Rush - Clockwork Angels

Just got this one myself and yeah, it does take a few listens to totally sink in. IMO, their best in quite some time. I'm loving this album quite a bit!

To be honest thus far this one is giving the latest LA Guns & Saint Vitus a run for my album of the year. And not just because I got it for a buck off amazon either.

I find the new Saint Vitus to be nearly lifeless. =(

Still formulating an opinion..... I really enjoy it.... Seven Cities of Gold.... WOW!!!

My favorite song is "The Garden" which I think is one of the best ballads they've ever recorded and I think a perfect album closing track. I like the entire album.

Quote :

Seven Cities of Gold.... WOW!!!

The first time I listened to the album that one really jumped out, but once I digested the full record all the songs are really about evenly great. Other "standouts" include Carnies, The Anarchist and the title track.

I don't think they worried about singles on this album just wrote some good stuff.

I don't think they've ever cared about singles. They just write what they want to write and if the public picks up on it that's great.

According to the RIAA they've had 24 Gold records and 14 platinum (or multiplatinum) albums in their career, not to mention approximately 40 million albums sold and they've been selling out stadiums since the Moving Pictures tour...so I don't think they need to worry about hit singles.

You don't think songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight or Subdivisions were written with radio in mind?

Dark Horseman wrote:

You don't think songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight or Subdivisions were written with radio in mind?

No, they have stated in multiple interviews that they were shocked when those songs took off on the radio, they had no idea they would be that popular. The recording of Hemispheres burned them out and they decided to start writing shorter songs on Permanent Waves, but they made no conscious effort to become "commercial".

Their highest charting song was New World Man from Signals.

I guess it's one time the masses got it right them, jumping on that bandwagon and making those songs hits.

Dark Horseman wrote:

I guess it's one time the masses got it right them, jumping on that bandwagon and making those songs hits.

It was a different era. Album Rock radio still played killer music. Remember that only a year before AC/DC had scored big with Back In Black without changing their sound to become "commercial". The public just eventually caught up to what they were doing, same with Rush.

S.D. wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

I guess it's one time the masses got it right them, jumping on that bandwagon and making those songs hits.

It was a different era. Album Rock radio still played killer music. Remember that only a year before AC/DC had scored big with Back In Black without changing their sound to become "commercial". The public just eventually caught up to what they were doing, same with Rush.

plus the general public had better taste in music then

So explain Barry Manilow.

Dark Horseman wrote:

So explain Barry Manilow.

Bored housewives, the next generation of them became Michael Bolton fans.

S.D. wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

So explain Barry Manilow.

Bored housewives, the next generation of them became Michael Bolton fans.

dont forget FF in there!!!

Till this day i have 6 studio albums (incluiding this new one), two live albums, one compilation and a double dvd by RUSH but i am not a die hard fan (i would have bought everything they have released a long time ago). Anyway, CLOCKWORK ANGELS is the first album i bought by RUSH when it was just released, like a new release because i like it a lot. Its a good mix between the 70s heavy rock and 80s progresive RUSH with a modern production that makes it not sound RETRO. Very good.

Congratulations to Rush for winning "Album Of The Year" in the annual Prog Rock Awards this evening in London.

S.D. wrote:

Congratulations to Rush for winning "Album Of The Year" in the annual Prog Rock Awards this evening in London.

Album of the year??? Its only September. Is the world really getting crazy?? Christmas starts already in October nowadays.

krokus wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Congratulations to Rush for winning "Album Of The Year" in the annual Prog Rock Awards this evening in London.

Album of the year??? Its only September. Is the world really getting crazy?? Christmas starts already in October nowadays.

The Prog awards is for albums and artists of the past 12 months, so the current "year" in their mind ran from July 2011 to July 2012, voting began in August, winner announced today.

I have absolutely no problems with this being album of the year for any award. Each listen I become a bigger fan of it than I was before.

Setlist from the opening date of the tour:

Set One

01. Subdivisions
02. The Big Money
03. Force Ten
04. Grand Designs
05. The Body Electric
06. Territories
07. The Analog Kid
08. Bravado
09. Where's My Thing?
10. Far Cry

Set Two (with string section)

11. Caravan
12. Clockwork Angels
13. The Anarchist
14. Carnies
15. The Wreckers
16. Headlong Flight
17. Halo Effect
18. Wish Them Well
19. The Garden
20. Manhattan Project
21. Red Sector A
22. YYZ
23. Working Man

Encore:

24. Tom Sawyer
25. The Spirit of Radio

I like that setlist. The first set concentrates primarily on the 80s, with a couple later tracks thrown in. Setlist 2 starts with *most* of the Clockwork Angels album and then returns to the 80s stuff. Working Man is the only track from their 70s material.

It's great to see "The Body Electric" back in the set! I don't think that song has been played live since the Grace Under Pressure tour. Grand Designs and Territories have also been absent from their set for the last 20+ years.

The string section makes total sense because it can fill in for the some of the keyboard parts. The string arrangements on Clockwork Angels are very good, so I think it will work beautifully. Nice to see Rush still trying new things and shaking things up nearly 40 years into their career!

S.D. wrote:

krokus wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Congratulations to Rush for winning "Album Of The Year" in the annual Prog Rock Awards this evening in London.

Album of the year??? Its only September. Is the world really getting crazy?? Christmas starts already in October nowadays.

The Prog awards is for albums and artists of the past 12 months, so the current "year" in their mind ran from July 2011 to July 2012, voting began in August, winner announced today.

While I enjoy the album alot I dont think it is prog album of the year. My vote would have gone to Distorted Harmony for their Utopia cd.

S.D. wrote:

I like that setlist. The first set concentrates primarily on the 80s, with a couple later tracks thrown in. Setlist 2 starts with *most* of the Clockwork Angels album and then returns to the 80s stuff. Working Man is the only track from their 70s material.

It's great to see "The Body Electric" back in the set! I don't think that song has been played live since the Grace Under Pressure tour. Grand Designs and Territories have also been absent from their set for the last 20+ years.

The string section makes total sense because it can fill in for the some of the keyboard parts. The string arrangements on Clockwork Angels are very good, so I think it will work beautifully. Nice to see Rush still trying new things and shaking things up nearly 40 years into their career!

Tomorrow night will be my first Rush gig ever - I was hoping for more 70's tracks to go with the new tracks. Still looking forward to it

thejokeriv wrote:

Tomorrow night will be my first Rush gig ever - I was hoping for more 70's tracks to go with the new tracks. Still looking forward to it

Because the new album is quite heavy, I think the other songs were picked for contrast. Plus those 80s tracks are friggin MONSTROUS live, I think you'll be impressed. They have also indicated in interviews that they are going to be doing alot more improvisation this tour, so I would expect some jams.

They did alot of the 70s tracks on their past few tours, because their career is so long they like to vary it up and hit different eras (kind of like Maiden alternating retro and new sets each tour).