New Rush Tour Announced

[Khoram]

I love the 2nd half of Power Windows, the last 3 tracks are gorgeous songs. I may be biased since it was the first Rush album I ever listened to, and I listened the heck out of it. When I had my fill, I went to the record store and promptly bought the only 2 Rush tapes they had: 2112 and Fly By Night. More different they could not be from Power Windows, but man was I hooked. I think I listened to those 2 albums every night in bed for the next year straight. Where is that poll? Though it would be incredibly difficult to pick a favorite....

[Relayer71]

Fly By Night is underrated in some ways - it's one of their most consistently great albums. Great sounding too.

The Different Stages live album had a 3rd (bonus?) disc of a 1978 concert which had an awesome live version of By-Tor & The Snow Dog (and Xanadu!).

[Omniscia]

It (Fly By Night) also has their worst track, "Rivendell."

[Khoram]

Well I wouldn't say "Rivendell" is my favorite track, but it's hardly my least favorite. I'd certainly rather listen to it than, say, "I think I'm going bald", most of the first album, the Necromancer, and several songs on Grace Under Pressure.

It certainly beats Nimoy's Tolkien-inspired song any day! :)

[Rightbug]

It certainly beats Nimoy's Tolkien-inspired song any day! :)

I think the worst anthology ever would be a collection of Tolkien themed songs. Someone should make a terrible Spotify playlist.

[Relayer71]

Good point Omnisci, but I can think of worse:

Lakeside Park
I Think Im Going Bald
Twilight Zone
Nearly everything on Counterparts
Dog Years

Those are a few from memory, sure I could find more if I look through my CDs.

And listening to Hold Your Fire and it acfually sounds fuller than I remember it, not as overly crisp as Presto or Power Windows and bass sits nicely in the mix. Listening through Grado SR80rs which arent the bassiest headohones (but very detailed).

[Omniscia]

Sure, some of those songs ("The Necromancer" is a guilty pleasure) are pretty weak, but they're nowhere near as soporific as "Rivendell."

As far as folky, Zep-alike fantasy ballads go, I'd rather listen to Heart's "Dream of the Archer."

[Khoram]

Sure, some of those songs ("The Necromancer" is a guilty pleasure) are pretty weak, but they're nowhere near as soporific as "Rivendell."

As far as folky, Zep-alike fantasy ballads go, I'd rather listen to Heart's "Dream of the Archer."

Heck yeah! Love that song. Heart is my guilty rock pleasure.

[Relayer71]

Heart rocks! And now im imagining Rush with Nancy Wilson doing vocals!

[Omniscia]

I imagine it would sound something like this.

[Omniscia]

It's Saturday night, and I'm spending it with Lotusland, an American Rush tribute band. Who knew those even existed, especially in touring form?

[Manresa]

Clockwork Angels came out today ... I've listened through one and a half times, not enough to form an opinion. I think the Caravan and BU2B might be the strongest tracks, but that's probably just because I'm familiar with them.

[Juste]

I've had Clockwork Angels on repeat for a few days. I really like it so far. I'd say that it has several strong tracks, specifically Clockwork Angels, The Wreckers and Headlong Flight.

[Omniscia]

I haven't spent anywhere near enough time with it yet. Got my copy several days ago (thanks, UK preorder!), and have barely touched it. I don't want to listen to it piecemeal, but haven't had an opportunity to just sit down and listen.

Also, I haven't had a chance to watch this yet, either, but Peter Mansbridge (of CBC News's The National) did a 17-minute interview with Geddy Lee that aired after the hockey game the other night.

[Rimbo]

Clockwork Angels isn't filled with catchy hooks, but I dig it so far. The story went in a direction I didn't expect at first, but it makes sense in the shadow of "Snakes & Arrows."

[Omniscia]

I finally got a chance to listen to it properly -- all the way through, with headphones on -- yesterday, as I found myself as a passenger on an hour-plus ride through the countryside.

The song that keeps rattling around my head a day later is the title track, actually. Something about it just resonates with me. "The Anarchist" isn't too bad, either, and "Headlong Flight" sounds like it came straight out of their 70s repertoire (it probably helps that they paraphrase "Bastille Day" at the beginning).

That's what really impresses me about this album. While it certainly fits right alongside Snakes and Arrows, it has a great deal of the old energy.

[BigWeather]

I'm impressed by Clockwork Angels. It is amazing to me that the band can continue (much like Iron Maiden) to crank out fantastic music nearly forty years after forming.

Definitely worth reading the booklet first. Of course "Caravan" and "Brought Up to Believe" (I'm sorry, but I won't succumb to abbreviating it) shine. "Headlong Flight", also released before the album's release date, is excellent. I also love "Carnies" (what a heavy riff, I almost wish they had just ridden that the entire song) and the last two songs ("Wish Them Well" and "The Garden") have a great message and are really good.

If I had a criticism it'd be that modern Rush doesn't seem to want to let the music breathe like back in the early days. "Too many notes!", haha. It is the same thing with modern Iron Maiden -- it just feels a bit too layered. Still a great listen, better than Snakes and Arrows I think and probably my favorite Rush album since Presto, and possibly even as far back as their early 80s work.

[Jag]

Sharing this with the Rush fans of QT3

[Omniscia]

Man, just three weeks to go until the tour kicks off!

Can't. Wait.

[Manresa]

Man, just three weeks to go until the tour kicks off!

Can't. Wait.

Yup. I've got my tickets for Sept. 9th in DC (northern Virginia, technically).

[BigWeather]

I probably can't go -- 2+ hours away on a work night, and the night before Halloween / my wife's birthday. Complicating it all is that my daughter really wants to go bad and if I went and she didn't it'd be sad times in my house... If DC was on Saturday and not Sunday I'd probably swing that (even at the 4+ hour distance).

And... what do you all think of the new album? As I posted back in June -- love it.

Edit: Nevermind, most of you already chimed in above, haha.

[Austin Arlitt]

Still a great listen, better than Snakes and Arrows I think and probably my favorite Rush album since Presto, and possibly even as far back as their early 80s work.

I've been listening to it a great deal since it came out (for example, on the stretches of highway between Austin & Seattle where Google Music would work but Spotify wouldn't, and this was the only Rush album I had on Google Music), and I wouldn't say it's better than Snakes & Arrows, but I also wouldn't hesitate to say Snakes & Arrows is the best album they've made since Moving Pictures.

What is quite clear is that the Rush that made Snakes & Arrows and Clockwork Angels is back at the top of their game, unlike the fallen Rush that made records like Presto while Primus opened for & overshadowed them.

And just to throw another one out there, my favorite off the new album is Seven Cities of Gold.

I think it says great things about Clockwork Angels that almost every single song on it is someone's favorite.

[BigWeather]

My problem with Snakes and Arrows is that it is so uneven. There are some brilliant songs on there but a few bring it down as a whole. Clockwork Angels is their most even album, in my opinion, since Moving Pictures.

As for Presto, that's a tough one for me to be objective about. It was my first newly released Rush album after becoming a fan and after Hold Your Fire was such a welcome return to something a bit more rock. It was also released during my freshman year of college so all of that nostalgia gets mixed in. Also my first Rush tour, and yeah, Primus (still one of my favorite bands) blew them away.

[Austin Arlitt]

My problem with Snakes and Arrows is that it is so uneven. There are some brilliant songs on there but a few bring it down as a whole. Clockwork Angels is their most even album, in my opinion, since Moving Pictures.

That I can agree with, but the first disk of Snakes & Arrows + Faithless just dwarfs Clockwork Angels in both variety (not without losing the unity of a single album) & immediate accessibility. Those songs stick out in my mind with as much distinction as Free Will or Tom Sawyer.

Which isn't to say that the songs on Clockwork Angels all sound the same, because they don't, but it took me several weeks to distinguish them all versus just one or two listens on Snakes & Arrows.

Mind you, this is all like comparing virtues of the Connery Bond films, not like saying Snakes & Arrows is Connery to Clockwork Angels' Moore. (That would be Presto.)

[Jag]

As for Presto, that's a tough one for me to be objective about. It was my first newly released Rush album after becoming a fan and after Hold Your Fire was such a welcome return to something a bit more rock. It was also released during my freshman year of college so all of that nostalgia gets mixed in. Also my first Rush tour, and yeah, Primus (still one of my favorite bands) blew them away.

Hold Your Fire reminds me of college as well. It's also when you found out the other Rush fans in your dorm...except for my roomate who blasted 2112 at 3am!

[Relayer71]

My problem with Snakes and Arrows is that it is so uneven. There are some brilliant songs on there but a few bring it down as a whole.

Same here. Snakes & Arrows was refreshing after the last couple of albums because it actually had some fantastic songs on it. I thought it was their best album since Roll The Bones. But few of the songs could have ended sooner and instead went on for a verse or chorus too long.

The other issue I had with S & A and with the last few Rush albums in general is that most of the songs sound samey because they're in this boring and repetetive slow to mid-tempo. They need to mix it up with a few fast tempo tracks and also play around with different time signatures within a song. Do they get out of that mid-tempo rut in Clockwork Angels? Keep meaning to pick it up and forget, will get it this weekend.

And we need a Favorite 5 RUSH albums list... I will start :)

Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Hemispheres
Power Windows
Hold Your Fire

[Omniscia]

This is probably the most up-tempo song on the album. It also has a nice time change during the chorus.

As for my favorite five, in order:

1. Hemispheres
2. Permanent Waves
3. Signals
4. Hold Your Fire
5. A Farewell to Kings

[BigWeather]

Regarding Clockwork Angels, I think they do a good job of mixing it up. Slow songs, fast songs, songs with heavy riffs, some different time signatures (though I don't have a great ear for identifying those). It is a great album, does take a couple of listens to digest, but once you do it's all good.

As for a top 5 Rush albums, and with the caveat that this would likely change each and every day, and that I don't know if I could put them in a specific order:

Caress of Steel
I know this one will get some "wha?" but hear me out. Not one but two long songs? Yes please! Not only that, but I like "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" more than "2112" and "Hemispheres". Not because they are better songs (they aren't), but I dig the symbology a bit more and I just like that they are a bit more bass-heavy (I mean, listen to that mean bass line in "The Necromancer"!), a bit less bright, and more... raw. And "Bastille Day"!

2112
But not why you think! While "2112" is awesome (despite what I said in the CoS text), it is the B-Side that wins out here. "A Passage to Bangkok", "The Twilight Zone", and "Something for Nothing" are among my favorite early Rush short songs.

Permanent Waves
"The Spirit of Radio", though overplayed, always brings a smile to my face. "Freewill" is wonderful. I love the imagery in "Jacob's Ladder" and the album is capped with the wonderful suite "Natural Science".

Moving Pictures
"Tom Sawyer", played at a 6th grade talent show, was the song that put Rush on my radar (though it'd be about six or seven more years before I became a huge fan). "Red Barchetta" is a wonderful story and proved they could do "epic" in less than ten minute form. "The Camera Eye", while not as good as say "Natural Science", is decent. "Witch Hunt" is clever and chilling, and "Vital Signs" is keyboards done right.

Grace Under Pressure
You know, I was prepared for the last slot to be Clockwork Angels, but this one snuck up on me and had to be included. Beyond the staple 80s Rush output "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A", which are OK, you've got some amazing songs in "The Enemy Within", "The Body Electric", and "Between the Wheels" which all manage to be keyboard-y and heavy (a la Moving Pictures' "Vital Signs". Add on top of that the very solid "Kid Gloves" and the funky mellow "Red Lenses" -- it's a very, very solid album. While none of those songs would make a top 5 or even 10 list of mine the album as a whole surprises.

Clockwork Angels is waiting in the wings. Some days I'd put it in the top 5. Honestly it is probably too early to do so. I greatly enjoy it, find the story interesting, and find it to be a very even album.

What's funny is that many of my favorite Rush songs ("Xanadu" is my #1, no doubts there) aren't on the albums I chose. We should do that list after this one (but make it a top 10).

[WarrenM]

I had larger hopes for this album after that sample they released but ... well, it's alright. I'll listen to it a few more times but nothing is really sticking for me at this point.

[Jag]

That Headlong Flight video with the way they did the lyrics is awesome!

I had larger hopes for this album after that sample they released but ... well, it's alright. I'll listen to it a few more times but nothing is really sticking for me at this point.

Me too. I like Caravan, Headlong and BU2B, but nothing else has caught me yet. I'll definitely give Seven Cities another listen. For some reason I had an easier time getting into Snakes and Arrows.