So I finally listened to this album a few days ago and to be perfectly honest my overall impression was "Meh". It's certainly not a horrible album but the best way I can describe it is that most of the songs just seemed to all sound the same and nothing stood out to me.


I think my clearest indicator is that about 2 days after I listened to the album I had already forgotten what most of the songs sounded like. I really tried to like the album but it just didn't happen.

My enjoyment of Clockwork Angels really came from knowing the complete story from reading the book. I love albums that tell a story and this one does it pretty well, IMO. But you have to know the story (you do get a short version with the CD but the book is best)...



I need to re-experience this one again soon.

I love the part where the main character (forget his name, it's been a while) plows the little acrobatic chick (trapeze performer?), prompting this fantastic song (IMO)...



Halo Effect
Rush

What did I see?
Fool that I was
A goddess, with wings on her heels
All my illusions
Projected on her
The ideal, that I wanted to see

What did I know?
Fool that I was
Little by little, I learned
My friends were dismayed
To see me betrayed
But they knew they could never tell me

What did I care?
Fool that I was
Little by little, I burned
Maybe sometimes
There might be a flaw
But how pretty the picture was back then

What did I do?
Fool that I was
To profit from youthful mistakes?
It's shameful to tell
How often I fell
In love with illusions again

What did I do?
Fool that I was
To profit from youthful mistakes?
So shameful to tell
Just how often I fell
In love with illusions again

A goddess with wings on her heels


EDIT: There's more to the relationship, eventually.

Agreed, it just doesn't grab me and I can't figure out why. There are some good tracks but it's not an album I keep coming back to.

EDIT: Giving this another spin, and quite honestly the technical playing and sound engineering on this album is probably the best they've ever done. It really is a marvel when you listen with headphones!

My all time favorites:


"Tommy" by the Who

"The Wall" by Pink Floyd

"2112" by Rush (duh!)

"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" - Genesis

^ Three of my favorites, I need to get back to the older Genesis.

You only missed my all-time favorite (with Richard Burton narrating)...




PM, you have me listening to CA again (couple of complete listens, enjoying it more than ever) and tonight I'm going to start reading the book again...




It's been a while since I've watched the concert too...

Reading a chapter a night (easy to do, many short chapters). Now I remember why I enjoyed the Clockwork Angels story so much, besides the cool Steampunk setting (future meets the 19th-century). I could kind of relate to the main character, at least in the first couple of chapters...

Meet Owen Hardy, a 16 year-old manual laborer who was more-or-less a responsible kid. But he couldn't wait to leave his ultra-conservative rural community where everybody knows everybody, and start a new exciting life in a far away big city.

He has a steady girlfriend whom he's already thinking about marrying, in part so that she'll give him some (dude hasn't even stolen second base yet). He talks her into sneaking out at midnight to meet him on a hilltop for some, eh...necking 'as the stars look down.' <- One of many Rush song/album references scattered throughout the book.

<Ah, the 'back field' (now a fully developed subdivision). "Going walk the dog, back in ~30 min." (grabs blanket from back of station wagon on our way out)>.

Only Lavinia is a no-show and stands him up. He snaps, decides to make a break for it and catches a steamliner caravan out of town to see the world (I guess like catching a ride in an open boxcar)...



Caravan
Rush

In a world lit only by fire
Long train of flares under piercing stars
I stand watching the steamliners roll by

The caravan thunders onward
To the distant dream of the city
The caravan carries me onward
On my way at last
On my way at last

I can't stop thinking big
I can't stop thinking big

On a road lit only by fire
Going where I want, instead of where I should
I peer out at the passing shadows
Carried through the night into the city
Where a young man has a chance of making good
A chance to break from the past
The caravan thunders onward
Stars winking through the canvas hood
On my way at last


I remember that he joins a traveling circus to survive, falls in love with and bangs the acrobatic chick (his first), even after her own brother (IIRC) warns him of impending heartbreak if he's the serious settling-down type (but he doesn't listen).

Of course the main story isn't young Owen's love life, it's the fight (or proper balance) between good (the Watchmaker) and evil (the Anarchist). And the beautiful but creepy as #%&*$# Clockwork Angel flying performers.

Eh, cool story, two chapters in.

I listened to the album again last night and I admit that "The Garden" has grown on me. The other tracks are mostly mediocre though in my opinion.

When I'm listening to the album I can mentally choreograph what I remember from the book (coming back to me now as I'm re-reading and it's most enjoyable). And vice versa, sometimes mentally playing the songs in my head as I'm reading.

After listening to the album again, I don't remember if the Seven Cities of Gold turned out to be a myth or real location, or just not what he was expecting. Or how he survived tangling with The Wreckers (crafty deadly pirates). It'll all be revealed again as I continue the book.

I cheated and glanced ahead, her name was Francesca and being such a 'free spirit' broke his heart (but only temporarily, she'd fallen in love as well) and he bolted again. That's when his worldly adventures really begin, IIRC.

PM, maybe I enjoy the story at least as much as the soundtrack?

I remember the road trip to Orlando to see the CA concert (they didn't play New Orleans that tour) and bringing the book along. There's a nice section at the end of the book explaining the writing of the story and album with all of the song lyrics. My wife had also read the book and we dissected the story on the trip (she helps my understanding sometimes ), also listening to the CD multiple times (includes abbreviated story which we read as well).

That was a great time, I really miss Rush concerts. The Clockwork Angels show didn't come close to matching the energy of the previous Time Machine concert (including Moving Pictures in entirety) but I did like the odd orchestra (but only for CA, they didn't belong in YYZ, IMO).

I admit that I have not read the book so my review of the album is entirely based on the music.


Yeah, I regret only going to see Rush in concert just one time. I would have liked to have gone to their farewell tour but they didn't stop in South Florida.


There were also a lot of other bands I wanted to see live but just never got around to it due to work, money and time issues.

I hear ya on the bands you never got around to seeing.

++++++++++

The Garden is IMO the best song on the album, and a great closer (maybe also considered the opener of the story in the book, Owen's garden that his grandchildren are helping him maintain as he's thinking about his grandkids, especially the one grandson who never tires of the old man's life stories...which is what the book/album is).

Lifeson's solo in The Garden is as short, simple, and haunting as Gilmour's in the title track to The Final Cut, not the ones they're known for but so moving...



The Garden
Rush

In this one of many possible worlds, all for the best, or some bizarre test?
It is what it is - and whatever
Time is still the infinite jest

The arrow files when you dream, the hours tick away - the cells tick away
The Watchmaker keeps to his schemes
The hours tick away - they tick away

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

In the rise and the set of the sun
'Til the stars go spinning - spinning 'round the night
It is what it is - and forever
Each moment a memory in flight

The arrow flies while you breathe, the hours tick away - the cells tick away
The Watchmaker has time up his sleeve
The hours tick away - they tick away

The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect
The way you live, the gifts that you give
In the fullness of time
It's the only return that you expect

The future disappears into memory
With only a moment between
Forever dwells in that moment
Hope is what remains to be seen

Since we're going to the LSU game this evening, we decided yesterday that this Friday date night should be a practical run to Costco (oh boy). About a 45 min. drive each way, we listened to Clockwork Angels, remembering the story and how much fun we had with it. You got me (us) started on it again, PM. Going to watch the CA concert together tomorrow (bonding over Rush...lol).

Yeah, you gotta know the story or (for example) you won't know what this "dangerous device" is...



Carnies...

"A face of naked evil
Turns the young boy's blood to ice
The deadly confrontation
Such a dangerous device"


This really is a very cool album to me (maybe more so now than 6 years ago). The weakest song IMO is the second to last, Wish Them Well. Meh...I don't even remember how it relates to the story yet.

That was a blast! Concert recorded in Dallas (at least some of it) with lots more crowd energy than I remember in Orlando. But Geddy did announce they were "making a movie" which I'm sure fired up the audience for the evening.

++++++++++

Hard to put the book down now, about a quarter way through. My earlier comments were not 100% accurate...

Young Owen stole a caravan ride to the big city that early morning just to see it once before turning 17, not to start a new life. Apparently 17 is the age of responsible adulthood in the Clockwork Universe, where veering off life's plans (as directed by the Watchmaker) as an adult has consequences. In this world, you stay on schedule and stick with the plan while being content with such a stable society (referred to as The Stability).

He'd only plan to bum around downtown (as inconspicuously as possible) for a couple of days in the capital city, mainly to see the sights including a Clockwork Angels performance. Meanwhile, he has to avoid the Regulators (Watchmaker's enforcers) and eventually stowaway on another steamliner caravan for the return home. He's missing his girl, is concerned about his father worrying about him (mother deceased) and is running out of money. But now he's running into a bit of trouble. I'll stop there, but it's a cool story.

One more, this so freakin' rawks (lyrics in video)...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0D1ftbPJ8Q

I'm glad I have reignited your passion for this Rush album Mark.


In my final analysis, "Clockwork Angels" is a pretty decent album. It just doesn't give me those intangible fuzzy feelings like "2112", "Moving Pictures", "Permanent Waves" and "A Farewell to Kings" do.

I fully agree with you, PM. The strength of this album isn't the music itself, which doesn't compare to those epic classics. It's the story, which I've become even more fascinated with 6 years later.

I'm about 1/3 the book, just past the clockwork fortune teller in glass booth (pictured in one of my posts above..what a freaky backstory this one is).

++++++++++

Young Owen is on the eve of his 17th BD and adulthood, currently taken in by the circus (also under Francesca's wing, who took him to see the Clockwork Angels using counterfeit tickets) and has to make a decision...

A. Go back home to Barrel Arbor (which he learns is a Watchmaker-designed cookie-cutter community), live a rigid structured planned predictable life and marry his (f)rigid girlfriend Lavinia (and he does eventually want a settled family life). BTW, he telegraphed home to tell everyone he's ok.

-- or --

B. Live as circus people do, by their own rules and schedules, while chasing the acrobat chick Francesca whom he notices spends lots of time in another performer's personal wagon, sometimes until late in the evening (he's a cool studly dude though, likes Owen and is not bothered by their flirting with each other).

They're both fine choices but If I'm Owen, I'm going home (he's already feeling jealousy, who needs it?). So I'd choose A and see if I can corrupt uptight Lavinia to break some of the smaller rules, just be a little flexible and compromise a bit. I mean, come on, what's so bad about sneaking out for some innocent midnight necking under the stars and showing her the constellations? Not too much to ask at 16 (she's only a couple months younger than him) and much easier than trying to tame Francesca (whom I'm guessing is slightly older and already way past his speed).

Of course dunderhead is going to choose B, else there wouldn't be a story which IIRC is about to become wicked fun.

++++++++++

So yeah, the strength of this album is the story. I doubt I'll ever listen to it as singles or just for the music.

There should have been a book for 2112 and The Necromancer.

Not a book but how about a comic strip?

^ Holy Watchmaker!

Which lead me to...



RUSH's Clockwork Angels: The Graphic Novel Paperback

Must purchase!

EDIT: Yeah, might not be much hope with the girlfriend. Besides, I just read who acrobat chick is constantly visiting and it isn't what I thought (how did I forget this?). So...put me down for option B.

Panzermeyer, I've been a huge Rush fan for quite a long time, but at some point, after Power Windows, I didn't care as much about their new albums even though I remained a fan. Like you, I considered certain works to be my favorites and they just happened to be earlier albums. By the way, Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is also one of my all time faves - I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to somehow visualize Rael's journey. Especially the loss of his "member into a tube" and watching it float away.

Panzermeyer, at the risk of being a thread hijacker, check out this interpretation of "Back in NYC." Okay, so the singer used duct tape as a halter top, but I just love seeing the Genesis influence coming from unexpected directions! By the way, musically, it's solid.

The problem with Clockwork Angels, at least the original release, in my humble opinion is that it has been massacred by way too much compresssion and as such it has been killed off by the Loudness Warriors. If you didn’t suffer from Tinnitus before, you will, after. This makes the album as it was originally released unlistenable for me.

Yeah, I remember when I first listened to Vapor Trails and thought “this sounds like the stereo is buried in mud!” Everything was just kind of all running together, you couldn’t really hear the nuances that had always defined Rush. I realize that they changed their sound to a more stripped-down, raw version, but the production on their first few albums was outstanding and they were pretty stripped-down (compared to 80s Rush.) No, I think they just settled for someone who didn’t have an ear like Terry Brown or Peter Collins. Snakes & Arrows was better sounding, but like their other albums from Test For Echo onward nothing really grabbed me & spoke to me. Counterparts was the last album that had more songs that I liked than disliked.

Thanks for all the input guys. I just have always found it fascinating how every composer of music regardless of genre tends to have a "golden age" period where they put out their best work and then it's all downhill afterwards.

That seems to be the way with all professions. As you age your skills reach a certain plateau and even though they may stay stable for awhile they will eventually begin to slide.


Wheels

My final thoughts on Clockwork Angels and Rush in general...

After visiting family left, I finished reading the book (it's been a long time). Lots of little surprises I'd forgotten, an enjoyable read. Can't wait to get the graphic novel.

Anyway, I've mentioned already that the Time Machine tour (2011?) was my favorite Rush show in regards to setlist and crowd energy (helped that the Saints had recently won the Super Bowl, town still partying). But they did introduce Caravan on that tour, the first track on Clockwork Angels. I thought it was...ok, much like One Little Victory and Far Cry, kinda sorta the same ol' rocking first tracks of later albums. But now when I listen to it now, I think of it as the beginning of a journey, imagining the 16 year-old Owen Hardy waiting on a hilltop in the wee hours of the morning for his girlfriend to show up, and then after realizing it's not going to happen, deciding to jump on a steampunk 'train' and explore the world outside of his own town for a couple of days. Little did he know that it wasn't her fault for not showing (she may or may not have wanted to, but couldn't) or that a man was on the 'train' who knew that Owen would probably be there at that exact time, extending his hand to help him aboard, encouraging his decision to go for it.

So when I listen to Caravan today, it's more than just the music, there's a context that I enjoy. Also, Halo Effect has become one of my all-time favorite Rush songs, but again with context. Rush doesn't really do love songs, the closest they come is maybe Tears (2112), Panacea in the middle of The Fountain of Lamneth (Caress of Steel), Ghost of a Chance (Roll the Bones), Resist (Test for Echo) and maybe a couple others that don't spring to mind. I don't skip those and very much enjoy them musically, a nice soft break on an otherwise hard album (especially the earlier albums). But Halo Effect has that tumultuous harder edge uncertainty that I enjoy in my love songs. I like sap too, but sap often lacks passion. Halo Effect invokes passion, IMO.

I may put Clockwork Angels aside for a while, but I'll always come back to the story...and accompanying music.

++++++++++

Rush was around for 40 years, part of my love of this band is that I can pick from so many albums depending on my mood. Some are objectively better than others, of course. But heck, I even get in the mood for some Test For Echo, especially after listening to Different Stages (TFE concert)...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVeTx1L2zto


Catchy, IMO...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNTNbU8a4LY


And I can't make a road trip without playing this at least once... ("It's my turn to drive.")



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jPondwDDOE

+++++++++

My hearing has at least stabilized, right eardrum has healed (attached) enough to no longer sound like a busted speaker and left ear not as much tinnitus (or I've just become used to it). I'm enjoying music again, although it's not the same (still lacking in lower frequency ranges) and I can no longer tolerate high volume. Next audiologist appointment I'm going to be fitted for custom fitted/frequency ear plugs (~$150.00) and maybe one day I'll enjoy live music again, but never at front of stage where it's loudest. If I can keep the hearing I have now (even with the tinnitus), I'll be happy.

Anyway, surprisingly Clockwork Angels sounds pretty good to me right now, I need to give Vapor Trails another listen. I wonder if my degraded hearing makes this so, and if Rush's hearing problems (as mentioned in Neil's books) contribute to the way their albums sound. How much input would they have in the mixing and production?

One more off Clockwork Angels, what I consider a summary of the story...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcFGrWjOX0E