Music Monday: Rush “Clockwork Angels”
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Clockwork Angels, the new album by Rush
It’s been about five years since the last Rush album “Snakes & Arrows” was released. I liked the album, but it wasn’t one that stuck around in my playlists for too long. This new album “Clockwork Angels” will stay around for a while. Progressive, innovative and a nice addition of some of the classic sounds from years ago, this new album by the Canadian trio gets high marks from this fan.
Track Listing
- “Caravan”
- “BU2B”
- “Clockwork Angels”
- “The Anarchist”
- “Carnies”
- “Halo Effect”
- “Seven Cities of Gold”
- “The Wreckers”
- “Headlong Flight”
- “BU2B2”
- “Wish Them Well”
- “The Garden”
The album is a concept album and one that grows on you really quickly. The song “BU2B” and “Caravan” have been kicking around for a good two years now and have had been played both on the radio and live in concert many times over. They hold strong still in their official studio releases, adding to the two month old “Headlong Flight” which reminds me a lot of the “Permanent Waves” era sound. Most of the tracks are long, which for Rush, is a no brainer to listen to. They are not drawn out nor do they drone on endlessly.
I really like this new album and forgive the band for taking so long to deliver it.
As for the meaning of the album art, the Wiki page for this album gave thought to the clock being 9:12, which is Neil’s birthday or the fact that military time for 9:12 is also 21:12.
Anyone get this album yet? What do you think of it? Tell me below in the comments.
I do NOT have it, but I loves me some RUSH!
I think you would like it as a Rush fan.
I cannot wait to listen to this album. Will do so tonight.
Curious to hear your thoughts on this new Rush album.
To be honest, I am less excited about this album than with Snakes and Arrows. I found myself relistening to a lot of songs long after that CD came out in 2007 and revisiting them in the same period of time than with Clockwork Angels. And even then I don’t Snakes is even in the Top 10 of all Rush albums ever released. The best song is Carnies, it is the most heaviest track other than BU2B and Headlong Flight are highlights. If they album was heavy all the way through it could rival something like Moving Pictures or Hemispheres. But since they got self indulgent with acoustics, sappy orchestra sections, overly dramatic lyrical imagery and rewriting the songs with the same song structures over and over (Halo Effect = Workin’ Them Angels = Nobody’s Hero), (Caravan = Far Cry = One Little Victory), (Carnies = Nocturne), (Wish Them Well = Carve Away the Stone), etc. They tried to do a concept record/piece like 2112 and Hemispheres and weren’t successful. Disguising this concept album was nothing more than Neil Peart’s usual opinions and his ever tired retelling of his life’s tragedies while coupling with literary references from Shakespeare.