It’s really just certain vowel shapes that seem to give Geddy grief. He can hit the notes, but sometimes it sounds a little weird because he’s doing weird things with the vowels.
To me, that's a sign of vocal fatigue. He's having to work harder to control the vocal pitch while also forming the words. It makes it a bit hard for me to listen to. He sounded much better when I happened to see them and I prefer that memory...
Definitely agree with the vowel assessment. He can reach the higher notes just doesn't quite sound like it did in the eighties... But who can expect it to? I prefer all my Rush memories no matter what year they were! And enjoy every concert recording they gave us!
Fave song on PoW...and #9 in the entire catalog...album is #5...one of Geddy's best studio vocal performances! The guitar work is so varied throughout the song...Alex with so much creativity...a true deep cut gem!!!🤘
This was the second tour I didn’t go to since my first (t4e). My cover band had a reoccurring monthly gig that happened to be the same night they were in my town(Buffalo Ny). I was gutted once I learned the set list, as the 80’s was my favorite era, and Grand Designs is my favorite song. I got the blu ray, and while Geddy’s vocals aren’t what they once were, they weren’t as bad as I expected. Age is unfortunate, and it gets us all. I saw Paul McCartney last summer, and it was similar. I call it the “grandpa warble”. I myself used to be in a Rush tribute band as the singer. I couldn’t do it on my 30’s anymore, so I can’t judge too much lol. Edited to add in I did 4 hour bar gigs every time we played! Usually 2 long sets with a 20 minute intermission, or 3 sets with 2 10 minutes intermissions. The Rush tribute was always 10pm to 2 am. All rush! My voice was fried by the end of the night.
It’s tough for me to pick a “Top 5” but it would certainly be five consecutive albums for me from Permanent Waves through Power Windows. If I was forced to rank maybe: 1. Signals (this my be a sentimental pick since my first of 50 Rush shows was this tour) 2. Permanent Waves (it has Freewill and Jacob’s Ladder, what do you want from me? ) 3. Power Windows (I think this is one of their more interesting pivots and the songs are fantastic. It’s it’s own vibe in a lot of ways. The space Alex plays in is awesome! 4. Grace Under Pressure (like you said, so underrated. This is also a special album for me). 5. Moving Pictures - Nuts? MP at 5? Maybe. But this isn’t a disparagement to MP but just a reflection of the quality of their music during their period of time. All five of these are Rush at their absolute peak to me. I love them all for different reasons. At the end of the day, let’s just respect and take note of how varied and interesting their catalogue is. It really is pretty brilliant stuff from beginning to end, with a few missteps here and there, but who goes through anything in life without a few head scratching moments, especially when you are reaching for the stars each time?
@@JustinPanarielloThanks for the reply man! Been following your Rush journey from the beginning. It’s been an interesting ride, huh? I appreciate your honesty and you can tell you have gained a lot of respect for them as a band considering you weren’t really into them before. Thanks for the reactions and take care. ✌️❤️
This was the first surprise when I saw that tour. Those chords and synth kicked in and my jaw dropped. I honestly thought I'd never this live again. This surprise was only outdone by them going into "Territories" (on my very favorite songs from them). As for his voice.... the difference is that up to five or ten years prior, him hitting the higher notes sounded effortless. It doesn't sound effortless anymore. But it is what it is, and it was incredibly wonderful to hear them.
They sound so good. I hadn’t realized how much I don’t pay attention to the actual lyrics when watching them live. Just musical perfection. Btw, I’m betting CA is slowly going to earn its way into your top 5. Not sure what can slide, but its gonna continue to grow.
When I was in a bar band back in the 80s when there were lots of places to play. We played 48 weekends a year, 2 nights sometimes 3 nights each weekend, 5 hours a night in smoke filled rooms and added the weddings and Xmas parties in and around them. My longest gig was a 9 hour wedding. We were scheduled for 3 and each hour was an additional $1000. We made bank that day and we were a power trio so only a 3 way split.
😢I missed this one AND Manhattan Project respectively at the ONE show I was fortunate enough to attend on this tour. My oldest son bought tickets for me, my wife, and youngest son for a Father’s Day present in June for a concert in November🤯his brother was 10 and was his 3rd and my wife’s 5th RUSH experience. Let’s be honest, it’s NOT just a concert, but a EXPERIENCE! You ALL that have been know what I mean, and it became that more so after Neil’s losses and with their return to form in 2002. BTW it was number 15 of the total 16 times over 31 years that I saw them muthatruckers!!!❤️🤘🖖✌️🎹🎸🥁🎤🥇🇨🇦🎼👌👍
For my money all of Rush’s best work was from 2112 to Power Windows. Within those 8 albums the rank can be debated, but nothing before or after can break into the top 8. So even if Clockwork Angels is the best outside of those 8, it is 9 at best. And I’d have a hard time ranking it above Fly by Night. And then it gets pretty close with Counterparts and Snakes and Arrows. Maybe it is top 10, but 10 at best. IMHO of course.
Like the guitar solo segment and the tempo slow-down near the end. Neil once said "“I can play like Charlie Watts for the rest of my life, but I can’t play like Neil Peart for the rest of my life,.” It's all perspective. I used to train like Arnold, now I watch videos of Arnold training, then take a nap. 😏
I would agree with your assessment of where Clockwork Angels fits. After Roll The Bones I liked several songs on each album but never fell in love with any albums again 'all the way' until Clockwork Angels. Geddy often surprises me with his ability to still hit notes. I think many of Neil's were written in a way that is difficult to sing. Wrapping your mouth around all those sounds in a short period (especially the songs that have a high number and velocity lyric delivery) is what has caught up with Geddy in his older years. Still has pipes but throwing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into the pre-chorus occasionally trips him up. For me I love Clockwork Angels because they finished strong and I'm a lyrics guy so there was a lot of meeting there as well.
Alright, despite the voice I'm glad you're going through this concert. I stopped seeing them live by the 2010s, never watched the vid, so I had no clue they brought back all these mid 80s gems. So far I'm most impressed at how well this specific song was faithfully recreated, in such a different era. And this is one of those songs I could never possibly give an objective review. I can't break it down and analyze what works and what doesn't, because it has such an intimate connection to a great little time and place in my life. The nostalgia runs too thick lol. So when I hear Middletown, its the early 90s I'm about 18 or 19 and my friends and I are trekking it up from the OC suburbs to the mountains in my buddy's Toyota townace cargo type van for night session snowboarding. There are no benches or back seats he literally threw a little sofa in the back of the van. We hit up either Del Taco or In n Out on the way out of town. The soundtrack during the drive was important, getting pumped for fun and a little danger and all that. Sure there was some obligatory death metal, but Rush was also essential. Even 80s Rush. Middletown Dreams drops, and its the most meaningful burned in memory, it fit that vibe and circumstance perfectly. Musically tight, majestic, hopeful, and literally would inspire us to do better with technical snowboarding abilities because of their tehnical musical abilities!
It seems to me that Geddy’s voice has a lot more vibrato than he used to sing with. I think that’s part of the reason why he sounds different. Not all, but part of the reason.
In interviews on the Time Stand Still documentary some of the road management were discussing how good Geddy was sounding vocally. Sold Out shows and industry professionals coming to watch the performance. Ray Daniels and the band added shows to the tour because it was in such high demand. They even came to Grand Rapids, MI to do a show. I was running a spotlight on Alex that night. And I was asking Howard when the release date of the DVD was going to be. Over all, the 3 shows I was at were incredible! They had been the first I had attended or worked since Test for Echo. 😎☮️
Power Windows is a good album, not among my all time favourites but a good album nonetheless. There is no doubting the musicianship, I just love the breaks in this song, so well performed. I don't nor have I ever doubted Geddy's voice and vocal ability, it is definitely aging on this tour but he still sounds great.
The hardest notes for Geddy to hit seem to be the notes in between the midrange and high range. I can attest to that part of the range becoming more difficult as you age.
Eagerly waiting to see if your opinion on "Carnies" goes up after seeing it live. I thought it was just OK on the album, but live I found out it was a rocker.
Fair question: are they playing three hours every other night in a different city? It’s one thing to be in Sarasota and another to be in Palm Desert. Not that Rush ever played Coachella Valley, but ya know. 😅
Not always in a different city, usually in the same region (southern California for the last decade +) But yeah I've done 3000 gigs in my life thus far, with the majority being in the last decade... many 260+ gig years in there... Anyways, I'm not Rush so.
Its very hard to be in your 60s, have a voice like Ged, amd maintain it faithfully and not lose anything after alll those tours, shows. Very few can. Mickey Thomas comes to mind. Still sounds AWESOME and can hit thise high notes. But Ill bet my last dollar he still didnt tour like Rush, nor have as many songs with that type of consistent vocal like that
That vocal stress def takes its toll after 40-plus years. To your point, not everyone can maintain those abilities. I noticed though his voice really started declining after SNAKES Tour. Def one of my fave RUSH tracks. The vocals are pretty high on this one...
So true, all those tours for decades, can't expect Geddy to sound top notch anymore, vocalcords wear out and can't be replaced like guitar strings and drum heads, etc
Yeah but did they do the number of gigs and sing as hard and loud? I would imagine that all wears out the voice too and has to be factored in. Big difference between Ged singing and someone like Jack Johnson for example or even Neil Young.
I remember this one. Everyone sort of looked at each other when it was over and went "Well, THAT worked!" The more stripped down approach really benefits these mid-80's songs. Geddy's singing is what it is. My only gripe is he's putting so much chest voice into his delivery that it interferes with the enunciation and it's harder to understand what he's singing.
uh huh. no disrepect intended (standby, disrespect coming), not sure the wedding bands you speak of are playing the complexity and Jon Anderson style vocal range of Geddy. He has a high register...or he did. comparing Rush to Florida wedding bands is a bit rich no? All have talent, rush got lucky breaks, sure...but you have a guy in his 60's singing originals he cannot avoid from 35 years ago. Wedding cover bands can pick and choose most songs they sing based on their capability. I am NOT dissing journeymen musicians, but only saying that it is not a great comparison.
This could be my fave Rush track. Great melody and killer chorus.
Neil described this as the perfect blend of music and lyrics I believe it was in the Power Windows tour book. Its one of a top track for me for sure.
It’s really just certain vowel shapes that seem to give Geddy grief. He can hit the notes, but sometimes it sounds a little weird because he’s doing weird things with the vowels.
To me, that's a sign of vocal fatigue. He's having to work harder to control the vocal pitch while also forming the words. It makes it a bit hard for me to listen to. He sounded much better when I happened to see them and I prefer that memory...
Definitely agree with the vowel assessment. He can reach the higher notes just doesn't quite sound like it did in the eighties... But who can expect it to? I prefer all my Rush memories no matter what year they were! And enjoy every concert recording they gave us!
One of my favorites. Every time I listen, I like it more. My top five album. Very good, but underrated
My favorite Rush song!! The part that starts with that arpeggiated synth just before the "middle-aged madonna" lyric is second to none!!
Geddy with some nice groove on this especially at the start and everyone seems excited/refreshed to play this tune.
Fave song on PoW...and #9 in the entire catalog...album is #5...one of Geddy's best studio vocal performances! The guitar work is so varied throughout the song...Alex with so much creativity...a true deep cut gem!!!🤘
I think this album is absolutely Geddys number 1 studio vocal performance. It’s not heavy enough to be my favorite but it’s a great album. 👍
🎶 so far......so good 🎶🤘🤘🤘
a favourite from the first listen. cool , cool.
This was the second tour I didn’t go to since my first (t4e). My cover band had a reoccurring monthly gig that happened to be the same night they were in my town(Buffalo Ny). I was gutted once I learned the set list, as the 80’s was my favorite era, and Grand Designs is my favorite song. I got the blu ray, and while Geddy’s vocals aren’t what they once were, they weren’t as bad as I expected. Age is unfortunate, and it gets us all. I saw Paul McCartney last summer, and it was similar. I call it the “grandpa warble”. I myself used to be in a Rush tribute band as the singer. I couldn’t do it on my 30’s anymore, so I can’t judge too much lol.
Edited to add in I did 4 hour bar gigs every time we played! Usually 2 long sets with a 20 minute intermission, or 3 sets with 2 10 minutes intermissions. The Rush tribute was always 10pm to 2 am. All rush! My voice was fried by the end of the night.
Power windows was my 1st rush concert. I was hooked after that
Clockwork is a top 10 album in the catalog, not top 5 IMO.
This is a great track. The Clockwork 80's tour was a very plesant surprise setlist wise.
It’s tough for me to pick a “Top 5” but it would certainly be five consecutive albums for me from Permanent Waves through Power Windows.
If I was forced to rank maybe:
1. Signals (this my be a sentimental pick since my first of 50 Rush shows was this tour)
2. Permanent Waves (it has Freewill and Jacob’s Ladder, what do you want from me? )
3. Power Windows (I think this is one of their more interesting pivots and the songs are fantastic. It’s it’s own vibe in a lot of ways. The space Alex plays in is awesome!
4. Grace Under Pressure (like you said, so underrated. This is also a special album for me).
5. Moving Pictures - Nuts? MP at 5? Maybe. But this isn’t a disparagement to MP but just a reflection of the quality of their music during their period of time.
All five of these are Rush at their absolute peak to me. I love them all for different reasons.
At the end of the day, let’s just respect and take note of how varied and interesting their catalogue is. It really is pretty brilliant stuff from beginning to end, with a few missteps here and there, but who goes through anything in life without a few head scratching moments, especially when you are reaching for the stars each time?
My list would look similar just slightly different order.
@@JustinPanarielloThanks for the reply man! Been following your Rush journey from the beginning. It’s been an interesting ride, huh?
I appreciate your honesty and you can tell you have gained a lot of respect for them as a band considering you weren’t really into them before.
Thanks for the reactions and take care. ✌️❤️
The 60+ people you know arent GEDDY EFFIN’ BANSHEE LEE 🐾🐾🐾
Opening crunchy bass goodness. :)
This was the first surprise when I saw that tour. Those chords and synth kicked in and my jaw dropped. I honestly thought I'd never this live again. This surprise was only outdone by them going into "Territories" (on my very favorite songs from them). As for his voice.... the difference is that up to five or ten years prior, him hitting the higher notes sounded effortless. It doesn't sound effortless anymore. But it is what it is, and it was incredibly wonderful to hear them.
Definitely one of their top songs. Fav from Power Windows, and that says a lot, given how good that album was.
Great song
They sound so good. I hadn’t realized how much I don’t pay attention to the actual lyrics when watching them live. Just musical perfection. Btw, I’m betting CA is slowly going to earn its way into your top 5. Not sure what can slide, but its gonna continue to grow.
When I was in a bar band back in the 80s when there were lots of places to play. We played 48 weekends a year, 2 nights sometimes 3 nights each weekend, 5 hours a night in smoke filled rooms and added the weddings and Xmas parties in and around them. My longest gig was a 9 hour wedding. We were scheduled for 3 and each hour was an additional $1000. We made bank that day and we were a power trio so only a 3 way split.
😢I missed this one AND Manhattan Project respectively at the ONE show I was fortunate enough to attend on this tour. My oldest son bought tickets for me, my wife, and youngest son for a Father’s Day present in June for a concert in November🤯his brother was 10 and was his 3rd and my wife’s 5th RUSH experience. Let’s be honest, it’s NOT just a concert, but a EXPERIENCE! You ALL that have been know what I mean, and it became that more so after Neil’s losses and with their return to form in 2002. BTW it was number 15 of the total 16 times over 31 years that I saw them muthatruckers!!!❤️🤘🖖✌️🎹🎸🥁🎤🥇🇨🇦🎼👌👍
My favorite from Power Windows
For my money all of Rush’s best work was from 2112 to Power Windows. Within those 8 albums the rank can be debated, but nothing before or after can break into the top 8. So even if Clockwork Angels is the best outside of those 8, it is 9 at best. And I’d have a hard time ranking it above Fly by Night. And then it gets pretty close with Counterparts and Snakes and Arrows. Maybe it is top 10, but 10 at best. IMHO of course.
In complete agreement of top 8 and Fly by Night is 9 and Counterparts 10....I have an affinity for HYF and Presto...so my 11 & 12...Clockwork # 13
Like the guitar solo segment and the tempo slow-down near the end. Neil once said "“I can play like Charlie Watts for the rest of my life, but I can’t play like Neil Peart for the rest of my life,.” It's all perspective. I used to train like Arnold, now I watch videos of Arnold training, then take a nap. 😏
Bloody love this song favourite on the album and played it to death, a huge wear mark on that part of the record 😂
Based on your reactions looks like your fave Rush era is mid-80's, maybe early to mid 80's
I would agree with your assessment of where Clockwork Angels fits. After Roll The Bones I liked several songs on each album but never fell in love with any albums again 'all the way' until Clockwork Angels.
Geddy often surprises me with his ability to still hit notes. I think many of Neil's were written in a way that is difficult to sing. Wrapping your mouth around all those sounds in a short period (especially the songs that have a high number and velocity lyric delivery) is what has caught up with Geddy in his older years. Still has pipes but throwing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into the pre-chorus occasionally trips him up.
For me I love Clockwork Angels because they finished strong and I'm a lyrics guy so there was a lot of meeting there as well.
Alright, despite the voice I'm glad you're going through this concert. I stopped seeing them live by the 2010s, never watched the vid, so I had no clue they brought back all these mid 80s gems. So far I'm most impressed at how well this specific song was faithfully recreated, in such a different era.
And this is one of those songs I could never possibly give an objective review. I can't break it down and analyze what works and what doesn't, because it has such an intimate connection to a great little time and place in my life. The nostalgia runs too thick lol. So when I hear Middletown, its the early 90s I'm about 18 or 19 and my friends and I are trekking it up from the OC suburbs to the mountains in my buddy's Toyota townace cargo type van for night session snowboarding. There are no benches or back seats he literally threw a little sofa in the back of the van. We hit up either Del Taco or In n Out on the way out of town. The soundtrack during the drive was important, getting pumped for fun and a little danger and all that. Sure there was some obligatory death metal, but Rush was also essential. Even 80s Rush. Middletown Dreams drops, and its the most meaningful burned in memory, it fit that vibe and circumstance perfectly. Musically tight, majestic, hopeful, and literally would inspire us to do better with technical snowboarding abilities because of their tehnical musical abilities!
I saw this tour. Loved the set list . I always wanted to hear how the new stuff sounded live.
It seems to me that Geddy’s voice has a lot more vibrato than he used to sing with. I think that’s part of the reason why he sounds different. Not all, but part of the reason.
Did those guys in there 60s play hundreds of shows over 30 years?
There’s singing - then there’s singing like Geddy Lee !
@@seano2112 that too.
i couldn't tell you
In interviews on the Time Stand Still documentary some of the road management were discussing how good Geddy was sounding vocally. Sold Out shows and industry professionals coming to watch the performance. Ray Daniels and the band added shows to the tour because it was in such high demand. They even came to Grand Rapids, MI to do a show. I was running a spotlight on Alex that night. And I was asking Howard when the release date of the DVD was going to be. Over all, the 3 shows I was at were incredible! They had been the first I had attended or worked since Test for Echo. 😎☮️
Like that dreams flow across the heartland feeding on the 🔥. Know your going to like the R40 setlist alot more then this
Nah, this is much better and more interesting. Lots of deep cuts. R40 first set is boring with a bunch of overplayed stuff.
Maybe my favourite song on Power Windows, Geddy sounds great, they all do! Must not b an easy song.
Power Windows is a good album, not among my all time favourites but a good album nonetheless. There is no doubting the musicianship, I just love the breaks in this song, so well performed. I don't nor have I ever doubted Geddy's voice and vocal ability, it is definitely aging on this tour but he still sounds great.
Imagine doin a 3 hour Neil peart set or a 1 and a half hour Charlie Watt set. Grouling
I also like power windows pretty good, especially the first six songs, the last two I don't get into very much
The hardest notes for Geddy to hit seem to be the notes in between the midrange and high range. I can attest to that part of the range becoming more difficult as you age.
Love Clockwork for what it is. Not in my top 5. Still a great swan song for them.
Geddy still has some “rocket sauce” left.
I used to think 60 was old, then time happened. Now, not so much.
I saw this tour in 2012 (Chicago) and 2013 (Milwaukee) and Geddy's voice was ok. Maybe I'm a bit blinded by the fact that Rush is my #1.... 😉✌️
My Rush top 5: 1. Fly By Night, 2. Farewell to Kings 3. Hemispheres 4. Moving Pictures 5. Vapor Trails. Come at me. Lol jk
NO ONE do it like deez hosers eh? RUSH!! Good react Justin.
So did you become a RUSH fan while perusing their discography? It takes a special ear to appreciate their sound 😄
Eagerly waiting to see if your opinion on "Carnies" goes up after seeing it live. I thought it was just OK on the album, but live I found out it was a rocker.
As much as I like Power Windows I have never connected with this song other than the solo.
Fair question: are they playing three hours every other night in a different city? It’s one thing to be in Sarasota and another to be in Palm Desert. Not that Rush ever played Coachella Valley, but ya know. 😅
Not always in a different city, usually in the same region (southern California for the last decade +) But yeah I've done 3000 gigs in my life thus far, with the majority being in the last decade... many 260+ gig years in there... Anyways, I'm not Rush so.
3 guys showin how to write a song and present it
Its very hard to be in your 60s, have a voice like Ged, amd maintain it faithfully and not lose anything after alll those tours, shows. Very few can. Mickey Thomas comes to mind. Still sounds AWESOME and can hit thise high notes. But Ill bet my last dollar he still didnt tour like Rush, nor have as many songs with that type of consistent vocal like that
Clockwork Angels is number 9 on my list, Power Windows is number 8.😂
That vocal stress def takes its toll after 40-plus years. To your point, not everyone can maintain those abilities. I noticed though his voice really started declining after SNAKES Tour. Def one of my fave RUSH tracks. The vocals are pretty high on this one...
So true, all those tours for decades, can't expect Geddy to sound top notch anymore, vocalcords wear out and can't be replaced like guitar strings and drum heads, etc
@@youtoo2233Right. Most people can’t do at 60 what they could do at 25 (or in this case 30s).
Not one of my favorites but I still like it.
Of course Power Windows beats Clockwork. Many will disagree though. Lol
Yeah but did they do the number of gigs and sing as hard and loud? I would imagine that all wears out the voice too and has to be factored in. Big difference between Ged singing and someone like Jack Johnson for example or even Neil Young.
I remember this one. Everyone sort of looked at each other when it was over and went "Well, THAT worked!" The more stripped down approach really benefits these mid-80's songs. Geddy's singing is what it is. My only gripe is he's putting so much chest voice into his delivery that it interferes with the enunciation and it's harder to understand what he's singing.
wait ... Alex isn't singing?
Just not one of my favorites! Be well and God bless… from Texas!!
uh huh. no disrepect intended (standby, disrespect coming), not sure the wedding bands you speak of are playing the complexity and Jon Anderson style vocal range of Geddy. He has a high register...or he did. comparing Rush to Florida wedding bands is a bit rich no? All have talent, rush got lucky breaks, sure...but you have a guy in his 60's singing originals he cannot avoid from 35 years ago. Wedding cover bands can pick and choose most songs they sing based on their capability. I am NOT dissing journeymen musicians, but only saying that it is not a great comparison.
Probably the first and only time I'll say this. I don't think the Jazz worked on this song. Sorry JP. (I own a Jazz too.)
Why would Clockwork Angels be in your top 5? Insanity? *Joker laugh*
Or if you listened to only 4 albums. 😂
Nope, still not a fan of this song. Not even live.