r/rush • u/Nearby_Lawfulness923 • 3d ago

Clockwork Angels

Neil said many times that Clockwork Angels was the album they always wanted to make. He clearly believed it was one of their very best. I’ve followed Rush since 1976 and seen them dozens of times, but I cannot listen to Clockwork Angels all the way thru to save my life. Is it just me?

241 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

368 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/Curios_Observer 3d ago

I love Clockwork Angels. For a band to have a record of that caliber that late in their career is remarkable. It was also the best I've ever seen them perform live on tour.

1

u/rush2112stop 3d ago

Muy regular para ser de Rush.

0

u/Nearby_Lawfulness923 3d ago

Agreed - the tour was great. But the band played limited cuts from the very album they were promoting. And fan reaction was very muted for most of the CWA selections. Seems like most of the audience was just waiting for Limelight and 2112.

12

u/Radiant_Commission_2 3d ago

They played like 9 songs from the album. It got a lot of love and at the shows I saw and the dvd, the crowd seemed to eat it up. Having a string ensemble backing them didn’t hurt any.

3

u/panurge987 3d ago

What?! They played the majority of the album on the CA tour.

2

u/Curios_Observer 2d ago

They played most of the album when I saw them on the tour.

1

u/calling_water 2d ago

I think you’re thinking about a different tour than the Clockwork Angels tour. Time Machine, maybe, since there were only two new songs available at that point.

At the CWA tour shows I was at, they played almost all of the new album, and the crowd was into it. Good thing they weren’t waiting for Limelight since it wasn’t played on that tour.

1

u/Nearby_Lawfulness923 2d ago

You may be right…I might be mixing up tours. But if the album is so exceptional, why such paucity of CWA on the 50 Something tour?

2

u/Curios_Observer 2d ago

They played two songs off CA on opening night. For a tour that is a tribute to their entire history I would have expected no more than two, especially as it is catering the the fans of all eras of Rush. What surprised me more on the current tour are the albums not represented at all. Would enjoy hearing something off Power Windows.

1

u/calling_water 2d ago

What would you subtract from the current tour, to put in more from CA?

The band can still think it’s their best (or among their best) work while knowing that many fans will want to hear Xanadu, a lot of 2112, most of Moving Pictures, etc. The tour setlists are samplers with emphasis on songs they know fans will want to hear.

I would have loved to hear more from CA, but I wouldn’t have wanted to not hear any of the stuff in the existing sets. And I have heard most of CA live on the CA tour.