RUSH Clockwork Angels

[HailCorduroy]

I couldn't agree more. Only trouble was the sound was terrible. Couldn't distinctly hear anything but the drums!


But yeah. Drum solo count: 3
Doesn't Neil know he's 60?

I heard too much kick and Geddy's vocals weren't clear. They were loud enough, but they were muddy and indistinct. I've seen them in that venue and others before and I've never had trouble hearing what he's singing. I was in the grass about 20 feet from the back row of seats in the center.

 

[Dave Siff]

I saw the Atlanta show last night, my 16th Rush concert. On the whole, it was good, but not really among the better concerts I've seen them play.
Besides the sound cutting in and out a little, I thought the first set was really hit-or-miss. I'm not a big fan of the mid-to-late 80s albums, so for me, the songs they played from Power Windows really fell flat. "Big Money" was OK, but "Grand Designs" just sounded weak, and I actually went to get food during "Territories" (unfortunately missing the first half of "Analog Kid" in the process.) That's the first time I recall leaving my seat during a Rush concert while they were playing. I'm all for them switching up the set from tour to tour, and I know there are a lot of fans who want to hear those songs, but I just couldn't get into it.
I also thought a lot of the songs in the first set were at the top of Geddy's vocal range and he was straining a bit. Some of the songs, he was almost shouting just to get the notes out.
The second set was much better on all counts. Of course, they played nine songs from Clockwork Angels, which is what I came to hear. And, a lot of the new album falls in a more comfortable range for Geddy's voice (especially "Halo Effect") so he sounded a lot better. I thought the string section played on too many songs, though. "YYZ" doesn't need strings. And if they're gonna play deep cuts from the 80s, how can you have strings on stage and not play "Losing It"?
The show definitely got better as it went on, and they finished strong. But those clunkers in the first set were almost too much to overcome.

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

I heard too much kick and Geddy's vocals weren't clear. They were loud enough, but they were muddy and indistinct. I've seen them in that venue and others before and I've never had trouble hearing what he's singing. I was in the grass about 20 feet from the back row of seats in the center.

I was about 20 feet from you.

Yeah. The past two tours Geddy's vocals and bass have both been very distinct and well mixed, and alex's guitar has really had grit. This time though...ewww.

Mud mud and more mud.

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

I saw the Atlanta show last night, my 16th Rush concert. On the whole, it was good, but not really among the better concerts I've seen them play.
Besides the sound cutting in and out a little, I thought the first set was really hit-or-miss. I'm not a big fan of the mid-to-late 80s albums, so for me, the songs they played from Power Windows really fell flat. "Big Money" was OK, but "Grand Designs" just sounded weak, and I actually went to get food during "Territories" (unfortunately missing the first half of "Analog Kid" in the process.) That's the first time I recall leaving my seat during a Rush concert while they were playing. I'm all for them switching up the set from tour to tour, and I know there are a lot of fans who want to hear those songs, but I just couldn't get into it.
I also thought a lot of the songs in the first set were at the top of Geddy's vocal range and he was straining a bit. Some of the songs, he was almost shouting just to get the notes out.
The second set was much better on all counts. Of course, they played nine songs from Clockwork Angels, which is what I came to hear. And, a lot of the new album falls in a more comfortable range for Geddy's voice (especially "Halo Effect") so he sounded a lot better. I thought the string section played on too many songs, though. "YYZ" doesn't need strings. And if they're gonna play deep cuts from the 80s, how can you have strings on stage and not play "Losing It"?
The show definitely got better as it went on, and they finished strong. But those clunkers in the first set were almost too much to overcome.

This. And I thought the strings were brilliant. It was actually pretty cool to hear them on Red Sector A and YYZ

 

[Akami]

And if they're gonna play deep cuts from the 80s, how can you have strings on stage and not play "Losing It"?

Signals was the first album I thought of when I first heard they were going to have a live string section. 'Losing It' for sure, but 'Countdown' and 'Distant Early Warning' from 'Grace Under Pressure' would have all been great choices for the strings too.

 

[Spectrum]

Their sound at Wells Fargo Center in Philly was fantastic from where I was sitting.

I agree it would've been nice to see them do Losing It with a violin soloist.

 

[Fletz]

Wan wah wah. It was a great show that took the lost synth years and brought them to today. I love that they played half of power windows. The song selection was great especially after the last couple of tours.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Wan wah wah. It was a great show that took the lost synth years and brought them to today. I love that they played half of power windows. The song selection was great especially after the last couple of tours.

^^^^^^
That!

I!

 

[Flux Jetson]

Can you imagine what a monumental task it must be to select the content of their sets? So many albums, so many fans from so many ~eras~. Obviously they have to show favor to whatever new works they're pushing, so that has to be afforded roughly 1/3rd of their list. What is left (time wise) is precious little. So out of a (let's say) 3 hour set, they have two hours or less to place songs selected from all of these albums they've produced over the last 40-odd years.

That would be one difficult task!

 

[12bass]

The 1982 - 85 era is not my absolute favorite... but I was happy to hear them play some different stuff. Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, Manhattan Project, Red Sector A.... sounded great! Seriously faaaaaaaaaat synths!

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

The 1982 - 85 era is not my absolute favorite... but I was happy to hear them play some different stuff. Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, Manhattan Project, Red Sector A.... sounded great! Seriously faaaaaaaaaat synths!

It isn't mine either, but "The Analog Kid" was the first Rush song I ever heard in my life, and I think it's a terrific one.

 

[Altitude]

It isn't mine either, but "The Analog Kid" was the first Rush song I ever heard in my life, and I think it's a terrific one.

I do like what Rush is recording right now - but I also miss the synth layers. Not as far as they took them on Hold Your Fire, but about where they were on Signals. To my ears, that is what Rush sounds like.

 

[Epitaph04]

That same set of ideas also seemed to be the common complaint about the Clockwork Angels album in this very thread when it was first released. Of the complaints that were voiced, the overwhelming majority seemed to address "too much low end in the mix".

So ... bottom heavy both live and on CD.

Wonder what's up with that?

Really? Thats the first time Ive heard that about CA. Its definitely a loud album, but I wouldnt consider it bottom heavy.

 

[Altitude]

Really? Thats the first time Ive heard that about CA. Its definitely a loud album, but I wouldnt consider it bottom heavy.

A little ovecompressed, is what I think. Too bad, too - they moved away from that problem on Snakes and Arrows, but slipped down the slope again on this one.

 

[Akami]

Well I guess that leaves me as one of the only ones who really liked Signals (1982) and Grace Under Pressure (1984), but they're my two favorites just ahead of Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves.

 

[Flux Jetson]

Really? Thats the first time Ive heard that about CA. Its definitely a loud album, but I wouldnt consider it bottom heavy.

Go back a few pages in this thread when everyone first took delivery of it. Several comments about it being low end heavy .. and well .. loud too. But that's a different story.

Keep in mind I'm not the one saying it is, all I am doing is repeating what others in this thread have said about it. Personally I wouldn't know, I won't have my copy of this album until Monday or Tuesday of the coming week.

 

[Epitaph04]

Oh I know I'm not accusing you! : )

I just find it odd that people think that...I mean to me a low end heavy album would be something like Stork's StOrk album...

 

[Dave Siff]

Well I guess that leaves me as one of the only ones who really liked Signals (1982) and Grace Under Pressure (1984), but they're my two favorites just ahead of Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves.

I love Signals and Grace Under Pressure. After that is where they went off a cliff for me, pretty much until Counterparts.

 

[Flux Jetson]

Well I guess that leaves me as one of the only ones who really liked Signals (1982) and Grace Under Pressure (1984), but they're my two favorites just ahead of Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves.

Nope, not the only one! In fact Signals is one of my favorite Rush albums. The synth sounds (that OBERHEIM!) are so thick, and lyrically it really landed home with me.

Actually any of the "Brown Sacred Dozen" recordings are my faves. The first nine studio recordings produced by Terry Brown, then All The World's a Stage, Exit Stage Left, and CD #3 from the Different Stages live set (although Terry Brown didn't produce that particular release, he did produce the songs themselves that were recorded at that show, all except for Working Man and In the Mood from the first album "Rush").

I'm touch and go with Power Windows, and kinda sketchy about Hold Your Fire. After that there's just a song here, a couple songs there on the remainder of the collection. Vapor Trails doesn't appeal to me much at all. Nor did Counterparts.

** (a few songs on this one) Rush - 1974.
**Fly By Night - 1975
**Caress of Steel - 1975
**2112 - 1976
**A Farewell to Kings - 1977
**Hemispheres - 1978
**Permanent Waves - 1980
**Moving Pictures - 1981
**Signals - 1982
**Grace Under Pressure - 1984 (Terry Brown no longer producing for them .... Peter Henderson takes over as producer).

**~sorta-kinda~ Power Windows - 1985 (Peter Collins producer)

LIVE STUFF:
****All The World's a Stage (1976 - Terry Brown producer)
****Exit, Stage Left (1981 - Terry Brown producer)
****Different Stages, Disk #3 (recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon in London 1978)

That Disk#3 of Different Stages Geddy has a very unique bass tone. Being 1978, one might assume that he used the Ric, but it sounds quite nasally ... even Fenderish. I know he used the '72 Jazz on Permanent Waves some (1979). So I suppose it's possible that he may have used that Jazz during that performance at Hammersmith in 1978. It's very powerful in the mids (and more of a nasal/biased-pulse-wave tone than the Ric's usual square-wavish midrange sound) and out-front sounding on that particular disk. For all I know it might have even been the teardrop shaped Precision Bass at that show, he had a J-Bass bridge pickup installed in that thing in late 1975 ... so it may be that bass on that Hammersmith recording. It really is difficult to say though. All I know is that (to me) it certainly doesn't sound like the previous recordings of his Ric .. nothing at all like A Farewell To Kings or Hemipsheres. Whatever it is, I really like it!

 

[Flux Jetson]

Oh I know I'm not accusing you! : )

I just find it odd that people think that...I mean to me a low end heavy album would be something like Stork's StOrk album...

Totally cool, mang. I'm scratchin' my eyebones out waiting for Clockwork Angels to show up! I've been reading what everyone here has been saying about the album and the tour, and have held off from listening to posted examples of it on the net. So I'm like going nutso in anticipation.

I have a very capable old solid state stereo setup with ridiculous EQ abilities (twin 31 band graphic EQs, and an Aphex aural exciter for starters), so I'm anxious to get that album in my setup. I have a perfect operating set of old school "tower" 3-way front ported speaker columns and a well constructed listening space. So I'm dying to hear that album!!! It pretty much doesn't matter how odd the EQ might be on the album, I should be able to get a sound going on that will make me happy and lose myself within the Rush "Planets of the Solar Federation"...

... I will assume control!