Rush- Clockwork M'fing Angels one year on

[UnderAGlassMoon]

So it has been a little over a year since this album was released. The boys are still on the road supporting it, fantastic performance as usual! So who is still giving this regular spins? Raises hand high. I know this one stirred quite the debate when it was released, but I am still enjoying it very much. Haven't listened to a new Rush album like this since maybe Hold Your Fire.

On another note, I was at a local festival last weekend, specifically Riverfest in La Crosse, WI and was wearing my CA tour shirt. I could not believe the comments I got from 20 something's. Most comments were along the lines of, "Great shirt dude, Rush rules" I was a little shocked, I know Rush has become a more popular recently, but that was not what I expected.

[ThomasKDye]

I still can't get into it. There are so many Rush fans who say they left the boat at "Power Windows," "Presto"... but this one might have done that for me. I love "Caravan" and "BU2B".. and "The Garden" is all right... but it's all still a wall of noise, with no sense of dynamics. Everyone wanted them to play harder and faster, and while that's cool, in the end it's just Geddy's increasingly mushy warbling over musicians turning up things to eleven.

I'm giving myself time to try it again later, though. This and "Vapor Trails" are the only two albums I've gotten tired of quickly. It doesn't help that I played out the two "singles" for a year beforehand.

[Facelift]

I don't like it any more or any less than when it first came out. I think it's a very good, B+, 11/15 kind of album. A victory for any 25+ year old band, but not a great album or anything, IMO.

[soundchaser93]

Really don't like the production. There's a solid album buried somewhere in here, I just don't seem to listen to it very often anymore.

[Rufus]

Poor album & the live reviews havnt been great either !

[UnderAGlassMoon]

Poor album & the live reviews havnt been great either !

Really, what reviews?

[Rufus]

Really, what reviews?

Geddy's vocals have been getting a bit of stick from what I hear . I dont think they can sustain playing Arenas much longer , certainly in the UK where they have been less than half full at some venues . OK , I was a bit harsh on Clockwork Angels but I can only rateit on a par with the worst of their 80's albums . Personally I would only go see them again if they did a classic albums series tour , i.e. Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres & Permanent Waves !

[UnderAGlassMoon]

Geddy's vocals have been getting a bit of stick from what I hear . I dont think they can sustain playing Arenas much longer , certainly in the UK where they have been less than half full at some venues . OK , I was a bit harsh on Clockwork Angels but I can only rateit on a par with the worst of their 80's albums . Personally I would only go see them again if they did a classic albums series tour , i.e. Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres & Permanent Waves !

From what you hear? So you haven't seen the tour? Why do people feel the need to comment on things that they have only "heard about"? I have seen the current tour and Geddy's voice sounds very good to me. Is it mid 70's Geddy? Of course not, why would it be, it is freaking 2013! There current tour has been very successful and has had mostly positive reviews. But what difference does that make, I wanted to know what people thought of the album a year later.

[Kcrimso]

I saw Rush about month ago in Finland. Geddy's voice was quite horrible. I won't be seeing them again.

Clockwork Angels was an ok album. Best they have done in long time. Production could have been lot better though.

[Progatron]

Love it. The best of the three Rush2K albums IMO. "Headlong Flight" is fantastic!

Haven't seen them now since R30 tour but the live stuff I've heard does indicate a terribly strained Geddy, vocally. Musically all three are on top of their game as always.

[kingshmegland]

Geddy's vocals have been getting a bit of stick from what I hear . I dont think they can sustain playing Arenas much longer , certainly in the UK where they have been less than half full at some venues . OK , I was a bit harsh on Clockwork Angels but I can only rateit on a par with the worst of their 80's albums . Personally I would only go see them again if they did a classic albums series tour , i.e. Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres & Permanent Waves !

This absolutely makes no sense. If Geddy can't sing the 80's to present songs, what makes you think he can sing the 70's stuff?! Why do people still cry about Ged's voice. Anybody touring for almost 40 years and are in their 60's will not have to voice when they were 20. Silly posts really.

[Kcrimso]

Why do people still cry about Ged's voice. Anybody touring for almost 40 years and are in their 60's will not have to voice when they were 20. Silly posts really.

I "cry" about it because at this point hearing Geddy "sing" live is not a pleasant experience. In fact it is kind of painfull. I will vote with my wallet in the future and stay away.

[Vic2012]

in the end it's just Geddy's increasingly mushy warbling over musicians turning up things to eleven.

That sums it up for me. Geddy's singing is what I can't tolerate anymore. I took advantage of the 99 cent special they had at Amazon and DL'd the album. There are some cool songs but overall I don't care for it as a whole.

[oilersfan]

Probably the quickest I've 'shelved' a Rush studio album in my 30 or so years as a fan (well, except for 'Feedback'). Just haven't been able to get into CA, although I plan on revisiting it before seeing them again in about 3 weeks.

[Rufus]

This absolutely makes no sense. If Geddy can't sing the 80's to present songs, what makes you think he can sing the 70's stuff?! Why do people still cry about Ged's voice. Anybody touring for almost 40 years and are in their 60's will not have to voice when they were 20. Silly posts really.

Bands can lower the keys of songs to compensate for vocalists limitations, like
Genesis & Zep did !

[N_Singh]

This album's saving grace was that it wasn't as bad as the previous one. This band's creative period was from '77-'87 for me. After that: irrelevance.


It's interesting to compare it to, say, Fly From Here. Which was not up to par with Chose to the Edge by any means. But I can still listen to that record over this wall of noise any day.

[Jerjo]

Still playing it now and then. I hear plenty of dynamics, despite the loud production. After so many albums stuck at mid tempo it's nice to hear the boys unleash the beast again.

[Wisdomview]

I lke it way more than Snakes and Arrows, but not as much as Vapor Trails (despite VTs horrible production/mastering). A very strong and somewhat different album for an almost 40 year old band.

B+ from me.

[Polska]

My favorite of theirs since Counterparts. It's easy to bash a band that's been around this long, and there's always going to be people who jumped off in the 70's or 80's. I wonder why those people continue to buy the newer releases at all. Like you somehow expect a return to the so called glory years? If you haven't liked anything they've done since Moving Pictures, why buy a release in 2012 and then go online and talk about how terrible it is?

[Clepsydra]

I don't really listen to it anymore although I love The Garden.
I don't feel it is a terrible album.
I like it better than Vapor Trails & Snakes And Arrows.

[Clepsydra]

Counterparts.

Love it!

[Rufus]

My favorite of theirs since Counterparts. It's easy to bash a band that's been around this long, and there's always going to be people who jumped off in the 70's or 80's. I wonder why those people continue to buy the newer releases at all. Like you somehow expect a return to the so called glory years? If you haven't liked anything they've done since Moving Pictures, why buy a release in 2012 and then go online and talk about how terrible it is?

I guess it's human nature to live in hope ! The pre -release interviews & media articles unfortuneatly gave false hope IMO . All the hype about it going to be the bands first concept album in umpteen + years made folk hark back to the days of 2112 & Hemispheres but the quality was sadly lacking !

[KELLY WELSH]

Some superb tracks ,some not so. Haven't listened to the album for awhile,won't be doing so either.Prefer other material than this.

[gpeccary]

Well I think its better than Sand A and light years beyond VTrails, but its still not that great. I've played it a couple times since it came out, I really tried to get into it an like it, but in the end it got shelved. They went to a different place after their hiatus, glad they picked up a different crowd, but they left me behind. They evolved, but not in a favorable way to me.

[Garden Dreamer]

I still give it an occasional spin, I pretty much like it from front to back and it helps that I didn't overdose on the first two tracks that were released as singles. It still has some of the elements that annoy me about Rush in recent years (noisy production, double-tracked vocals, cluttered instruments, awkward melodies) but they have been reduced down to a level where it doesn't bother me. The album exceeds my expectations of Rush at this point in their career, especially after Snakes & Arrows, of which I loathe 9 of the 13 tunes. At least CA does not have the wheedling, yodeling Geddy vocals and wordy,clumsy lyrics of S&A. And it reintroduces something I've missed for a long time - the breakout instrumentals where all the keyboards and extraneous rhythm instruments cut out and its just the three of them wailing away - bass, guitar and drums!

Put it this way - since Hold Your Fire there are only 3 Rush albums I can actively listen to because I want to hear them - Test for Echo, Vapor Trails (fan-remastered version) and Clockwork Angels.