I think what helps this album, as a whole, is that each song has CHARACTER. This might be because of the over-arching story told through the lyrics that binds them all together, but each song is just memorable - I can recall the titles and lyrics, and each song has such a unique feel and sound do it from one to the next.
On every album since Presto, there's probably at least one or two songs I couldn't recall after my first week or two of listens. I'd go through the tracklist in my mind and only get halfway through before I'd forget a song..."And then there was...wait. What track came next? The slow one...no, the one about...ehhh..." And then with VT and S&A, we got more music and more songs, so of course there's a greater chance of songs being forgotten, so perhaps there were songs on those albums that I could've done without, although NOW (many years later) I've grown to appreciate all the albums since 1989 as whole albums, even the songs that aren't quite memorable.
With this album, I don't get the feeling that any song is out of place - all the pieces fit. Neil did a great job with his lyrics and Geddy did a great job fitting them all in to the vocal melodies. Everything just sort of fell into place on this one. Musically speaking, each song just sounds so unique.
"Caravan" has that great extended middle section and a lot of cool added/dropped beats throughout.
"BU2B" just slays, with it's fast tempo and the bare guitar/bass parts that make me go "Whoa, Rush can do things like that?!"
"Clockwork Angels" really sounds unique in the history of Rush (as one of the members themselves have said, it was something totally new), and that middle section is REALLY unique to Rush, a sort of triple-meter shuffle thing.
"The Anarchist" stands out as having one of Neil's coolest drum grooves on the album with the toms, and I really enjoy the eastern-feel of the melodies, especially with the strings, and the dark-sounding solo section that switches back and forth from half-time.
"Carnies" starts out with a "Working Man"esque riff (really cool stuff from Alex) in a bit of half-time, then we get into the chorus and it just STICKS. "A wheel of fate, a game of chance" is totally addictive. I also love the return of Neil's signature groove (which he started using way back in the Hemispheres/Permanent Waves days...drummers know what I'm talking about here).
"Halo Effect" is probably one of the band's best ballad-esque songs in a long time, and does a great job of fitting music to lyrics here. I love the lyrics too, especially the reprisal of "Fool that I was" in each verse. Really touching piece.
"Seven Cities Of Gold", the SEVENTH track, starts off with a sweet bass/drum groove, and Neil brings in his cowbells!! (with SEVEN hits, if you count...coincidence?) Great intro, another of the album's great song intros (well, they're all great, really), and another powerful chorus with great delivery from Geddy. They also snuck that dropped-beat in the chorus too, which I enjoyed!
"The Wreckers" starts out like it sounds like a song from TFE or VT, but it grows into a great mid-tempo song with another great chorus, and it's a good relaxing piece between two heavy and epic songs... I wish it didn't fade out, though.
"Headlong Flight" is like "Bastille Day" and "By-Tor & The Snowdog" had a kid in 1975 and it grew up to be this. So much energy and the lyrics are really universal, while still applying to the story and concept. This is an instant classic for me and I hope they keep it in the setlists from here on out! Everyone in the band is playing with all cylinders firing and they really pull out all the stops, especially in the middle section and Neil's mini-solo. I'm glad a song like this appears in the 2nd half of the album, where, since HYF, songs have become forgettable...until now.
"BU2B2" is unique in that it's just Geddy and a string section, playing a haunting near-reprisal of the album's 2nd track. Really eerie and chilling.
"Wish Them Well" has been said to be catchy, and it really is. I catch myself humming the chorus to myself randomly throughout the day. Some dislike the high-sung title in the chorus, but I think it really adds to the song and the sentiment of it. It's also a very unique song in that it starts with 2 runs of the chorus before going into the first verse!
"The Garden" is probably a Top 5 piece on this album for me, and one of the band's best closing tracks, period. There isn't much more that I can say about this piece that hasn't already been said, but I could probably just hit repeat on this one more times than any of the tracks on the album. I'm really glad it doesn't fade-out either!
-Marc.
Topic: The Rush Thread v. Clockwork Angels (Read 508470 times)
