Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
RUSH Clockwork Angels
- Thread starter 4001
- Start date
Now that I have had it for over a week, I still really love The Garden. This is the song Ive seen them most discuss in interviews and Ive seen a bunch. Really love Caravan, BU2B, Headlong Flight and Clockwork Angels. The others, I still need more time with...I find I need to do that with most Rush albums...time to digest it.
Some Amazon reviews of the album
http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Ang...ummary_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Ang...ummary_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
I have been listening to this album all day long and I can not help but compare it to Snakes and Arrows because I think I was so much expecting it to be a continuation of that album. There are for sure little aspects here and there that make me think of Snakes as there are with many of there past albums but I can honestly say that this album stands on it's own. I hear more hints of other past albums than I do of Snakes.
Snakes and Arrows was my return to Rush. I was an 11 yo kid when MP came out and became a fan from then on. Presto was my last Rush album that I puchased and listened to before Snakes. Presto was my former favorite ablum and I was not too into the heavier stuff that came after but Snakes totally changed me. I really got into that album as a 37 yo and took my 11 yo bass player son to see them in 2007. Now at 42 I am taking my 17 yo bass playing son to see them in September.
Rush is the one band from my youth that have survived and I think I am a bigger fan now than I ever was as a kid.
Go buy this allbum and just be amazed.....
Snakes and Arrows was my return to Rush. I was an 11 yo kid when MP came out and became a fan from then on. Presto was my last Rush album that I puchased and listened to before Snakes. Presto was my former favorite ablum and I was not too into the heavier stuff that came after but Snakes totally changed me. I really got into that album as a 37 yo and took my 11 yo bass player son to see them in 2007. Now at 42 I am taking my 17 yo bass playing son to see them in September.
Rush is the one band from my youth that have survived and I think I am a bigger fan now than I ever was as a kid.
Go buy this allbum and just be amazed.....
Now that I have given this a good listen I will agree the Garden is great. This is Rush to me. Relying on song writing, melodies, and textures instead of just riffing away. I still like The Wreckers a lot, great chorus. Halo Effect and The Anarchist are good songs. I am warming up to Caravan and the Title Track is ok. Wish them well is a nice little song There are some other moments I like and some great soloing by Alex on this album (anarchist is the best by far)
Look, Its better than Snakes & Arrows which I thought was embarrassing. Better than Vapor Trails too. I am glad they are not doing instrumentals anymore. I thought the ones on S&A were terrible.
I dont think its their best album since MP or any of that nor do I think its this epic masterpiece some people are making it out to be. However I can see why people would think that. I cant see how people think its better than Counterparts but I respect that. If you dont like the synth stuff I can easily see why people would take this hard rocking album with some cool hooks over most of the 80's stuff. If I can like this more than Test For Echo I will be thrilled. I might be there already.
That is what I think makes Rush so great. The diversity of their sound and how polarizing their albums are with fans. I think HYF is a masterpiece. Some people absolutely hate it. I just happen to be a huge fan of the Wal Era of Rush because I started playing then.. I think what Rush did from PW to CP is the best of their career. I rarely listen to stuff pre PW so you can see where I am coming from. I am more into the Synth 80's thing .
Plus looking at from from a bass players perspective (I play bass because of Rush and the HYF tour) I dont hear anything remotely interesting here. You have to go back to CP to find bass from Geddy that moved me. When I hear songs like Big Money, Force Ten, Animate, Body Electric, YYZ, etc I want to go pick up my bass. I have not had that feeling in a long time..granted I was 24 when CP came out. I am not a little older
so probably not as easily impressed nor that interested in learning Geddy riffs when there are players out there that inspire much more now.
CA has a little bit of My Favorite Headache going on which I really like and think is the best Rush album in the last 20 or so years.
Look, Its better than Snakes & Arrows which I thought was embarrassing. Better than Vapor Trails too. I am glad they are not doing instrumentals anymore. I thought the ones on S&A were terrible.
I dont think its their best album since MP or any of that nor do I think its this epic masterpiece some people are making it out to be. However I can see why people would think that. I cant see how people think its better than Counterparts but I respect that. If you dont like the synth stuff I can easily see why people would take this hard rocking album with some cool hooks over most of the 80's stuff. If I can like this more than Test For Echo I will be thrilled. I might be there already.
That is what I think makes Rush so great. The diversity of their sound and how polarizing their albums are with fans. I think HYF is a masterpiece. Some people absolutely hate it. I just happen to be a huge fan of the Wal Era of Rush because I started playing then.. I think what Rush did from PW to CP is the best of their career. I rarely listen to stuff pre PW so you can see where I am coming from. I am more into the Synth 80's thing .
Plus looking at from from a bass players perspective (I play bass because of Rush and the HYF tour) I dont hear anything remotely interesting here. You have to go back to CP to find bass from Geddy that moved me. When I hear songs like Big Money, Force Ten, Animate, Body Electric, YYZ, etc I want to go pick up my bass. I have not had that feeling in a long time..granted I was 24 when CP came out. I am not a little older
so probably not as easily impressed nor that interested in learning Geddy riffs when there are players out there that inspire much more now. CA has a little bit of My Favorite Headache going on which I really like and think is the best Rush album in the last 20 or so years.
The best part is, as great as the tunes are on the LP, they will be even better live! Tis the 1st Truth of Rush.
Catbuster said:
Also, The Anarchist! Geddy and Neil are so tight there, and Geddy's new bass tone shine.
My favorites on that album so far are "Headlong Flight", "Clockwork Angels", "Caravan", and "The Anarchist". Can't wait to see these guys in Charlotte again this October!
Also can't wait to buy the album and learn a lot of these songs on bass.
Also can't wait to buy the album and learn a lot of these songs on bass.
I really think this is some of their best work. Period. I can't rate it above 2112, Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures (my all time favorites), but it sure as heck comes close, and I think has tied with a few of them.
The concept here is one of the best things. The journey it takes you on. It's just pure Rush. I'm glad to see the sci-fi/fantasty coming back, because that cinematic, epic story telling is one of the things that made me get into them in the first place.
The concept here is one of the best things. The journey it takes you on. It's just pure Rush. I'm glad to see the sci-fi/fantasty coming back, because that cinematic, epic story telling is one of the things that made me get into them in the first place.
Once I got home and unwrapped it, I went for a drive, listening to the whole thing. It sounded a bit muddy on the car stereo...later that evening, I listened to it again on a small boombox...wow! What a difference! You can really hear everything cleanly and clearly that way! RUSH has just improved with age. Totally still a relevent band, not content to rest on it's laurels. I can see why the vocals on the earlier stuff was a turn off to most people that don't like RUSH, but like the band, Geddy's vocals have improved with age. Lower, smoother, less shrill. Awesome. Get this album!
Well that is honestly my favorite album and my personal favorite solo. I felt like he was listening to the same guys I was during that period.
I held off on listening to any of it (save for the 2 tunes they played live... the BEST way to experience the new music) until I had the disc in hand. I've actually been turning the radio off when the new tunes get played because I hate radio edits. Also, radio has relatively bad sound quality and I just have to have a great listening experience for a first listen.
So last night, I poured a nice big glass of Scotch and listened to the disc for the first time (Panasonic universal player -> Creek headphone preamp -> Sennheiser HD650's). The disc is tremendous. And insanely complicated. I do understand their assertion that the music was allowed to just flow more and was a bit more improvisational, and overdubbed less, but I still think it sonically resembles the last 2 albums quite a bit. Thankfully it's much less compressed than VT. Take the time to listen through a quality system before drawing any conclusions about production quality. And there's a lot to digest and process there, like S&A. The addition of strings is brilliant. Geddy sounds great (I never loved his newer jazz sounds, but this is an improvement.. though I still miss Geddy+Wal). I don't know how Alex could play or sound any better. He's so underrated it's frickin' criminal. And Neil.. well, no one really needs to comment any more on how great he is.
I think it's pretty useless to compare their albums from different eras, but I feel like this very dense production level they've been using for some time is comparable to the 80's synth/seq evolution. I wonder if/how they'll "resolve" it and find a new direction...
And just when I was going to say they don't make goosebump-producing music (Villa, The Camera Eye, Between The Wheels, Middletown Dreams & Territories, Presto, Available Light) any more, they go and make The Garden.
So last night, I poured a nice big glass of Scotch and listened to the disc for the first time (Panasonic universal player -> Creek headphone preamp -> Sennheiser HD650's). The disc is tremendous. And insanely complicated. I do understand their assertion that the music was allowed to just flow more and was a bit more improvisational, and overdubbed less, but I still think it sonically resembles the last 2 albums quite a bit. Thankfully it's much less compressed than VT. Take the time to listen through a quality system before drawing any conclusions about production quality. And there's a lot to digest and process there, like S&A. The addition of strings is brilliant. Geddy sounds great (I never loved his newer jazz sounds, but this is an improvement.. though I still miss Geddy+Wal). I don't know how Alex could play or sound any better. He's so underrated it's frickin' criminal. And Neil.. well, no one really needs to comment any more on how great he is.
I think it's pretty useless to compare their albums from different eras, but I feel like this very dense production level they've been using for some time is comparable to the 80's synth/seq evolution. I wonder if/how they'll "resolve" it and find a new direction...
And just when I was going to say they don't make goosebump-producing music (Villa, The Camera Eye, Between The Wheels, Middletown Dreams & Territories, Presto, Available Light) any more, they go and make The Garden.
I held off on listening to any of it (save for the 2 tunes they played live... the BEST way to experience the new music) until I had the disc in hand. I've actually been turning the radio off when the new tunes get played because I hate radio edits. Also, radio has relatively bad sound quality and I just have to have a great listening experience for a first listen.
So last night, I poured a nice big glass of Scotch and listened to the disc for the first time (Panasonic universal player -> Creek headphone preamp -> Sennheiser HD650's). The disc is tremendous. And insanely complicated. I do understand their assertion that the music was allowed to just flow more and was a bit more improvisational, and overdubbed less, but I still think it sonically resembles the last 2 albums quite a bit. Thankfully it's much less compressed than VT. Take the time to listen through a quality system before drawing any conclusions about production quality. And there's a lot to digest and process there, like S&A. The addition of strings is brilliant. Geddy sounds great (I never loved his newer jazz sounds, but this is an improvement.. though I still miss Geddy+Wal). I don't know how Alex could play or sound any better. He's so underrated it's frickin' criminal. And Neil.. well, no one really needs to comment any more on how great he is.
I think it's pretty useless to compare their albums from different eras, but I feel like this very dense production level they've been using for some time is comparable to the 80's synth/seq evolution. I wonder if/how they'll "resolve" it and find a new direction...
And just when I was going to say they don't make goosebump-producing music (Villa, The Camera Eye, Between The Wheels, Middletown Dreams & Territories, Presto, Available Light) any more, they go and make The Garden.
For me, it most audibly resembles Vapor Trails with A Farewell To Kings bass tone thrown in. Dare I say it, this may be my favorite studio bass tone of Geddy's (putting on my hardhat now in anticipation of the onslaught of opposing opinions.) His tone actually has an angriness to it that I absolutely love. I can't wait to see them perform these songs live.
On a side note, I too was enjoying a scotch (Oban 14) last night while listening to the new album. I also heear that Neil is a Macallan 12 fan.
I can certainly hear AFTK's bass growl. That is one of the reasons AFTK's is among my favorites...great writing and maybe my favorite bass tone album.
Scotch you say..... Johnny Walker red label or Dewars please..... hey I am a public employee what do you expect.
Roy Vogt
Supporting Member
- Sep 20, 2000
- 4,433
- 537
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Kiesel Basses, Ampeg Amplification, Hotone Ampero II effects
