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RUSH Clockwork Angels
- Thread starter 4001
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CA tour hits Saskatoon tonight! Is there another thread for the tour, or is this pretty much it?
This should be a sticky and everyone coming on to TB to rant about a band selling out should be directed to this video first. I seriously doubt that Rush called up VW and asked if they could use a snip of one of their classic songs. More likely, the marketing team at VW had a light bulb go on and said "instead of using a lame regurgitated pop drivel song to try to sell a cool product, why don't we spend some real money and ask a real band if we can use a clip of one of their killer songs." And Rush graciously said yes.
Egh, seriously? Selling out by their ad being in a commercial? 
Anyway, sorry if this question has been asked before in the thread, I don't really want to read the whole thing to see everyone else's opinions... What do you guys think of the bass playing on CA? I know it's Geddy and all but I think it's his absolute least inventive, most dumbed-down playing of any Rush album. This is my honest opinion and I'm a big fan, so I'm not saying it to be spiteful, but it doesn't seem to me like he's doing anything new. Obviously he doesn't have to play busy parts all the time but... I don't know. Is it just me?
Anyway, sorry if this question has been asked before in the thread, I don't really want to read the whole thing to see everyone else's opinions... What do you guys think of the bass playing on CA? I know it's Geddy and all but I think it's his absolute least inventive, most dumbed-down playing of any Rush album. This is my honest opinion and I'm a big fan, so I'm not saying it to be spiteful, but it doesn't seem to me like he's doing anything new. Obviously he doesn't have to play busy parts all the time but... I don't know. Is it just me?
Interesting you say that. I don't think his playing was dumbed down. Listen to The Garden especially. He's literally all over the fretboard, and a different style for him on a lot of parts with the chords, his arrangement of playing where the guitar traditionally would play a rhythm or melody--I love his playing on this album. The other songs are classic Geddy, I think. Headlong Flight, The Wreckers, and even Caravan & BU2B have great bass lines.
This album seems to be more polarized with listeners: they either like it or don't.
This album seems to be more polarized with listeners: they either like it or don't.
Egh, seriously? Selling out by their ad being in a commercial?
Anyway, sorry if this question has been asked before in the thread, I don't really want to read the whole thing to see everyone else's opinions... What do you guys think of the bass playing on CA? I know it's Geddy and all but I think it's his absolute least inventive, most dumbed-down playing of any Rush album. This is my honest opinion and I'm a big fan, so I'm not saying it to be spiteful, but it doesn't seem to me like he's doing anything new. Obviously he doesn't have to play busy parts all the time but... I don't know. Is it just me?
Attended the Rush show here in Saskatoon. Apparently the band spent a couple of days here before the show, likely enjoying the unseasonably warm fall weather.
The band played much like a well-oiled machine. In particular, I thought that Neil was very consistent throughout the night. He's not my favorite drummer, but he's definitely honed his playing to machine-like perfection. It was nice to hear Alex break out with a few improvised solos here and there, although many of the songs sounded like they were tied to a sequencer for the keyboard parts, meaning that the band did not have the freedom to deviate from the arrangements.
Although I was in the upper seats, I could hear the Fletcher–Munson mix EQ which was talked about earlier. There was a considerable amount of second harmonic bass (not that much actual fundamental from what I could tell), and the mids and highs were generally smooth sounding - not fatiguing to the ear. Geddy's bass tone was pretty similar to the sound he has on the new album, and I thought that it did not cut that well once guitars and keyboards were added to the mix. His old Rickenbacker sound had more thickness in the lower midrange which might have sat better in the mix, IMO. The Jazz basses, at least the way he has them EQed now are sort of "ganky", and that aggressive upper midrange doesn't provide the "body" of the notes on the bass... the range between the first and second harmonics and the upper midrange was sort of lacking, say between 250 and 800 Hz.
I'm still trying to get used to Geddy's new vocal style. He seems to be struggling with his higher range, though he did an admirable job with most of the material from the 1980s onward. Tom Sawyer, The Spirit of Radio, and the 2112 suite were a nice way to end the show.
The band played much like a well-oiled machine. In particular, I thought that Neil was very consistent throughout the night. He's not my favorite drummer, but he's definitely honed his playing to machine-like perfection. It was nice to hear Alex break out with a few improvised solos here and there, although many of the songs sounded like they were tied to a sequencer for the keyboard parts, meaning that the band did not have the freedom to deviate from the arrangements.
Although I was in the upper seats, I could hear the Fletcher–Munson mix EQ which was talked about earlier. There was a considerable amount of second harmonic bass (not that much actual fundamental from what I could tell), and the mids and highs were generally smooth sounding - not fatiguing to the ear. Geddy's bass tone was pretty similar to the sound he has on the new album, and I thought that it did not cut that well once guitars and keyboards were added to the mix. His old Rickenbacker sound had more thickness in the lower midrange which might have sat better in the mix, IMO. The Jazz basses, at least the way he has them EQed now are sort of "ganky", and that aggressive upper midrange doesn't provide the "body" of the notes on the bass... the range between the first and second harmonics and the upper midrange was sort of lacking, say between 250 and 800 Hz.
I'm still trying to get used to Geddy's new vocal style. He seems to be struggling with his higher range, though he did an admirable job with most of the material from the 1980s onward. Tom Sawyer, The Spirit of Radio, and the 2112 suite were a nice way to end the show.
The Saskatoon set list seemed to be very similar to this: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/blogs/171089421.html
This is probably more accurate (and lots of other setlists available as well): http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/rush/2012/credit-union-centre-saskatoon-sk-canada-23ddd86b.html
This is probably more accurate (and lots of other setlists available as well): http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/rush/2012/credit-union-centre-saskatoon-sk-canada-23ddd86b.html
Maybe I worded it wrong... Not dumbed-down, but nowhere near as inventive. If you compare it to, say, tracks from Hemispheres or Moving Pictures, what he's playing is much more melodic and interesting, in my opinion. Or Hold Your Fire- I know this album really polarises people but on every track he's doing something completely different and innovative. I think that's one of his peaks, creatively speaking. Obviously, Clockwork Angels is a very different album musically but his playing doesn't do much for me. That said, I bought the tab book to have some fun with and to give the work a little more of an in-depth look. The constant use of minor pentatonic becomes a bit oppressive. Anyway, I feel like I'm nitpicking a lot here and I feel a bit bad because Geddy's still my favourite bass player... Hopefully I just explained myself a bit more eloquently.
Oh... and I wanted to mention that I thought that the Clockwork Angels tunes sounded better without the "chorus of Geddys" and dozens of multi-tracked guitar parts. The sparser power trio arrangements sounded more "organic" and let the new songs breathe more, IMO. The string section added some nice texture, without being overbearing, and also added a new flavor to a few of the older tunes - like YYZ. Also liked the fact that Geddy used some old analog synths for the older material... nice and fat sounding.
12bass said:
Lucky!! We (Winnipeg) didn't get The Body Electric, Seven Cities Of Gold, or Manhattan Project...
Once again, Rollins is wrong.
Of course. Think about the terms "selling" and "commercial" (from "commerce") - what else could it be called? Rush is being paid to sell cars...
No, Rush is getting paid for use of their song. VW is selling cars. And I would rather hear their songs to promote sales than some sh*tty pop or rap band. Plus it's got to be awesome to get paid for something you did almost 40 years ago
...to sell cars. Volkswagen isn't paying them for any other reason.
Zeppelin did it with Cadillac ("Rock And Roll"); The Who did it with Honda ("I Can See For Miles"); Michael Jackson - masquerading as The Beatles - did it with Nike ("Revolution").
Advertisers are savvy and manipulative. They know what is going to spark "good times/those were the days" feelings within a given demographic. They use these songs to hit people on an emotional level in order to get them to relate those good feelings and memories to their product, for the sole purpose of increasing sales.
They have been studying human psychology since Freud presented the theory of the unconscious mind. It's basic 20th-century (post-Bernays) salesmanship: relate your product to good feelings, personal power, pleasant memories, and beautiful futures, and sales will rise.
Back on topic: Clockwork Angels is a fantastic album.
12bass said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but... all your opinions suck and are bad.
J/k.
I love that Rush have branched out from the sparse power-trio format. I think Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels both benefited greatly from their willingness to go BIG.
I think Geddy's playing is absolutely perfect for the material they've written. That's the thing; Geddy has ALWAYS played for the song. Think of Hemispheres - the guitar and drums were the rhythmic backbone in the verses, so Geddy stepped out in front.
I think he's finally got a handle on the "flamenco" thing. Check out some of the drum 'n bass fills on 'The Anarchist'.
