The Rush Thread v. Clockwork Angels

[Orbert]

Yep.  Those last two songs on Side One.  I tend to skip them, but man, everything else is gold.  I love the three-song medley that closes out the album, too.

Good call on Boston, too.  Recorded and produced in Tom Scholz's basement, back was it was pretty much unheard-of to do that, and it still sounds amazing today.

It's possible to have dense, layered music and still have it sound open and clean.  I think if they'd just stop compressing the hell out of everything these days, it would be a huge step in the right direction.  Listen to a good recording of a Beethoven Symphony.  140 instruments playing 20 different parts, and it sounds like Heaven itself.  Why?  Because they don't compress the hell out of it.  Everything blends together, but they don't crush it down and force it.  Music is supposed to have dynamic range!  When did people forget that?

[King Postwhore]

We are in the Ipod word where earbuds rule.

[TL]

I think it's safe to say though that with a band like Rush, a notable percentage of fans are going to be listening to the album on at least decent speakers or headphones.

[King Postwhore]

I think it's safe to say though that with a band like Rush, a notable percentage of fans are going to be listening to the album on at least decent speakers or headphones.

funny you say that but I'm a 44 year old and I listen to most of my music on my computer at work or when I'm driving.  When you get older it's harder to sit down and just crank the tunes on the stereo.  Life get busy when you're older.

[TL]

I think it's safe to say though that with a band like Rush, a notable percentage of fans are going to be listening to the album on at least decent speakers or headphones.

funny you say that but I'm a 44 year old and I listen to most of my music on my computer at work or when I'm driving.  When you get older it's harder to sit down and just crank the tunes on the stereo.  Life get busy when you're older.

Yes. I did include 'decent headphones' there.
Most of my music listening, like yours, happens either in the car or on a computer while I'm doing things. Having some 320k MP3s and non-terrible headphones, it should still sound alright, but even under those conditions, I find that CA has some noticeable sound production problems.

For the other part of what I'm saying, while a person isn't going to always listen to their music on a high end stereo, I don't think it's unfair to assume a lot of Rush fans are going to give the album at least a few spins on a decent setup here and there.

[King Postwhore]

I just can't listen to music with headphones at work.  Though when I'm working in my yard a have a nice noise canceling earphone that I do use.

[Orbert]

I think it's safe to say though that with a band like Rush, a notable percentage of fans are going to be listening to the album on at least decent speakers or headphones.

funny you say that but I'm a 44 year old and I listen to most of my music on my computer at work or when I'm driving.  When you get older it's harder to sit down and just crank the tunes on the stereo.  Life get busy when you're older.

That's me (only a little older).  Most of my "serious" listening is done in the car or while working out.  I always make sure the tunes in my car are good, and I rip lossless to my iPod for the first several listens of any new album, but in general, listening on my home system is a luxury, not the norm.

[ytserush]

I've heard CA on two different high end stereo setups, and I've listened to it quite a bit with a good pair of Sennheiser headphones. It's far from terrible, but even at its best, it sounds much flatter than it should, and lacks punch.

I love the album, and the sound quality isn't bad enough to ruin my enjoyment, but it's just disappointing for a band like Rush to settle for this sort of mastering, especially when good mastering could have given it an extra kick. It's far from bad, but the problem is noticeable. It's not just an issue of listening to it on muddy car speakers.

It's not like they haven't had poor sounding albums before though. throughout their long career there's been a few. CoS, Hemispheres, Signals, Presto, VT... some of those albums are great but the production/mix/master had issues for me. Shame they compromised. They are Rush ffs- they should get what  they want.

Since there's several editions of all these albums, it gets kind of inconsistent.  What with the originals, remasters, sector 1, gold-plated etc.

With the older stuff, I never really had an issue with the mix, but I always thought Signals sounded pretty flat, it needed some EQ to shine.  Exit Stage Left has always sounded blah to me.

You know the remaster of Signals I payed $6.99 for sounds better than the $25 dollar Gold Disk version.  The thing that makes the gold disk cool though is the missing line from "The Weapon".

I still think the Mobile Fidelity version sounds best...You know what though... I might just like the Sector 3 version almost as much. Very warm and resonate. I think it blows away the original and the 1997 remaster.

It's a shame they haven't released these individually yet. Perhaps next year. Or maybe they are just quietly replacing the 1997 remasters with the Sector versions.

[nicmos]

ha, I remember getting the Signals remaster.  I remember listening to it and going "whoah, there are actually guitars in the verse sections of these songs!"

[The Curious Orange]

The engineering on Clockwork Angels is OK. It isn't good, it isn't bad, it's just acceptable. I can see that the band have gone for a slightly more Lo-Fi sound this time around, and that's fine. I've got no complaints.

But it is slightly disappointing that it isn't a whole lot better.

I have a fairly top end system, and there is no excuse for bad engineering on a CD (by which I mean the production, recording, mixing and mastering). A high-end system will make a poorly engineered album sound like sh1t, but it will also make a well engineered  album sparkle with a shine that is almost orgasmic. A well-engineered CD should sound great on whatever system its played on - high end stereo, computer, in-car system, whatever. There are so many well engineered CDs out there that there really is no excuse.

[Implode]

I rip lossless to my iPod for the first several listens of any new album,

Lossless on your iPod? How?

[snowdog]

I rip lossless to my iPod for the first several listens of any new album,

Lossless on your iPod? How?

ITunes lets you rip into the Apple Lossless format.

[Orbert]

I just rip to .wav and load them up that way.  iPods can play .wav.  Doesn't support cover art and other metadata, but this is just for the first several listens, then I pull it and load up 320 variable .mp3.  The CD player in my car died, but the iPod interface still works.  Line level, so it sounds great.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Last night I watched Beyond the Lighted Stage for the second time ever. Amazing documentary! God, I love these guys.

Also, I just found out that iPods can play .wav files! My computer doesn't have much space though, so I'll probably continue to rip CDs to 320 variable .mp3.

[kirksnosehair]

One of my favorite albums, and one of the best-sounding albums I've ever heard, is The Cars.  They actually took the masters and played them in the car while driving around to see how the album sounded.  They reasoned that if it sounds good in your car, on mediocre speakers, it's gonna sound good anywhere.  And they're right; it sounds great in my car, and fantastic on my home stereo.

I'm not saying that that's the way all albums should be produced, but there is such a thing as keeping your target audience, and the likely playback conditions, in mind.  If you listen to an album on a high-end system and still only give it a 6, there's something wrong.

Actually, the guy who mastered my band's debut album, Bob Katz, (who has about 40 years of experience in the recording industry) recommended listening to his masters submissions of our album on car stereos, iPods, boom boxes, and anywhere else we could think of.    He himself listens to projects he's working on in his car and on his own iPod because the fact is, not a lot of people have high end stereos, so you really have to try to make an album that's going to sound good everywhere.   He does all of his mixing and mastering in the studio, sure, but that's only part of the process.  Listening to the work in the same environment and on the same equipment that the vast majority of your audience is going to listen to it on is crucial.


I would say that if you need to listen to an album on a high end stereo in order for it to sound "OK" then that is not a well produced album.


With that said, I've certainly heard worse albums than CA, but I don't understand why a band like Rush, with all of their experience and resources would let something like this happen to one of their albums.  In all seriousness, I've hears stuff released by independent, unsigned artists that sounds a hell of a lot better.  It's just surprising to me. 

[senecadawg2]

I'm currently debating a RUSH show in October. My wallet is getting a bit thin... so...

[dbrooks22]

I am at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.  They have possibly the best music playing of any store/casino/restaurant anywhere.  Just a great mix.

Anyway, since i've been here, i've heard:

Distant Early Warning
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Big Money

Mixed in with a lot of more popular rock bands/tracks from the past 30yrs.  Makes me smile 

[King Postwhore]

I am at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.  They have possibly the best music playing of any store/casino/restaurant anywhere.  Just a great mix.

Anyway, since i've been here, i've heard:

Distant Early Warning
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Big Money

Mixed in with a lot of more popular rock bands/tracks from the past 30yrs.  Makes me smile 

 

[dbrooks22]

Subdivisions is playing right now

[jjrock88]

 

[johnnysuperfan]

The Garden now playing 

[Priest of Syrinx]

I've listened to FLAC rips of the CD and Vinyl, back-to-back.

The vinyl rips sound much better.  It's quieter overall, there's a bit more space between the instruments - it's much easier to discern the guitar, not so buried in the sonic mud.

This is on a very modest system - my PC with an Asus Xonar DS sound card & Klipsch PM20 speakers.

[Mladen]

Clockwork angels ended up being one fine album. My expectations were kinda too high, though, being that I absolutely loved Caravan and BU2B, yet those two stayed my favorites on the album. Other great songs on here: The Wreckers, The Garden, Wish them well, title track...

Overall, much better than Snakes and arrows, not as awesome as Vapor trails. 8.5/10 from me...

[The Letter M]

So with the coming tour and the inclusion of a small string ensemble on stage, I've been thinking about which songs from Signals onward would utilize the strings well, especially since the boys have typically been playing 1-2 songs from every album each tour from Signals to Test For Echo, and in some cases, none at all.

Signals - Subdivisions, Losing It
Grace Under Pressure - The Body Electric, Between The Wheels
Power Windows - The Big Money, Manhattan Project
Hold Your Fire - Open Secrets, Lock And Key
Presto - War Paint, Red Tide
Roll The Bones -  Face Up, The Big Wheel
Counterparts - Nobody's Hero, Between Sun & Moon
Test For Echo - Time And Motion, Limbo

-Marc.

[Big Hath]

Signals - Subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure - Between The Wheels
Power Windows - The Big Money

really, hoping we get to hear these with strings.  I think it could be really good.

Hey Marc, by the way, your cd's are in the mail as of yesterday.

[The Letter M]

Signals - Subdivisions
Grace Under Pressure - Between The Wheels
Power Windows - The Big Money

really, hoping we get to hear these with strings.  I think it could be really good.

Hey Marc, by the way, your cd's are in the mail as of yesterday.

Awesome, thanks! Can't wait to get them! And yes, those songs in particular would sound great with strings, and they're not out of the realm of possibility since they've all been played live in the last 10 years. "The Big Money" needs a resurrection, though! However, if they play only ONE song from POW, it should be "Manhattan Project", and if they play only ONE song from HYF, it should be "Lock And Key".

-Marc.

[ytserush]

Ok...I've managed to pry this out of my home stereo, but it still won't leave the car.

[Gadough]

A sorority girl posted this on Facebook.




OMG Rush indeed.

[chrisbDTM]

ive been asked before at school what frat i was in because i was wearing my Time Machine tour shirt

[showdonttell]

So with the coming tour and the inclusion of a small string ensemble on stage, I've been thinking about which songs from Signals onward would utilize the strings well, especially since the boys have typically been playing 1-2 songs from every album each tour from Signals to Test For Echo, and in some cases, none at all.

Signals - Subdivisions, Losing It
Grace Under Pressure - The Body Electric, Between The Wheels
Power Windows - The Big Money, Manhattan Project
Hold Your Fire - Open Secrets, Lock And Key
Presto - War Paint, Red Tide
Roll The Bones -  Face Up, The Big Wheel
Counterparts - Nobody's Hero, Between Sun & Moon
Test For Echo - Time And Motion, Limbo

-Marc.

This would be completely and undeniably kick-ass.

[Gadough]

ive been asked before at school what frat i was in because i was wearing my Time Machine tour shirt

You should have made one up - Lifea-Pearta-Gedda.

Or something like that.

[chrisbDTM]

damn, there's a missed opportunity

[showdonttell]

Another fitting song for strings: "Marathon"

[King Postwhore]

ive been asked before at school what frat i was in because i was wearing my Time Machine tour shirt

You should have made one up - Lifea-Pearta-Gedda.

Or something like that.

Dirk-Lerxst-Pratt Epsilon

[rush-signals]

Too much over critiquing. The album sounds fine and  the songs are above anything we could have expected. A solid 9/10!