Perfection of the Fifth Incarnation of Rush
A Long Time Fan’s Review of the Rush Album – Clockwork Angels
A summary of the five incarnations of Rush.
Over the years I have formed a theory regarding the evolution of Rush. Clockwork Angels makes the 20th studio album of their careers. As most fans will attest to there has been a definite growth, evolution, and/or revolution (whatever you choose to call it) in their musical and lyrical style. Some like it and some don’t. I tend to side with the camp that thinks it is a good thing to have this evolution. Some bands can crank out the same album over and over and be successful. As one example I will cite AC/DC. Straight ahead blues influenced hard rock with scratchy, gritty vocals. For them it works every time. However it boxes them in a corner as being one-dimensional even though it is a pretty cool dimension. Many fans are satisfied with reproduction of the same formula. I see this sentiment in the Rush fan camp. Many are not happy unless there is a recreation of the “Hemispheres” or “Moving Pictures” albums. I don’t agree with this line of thinking. Those two albums are absolute gems and should never be maligned. However they are a result of the unique combination of attitudes, influences, equipment, tastes, motivations and moods of the day. It is physically not possible to recreate the magic that made those albums. A band must reinvent a new strain of magic each and every time they attempt to take on a new project. Some bands have successfully reinvented themselves once or maybe twice. I’ll point to Aerosmith for an example. Aerosmith has successfully transformed from a hard rock barroom band in the 70′s and 80′s to a top 40 semi-soft rock band in the 90′s and 00′s. Kudos to the boys of Aerosmith for achieving that level of success with one reinvention. That is the trick and most bands fail at reinventing themselves even once. In my opinion Rush has reincarnated themselves five times. Some may have been better incarnations than others but they all have had their degrees of success. Proof is that they still are viable and selling albums, downloads and concert tickets at healthy rates. One could even make an argument for showing strong growth in popularity.
One of the fans interviewed in the Sam Dunn documentary “Beyond the Lighted Stage” said it best when asked about the various incarnations of the band when he said “That’s what makes them so interesting.” Allow me to attempt to explain my theory of the incarnations of Rush and why it makes them so interesting to me.
Incarnation #1: 1974 – 1976 RUSH, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel and 2112
The first incarnation of Rush, you can call it the beginning, infancy or awakening or whatever tag you wish to place upon it. For me this was the first incarnation of the band. Changing of the drummer was (and still is) the only line-up change the band has gone through. The band evolved from a more or less straight ahead blues based rock band in the vein of a Deep Purple, Cream or Bad Co. to a more progressive, science fiction themed band like a Led Zeppelin, King Crimson or Pink Floyd. This evolution was mainly due to the influence of Neil Peart’s lyrical concepts and abilities. Musically the band explored more progressive elements and longer form song arrangements. In my opinion a clear upward path of progress can be charted from the début album right on through to the masterwork of 2112. It is the album that placed them on the map as a band that cannot be ignored and will not go away. It cemented them into the fabric of the non-traditional, non-drugs, non- booze and non-sex based rock and roll fan base. A thinking man’s band, a deeper meaning to the art and a lack of fear of experimentation away from mainstream industry rock radio standards became the operating procedures of this “cult” or “geek” band. 2112 is the perfection of the first incarnation of Rush.
Incarnation #2: 1977 – 1981 A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures
The second incarnation of the Rush. Most old school fans of the band consider these four albums to be the “Golden Age” of the band. All other albums must be measured against one of these albums in order to be deemed worthy. Although I do agree that this was the only premier era of the band and sacred and untouchable in its integrity, quality and sheer genius, I do not think that this is the only worthy incarnation of the band. This is the era that Rush found their wings, oiled them and began to soar. The music is inspired and the lyrics are rich with story, meaning and depth. Bolstered by the commercial success of 2112 the band was able to shut the studio doors and create from the heart and soul. The band enjoyed some moderate radio and commercial success with songs like “The Spirit of Radio” and “Tom Sawyer”. The concert halls grew larger as album sales gained steam. The songs ballooned in length and complexity to a point of near ridicule. Moving Pictures is the perfection of the second incarnation of Rush. As witnessed by the extreme success of the Time Machine Tour of 2010-2011 which featured the band playing the album cover to cover.
Incarnation #3: 1982 – 1987 Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire
Keeping in mind the time frame these albums were produced it is understandable why the band experiment with synthesized keyboards. The “Golden Age” Rush fans began to lose interest because they lamented the weakening hard edge and heavy progressive side of the music. The songs began to shrink down to a more radio friendly length but still to little notice by the FM rock radio powers that be. None the less the staunch fans like myself found many classic Rush songs, sounds and moments on which to latch my musical radar upon within this fine grouping of albums. One cannot deny the all too familiar poignancy of the lyrics of “Subdivisions”, the sharp realism of “Red Sector A”, the historical impact of “Manhattan Project” or the dynamic motivational clarity of “Prime Mover”. Even though the heavier guitars took a back seat to the keys there are still some very fine musical moments contained within the albums of this incarnation of Rush. In my opinion there really is no perfection of this incarnation. These albums are all of moderately equal value and station within the class. All have there strong points and weak points. It was a steady and consistent period for the band but one that seemed to stall the natural growth of the band. This incarnation was more of an exploratory side trip than a continuation of the steady rise as seen before.
Incarnation #4: 1989 – 1996 Presto, Roll The Bones, Counterparts, and Test for Echo
The fourth incarnation of Rush was a transitional period. The band was trying to shake off the synthesizer heavy style and return to the true “Power Trio” of guitar, bass and drums while still retaining the maturity, brevity and impact of the works they had crafted before. Rush began to modernize the sound while fostering their progressive roots. They experimented with influences of grunge music, social issues of the day and even rap music. The band began to reverse transition from pony tails, lasers and Steinbergers to Les Pauls, Fenders and Marshall stacks. A return to the roots, a reinvention of the main purpose led the band through the nineties and towards the turn of the century with a renewed sense of who they are and where they should be going. I feel like the perfection of the fourth incarnation of Rush was interrupted by personal tragedy. In my opinion the next album after “Test for Echo” would have been the perfection of that incarnation. Instead we almost lost the band altogether. Neil’s personal losses are well documented and the impacts on the band are well discussed. I would rather not dwell on that topic but point to the path that those experiences placed the band upon. A five-year hiatus ensued with little to no news. The end of this period was dark.
Incarnation #5: 2002 – 2012 Vapor Trails, Feedback, Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels
The fifth and most current incarnation of Rush began after the long hiatus after the personal tragedies experienced by Neil Peart. The period lasted about five years before the forces began the marshaling process of gathering band members and production people into the studio for purposes of recording a new studio album. Vapor Trails was the result of the return process. The music was very solid, purposeful with heartfelt introspective lyrics. The beginnings of a new chapter in the band’s career. However the production, mixing and mastering issues are well documented and clouded the reintroduction album to some degree. Feedback was a real surprise project for the long-term fans of Rush. It is a collection of cover songs. Classic rock songs that helped form the influences of the band members were recorded by the band and released as a new studio album. The songs themselves are an interesting and unique mix of British blues songs like “The Seeker” by The Who and early psychedelic rock songs like “Shapes of Things” by The Yardbirds. In my opinion this exercise in review was very beneficial to the growth of the band by helping them step back, look back, pay homage to their heroes and refocus their musical priorities going forward. It ushered in a return to the stripped down basics approach that has served them well since the recording of Feedback. Not to mention I think the Rush-ified versions of these classic rock staples are absolutely fabulous and a sincere joy to listen to. Snakes and Arrows is the next album and heralded the arrival of the Nick Raskulinecz era. Nick was brought in to produce the new album and brought along a fresh, young man’s approach that led the band back towards their progressive roots. In my opinion this is where the band was heading anyway and the new producer reinforced the plan and pushed the process farther ahead. A harder progressive edge, less synthesizers, fewer multiple tracked vocal choruses and more dynamic songs were the result. This confluence of events funneled the band, its new producer and the new-found progressive roots approach right into the twentieth studio album. “Clockwork Angels” is the perfection of the fifth incarnation of Rush. Allow me to explain further.
RUSH – CLOCKWORK ANGELS (2012)
A concept album, A concept album?, oh yes let me repeat that a CONCEPT album! When I heard that “Clockwork Angels” was going to be a concept album I felt a small shiver wiggle up spine. I was excited at the good news. Concept albums are right smack in the wheelhouse of this band and its progressive heritage. Neil writes terrific stories and the boys set them to inspiring and demonstrative musical compositions. To be honest all Rush does is concept work. Lately they have been individual concept songs rather than full cohesive concept albums. All Rush songs are based on a particular concept and then endeavors to make that concept come to life. Now we have news of the twentieth Rush studio album being a concept album. The prospects were very promising given the bands new-found progressive roots strategy coupled with the extreme level of musical proficiency they have developed over their forty-year career and now we toss in a classic Neil Peart penned concept. This is one recipe for potential glorious amazement.
The trick to a concept album is to make your concept real and visible throughout all the songs but not to the point where the individual songs can not stand on their own. “Clockwork Angels” is the closest to perfection on this point I have ever heard. Each one of the songs on this album is a self-contained chapter but still contributes to the larger story in a structured way. We follow our protagonist from the point he leaves the family farm on his adventure through carnivals, quests for lost cities, run ins with pirates and shadowy Anarchists figures all the way to the point in his life where he reflects back over his life’s trials and tribulations. We learn about the protagonists point of view, thoughts, fears and feelings about life, himself and how to treat others. The concept story is rich and full of adventure, wonder and personal revelations. There are just enough facts and key phrases to form a framework of a story within your head but then there is enough room to let your imagination run free to fill in the gaps to make your own personal adventure, setting and characters. This is exactly what a good novel does however Rush accomplish this feat with a very few select words and phrases and then adds the musical elements which help to spur the imagery within your own imagination.
Neil draws on a number of literary and personal influences to help shape his story. “The Wreckers” is based on a story by Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite author Daphne Du Maurier. The overall concept plot and more directly the song “The Garden” is influenced by Candide, a novel by Voltaire, where a Garden is used as an analogy for life. Freddie Gruber, the famed jazz drummer and teacher who recently passed inspired the lines and themes in “Headlong Flight”, “I wish I could do it all again.” These are just but a few of the literary influences woven into the fabric of this concept. Neil fits these famous and well storied works of literature into the world of the modern science fiction genre of “Steampunk”. The best way for me to help you visualize what Steampunk is all about is to have you watch the recent Sherlock Holmes movies. The ones with Robert Downey Jr. playing Holmes. The world is Victorian in style but with modern twists. Brass, leather and glass coupled with complex yet archaic gears power the Rube Goldberg style contraptions. It’s an interesting genre and one that Rush have chosen to use as a backdrop for this story. Neil expertly melds the future world driven by the rigid Watchmaker along with these literary tales set to the dystopian world of Steampunk and still reveals useful life lessons along the way. Coupled with uber-virtuoso musical performances and you now have a 2012 version of a Rush concept album that is mature, provocative and weighty.
The stories, the concepts, the life lessons and the literature inspired the lyrics are all just gravy on the cupcakes. It’s that signature music of Rush that makes a Rush album a RUSH album. After a healthy forty-year career these boys are masters of their individual instruments, that is a given, but to still be inspired to create like its your first album is what amazes me. Fresh melodies, interesting compositions, cool tones and some flat-out jaw dropping technical fireworks litter this album from start to finish. One characteristic of a Rush song or album is that it takes more than one listen to fully understand and appreciate the song. The music needs to breathe and age like a fine wine. It gets better with time. The more often you listen to a song the more you discover within that song. Subtle variations in rhythm, melody and/or arrangements of song sections continues to amaze and inspire. I enjoy focusing on one instrument during a particular listen of a song and try to follow that instruments journey from start to finish. Then compare that to the other instruments. It is a lot like three (or four counting synths and keys) instruments telling their own individual stories through variations in melody and rhythm but then all coming together in one intertwined amalgamation of sound that fits together in perfect lock step to achieve a singular purpose.
I am not really that keen on ranking songs. I can never get the list right with a Rush album because songs shift in levels of enjoyment based my own perspectives, moods or the particular outlook of the day. I have however been able to group the songs on “Clockwork Angels” into four groups. My individual groupings as of now are as follows: (Songs in no particular order)
Top Group: Caravan, Carnies and Headlong Flight.
Second Group: BU2B, The Wreckers and The Garden.
Third Group: Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, Seven Cities of Gold and Wish Them Well.
Fourth Group: Halo Effect, BU2B2.
The music of Rush is complex yet simple, deep yet accessible. It can be dark and it can be light. Emotions, feelings, scenarios, tastes, sights and smells are all present in the works. It is a modern symphony of three. In my opinion this album has all the elements I have described previously. It is a complete package of lyrics, music and concept spanning a variety of highs, lows, darks and lights. It is a complete story with a beginning, character development, an adventurous middle, a climax and a reflective ending. All told with amazing musical performances. In my opinion this is the best Rush album yet to be produced. Is it “Moving Pictures” or “Hemispheres”? No it is not. Those are similarly fantastic works of art but “Clockwork Angels” has something one step farther. The maturity of band members who have 55 plus years of life and 40 plus years of musical maturity under their collective belts. To me those experiences and maturities are crucial elements in the depth and fabric of this album. I felt those elements were present and growing in the past few albums but it has now come together with full force. The progressive roots music, the high quality concept and the knowledgeable direction of a true fan as a producer has elevated the overall atmosphere of this album.
“Clockwork Angels” is the perfection (as in “highest degree of excellence”) of the fifth and most complete incarnation (as in “being or form”) of Rush.
By: Carter Biel
Copywrite 2012. The Lofty Oaks
Special thanks to CygnusX-1.net for providing the album artwork, links and background historical database.
Very nice reviews! Well written, thoughtful, knowledgeable and concise.
Nice work, I enjoyed it.
Thank you. Concise? I’m not sure about but I tried. Appreciate the comment.
I remember reading how they considered those four album groups the same way you did, and that’s why they released a live album every four records, until this century when they started doing them for every tour.
I thoroughly enjoyed your review. As a long time fan, I agree that part of what makes Rush the life force that it is for me is the way they change, grow, evolve, revolve, whatever. Clockwork Angels may be the culminating album of a lifetime recording together. Without attempting to wage war with your review, beyond the songs, the lyrics and production, what I find so mesmerizing about this album is the comfort area the band has found. Each song has its own elements of sophistication and technical brilliance, but it feels like all of the colours and shades used are hues the band themselves feel comfortable in utilizing. There is no attempt to pull of skills that may have been better suited for a different, younger, earlier time. They capitalize on their huge arsenal of musical assets that they do have at their disposal, without dipping too deeply into that much, much smaller bag that contains aspects of their playing that may not be so much in their comfort zone anymore. An example would be Geddy’s voice. He rarely goes into a high octave on Clockwork Angels and I have never heard his voice sound better; he has found his range that works right here, right now. As a band, I find them playing more as a band than ever before. There are fewer solos and more jamming – the two and a half minute section about 2:30 into Caravan is a massive jam that I can’t wait to hear live. Kudos on the review and kudos to Rush for creating the masterpiece of their career.
My one question would be to your incarnations. I find it a little too pat to draw the lines along the timing of their live albums. At least that is how it looks up to Test For Echo. As an example, I would place the first six albums in the first incarnation as Hemispheres actually finds the band painting themselves into a bit of a corner. They have become known for the science fiction concept side that had grown from By-Tor to Cygnus X-1 Book 2. Despite Natural Science, which is not science fiction, Permanent Waves was the way out and, for me, the beginning of the second, increasingly synthesizer heavy, incarnation. Anyway, the whole incarnation debate, as subjective as it is, would be a fun one to have over a beer or two and does not detract from my enjoyment of your writing. Nicely done.
Great comments. I struggled with some of groupings along the lines of what you pointed out. There are some overlap and grey area between incarnations to be sure. Thanks!
Interesting take. It’s easy to put the Rush catalog into five neat buckets, separated for the most part by live albums marking natural breaking points. I’ve noticed this for years. Whether by luck or design, Rush seems to evolve every so often–and even between individual albums.
As for ranking the songs on the new album, “Seven Cities” is one of my favorites. I wouldn’t put it near the bottom of the list. But, in a nutshell, that’s what makes Rush so great, so enduring. It’s not AC/DC!
Thanks. Just for clarification there really is no “bottom” category for the songs. A very slim margin from top to bottom. Only my opinion anyway. I like them all quite a bit.
Nice review and I enjoyed your categorization of Rush’s incarnations. You eloquently state the reasoning that each period is significant in it’s own way. I’ m a long-time Rush fan and musician that owes much of my initial inspiration to Rush – and obviously they are soundtrack of my life. I like certain incarnations more than others – but I must comment that I see some definite “sub-incarnations” within numbers 3 and 4 – the change of producers had a tremendous influence on the sounds of these discs – for me most notably between Presto/Rtb and Cp/TFE. The former are among my lesser liked and the later among my more liked. In spite of that, I acknowledge that the direction was continuous and thus, you’re characterization of the incarnations is good! I agreed with most everything that you wrote about Clockwork Angels – though I would break down the songs on CA much differently:
Top Tier: Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, BU2B, Headlong Flight, The Garden
(I would designate these 5 as quintessential Rush!)
Very Strong: Caravan, Carnies, The Wreckers
Solid: Seven Cities of Gold, Halo Effect
Could have been better: BU2B2, Wish Them Well
Love the disc, can’t wait to see them live this Fall!!
See there I could see myself agreeing with your song categorizations. If I redid that part everyday I would get a different line up. The songs are all that good. Cheers!
Very well written. You have put in to words many of my thoughts. I love that most Rush fans are eloquent and thoughful and like to rock. Just like the band and their music. Tahnks for a great article.
Cool! Thanks Daryl.
Oops, I use the word eloquent and then misspell ‘Thanks’!! Also like the band, we can laugh at ourselves.
Ha! you did get eloquent right. Spell check is my best friend.
Amazing review!!! It is exactly what i always thought abut rush and their “incarnations” and that is why Rush is, for me, the best band in the world… Long live the (3) kings!
Thanks Federico! Its really great to know that somebody else thinks the same thing you do. Rush On!
Very nice review, well written and interesting to read.
I have been on board the Rush wagon since ‘Permanent Waves’ grabbed me as a 14 year old (yes, I’m ancient I know), frantically got hold of their whole back catalogue and then along came ‘Moving Pics’ and blew my mind – ah….. the obsessiveness of youth
‘Signals’ is the only record I have ever smashed – I threw it at a wall, felt totally betrayed. Strangely enough it is now my favourite Rush album just above the big four albums of your so-called 2nd incarnation. It’s the only Rush album that to this day I could listen to over and over and over – atmospheric, timeless, moody, easy to listen to on the surface but with hidden depths (then again my fave Floyd album is Final Cut so I’m probably a bit weird).
As for Clockwork Angels..well, it’s certainly a polished piece of work and above the average of their output since Moving Pics but for me Counterparts is still the only really great thing they have done since Signals. I mean..the best riff on the album is basically just a homage to Bastille Day.
Don’t get me wrong, I think they are still a great band and with the possible exception of TFE they haven’t done a really bad album but I sometimes have to ask myself when I listen to stuff like CA and S&A if I am ‘elevating it from the norm’ in my mind just because it’s Rush.
I’m still waiting for that ‘comeback’ album with some moving acoustic guitar passages, where it isn’t Geddy driving the melody all the time on his bass and where the textures and tones take second place to the tunes, where you can actually hum something apart from the ballads and where discord is used for dramatic effect rather than as a staple.
Very interesting comments. Thank you. Just an aside note not directed at you Martin: If all Rush albums were judged only on guitar riffs then they would just be another run of the mill rock band. I know you eluded to much more than the “Headlong Flight” riff but I find many of people judging a Rush album on a guitar riff or two. I think that is missing about 80% of what is really going on.
I agree with your point about riffs. I know your comment wasn’t directed at me but I did admit my favourite album was Signals which isn’t exactly overflowing with guitar hooks
Alex obviously moved on from his more blues oriented playing long ago and added far more to his sound along the way with more emphasis on textures but imo the man was right up there with Page in terms of his ability to construct a killer riff, hook or motif – I just wish he did it a tad more often these days
CA is a really good album. I love the concept and the lyrics, the musicianship is exemplary as always and there are some damn fine songs on there – it’s the best thing they have done for a long time. I just find the whole thing a bit..um..I think ‘sterile’ is the right word for it. Maybe the production is too clinical for my tastes.
Come to think of it, for such a technically brilliant band it’s such a pity they have had so many albums marred by thin sounding or just damn poor production – Vapor Trails, Presto, Grace Under Pressure, Roll The Bones.