Let’s Fight Rush Deafness Together
June 27, 2012 2 Comments
Is the new Rush album, Clockwork Angels, any good? Only asking because I can’t tell. I dutifully bought it and everything (in fact I’m listening to it now) but I almost feel as if I can’t really hear it. This is a problem that showed up for me around 3-4 Rush albums ago, and it reminds me of nothing so much as those studies showing that as spouses grow older they start going deaf to each others’ vocal frequencies. Does Rush Deafness kick in during the mid 20s? If you move out of the suburbs? Whatever the case, it would be sad if that’s what I’ve got. Maybe I’ll set up a tip jar. I assume it would be tax-deductible.
I haven’t bought or heard any of their albums after Subdivisions, I think.
It’s their best since Grace Under Pressure. Here is my approximate ranking of Rush albums:
1. Moving Pictures
2. Signals
3. Permanent Waves
4. Hemispheres
5. Grace Under Pressure
6. Clockwork Angels
7. A Farewell To Kings
8. Power Windows
9. 2112
10. Fly By Night
11. Vapor Trails
12. Counterparts
13. Caress of Steel
14. Rush
15. Presto
16. Hold Your Fire
17. Roll The Bones
18. Snakes And Arrows
19. Test For Echo
In particular, “The Anarchist”, “The Garden” and the title track are amongst their best ever music.
The producer Nick Raskulinecz was practically a fourth member of the band for this album, and his enthusiasm and quality control has definitely elevated it. Another reason why Clockwork Angels is so much better than the last two is that Rush’s growing long in the tooth has coincided with a historically unprecedented level of popular appreciation of the band (with the film “Beyond the Lighted Stage” etc.), so I guess they had a lot of motivation to make a great record.
I will say that Clockwork Angels is more of a grower than a shower. Some people have also complained about the production, although I think it sounds fine.