Rush clockwork angels8/25/2023 Indeed, from "Caravan," the very first track, all the way to the end, "The Garden," there is no peccability, no mediocrity, and only greatness. In military time, that's 21:12) tinged with nostalgia, and the timbre are all perfect. The admixture of genres, the throwbacks (the hands on the album cover point to 9 and 12, respectively. For example, BU2B is probably the heaviest Rush song since the seventies, and now that I think about it, Carnies sounds a lot like Slipknot's Surfacing. Sounding a lot like a hard and heavy 2112-era album, elements of Clockwork Angels border on nu-metal. In fact, I'd go so far as to call it the greatest album of all time, capable of humbling Quadrophenia or Highway 61 Revisited any day of the week. I consider it the band's magnum opus the landmark album for all of progressive rock. This is what Clockwork Angels was supposed to be– numerous decades after the inception of the band, years after Neil Peart first joined, Clockwork Angels was supposed to be a "goodbye." It wasn't supposed to be great, it wasn't supposed to be anything new. (Though it should be noted that The Who has been touring, and doing so pretty well considering their age, since Endless Wire). A last gasp, and an undignified one at that. It is the perfect exclamation mark to a storied career, one that I hope will always be remembered as one of Rush’s finest albums.Pink Floyd's Endless River, The Who's Endless Wire, and countless other mediocre albums mark the end of otherwise illustrious careers. It’s almost eerie how fitting this song is as a look back on not just the protagonist’s journey, but the band’s journey as well.Ĭlockwork Angels is the culmination of 19 previous studio recordings, 44 years of creating music, and 3 guys giving us some of the most powerful, emotional, and thought-provoking tunes one may hear in their lifetime. After all, is that not what Rush did throughout their 40+ year career? Through love and respect, for their music and their fans, they created one of the most lasting legacies in progressive rock. It’s insanely poetic, in a way, that Rush’s final song is one of reflection, a song that reflects on the measure of one’s life being about love and respect, growing and nurturing a beautiful garden. Special mention needs to be given to the final track, “The Garden,” a beautiful closer not just to the album, but to Rush’s career as a whole. It’s an album experience like no other, backed up by a mix that is undeniably loud like 2002’s Vapor Trails, but is much clearer this time around, giving room for each individual member to shine, whether it be Geddy Lee’s sublime bass opening to “Seven Cities of Gold”, Alex Lifeson’s incredible guitar that rings in “BU2B”’s opening moments, or Neil’s powerful drumwork on tracks like “The Anarchist”. From the explosive intro track “Caravan”, to grand spectacles like the title track, to regretful reflection on “Halo Effect”, every track feels like it has its place, and no track is truly skippable. 1 hour and 6 minutes, and none of it feels like filler. What shocks me the most about this album is how well it holds up tracklist-wise. And it all represents Rush blending their hard rock, almost metal sound of the album with the grand sci-fi stories that made them popular way back in the 70s, a wonderfully crafted steampunk story about the balance between chaotic freedom and rigid order, told in the way that only Neil Peart could. It’s passionate, it’s heavy, it’s lyrically gorgeous, throw in other similar adjectives and positive appraisals of the sort. If any album had to be the final one from them, I’m glad it was Clockwork Angels. Rush, on the other hand, went out on top. ![]() I think a lot of bands that have gone on for as long as Rush did risk the possibility of running off the rails, their work slowly declining in quality as they limp onwards towards the inevitable end of their career. Nostalgia flooded me, and I just had to give it a review in honor of Rush’s swan song. And when the opening bells of “Caravan” rang in, I realized that Rush’s 20th and final studio effort, Clockwork Angels had hit its 10th anniversary a few days back. When a playlist is set to shuffle, you can rediscover a song that you had come close to forgetting about. About a week or so ago as of writing this, I had a moment of clarity that matches that description almost to the letter. Or maybe an anniversary that felt so far away was now here. Or maybe the show you’ve loved for so long has aired its final episode. Over the past few years especially, time has seemed to lose all meaning, leaping by from day to day. Review Summary: A 10th anniversary look back at Rush's final album, a flawless record that sees the trio go out on the top of their game
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