really great. How many bands do the same? Most of the groups this age just keep on releasing best-of(s), greatest hits and when touring they keep on playing the same old setlists with the same "hits".

[goose]

I can't compare CA to MP but still CA is a very good album with some great songs as well (The Garden, Headlong Flight). And let's not forget its an album made by a band that's been around for 40 years, so with that in mind, I think the album is really great. How many bands do the same? Most of the groups this age just keep on releasing best-of(s), greatest hits and when touring they keep on playing the same old setlists with the same "hits".

True. Maybe that's what bugs me about Clockwork...that it strikes me as an attempt to move backward to the epic era. I think they're better songwriters than storytellers.

[bluefox4000]

I can't compare CA to MP but still CA is a very good album with some great songs as well (The Garden, Headlong Flight). And let's not forget its an album made by a band that's been around for 40 years, so with that in mind, I think the album is really great. How many bands do the same? Most of the groups this age just keep on releasing best-of(s), greatest hits and when touring they keep on playing the same old setlists with the same "hits".

True. Maybe that's what bugs me about Clockwork...that it strikes me as an attempt to move backward to the epic era. I think they're better songwriters than storytellers.

 

I agree. I found them to be a more interesting band when the epics were done.

 

though i love hemispheres.......when Permanent Waves came it was like a rocket blast.

 

Mick

[Del_Duio]

I've had 2 1/2 years to listen, reflect, digest, ensure that there's no "novelty effect", etc.

 

I think this is now, officially (for me, that is), Rush's best album.

 

 

thoughts?

 

Clem

 

Respectfully, No.

 

It's not bad. Not by any stretch. However:

 

FBN, 2112, Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, GUP, Power Windows, HYF (Yes, I said it), Presto, and Counterparts are better IMO.

[len(songs)]

I've had 2 1/2 years to listen, reflect, digest, ensure that there's no "novelty effect", etc.

 

I think this is now, officially (for me, that is), Rush's best album.

 

 

thoughts?

 

Clem

 

Respectfully, No.

 

It's not bad. Not by any stretch. However:

 

FBN, 2112, Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, GUP, Power Windows, HYF (Yes, I said it), Presto, and Counterparts are better IMO.

I would say that CoS, (maybe) 2112, Kings, Hemispheres, PeW, MP, Signals, GUP, PoW, HYF, and VTR are better. That means it's out of the top 10.

Edited December 31, 2014 by len(songs)

[Segue Myles]

Caress Of Steel

2112

A Farewell To Kings

Henispheres

Permanent Waves

Moving Pictures

Grace Under Pressure

Power Windows

Hold Your Fire

Presto

Counterparts

Vapor Trails

 

All these albums I think are superior to Clockwork Angels. Roll The Bones is equal.

 

Signals has slipped out if my top 12. Its actually far from my favourite.

[len(songs)]

Caress Of Steel

2112

A Farewell To Kings

Henispheres

Permanent Waves

Moving Pictures

Grace Under Pressure

Power Windows

Hold Your Fire

Presto

Counterparts

Vapor Trails

 

All these albums I think are superior to Clockwork Angels. Roll The Bones is equal.

 

Signals has slipped out if my top 12. Its actually far from my favourite.

Signals is better than anything after GuP.

[bluefox4000]

I'm down to 3 songs i like on CA. I don't play CA anymore cause i don't wanna lose those 3 songs, lol.

 

Mick