RUSH Clockwork Angels

[Flux Jetson]

OMG!!! My wife just now said "Hey ... your CD showed up!"

Ok .... I'm outta here. I gots me some new RUSH to listen too!

[Flux Jetson]

Ok .. after my first listen, it's easier to get through the negatives than the positives.

Compressed, yea, but not too awful. I found myself straining a little bit now and then to hear Geddy's bass a tiny bit better. I mean it was there, but sitting a little deep in the mix at times. So yea, a little homogenized sounding at times. But nothing so bad that it earmarks this album.

Alex's guitar work reminded me of Power Windows, dripping with delay and reverb but still nice. And the resurgence of good old riff rock was a really nice surprize!!!

What I noticed missing was Neil's dynamic drum work. He has taken on a more rythmic style rather than the melodic phrasing he used so much in the past. The tom roll downs are all but gone. I mean, great drumming as usual, but the activity on the many toms he used to use so much of was missing.

Now then ... that was a lot easier to get through those few nitpickity negatives than the piles of positives there are to illuminate. The album can speak for itself in that regard .. there is so much to like that it's pointless to write all of that down. There are just those few negatives that I mentioned, and that's about it.

Geddy's bass sounds great ... almost piano-like the way the upper octave harmonics come through. Sometimes a little less dynamic than past recordings (that compression thing nipping at me a bit). I found myself wondering how he is able to play such stuff while singing ... truly amazing fanciness!

The Garden had a strong smell of Closer to the Heart (and even "Tears" from 2112). The way that Geddy's voice sounds (the word "and" really ~pops~ out just like it does in Closer to the Heart) and the song's structure really took me back to that era. This album is like a sortof amalgam of everything ~good~ they've done. I hear many things from many works.

And just to get it said, I did NOT find this album low-end heavy. At all. And it's not really ~that~ loud either. I put Disk #3 from Different Stages in as soon as Clockwork Angels ended to compare the volume, and CA was only about 1db louder than Disk3 of DS. Tonally, I found if I bumped the 650hz to 1khz range up a few db it pretty much erased the "modernization" of the general EQ of the album. I left the bass totally flat, didn't have to cut it at all, in fact I found that I added a snort (2 or 3 db) right at 40hz to tighten things up down there a teensy bit. But I could have done with a bit less overall compression though (as has been mentioned in this thread a number of times by others).

So other than the compression thing, and Neil's tom work being a bit MIA, this first run through Clockwork Angels is a good thing! After I put it through a few weeks of listening I may have something different to say, but for now ... excellent stuff! I think this album will be like sex .. the second time is always better!

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

I want to say again that "The Wreckers" is the best song that Rush has created in a long, long time (in my opinion, of course).

[Fletz]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I want to say again that "The Wreckers" is the best song that Rush has created in a long, long time (in my opinion, of course).

Feels very "Who" to me. A good thing. Bad lyrics though. Lazy. I love Wish Them Well.

[Catbuster]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I want to say again that "The Wreckers" is the best song that Rush has created in a long, long time (in my opinion, of course).

Exactly my feeling too.

[TheEndIsNYE]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I want to say again that "The Wreckers" is the best song that Rush has created in a long, long time (in my opinion, of course).

Hearing Alex's extended solo off that song live was just pure gold. I actually felt a tear of joy while hearing it.

[rupture]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I want to say again that "The Wreckers" is the best song that Rush has created in a long, long time (in my opinion, of course).

I'm gonna have to go with seven cities. it just drives

[Akami]

Originally Posted by rupture

I'm gonna have to go with seven cities. it just drives

Just started listening to the whole album last night and I'm liking the whole thing! Seven Cities of Gold is on right now and along with Carnies and Headlong Flight, there's some really driving numbers here.

[Epitaph04]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

And just to get it said, I did NOT find this album low-end heavy. At all.

See I told you!

[GRAHAM SG1]

BU2B is a great song, I still like the feeling when going into wish them well, clever use of dynamics .

[Flux Jetson]

I've listened to it over and over and over since I got it. It's the first album I've just let auto-repeat in nearly fifteen years ... by anyone. Even when it isn't playing, I hear it in my sleep, at dinner when we're watching the short bit of TV that we watch (less than one hour per day total).

As I said before, it's one of those collections that gets better with each consecutive listen.

I've found I can overcome some of the compression issues by using an aural exciter/expander. Not a lot of it, just a small tasteful amount. It has it's own productive feel and it's own very strong individual production identity. Like the way Signals is so ~quiet~ (volume wise) and sortof soft, and has it's own very individual feel, this album has it's own definitive texture. Loud, yea ... compressed, yea ... but that's Clockwork Angels.

I haven't decided on any one favorite song, there are some that are growing on me a little more than others though .. Headlong Flight is an upbeat rocker, and I still say that The Garden is very Closer To The Heart-ish. Lyrically cool, it strikes me as basically "Ok, I went on this fantastic personal journey, now it's time to sort out how I feel about it and tend to my own personal emotional garden and use what I have learned to better my garden". Which is what we probably should do with each new personal lesson. Use it to better ourselves and keep ourselves in better order, especially before being critical of others.

I am LOVING Alex's burbling drippy guitar tones. His use of delays and reverbs really strikes me ... like he did in Power Windows with songs like Middletown Dreams. While Power Windows isn't one of my favorite recording collections by them, it's one of my favorite Alex collections. The layering of his tracks brings back the ambient other worldly feel to many songs, which is an important aspect to the music I like, it's something that took me away when I was younger.

All in all, I'm very impressed and quite happy. This album is a reassurance that they can still "do it" and a wonderfully excellent departure from the last (nearly twenty) years of poo. I became VERY disenchanted with their output starting with Roll The Bones. I mean, c'mon .. RUPERT HINES? I mean ... Really? And I have grown very tired of all of the introspective "Hmmmm..." (head cocked to one side, hand stroking chin) songs. I don't listen to Neil for that kind of stuff. I want to be transported elsewhere ... and this album lands it solidly!

Concept-wise, I love these fantasy albums. Mental pictures of worlds other than our own. I am a fan of movie and TV productions like the Mad Max franchise, Dark City, the first Star Wars movie (the one that started it all in 1978), and wandering soul-stories such as Casshern Sins (easily my favoite anime ever made), and of course Dune. Early ELP music used to do this to me (such as their first album, and Tarkus) .. stories of worlds different than our own. Of course 2112 and Hemispheres are two Rush champions of those types of fantastic mental journeys. Clockwork Angels takes us to this Steampunk World that has very strong mental imagry. And even though it has that underlying backdrop of a well-descripted otherworld, the character is easy to identify with, as his problems and lessons are things many of us can place ourselves within. Just as with 2112.

I hope this is their last studio album, they've really raised the bar back up to their original standards and I'm not sure they can pull this off again and expect to be able to tour it. This would be an excellent final effort, and it would allow them to go out with a brilliant flash. The Garden being Neil's final statement, and very VERY fittingly so. A sortof last word that summarizes everything he's written within the confines of Rush. As if to say "now take everything you've gathered from everything we have discussed since 1974, and make something good of it .... tend to the garden that has sprouted from these conversations you and I have had for the last fourty years and nurture it into something beautiful" .....

Good work, guys. Indeed.

[wateroftyne]

I haven't listened to it in aaaages.

I'll have another go and see if I click with it.

[Johno Dunn]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

I've listened to it over and over and over since I got it. It's the first album I've just let auto-repeat in nearly fifteen years ... by anyone. Even when it isn't playing, I hear it in my sleep, at dinner when we're watching the short bit of TV that we watch (less than one hour per day total).

As I said before, it's one of those collections that gets better with each consecutive listen.

I've found I can overcome some of the compression issues by using an aural exciter/expander. Not a lot of it, just a small tasteful amount. It has it's own productive feel and it's own very strong individual production identity. Like the way Signals is so ~quiet~ (volume wise) and sortof soft, and has it's own very individual feel, this album has it's own definitive texture. Loud, yea ... compressed, yea ... but that's Clockwork Angels.

I haven't decided on any one favorite song, there are some that are growing on me a little more than others though .. Headlong Flight is an upbeat rocker, and I still say that The Garden is very Closer To The Heart-ish. Lyrically cool, it strikes me as basically "Ok, I went on this fantastic personal journey, now it's time to sort out how I feel about it and tend to my own personal emotional garden and use what I have learned to better my garden". Which is what we probably should do with each new personal lesson. Use it to better ourselves and keep ourselves in better order, especially before being critical of others.

I am LOVING Alex's burbling drippy guitar tones. His use of delays and reverbs really strikes me ... like he did in Power Windows with songs like Middletown Dreams. While Power Windows isn't one of my favorite recording collections by them, it's one of my favorite Alex collections. The layering of his tracks brings back the ambient other worldly feel to many songs, which is an important aspect to the music I like, it's something that took me away when I was younger.

All in all, I'm very impressed and quite happy. This album is a reassurance that they can still "do it" and a wonderfully excellent departure from the last (nearly twenty) years of poo. I became VERY disenchanted with their output starting with Roll The Bones. I mean, c'mon .. RUPERT HINES? I mean ... Really? And I have grown very tired of all of the introspective "Hmmmm..." (head cocked to one side, hand stroking chin) songs. I don't listen to Neil for that kind of stuff. I want to be transported elsewhere ... and this album lands it solidly!

Concept-wise, I love these fantasy albums. Mental pictures of worlds other than our own. I am a fan of movie and TV productions like the Mad Max franchise, Dark City, the first Star Wars movie (the one that started it all in 1978), and wandering soul-stories such as Casshern Sins (easily my favoite anime ever made), and of course Dune. Early ELP music used to do this to me (such as their first album, and Tarkus) .. stories of worlds different than our own. Of course 2112 and Hemispheres are two Rush champions of those types of fantastic mental journeys. Clockwork Angels takes us to this Steampunk World that has very strong mental imagry. And even though it has that underlying backdrop of a well-descripted otherworld, the character is easy to identify with, as his problems and lessons are things many of us can place ourselves within. Just as with 2112.

I hope this is their last studio album, they've really raised the bar back up to their original standards and I'm not sure they can pull this off again and expect to be able to tour it. This would be an excellent final effort, and it would allow them to go out with a brilliant flash. The Garden being Neil's final statement, and very VERY fittingly so. A sortof last word that summarizes everything he's written within the confines of Rush. As if to say "now take everything you've gathered from everything we have discussed since 1974, and make something good of it .... tend to the garden that has sprouted from these conversations you and I have had for the last fourty years and nurture it into something beautiful" .....

Good work, guys. Indeed.

Very nice review!

J!

[T. Alan Smith]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

I've listened to it over and over and over since I got it. It's the first album I've just let auto-repeat in nearly fifteen years ... by anyone. Even when it isn't playing, I hear it in my sleep, at dinner when we're watching the short bit of TV that we watch (less than one hour per day total).

As I said before, it's one of those collections that gets better with each consecutive listen.

I've found I can overcome some of the compression issues by using an aural exciter/expander. Not a lot of it, just a small tasteful amount. It has it's own productive feel and it's own very strong individual production identity. Like the way Signals is so ~quiet~ (volume wise) and sortof soft, and has it's own very individual feel, this album has it's own definitive texture. Loud, yea ... compressed, yea ... but that's Clockwork Angels.

I haven't decided on any one favorite song, there are some that are growing on me a little more than others though .. Headlong Flight is an upbeat rocker, and I still say that The Garden is very Closer To The Heart-ish. Lyrically cool, it strikes me as basically "Ok, I went on this fantastic personal journey, now it's time to sort out how I feel about it and tend to my own personal emotional garden and use what I have learned to better my garden". Which is what we probably should do with each new personal lesson. Use it to better ourselves and keep ourselves in better order, especially before being critical of others.

I am LOVING Alex's burbling drippy guitar tones. His use of delays and reverbs really strikes me ... like he did in Power Windows with songs like Middletown Dreams. While Power Windows isn't one of my favorite recording collections by them, it's one of my favorite Alex collections. The layering of his tracks brings back the ambient other worldly feel to many songs, which is an important aspect to the music I like, it's something that took me away when I was younger.

All in all, I'm very impressed and quite happy. This album is a reassurance that they can still "do it" and a wonderfully excellent departure from the last (nearly twenty) years of poo. I became VERY disenchanted with their output starting with Roll The Bones. I mean, c'mon .. RUPERT HINES? I mean ... Really? And I have grown very tired of all of the introspective "Hmmmm..." (head cocked to one side, hand stroking chin) songs. I don't listen to Neil for that kind of stuff. I want to be transported elsewhere ... and this album lands it solidly!

Concept-wise, I love these fantasy albums. Mental pictures of worlds other than our own. I am a fan of movie and TV productions like the Mad Max franchise, Dark City, the first Star Wars movie (the one that started it all in 1978), and wandering soul-stories such as Casshern Sins (easily my favoite anime ever made), and of course Dune. Early ELP music used to do this to me (such as their first album, and Tarkus) .. stories of worlds different than our own. Of course 2112 and Hemispheres are two Rush champions of those types of fantastic mental journeys. Clockwork Angels takes us to this Steampunk World that has very strong mental imagry. And even though it has that underlying backdrop of a well-descripted otherworld, the character is easy to identify with, as his problems and lessons are things many of us can place ourselves within. Just as with 2112.

I hope this is their last studio album, they've really raised the bar back up to their original standards and I'm not sure they can pull this off again and expect to be able to tour it. This would be an excellent final effort, and it would allow them to go out with a brilliant flash. The Garden being Neil's final statement, and very VERY fittingly so. A sortof last word that summarizes everything he's written within the confines of Rush. As if to say "now take everything you've gathered from everything we have discussed since 1974, and make something good of it .... tend to the garden that has sprouted from these conversations you and I have had for the last fourty years and nurture it into something beautiful" .....

Good work, guys. Indeed.

Reviews like this make me want to listen to it again. I haven't listened to it all fall ...but I did all summer! LOL

[GRAHAM SG1]

I still have it in my car player, such a good album, some of the singing is so musical and deserves much praise .

[Tupac]

So this album was raped by the loudness war too? Ugh. I might just have to download a vinyl rip.

[esa372]

Originally Posted by Tupac

So this album was raped by the loudness war too? Ugh.

I doubt you could find a current pop/rock album that hasn't been... it's been standard practice since the late '90s.

[12bass]

I've heard the 96/24 and a bit of the vinyl... both are compressed, though the vinyl might be a little more dynamic. It may be that the mix was already fairly compressed before it even got to the mastering stage.

[Duke21]

There is VERY little difference between the AAC version and the CD version. I use my Centrence DACmini DAC/ headphone amp and my AKG701. Seems like the production with all the compression results that there is no point of using anything else then the AAC.

[EagleMoon]

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the new soon to be released 2112. I wonder if they'll compress it like CA? Hopefully not. One of the options is going to be 5.1 audio, so hopefully not.