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| Title | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play | 1. Caravan | 5:39 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 2. BU2B | 5:10 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 3. Clockwork Angels | 7:31 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 4. The Anarchist | 6:51 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 5. Carnies | 4:51 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 6. Halo Effect | 3:13 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 7. Seven Cities Of Gold | 6:32 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 8. The Wreckers | 5:01 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 9. Headlong Flight | 7:20 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 10. BU2B2 | 1:27 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 11. Wish Them Well | 5:25 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 12. The Garden | 6:59 | $1.29 | |
| Digital Booklet: Clockwork Angels | n/a | Album Only |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
346 of 374 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I like to review albums from bands who "the mainstream" radio stations dismiss after their "glory years" have faded - which in real people speak means they just don't make them the kind of money these very radio stations and corporations demand anymore. My local rock radio station plays Rush at least once a day when I'm out doing errands in the car, but it's always the same songs, as a reminder they existed once, but time has whisked them away, favoring the newer garbage that is mostly unlistenable.
Well, here it is, album number 20 for the trio from Canada, and this album sounds just as fresh as anything out there. The album explodes out of the speakers with a rapid crystal-clear urgency and tells a wonderful story about a traveler's magical journey, and this time, it's time that is the enemy. Who isn't madly mindful of it when we're out doing what we have to do to survive?
(This isn't your everyday Rush album, as a novelization of the album is coming out soon.)
12 songs adding up to just over an hour:
01. Caravan - this song is about travel, and movement, and the journey begins, steampunk style. Steam engines take our traveler as he thinks about what he setting out to do - find out more truth, find out the meaning of life,and everything in between. The pumping base and vocals of Geddy Lee, the master drumwork of Neal Peart, and the pounding urgent finger work of guitarist Alex Lifeson (along with the unofficial fourth member, producer Nick "Booujzhe" Raskulinecz), have never - and I really mean this - have never sounded fresher and more dedicated to opening an album filled with endless drums, guitar and bass, to make it sound as if ten times the music is there. This is one of the finest and more majestical openings to a Rush album since "Overture" on the album "2112."
02. BU2B - "Brought Up To Believe" gives you the real groundwork and story of the album, even though Rush themselves have said that they weren't going to make another "concept album." The vocals are almost swallowed up by the wonderful machine-gun beats and micro-solos, and Geddy tells us the Watchmaker is there watching us all, as he "loves us all to death."
03. Clockwork Angels - Flying through time, through life, over cities and people and the freedom to simply go and soar higher and higher. This song is the meat of the album, and takes me to a dizzying height, with time itself becoming the demons the angels fight without weapons, the very hands of the clock become swords to battle and fight the marching soldiers of time away - but we all know that game is lost, and the band has simply dazzled me with this over seven minute monster of a song. It's a masterful production.
04. The Anarchist - this is one of the more straightforward songs off the album so far, but it also really isn't. The beat and the drumming and the vocals are there so tightly intertwined, and yet there is so much chaos in the lyrics itself - this is one angry man, so angry about his lost opportunities not to enjoy his life or to simply sing: "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage..."
05. Carnies - We immediately fall into the magical secretive world of the carnival, with it's deceptive lights and "demon music and gypsy queens." To a young boy, the freedom and swirling spirits floating around him could be intoxicating, but it could also be a beautiful trap, too! Once again, the guitarwork of Lifeson lays the song on it's ear and spins the listener around and around and around with it's old-timey retro but still fresh as hell tricks. A great song.
06. Halo Effect - this is almost a love song, and this will be the song of the album to sing along to when they play it in concert, guaranteed. Deceiving angels, illusions, and what we see may not be what we think it may really be...
07. Seven Cities Of Gold - A fool's paradise, and a fool thinking about the past, and it's our paradise lost, too. They've got it right, "a man can lose himself in a country like this..." This is an over seven-minute song dedicated to the folly of a lost man's failures, and the dreams he might have had once as a young man, and Geddy nails it when he says "that gleam in the distance could be heaven's gate, a long-awaited treasure at the end of my cruel fate." Another wonderful song with a solo will destroy anyone's notions that Rush are just laying down over 35 years later. They never have, and I expect with songs like this, they never will.
08. The Wreckers - this song almost went towards U2 territory with it's extended opening, but the story is anything but that middle-of-the-road garbage Bono spews. Lee and company explain very carefully that like the breakers at the ocean's shore, everything is deceiving, and just when you think you're at your safest, that's when you run aground and it gets really ugly really fast. The truth, brutal as it can be, can kill with just slightest flick of it's wrist. This song nails the painfulness of what happens when you weren't expecting it and it broadsides you so hard, it kinda sucks.
09. Headlong Flight - another over seven-minute monster, and I can only equate it's importance to Rush fans as Pink Floyd fans cherish "Learning To Fly." This song is about flight, and wonderful youthful memories, and massive regret, and the sad rigid responsibilites you MUST have now, so forget what you thought when you were a kid! You steer the ship, you punch the timeclock, and someone behind you does the same exact thing. This song reminds you that back there, somewhere in your memory, you were the king (or queen) of your whole universe, but now you just have what it is now. Neal Peart's drums dominate this song, and the bass beat and the guitar try but just barely keep up with your memories! This song is an opus, and a fantastic work.
10. BU2B2 - "Brought Up To Believe Too" is a reprise of sorts of it's older brother, but boy oh boy this is more like a final determination by your job's management before they fire you. The carpet gets pulled out from under you, and you've just given up. This song segues right into...
11. Wish Them Well - sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and let it go. The band's advice? Just wish them well and walk away. there are better places to be, better people to know, better jobs to take, better places to simply live in. This song, after the last four or five that have had such a hard edge, now comes off as positive, almost like a pat on the shoulder, as if they're trying to tell you that it's okay to lose sometimes and sometimes you just gotta move on. The sound is positive, and uplifting, and almost reassuring in it's tone.
12. The Garden - Sometimes you've got to step back, and understand that time is our friend, even though it's only purpose is to jeep going once we've been laid in the dirt. And what is our garden? It's our safe place, our slowly moving sun and cool starry nights, and not even time Itself can take those things away from our minds, and our hearts. This song is a mellow reflection and almost seven minute calm down, and it's Rush's way of saying hey! it's okay to dream, and sometimes it's okay to forget, too. Hope is there, and forever waits for the right person to take flight again. Personally, I've never encountered such an unusual ending from any of Rush's albums, but they've got it 100 percent right, time is just a measure of our lives, and what we do with it is the most important thing.
So what can I say except that I give this new album 5 wonderful and healthy stars.
Rush has always been one of those bands who can make you scream and shout and rock one moment, and then the next really contemplate the meaning behind the rock. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and very proudly, too - Rush can play, and they can create, and they can make you step into other far-off worlds you never dreamed existed, even though you don't even have to leave your room.
I really really want you to check out this album and enjoy their story, and enjoy their fantasy, and understand that the album is only and hour of your life, but boy is it worth it - you'll be glad you did!
p.s. - the album cover? look at the time on the clock, and look at it from a military point of view... it's 21:12, people...
(thanks for reading and check out my other reviews here on Amazon!)
Well, here it is, album number 20 for the trio from Canada, and this album sounds just as fresh as anything out there. The album explodes out of the speakers with a rapid crystal-clear urgency and tells a wonderful story about a traveler's magical journey, and this time, it's time that is the enemy. Who isn't madly mindful of it when we're out doing what we have to do to survive?
(This isn't your everyday Rush album, as a novelization of the album is coming out soon.)
12 songs adding up to just over an hour:
01. Caravan - this song is about travel, and movement, and the journey begins, steampunk style. Steam engines take our traveler as he thinks about what he setting out to do - find out more truth, find out the meaning of life,and everything in between. The pumping base and vocals of Geddy Lee, the master drumwork of Neal Peart, and the pounding urgent finger work of guitarist Alex Lifeson (along with the unofficial fourth member, producer Nick "Booujzhe" Raskulinecz), have never - and I really mean this - have never sounded fresher and more dedicated to opening an album filled with endless drums, guitar and bass, to make it sound as if ten times the music is there. This is one of the finest and more majestical openings to a Rush album since "Overture" on the album "2112."
02. BU2B - "Brought Up To Believe" gives you the real groundwork and story of the album, even though Rush themselves have said that they weren't going to make another "concept album." The vocals are almost swallowed up by the wonderful machine-gun beats and micro-solos, and Geddy tells us the Watchmaker is there watching us all, as he "loves us all to death."
03. Clockwork Angels - Flying through time, through life, over cities and people and the freedom to simply go and soar higher and higher. This song is the meat of the album, and takes me to a dizzying height, with time itself becoming the demons the angels fight without weapons, the very hands of the clock become swords to battle and fight the marching soldiers of time away - but we all know that game is lost, and the band has simply dazzled me with this over seven minute monster of a song. It's a masterful production.
04. The Anarchist - this is one of the more straightforward songs off the album so far, but it also really isn't. The beat and the drumming and the vocals are there so tightly intertwined, and yet there is so much chaos in the lyrics itself - this is one angry man, so angry about his lost opportunities not to enjoy his life or to simply sing: "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage..."
05. Carnies - We immediately fall into the magical secretive world of the carnival, with it's deceptive lights and "demon music and gypsy queens." To a young boy, the freedom and swirling spirits floating around him could be intoxicating, but it could also be a beautiful trap, too! Once again, the guitarwork of Lifeson lays the song on it's ear and spins the listener around and around and around with it's old-timey retro but still fresh as hell tricks. A great song.
06. Halo Effect - this is almost a love song, and this will be the song of the album to sing along to when they play it in concert, guaranteed. Deceiving angels, illusions, and what we see may not be what we think it may really be...
07. Seven Cities Of Gold - A fool's paradise, and a fool thinking about the past, and it's our paradise lost, too. They've got it right, "a man can lose himself in a country like this..." This is an over seven-minute song dedicated to the folly of a lost man's failures, and the dreams he might have had once as a young man, and Geddy nails it when he says "that gleam in the distance could be heaven's gate, a long-awaited treasure at the end of my cruel fate." Another wonderful song with a solo will destroy anyone's notions that Rush are just laying down over 35 years later. They never have, and I expect with songs like this, they never will.
08. The Wreckers - this song almost went towards U2 territory with it's extended opening, but the story is anything but that middle-of-the-road garbage Bono spews. Lee and company explain very carefully that like the breakers at the ocean's shore, everything is deceiving, and just when you think you're at your safest, that's when you run aground and it gets really ugly really fast. The truth, brutal as it can be, can kill with just slightest flick of it's wrist. This song nails the painfulness of what happens when you weren't expecting it and it broadsides you so hard, it kinda sucks.
09. Headlong Flight - another over seven-minute monster, and I can only equate it's importance to Rush fans as Pink Floyd fans cherish "Learning To Fly." This song is about flight, and wonderful youthful memories, and massive regret, and the sad rigid responsibilites you MUST have now, so forget what you thought when you were a kid! You steer the ship, you punch the timeclock, and someone behind you does the same exact thing. This song reminds you that back there, somewhere in your memory, you were the king (or queen) of your whole universe, but now you just have what it is now. Neal Peart's drums dominate this song, and the bass beat and the guitar try but just barely keep up with your memories! This song is an opus, and a fantastic work.
10. BU2B2 - "Brought Up To Believe Too" is a reprise of sorts of it's older brother, but boy oh boy this is more like a final determination by your job's management before they fire you. The carpet gets pulled out from under you, and you've just given up. This song segues right into...
11. Wish Them Well - sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and let it go. The band's advice? Just wish them well and walk away. there are better places to be, better people to know, better jobs to take, better places to simply live in. This song, after the last four or five that have had such a hard edge, now comes off as positive, almost like a pat on the shoulder, as if they're trying to tell you that it's okay to lose sometimes and sometimes you just gotta move on. The sound is positive, and uplifting, and almost reassuring in it's tone.
12. The Garden - Sometimes you've got to step back, and understand that time is our friend, even though it's only purpose is to jeep going once we've been laid in the dirt. And what is our garden? It's our safe place, our slowly moving sun and cool starry nights, and not even time Itself can take those things away from our minds, and our hearts. This song is a mellow reflection and almost seven minute calm down, and it's Rush's way of saying hey! it's okay to dream, and sometimes it's okay to forget, too. Hope is there, and forever waits for the right person to take flight again. Personally, I've never encountered such an unusual ending from any of Rush's albums, but they've got it 100 percent right, time is just a measure of our lives, and what we do with it is the most important thing.
So what can I say except that I give this new album 5 wonderful and healthy stars.
Rush has always been one of those bands who can make you scream and shout and rock one moment, and then the next really contemplate the meaning behind the rock. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and very proudly, too - Rush can play, and they can create, and they can make you step into other far-off worlds you never dreamed existed, even though you don't even have to leave your room.
I really really want you to check out this album and enjoy their story, and enjoy their fantasy, and understand that the album is only and hour of your life, but boy is it worth it - you'll be glad you did!
p.s. - the album cover? look at the time on the clock, and look at it from a military point of view... it's 21:12, people...
(thanks for reading and check out my other reviews here on Amazon!)
118 of 130 people found the following review helpful
By Todem
Format:Audio CD
A new Rush release. It's like christmas morning. It has been 5 years since we have been able to sink our teeth into some new material. The band basically teased us two years ago in releasing Caravan and BU2B in time for their epic Time Machine tour. Those two songs were immediate rockers, filled with great riffs, cool lyrics and a taste of what was to come in Rush's first "true" start to finish concept record.
I had no idea what to expect to be honest. What was this story of steam punk and alchemy going to be about?
Headlong Flight is then released and things start to come into focus. A daring journey, piracy, adventures in the air and on the high seas. A life filled with adventure, peril and as we find out with the rest of the album romance and reflection.
Opening my fan pack last week was truly special. A great package that included a fact filled magazine dedicated to the new release, back stories on the making of the record, and a neat look back at every Rush album with commentary from current musicians (like Steve Wilson and Taylor Hawkins), friends, authors and former producers. The introduction in the magazine (or shall I say fanzine) was penned by Taylor Hawkins and it is a very heartwarming way to start it all off.
Then of course the CD itself is packaged in a wonderful, classy album like jacket complete with visual treats (lot's of great pictures) and the narration of this journey of a boy turning into adventurer, into a wise old man.
Sitting and reading the narration before each song took me back to age 14 when I first experienced 2112. Opening that gatefold jacket and reading the story of the priests etc. I had a huge smile on my face as I read through Clockwork Angels before each song.
Neil is letting his imagination run wild again. After going through the tragedy he went through (which you never truly get over) it is so wonderful and refreshing seeing an artist at work again, writing about living, and having grand adventures. I have missed this so much in Rush's music for a long time.
So on to the album.
Caravan - "I can't stop thinking big" - The newly mixed version has some surprises. A more up front keyboard flourish, some phased guitars and bass. I like it. I prefer Neil's drums in the "single mix" however. But again a great Rush song to kick off this journey to Crown City.
BU2B - " The Price of what we're wining is the same as what we've lost" - I love the new intro. It totally changes up the feel of how the song kicks in and gives it some drama. We find out all about the Watchmaker, and how people in this futuristic world of streamliners, flint and steel are programed what to believe and how to live. I love this song, always have since it was released. A straight ahead rocker with a great turn at the bridge.
Clockwork Angels - "Goddesses of Light, of sea and sky and land" - I was blown away on the first listen and it has only become better and better with each listen. Rush has written an epic song again. The song has a beautiful intro of grandiose quality. A wall of Alex with Geddy holding down the bottom end and then....glass hitting water for the verse. Gorgeous. Lot's of changes, twists and turns that all come together after repeated listens. The song is daring. The bridge after the fantastic Alex solo is really something. I visualize walking through Chronos Square hearing loudspeakers blaring propaganda "Everything will turn out for the best" A brilliant passage in the song that give the sense of living in a controlled world. A Blade Runner moment if you will.
The Anarchist - "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage" - Here we go....another Rush rocker and our introduction to the boy becoming a man and going off on his adventures in this twisted world Neil has written for us to explore. The chorus of this song is fantastic. Alex growls everywhere on this song. We find the protagonist wandering the streets of Chronos Square observing the masses conforming and he refusing to believe that this is the way to live. I love the 80's Grace Under pressure like feel of this song. Alex's solo is straight out of 1984! Also their is a middle eastern flavor on one section of this tune that is undeniable and really dramatic.
Carnies - "The Glint of Iron Wheels" "The Smell of flint and steel" - Our hero joins the circus, falls in love, and is called out as a outsider not conforming to this order. The song is a full on rocker with again Rush taking us in a totally different direction after the first verse. He latches on to this group of carnies to get away and begin his journey but is driven out. I love this song. Lot's of Vaportrail like musings in the verses, but sonically much better.
Halo Effect - "A Goddess with wings on her heals" - Crushed, his heart stomped on by what he tries to envision as his soul mate. A nice breather from the onslaught we have heard up to this point. Halo effect is placed perfectly in the flow of this album. I like it. A very easy song to get into. Accessible and clean. Short and to the point. Wonderful guitar work and a great vocal performance from Geddy.
Seven Cities of Gold - " A Man can lose his past in a country like this" - This is another bombastic riff driven Rush epic. I feel this is one of the highlights of the album. A visual feast of our hero's journey into a snow filled desert. The jamming in this song harkens back to the 70's style of Rush big time. One of the albums most organic songs. A true power trio rocker and Alex again shines on his solo section, half stepping into space as well. The main riff here is destined to become a classic Rush jam.
The Wreckers - All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary" - The Wreckers brings us what may be one of Rush's finest songs ever. That's right. I can't tell you how much I love this song. Not only is the chorus one of the most melodic ones the band has ever written, the verse music is just delicious! Tell me you can't smell the salty air and feel the wind blowing through the sails as this ship our hero boarded at the port of Poseidon plunges into certain death. A unique gem among many diamonds. This is a song for the ages.
Headlong Flight - "Oh I wish I can live it all again!" - I already really liked this tune, but as I expected once I heard it in the context of the complete concept.....I now love this song. A Rush tour de force in every way. Riffage everywhere, a rousing chorus, a amazing bridge and solo section takes the song into the stratosphere! The entire journey we have been through all comes to a head sort of speak. It feels the like a finale but only for the adventure....the growth and wisdom of our hero will be later reveled.
BU2B2 - A little passage, connecting us to the last part of the album. His optimism fading, he keeps moving forward, living and learning to.......
Wish Them Well - "Just keep on going let the demons dwell" - This was a song that took me 4 listens to really get into....but now I appreciate it for the rocker it is. It reminds me of Carve Way The Stone a lot. I love it's premise and that is what got me to "get it" over repeated listens. It is a lesson I also apply to my own life. Any relationship that becomes toxic...I just wish them well and walk away.
The Garden - "The Measure of a life is a measure of love and respect" - The Garden is such a wonderful piece. Rush always manages to put a tune on every album that just shocks you. A song that you would never expect from them. The Garden is that song. Just brilliant, heartfelt, and real. This may be one of Neil's finest compositions. It is a song of hope, love and understanding of what life really is about. Tend to your garden.
I am floored by Clockwork Angels. Really. Much more profound than Snakes and Arrows which IMO is a strong album as well. But this new record we see Rush taking chances again. Throwing out the standard song writing structure and going for it again. Jams are all over this album, visual beauty, thought provoking fantasy.
Rush has me geeked up all over again. Something that has not happened since Grace Under Pressure. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire were amazing albums but dealt with real world issues, and adult topics and so it would stay that course for the next decade or so. Gone were songs about androids and fear. Gone were tunes about racing a car on the weekend, or marching with the mob to hang witches, or seeing the sun rays break through the clouds as the thunder head roared in the distance.
Rush had moved forward. And I moved with them as well. I have enjoyed that ride oh so much the past 25 plus years.
But here we find the band reaching back. Finding that reckless abandon in the song writing, the lyrics, the playing and letting your imagination run wild with them as they take you on a true journey through a world of mystery, piracy, and adventure.
Thank you again for making me feel 14 years old again if only for a fleeting moment in time.
I had no idea what to expect to be honest. What was this story of steam punk and alchemy going to be about?
Headlong Flight is then released and things start to come into focus. A daring journey, piracy, adventures in the air and on the high seas. A life filled with adventure, peril and as we find out with the rest of the album romance and reflection.
Opening my fan pack last week was truly special. A great package that included a fact filled magazine dedicated to the new release, back stories on the making of the record, and a neat look back at every Rush album with commentary from current musicians (like Steve Wilson and Taylor Hawkins), friends, authors and former producers. The introduction in the magazine (or shall I say fanzine) was penned by Taylor Hawkins and it is a very heartwarming way to start it all off.
Then of course the CD itself is packaged in a wonderful, classy album like jacket complete with visual treats (lot's of great pictures) and the narration of this journey of a boy turning into adventurer, into a wise old man.
Sitting and reading the narration before each song took me back to age 14 when I first experienced 2112. Opening that gatefold jacket and reading the story of the priests etc. I had a huge smile on my face as I read through Clockwork Angels before each song.
Neil is letting his imagination run wild again. After going through the tragedy he went through (which you never truly get over) it is so wonderful and refreshing seeing an artist at work again, writing about living, and having grand adventures. I have missed this so much in Rush's music for a long time.
So on to the album.
Caravan - "I can't stop thinking big" - The newly mixed version has some surprises. A more up front keyboard flourish, some phased guitars and bass. I like it. I prefer Neil's drums in the "single mix" however. But again a great Rush song to kick off this journey to Crown City.
BU2B - " The Price of what we're wining is the same as what we've lost" - I love the new intro. It totally changes up the feel of how the song kicks in and gives it some drama. We find out all about the Watchmaker, and how people in this futuristic world of streamliners, flint and steel are programed what to believe and how to live. I love this song, always have since it was released. A straight ahead rocker with a great turn at the bridge.
Clockwork Angels - "Goddesses of Light, of sea and sky and land" - I was blown away on the first listen and it has only become better and better with each listen. Rush has written an epic song again. The song has a beautiful intro of grandiose quality. A wall of Alex with Geddy holding down the bottom end and then....glass hitting water for the verse. Gorgeous. Lot's of changes, twists and turns that all come together after repeated listens. The song is daring. The bridge after the fantastic Alex solo is really something. I visualize walking through Chronos Square hearing loudspeakers blaring propaganda "Everything will turn out for the best" A brilliant passage in the song that give the sense of living in a controlled world. A Blade Runner moment if you will.
The Anarchist - "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage" - Here we go....another Rush rocker and our introduction to the boy becoming a man and going off on his adventures in this twisted world Neil has written for us to explore. The chorus of this song is fantastic. Alex growls everywhere on this song. We find the protagonist wandering the streets of Chronos Square observing the masses conforming and he refusing to believe that this is the way to live. I love the 80's Grace Under pressure like feel of this song. Alex's solo is straight out of 1984! Also their is a middle eastern flavor on one section of this tune that is undeniable and really dramatic.
Carnies - "The Glint of Iron Wheels" "The Smell of flint and steel" - Our hero joins the circus, falls in love, and is called out as a outsider not conforming to this order. The song is a full on rocker with again Rush taking us in a totally different direction after the first verse. He latches on to this group of carnies to get away and begin his journey but is driven out. I love this song. Lot's of Vaportrail like musings in the verses, but sonically much better.
Halo Effect - "A Goddess with wings on her heals" - Crushed, his heart stomped on by what he tries to envision as his soul mate. A nice breather from the onslaught we have heard up to this point. Halo effect is placed perfectly in the flow of this album. I like it. A very easy song to get into. Accessible and clean. Short and to the point. Wonderful guitar work and a great vocal performance from Geddy.
Seven Cities of Gold - " A Man can lose his past in a country like this" - This is another bombastic riff driven Rush epic. I feel this is one of the highlights of the album. A visual feast of our hero's journey into a snow filled desert. The jamming in this song harkens back to the 70's style of Rush big time. One of the albums most organic songs. A true power trio rocker and Alex again shines on his solo section, half stepping into space as well. The main riff here is destined to become a classic Rush jam.
The Wreckers - All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary" - The Wreckers brings us what may be one of Rush's finest songs ever. That's right. I can't tell you how much I love this song. Not only is the chorus one of the most melodic ones the band has ever written, the verse music is just delicious! Tell me you can't smell the salty air and feel the wind blowing through the sails as this ship our hero boarded at the port of Poseidon plunges into certain death. A unique gem among many diamonds. This is a song for the ages.
Headlong Flight - "Oh I wish I can live it all again!" - I already really liked this tune, but as I expected once I heard it in the context of the complete concept.....I now love this song. A Rush tour de force in every way. Riffage everywhere, a rousing chorus, a amazing bridge and solo section takes the song into the stratosphere! The entire journey we have been through all comes to a head sort of speak. It feels the like a finale but only for the adventure....the growth and wisdom of our hero will be later reveled.
BU2B2 - A little passage, connecting us to the last part of the album. His optimism fading, he keeps moving forward, living and learning to.......
Wish Them Well - "Just keep on going let the demons dwell" - This was a song that took me 4 listens to really get into....but now I appreciate it for the rocker it is. It reminds me of Carve Way The Stone a lot. I love it's premise and that is what got me to "get it" over repeated listens. It is a lesson I also apply to my own life. Any relationship that becomes toxic...I just wish them well and walk away.
The Garden - "The Measure of a life is a measure of love and respect" - The Garden is such a wonderful piece. Rush always manages to put a tune on every album that just shocks you. A song that you would never expect from them. The Garden is that song. Just brilliant, heartfelt, and real. This may be one of Neil's finest compositions. It is a song of hope, love and understanding of what life really is about. Tend to your garden.
I am floored by Clockwork Angels. Really. Much more profound than Snakes and Arrows which IMO is a strong album as well. But this new record we see Rush taking chances again. Throwing out the standard song writing structure and going for it again. Jams are all over this album, visual beauty, thought provoking fantasy.
Rush has me geeked up all over again. Something that has not happened since Grace Under Pressure. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire were amazing albums but dealt with real world issues, and adult topics and so it would stay that course for the next decade or so. Gone were songs about androids and fear. Gone were tunes about racing a car on the weekend, or marching with the mob to hang witches, or seeing the sun rays break through the clouds as the thunder head roared in the distance.
Rush had moved forward. And I moved with them as well. I have enjoyed that ride oh so much the past 25 plus years.
But here we find the band reaching back. Finding that reckless abandon in the song writing, the lyrics, the playing and letting your imagination run wild with them as they take you on a true journey through a world of mystery, piracy, and adventure.
Thank you again for making me feel 14 years old again if only for a fleeting moment in time.
138 of 154 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
.......that a band can stay together for 37 years (Starting from Fly By Night, their first with this line up) is amazing.
The fact that they can still put out a decent album of new material is astounding.
The fact that their following wants to hear NEW material rather than a greatest-hits set is beyond astounding.
The fact that they can put out an album THIS good so late on in their careers, well that's just not fair.
While tired old greatest-hits bands like Def Leppard, ZZ Top go top up their bank accounts with jukebox like short sets every summer, these guys are still playing vital new material in 3 hour shows.
This is a prime example of why the ALBUM is still the best format for music listening.
Put away your ipads, ipods and laptops. Stop texting for a few minutes, guaranteed there will be nothing urgent to respond to.
Get the lyric sheet out. Put the CD into your music system or, preferably, put the record on your turntable and crank it.
Read the lyrics, don't multi-task, and re-discover (or for the younger crowd, discover for the first time) what it's like to listen to an ALBUM, old-school style.
The fact that they can still put out a decent album of new material is astounding.
The fact that their following wants to hear NEW material rather than a greatest-hits set is beyond astounding.
The fact that they can put out an album THIS good so late on in their careers, well that's just not fair.
While tired old greatest-hits bands like Def Leppard, ZZ Top go top up their bank accounts with jukebox like short sets every summer, these guys are still playing vital new material in 3 hour shows.
This is a prime example of why the ALBUM is still the best format for music listening.
Put away your ipads, ipods and laptops. Stop texting for a few minutes, guaranteed there will be nothing urgent to respond to.
Get the lyric sheet out. Put the CD into your music system or, preferably, put the record on your turntable and crank it.
Read the lyrics, don't multi-task, and re-discover (or for the younger crowd, discover for the first time) what it's like to listen to an ALBUM, old-school style.
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