The Rush Pendulum Has Swung Too Far

[Basshappi]

The low point of all Rush lyrics:

"Net boy, net girl - put your message in a modem and throw it into the cyber sea."

Maybe, but it's still my favorite song on Test For Echo.

 

[David Jayne]

They lost me when they sold 'Working Man' to Walmart.

 

[Ric5]

I'm 42 now. I got into Rush right about P/G, and have loved them since.

Like most of us, I was happy when Presto came out. I thought the edgier sound was awesome.

I don't like Clockwork Angels, though. I've tried. Every so often I put it back in the player, just in case there was something else on my mind the last time I listened.

I don't like it. In my opinion, they have again moved too far away from their own DNA. The songs on that album and the production approach in particular is too sludgy.

In a certain way, it's like Hold Your Fire, but at the other side of the pendulum swing. Both are still Rush, but each has too much of a certain ingredient at the expense of other ingredients that make up the total Rush sound. To my ears.

I was OK with Snakes & Arrows, and now that I've heard the remixed Vapor Trails I think it's one of the better Rush albums overall. So I'm generally OK with the current musical direction but I think Clockwork took it a step too far.

I miss a little synthesizer in my Rush, and I'd like to hear a little more space in the music than what they are doing now.

Is that wrong?

Ya they have gone back to the "too hot" tracks like they recorded for vapor trails ... Sonically it is hard to listen to. It becomes an assault on your ears ...

At least Geddy dumped the Mullet hair cut.

 

[petrus61]

I would much rather Rush had zero lyrics. They have always been cheesy to the point of cringe inducing, IMO.

As far as their uber-compressed recordings go...big freakin woop. Sucks when an engineer makes your $3000 home audio system sound like crap, no?

And on their alleged "selling out"....
Rush is a machine and it takes people to run that machine. Those people need to get paid. Does anyone really think its Geddy, Alex and Neil lugging their own gear, driving the trucks and setting up those spectacular stages everyone gushes over? It's basically a corporation where numerous people are employed and depended on to make sure it runs smoothly. It's also a BUSINESS VENTURE, whether anyone likes to think of it as such or not and everyone involved needs a paycheck to support their lifestyle, home, kids, etc...

At the end of the day, there's no such thing as "selling out" to an entity the size of "Rush", and if there was, they did it a looong time ago. I wish people would drop the idealistic vision of what they think a band should be about and smell the roses for once.

 

[David Jayne]

At the end of the day, there's no such thing as "selling out" to an entity the size of "Rush", and if there was, they did it a looong time ago. I wish people would drop the idealistic vision of what they think a band should be about and smell the roses for once.

I get that, but Walmart? Really? Gross.

 

[Needenaneden]

I have to admit... Headlong Flight is an awesome tune! Not too many bands write music as as good as that.

 

[WalterBush]

Huh. My favorite Rush album is Signals, the first one I heard and learned all the way through was Hemispheres, and I'm apparently the only old-school Rush fan who digs Clockwork Angels.

Go figure, I liked the denser mix, pushed-to-the-limit guitar tones mixed 10 deep, and the choir of Geddys. Having said that, I'm also hoping the next album is different, which it probably will be.

 

[Altitude]

I agree about Clockwork Angels being a bit of a mess. It's just too loud and too dense. I was listening to the Foo Fighters last album and you can definitely tell that Nick R. did the production.

I think Wasting Light sounds way better than Clockwork Angels, but it might be a case of a similar production approach that was on the right side of the line for the one, and crossed over to the wrong side of the line on the other. One difference between the two is that Wasting Light sounds like it has half the tracks that CA has - way fewer overdubs and multiple guitar layers. Plus, I think the Foos' bass player uses a far less hairy tone - I think Geddy's current tone is overdriven to the point of obscuring the bottom end right now.

At the end of the day, there's no such thing as "selling out" to an entity the size of "Rush", and if there was, they did it a looong time ago. I wish people would drop the idealistic vision of what they think a band should be about and smell the roses for once.

Who said Rush had sold out? I don't feel that way at all; in fact it's clear that they are making the music they want to make now, and they know they will sell millions of copies (downloads) of whatever they release to their intensely loyal fan base.

To me, it's not a question of selling out - it's just that I don't personally like how far they went in a certain direction on the latest album, and there are ingredients they used to use in their music - most notably the analog synthesizers - that they aren't using anymore and that my ears miss.

I mean, how cool is it in "The Trees" when they come off of that rocking first stanza, break down the song, and Geddy plays that cool synth melody? Seeing him do that live for the first time (might have been the Hold Your Fire Tour) made the hair stand up on my neck.

Also, I think the first 32 bars of "Big Money" is some of the best Rush ever.

But their current stuff can sound good, too. They did a good production job on Snakes & Arrows. To my ears, the production on that one sounds more balanced, like Wasting Light, and less of a mess. I thought they were on the right track when I first heard that one.

The production on Counterparts is essentially perfect.

 

[john_g]

I said it in the other thread, the 3 guys most likely had nothing to do with the Walmart commercial, the record company sold it to them. So I definitely dont think they sold out in any way.

The Counterparts production has been their best since Moving Pictures. The 80s stuff was too slick up to RTB, and everything after Counterparts has gotten more and more dense. There are alot of great songs on each of those albums, but the sound has gotten worse.

 

[petrus61]

I think Wasting Light sounds way better than Clockwork Angels, but it might be a case of a similar production approach that was on the right side of the line for the one, and crossed over to the wrong side of the line on the other. One difference between the two is that Wasting Light sounds like it has half the tracks that CA has - way fewer overdubs and multiple guitar layers. Plus, I think the Foos' bass player uses a far less hairy tone - I think Geddy's current tone is overdriven to the point of obscuring the bottom end right now.


Who said Rush had sold out? I don't feel that way at all; in fact it's clear that they are making the music they want to make now, and they know they will sell millions of copies (downloads) of whatever they release to their intensely loyal fan base.

To me, it's not a question of selling out - it's just that I don't personally like how far they went in a certain direction on the latest album, and there are ingredients they used to use in their music - most notably the analog synthesizers - that they aren't using anymore and that my ears miss.

I mean, how cool is it in "The Trees" when they come off of that rocking first stanza, break down the song, and Geddy plays that cool synth melody? Seeing him do that live for the first time (might have been the Hold Your Fire Tour) made the hair stand up on my neck.

Also, I think the first 32 bars of "Big Money" is some of the best Rush ever.

But their current stuff can sound good, too. They did a good production job on Snakes & Arrows. To my ears, the production on that one sounds more balanced, like Wasting Light, and less of a mess. I thought they were on the right track when I first heard that one.

The production on Counterparts is essentially perfect.

From what I've read and heard of the music, I think their aim was to bring back the more organic power trio format. They're also trying to appeal to a younger audience (hence, the commercials, etc) and it wouldn't surprise me that they tamed the use of synth down on the newer material to not risk sounding dated to newer audiences.

 

[HeavyJazz]

Bring Kevin (The Caveman) Shirley back as engineer.

"Alex, here's your Les Paul and there's your Marshall stack. Leave the rest to me."

 

[groovaholic]

It's tough for me to fault them too much; we all have opinions and favorite eras in their catalog -- but it is THEIR catalog.

I took my 10-year old daughter to see their Clockwork Angels tour last summer; it was her first concert and she had a blast.

Her favorite song is YYZ -- she's a drummer.
But she also loved all of the animations that went with each song.
Months later, when we were on a road trip, she asked me to play Clockwork Angels and could recall the animations that had accompanied each song.

I'm a little more old-school; I got a bit misty-eyed standing there with her and hearing them blast through Tom Sawyer.

But they are a great band, and they got there by following THEIR muse, not ours.

(As far as the Foo Fighters linkage goes, my daughter and I were wearing matching Them Crooked Vultures t-shirts...)

 

[Altitude]

From what I've read and heard of the music, I think their aim was to bring back the more organic power trio format.

I agree, and that is not the sound they've ended up with. Clockwork Angels sounds nothing at all like an organic power trio, rather like an overbaked studio exercise with a million tracks, impossible to recreate live without extensive sampling use.

it wouldn't surprise me that they tamed the use of synth down on the newer material to not risk sounding dated to newer audiences.

That's the irony, though - analog synthesizers are the shizzle right now with the kids.

It's tough for me to fault them too much; we all have opinions and favorite eras in their catalog -- but it is THEIR catalog.

I took my 10-year old daughter to see their Clockwork Angels tour last summer; it was her first concert and she had a blast.

Her favorite song is YYZ -- she's a drummer.
But she also loved all of the animations that went with each song.
Months later, when we were on a road trip, she asked me to play Clockwork Angels and could recall the animations that had accompanied each song.

I'm a little more old-school; I got a bit misty-eyed standing there with her and hearing them blast through Tom Sawyer.

But they are a great band, and they got there by following THEIR muse, not ours.

(As far as the Foo Fighters linkage goes, my daughter and I were wearing matching Them Crooked Vultures t-shirts...)

Nice! I'm happy that my 10-year old daughter knows who Champ Bailey is and why he is important. Appreciating Rush is a step beyond where I've been able to get with her.

 

[KeddyLee]

Passing it to your kids is awesome. I have a 5 year old who asked to hear Vital Signs and Xanadu. My heart soars like a hawk!

I also agree that what made Rush great was constantly chasing and not sticking with what was working. If they did they would have stayed a Zeppelin-ish band like on Rush/Rush. If they weren't constantly chasing and changing we would never have gotten 2112 or Hemispheres or Moving Pictures.

 

[rupture]

Huh. My favorite Rush album is Signals, the first one I heard and learned all the way through was Hemispheres, and I'm apparently the only old-school Rush fan who digs Clockwork Angels.

.

Right there with you. Signals is my fav to. Best Ric tone ever. And I think some of his best playing

 

[73jbass]

Bring Kevin (The Caveman) Shirley back as engineer.

"Alex, here's your Les Paul and there's your Marshall stack. Leave the rest to me."

No doubt! Or Paul Northfield.

 

[rupture]

Do not know how many more albums the boys have left in them. Would love to see them revisit there more prog era one more time.

 

[Darknut]

Been a Rush fan since the "working Man" days .... I like Clockwork Angels a lot ... it is dead on Power Rush to me .... some of Geddy's best bass work to date IMHO.

Moving pictures & Signals are my 2 fav albums .... quite the contrast between the 2

The late 80's (Steinberger, bad hair, too too much keyboard Era) is where they lost me for a while.

 

[mixtapelove]

I'm a Clockwork Angels fan, but I tend to like the less heralded tunes on the album like Halo Effect, the Anarchist and Wish Them Well. The Anarchist to me sounds like such a throwback to early Rush if there ever was one.

I do agree with the sentiment that they've overreached a bit on the sludge thing, although I believe CA was actually the beginning of a correction from that. For me, the real bottom was the original Vapor Trails which is still one of the single worst recorded albums of all time.... Snakes and Arrows was basically an inferior version of that album with slightly better production but weaker songs. Thank heavens for the remastered Vapor Trails which I think is terrific and finally does the music justice.

But all of it is a, um.... far cry.... from the classic period. I wish they would dump Nick Raskulinawhatever and Richard Chycki and stop trying to be the Foo Fighters. Not that I hate the Foos or anything, but the Foos are the Foos. Rush is not.

I feel like everything they've done since Counterparts is some kind of overreaction to the synth-laden 80s period, but I feel like they are overcompensating for it by putting so much guitar on it now that it's begun to get muddy.

I know they want the band to emphasize guitar again.... that's fine... but you don't need 12 overdubs to prove that anymore.

 

[FretlessMainly]

Actually I think Moving Pictures is everybody's favorite Rush album...

In order:

All the World's a Stage
Caress of Steel
Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
Permanent Waves

The rest can go pound sand.