Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rush
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release: 2012
Running time: 66:04
Rating: 5/5
The legendary Canadian trio Rush is back with their nineteenth studio album, »Clockwork Angels«. Even before the first listen, you could sense that this time around, after two undeniably strong studio efforts that still lacked a few crucial finishing touches to reach brilliance, they’d cooked up something truly special, even though the previously released tracks »Caravan« and BU2B« didn’t yet give that away. News of a new album from these art-rock greats from Toronto surfaced soon after the release of the excellent predecessor »Snakes & Arrows« (2007), so the anticipation among legions of devoted fans over those five years was truly feverish, but it was more than worth the wait, because Rush came back with their best studio work since the late eighties, or at least since »Roll the Bones« (1991), which is downright fascinating considering the enviable number of years all three members have behind them. Geddy, Alex and Neil joined forces once again on »Clockwork Angels« with acclaimed producer Nick Raskulinecz, whom they’d already worked with on »Snakes & Arrows«. Somewhat against expectations, with most fans quietly hoping for a much rawer, more compact and mostly punchy record, the latest Rush sets itself apart from its predecessor in both production and style, to general relief and delight, and in the best possible way.
»Clockwork Angels« is a concept album, as the trio announced long before its release. The individual pieces tell of the great worldly travels of a young man who decides to defy every obstacle and follow his dreams. The story is set in an imaginary world, similar to ours. On a turbulent journey through various landscapes, where he meets pirates and anarchists, stumbles upon lost cities and finds himself in the middle of a carnival, he’s constantly caught between chaos and order. Along the way he meets the mysterious Watchmaker, who has the power to control time and puts him through numerous philosophical trials. In the end, after countless disappointments and tough life lessons, the protagonist decides to settle down in a place he loves and grow a garden, symbolizing that he has finally ‘found himself’. The album cover features a clock with alchemical symbols instead of numbers. Neil’s lyrics are, as usual, deep, intelligent, witty and sociologically sharp, while in building the concept he drew partly on Voltaire’s Candide.
Before the release, Rush had been saying they’d continue the heavier direction of their previous two albums, as an early version of the opener »Caravan« hinted, but in its final form and alongside the other tracks on »Clockwork Angels« it sounds quite different, you could even say far more atmospherically alluring than in that early, live version. »Caravan« deals with the start of the young man’s journey from a modest village setting into the ‘wide world’, and it also came out as the first single from the album. Geddy’s protective vocals, aging like fine wine, are joined by Alex’s trademark punchy guitar phrase and Neil’s massive drum fills, broken up at just the right moments, and over it all, surprisingly, wash subtle symphonic arrangements of a kind Rush haven’t been heard with since the early nineties. The song as a whole sounds strikingly compact and punchy, yet also damn sophisticated, which the phenomenal production by the steely trio together with Mr. Raskulinecz did a lot to achieve. The fact that the album bursts at the seams under the weight of sophisticated orchestral arrangements (mostly staying in the background, mind you) like nothing in ages will delight everyone who has been missing more keyboards in the Rush sound since the late eighties.
»BU2B«, another splendid multilayered piece, opens with a dreamy acoustic intro until Alex’s almost brutal guitar phrase tips it over into a ‘hot’ section, fueled by Neil’s whirlwind drum tempo, where you can sense uncompromising force and subtlety at the same time. Geddy, meanwhile, with his melodic bass lines and fired-up vocal outpouring, is as always passionately cranking up the melodramatic mood. Here the lyrics touch on the young man’s dull and predictable childhood, watched over by the mysterious city ruler the Watchmaker, a sort of Big Brother of this imaginary world. In his youthful idealism, the young man of course decides to rebel by running away and setting off on a long journey to distant lands. Before that, though, he decides to visit the capital, where he gets a look at a gigantic cathedral ruled by the so-called guardians of time, who answer to the Watchmaker.
The title track, a true art-rock treat, is one of the most interesting Rush achievements in recent years. »Clockwork Angels« is an epic, super-complex atmospheric carousel that opens with dramatic, dissonant vocalizing and a jittery bit of Neil’s cymbal work, then after a complex rhythmic intro takes a totally unexpected turn into a distinctly ethereal, outrageously catchy motif. That state is soon interrupted by energetic guitar passages and mighty drum fills. The atmospheric peak arrives in a hypnotic chorus, with ethereal multi-harmonies flowing beautifully through the background. Maestro Lifeson’s intelligently and wittily crafted guitar solo adds even more spice to the majestic mood, while Geddy, among other things, experiments with a vocoder. The lyrics describe the young man’s fascination with the great city square, dedicated to Chronos, the ancient god of time, and with the mighty cathedral.
»The Anarchist« is a somewhat heavier creation, with a punchy, utterly unique guitar phrase and a groovy bass line up front. The shifts in atmospheric motifs and time changes are again remarkably rich, while the constant swapping of rhythmic subtleties whisks the listener off on an unforgettable journey in an instant. Geddy gets ‘thrown around’ all over the place in his vocal delivery once more, as if he were at least two decades younger. It’s clear the legendary singer/bassist, while keeping his instantly recognizable voice, has tweaked his vocal technique a bit, which at his age lets him reach the higher notes more easily. Layered orchestral arrangements, meanwhile, once again provide generous atmospheric depth, which pairs excellently with the lyrics, where the young man, wandering around town, runs into an enigmatic sorcerer and then an anarchist. »Carnies« opens with playful sounds of carnival goings-on until a brutal guitar riff cuts through it all. Geddy, tempestuously plucking full-bodied bass lines, once more sounds inconsolable as he narrates the epic events, when the young man meets the anarchist and barely escapes a bomb attack in the crowd.
The lovely semi-acoustic ballad »Halo Effect« tells of the young man’s infatuation with a beautiful acrobat and the great disappointment that follows when their relationship, doomed from the start, falls apart. He blames himself and his projection of an ideal woman, which he was determined to force on the disappointed acrobat. The hypnotic melody blends perfectly with the swelling ambience, in sharp contrast to Geddy’s melancholy vocals. »Seven Cities Of Gold«, which opens with a rattling bass line, concerns the young man’s sea voyage aboard the ship Poseidon across the ocean, in order to discover, in the middle of the desert, the mysterious, mystical ‘golden cities’ filled with precious, alchemical metals that would earn him greater standing in his world. A spirited, untamed guitar phrase is fused with massive drum fills and bass ‘vibrating’, while the chorus is thoroughly melodramatic.
The multi-complex epic »The Wreckers«, the album’s third single, in which the young traveler, disappointed after a bad desert experience and heading back out to sea, is attacked by pirates, is one of the album’s finest moments, bursting at the seams under the weight of majestic orchestral arrangements in the background. The unyielding trio slowly builds a dramatic mood that peaks in a magnificent and distinctly melodic chorus, flowing with mighty, symphonic multi-harmonies. Rush hasn’t had such ethereally intense atmosphere since the days when they started gradually dropping synthesizers in the studio.
The punchy »Headlong Flight«, the album’s second single, marks an important conceptual moment, when the no-longer-so-young traveler looks back on all his adventures so far and realizes that, despite the many disappointments, he wouldn’t change a thing if he could go back in time. Once again it’s an interesting, as-complex-as-it-gets piece, with fiery bass lines, relentless drum crashes and witty guitar phrases that often seem to flow from Mr. Lifeson’s fingers with unbelievable ease. The second half of the composition erupts into a proper hard-rocking stampede, with uncompromising drum-kit pounding and a cunning offering of guitar tricks. The mood swings between dark and optimistic, while Geddy hits some respectably high lines in his vocal delivery.
»BU2B2« is a short atmospheric overture, where in the lyrics the central character of the concept gives up all his youthful illusions except his faith in love, though he grows increasingly skeptical even about that, since it’s part of his upbringing rather than something that comes from the heart. The tense mood ends with the arrival of the superb »Wish Them Well«, on which Rush once again demonstrates their remarkable ability to combine uncompromising punch and subtlety, creating an extremely intense atmosphere once more, peaking in a melodic chorus. In the lyrics, the main character, after countless disappointments and the end of adventures that mostly brought him nothing but misery, is morally and emotionally at rock bottom, yet refuses to give in to cynicism, so he decides to simply shake off all the emotional baggage and false, negative beliefs.
The best moment on »Clockwork Angels« is saved for the very end, in the form of the majestic progressive rock epic »The Garden«, which is also one of the most ambitious pieces of their long and glorious career, which makes it all the more astonishing. Here the realm of refined orchestral arrangements takes over completely, finally stepping into the foreground while a hypnotic acoustic guitar melody sails through them. The atmospheric contrasts amid the orchestral swells are incredibly beautiful and uplifting, and tie in perfectly with the close of the concept, when the main character finally discovers ‘himself’ and settles into the final role of a humble gardener, which is somewhat reminiscent of the ending of Voltaire’s legendary satire on optimism, Candide. Of course there’s also a mouthwatering guitar solo that cranks up the atmospheric intensity of the solemn, uplifting arrangements even more, while Geddy’s vocals haven’t sounded this convincing in ages when it comes to heartfelt delivery of the higher emotions.
»Clockwork Angels« is the new Rush masterpiece we’ve been waiting more than twenty years for, and right now the top contender for best progressive rock album of 2012. Greased with every trick in the book, the inseparable trio has made a brilliant concept album that goes down in golden letters among the best Rush achievements ever, proving that even at their age there’s still room to push the boundaries of arrangement, songwriting, instrumental and production perfection. The grand celebration for all the loyal fans of these Canadian music legends can begin!
Lineup
Geddy Lee – bass guitar, bass pedals, vocals, synthesizer
Alex Lifeson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, additional keyboards
Neil Peart – drums and percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
David Campbell – orchestral arrangements and conducting
Jason Sniderman – piano and additional keyboards
Production
Rush and Nick Raskulinecz
Track list
1. Caravan (5:40)
2. BU2B (5:10)
3. Clockwork Angels (7:31)
4. The Anarchist (6:52)
5. Carnies (4:52)
6. Halo Effect (3:14)
7. Seven Cities Of Gold (6:32)
8. The Wreckers (5:01)
9. Headlong Flight (7:20)
10. BU2B2 (1:28)
11. Wish Them Well (5:25)
12. The Garden (6:59)
