Rush: Far Cry

Posted by: JeffS

Rush: Far Cry - 15/03/2007 21:47

Just downloaded the new single from Rush- all I can say is WOW! I love the sound, and I love production. This is much better than VT, which I was never able to get into- even the songs I liked on that one gave me a headache because of the way the thing was produced (this also goes for Feedback). By contrast, this sounds crystal clear with plenty of space in the mix.

I cannot wait for the full CD!
Posted by: AndrewT

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 15/03/2007 22:11

Quote:
I cannot wait for the full CD!
Wow! Thanks for the heads up. There's tantalising hints of Hemispheres in the instrumental sections too.

How did you hear about it?

And again, thanks - this has really made my day!
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 15/03/2007 22:30

Quote:
Just downloaded the new single from Rush-


Where did you get it?

tanstaafl.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 16/03/2007 00:34

Quote:
Where did you get it?
I downloaded it from "Urge"- my first purchase through that site.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 16/03/2007 00:42

Quote:
There's tantalising hints of Hemispheres in the instrumental sections too.
Yeah, love that chord right near the beginning. They actually had the first 10 seconds of the song up on their site for a few weeks, right up until the "Hemispheres" chord.

I actually hear a lot of different eras in this song, which is one of the reasons I like it. There's definitely some Hemispheres, a little Presto, some TFE, and VT (but with pristine production). This is what I hoped VT would be before it came out- I hope the rest of the CD is half as good.

Quote:
How did you hear about it?
They've been promoting in on their site, which I just happened to visit during one slow day at work. Like I said, they had a 10 second clip up for a while- already that got me psyched just because the production was so clean- and that "hemispheres" chord was such a tease. Anyway, they said they'd release the new single on the 15th, and sure enough . . .
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 16/03/2007 00:48

Man, I can't believe they are still making music. True musical gods.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 16/03/2007 15:20

Gah. I'm supposed to know about this stuff before you all do. I must be busy or something. Argh argh argh.

And I'm so wrapped up in stuff that I don't have time to go listen to an MP3 from my favorite band right now. Argh.

Must make time this weekend.
Posted by: ineedcolor

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 19/03/2007 00:06

All I can say is WOW! Looks like I'm gonna start buying Rush albums again...BTW the whole song is available as a stream on their website now.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 20/03/2007 03:21

Finally got a chance to hear this.

Like it a lot.

Love the "Hemispheres" chord.

Love the shift back to 90's-era production. It sounds like "Presto" a lot. This is good. Sounding like "Moving Pictures" would be better, but I'll take what I can get. Actually, in terms of sound and production, I think "Counterparts" was the best, and if the new album ends up sounding like that, production-wise, we could be in for a great summer.

The song itself took me a couple of listens to get into. But that's normal for Rush songs. I think with a few more listens I'll like it even more.

I really like the odd time signature bits with the dropped beats. That's the Rush I've always known and loved.

The release of this song is trying to signal to fans of 80s/90s Rush that that's what they're aiming for. I hope the rest of the album turns out to be that.

Things from the last couple of albums I don't want to see repeated on this album:

- Falsetto.

- Bass guitar taking the role of rhythm guitar by playing chords, while guitar makes scratchy noises. Worked in spots on Geddy's solo album, but that was with a different guitarist and a different approach to mixing and songwriting. Doesn't work so well against Alex in the context of Rush.

- Too much compressor/limiter in the mastering stage.

This song has some of those elements, but only in very tiny doses, so it's OK. Let's hope the rest of the album is like that.

On the other hand, Rush has always been about making the music that THEY want to make, and not specifically trying to second-guess what we want them to do. So really, my desires in this matter are somewhat moot (as they should be).

Still... new Rush album. Awesome.

Even more awesome: NEW TOUR. Ooooooh Yeahhhhh.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 20/03/2007 04:15

I think the vocals on this were just about perfect for what Geddy is trying to do these. He did WAY too much of that high harmony stuff on the last album. Here it is toned down and very tasteful. In fact, I remember the first couple of lines in this song thinking "Oh crap, here we go again," and then a little ways in thinking "no, it sounds good this way".

I love the production values and overall sound, though I've always been partial to the Presto/RTB sound, which this has a lot of, with the songwriting more like a mix between VT and T4E. I totally agree about the compressor/limiter, but I don't here that on this track at all.

Quote:
On the other hand, Rush has always been about making the music that THEY want to make, and not specifically trying to second-guess what we want them to do. So really, my desires in this matter are somewhat moot (as they should be).
This is SOOO true- I've been reading some posts on a Rush forum where fans are dissecting the song and rating the "sound", etc. They keep talking about how this song NEEDS a guitar solo and they'll be ticked if there isn't more blazing guitar work on the CD. Or they start complaining about something else. I find this funny, because presumably the reason we all love Rush is that they are doing their thing, not what they figure everyone else wants them to do.

Personally, I don't care if there isn't a guitar solo on the whole CD. I thought the whole "siren sound" thing Alex did on this was pretty cool, and definitely fit with the song.

I ALSO happen to think this is a better song than anything new I've heard on the radio in forever.

BTW, does that drum solo at the end just rock or what? I read a blog entry from Peart where he talked about having taken several days to learn a drum pattern, only to have the producer ask during the recording if he could solo over that part instead- to which he replied "sure!" I have to believe that is the part they are talking about because it's pretty sick.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 20/03/2007 04:35

Reminds me of when Neil talked about having to learn the drum part for "The Weapon". Alex and Geddy had come up with that pattern on a drum machine, then told him to learn it. He said it was torture, and he had to make his muscles do things they weren't used to, but he was proud when he'd accomplished it.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 26/03/2007 19:26

Ticket presales begin (I think) tomorrow. Actual ticket sales begin this Saturday. Follow links at Rush.com .
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 27/03/2007 01:31

Thanks for the heads up. Totally stoked for this, as I missed the Feedback tour (my band had a gig that night).
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 27/03/2007 12:13

UGH- tried to get tickets through pre-order, but all they had left were crappy seats for $70 a pop. I wouldn't mind paying that for good seats, but no thanks. I'll take my chances later. (Actually, I have a friend who works at the arena who might be able to get me better seats- I have my fingers crossed).
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 27/03/2007 14:55

We shall see how I fare in about five minutes, as 10am rolls around to my timezone...
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 27/03/2007 15:08

Same for me. I actually got some mediocre seats, but they were at the highest price level and I didn't want to pay that much for mediocre. So I canceled those. I'll try again in a bit to see if some opened up. At worst I can wait until this Saturday and try again, and since these are amphitheater shows, if no good seats are available I'll do the lawn. That's usually OK at these kind of shows.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 13/04/2007 18:54

New clip is up on Rush.com for the song "Spindrift". Sounds pretty friggen good to me. Also, there's a leak out there for "Malignant Narcissism*" if you are inclined to search for such a thing.

*For those interested, "MalNarc" a last minute addition that is basically 2 minutes of Geddy riffing on the bass. It was so last minute that they didn't have Neil's drum kit so he recorded it on a 5 piece they had at the studio
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 13/04/2007 20:24

I'm unnaturally excited about this album and tour.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 13/04/2007 20:29

Quote:
I'm unnaturally excited about this album and tour.
You are not alone
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 01/05/2007 15:00

FYI, the CD came out today. I've listed to about 3/4 of it so far and I can't imagine any Rush fan not enjoying it.

I'll have to give it a few spins later to get a real assessment, but I think this is going to be their best CD since RTB (one of my personal favs).
Posted by: AndrewT

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 01/05/2007 21:16

Fuck it, the forum monster ate my 20 minute long post!

I still want to at least write and thank Jeff for bringing this new album to my attention - arrived in the post on Monday.
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 02/05/2007 02:02

Quote:
forum monster ate my 20 minute long post!
I'd have loved to read it too . . .

I've listened to the whole album a couple times through now and I really like it a lot. It is soooo well produced and their sound is just amazing throughout. I love all of the acoustic guitars Alex is using on this; in fact, I love his electric work too. I know there aren't a ton of long guitar solos, but this is the first time I've heard a Rush album and had the guitars constantly grabbing my attention. It's mostly "atmosphere" type playing, but the sounds he gets are just amazing. The producer should get some credit here, because there are tons of layered guitars on almost every song, and yet you can pick out each one distinctly.

Of course, the bass and drums are great as always- Peart's kit sits in a nice place in the mix. I love that big bass sound he gets in "The Main Monkey Business".

My favorite cut thus far is MalNarc, but I'm certain that won't last It isn't even a "real" song, but it sure is fun. It's awesome to hear what Peart can do on a 5 piece kit! I still like Far Cry a lot, "The Main Monkey Business" is one of their better instrumentals, "Hope" is a nice acoustic piece from Alex, "Spindrif" has killer imagery in both the lyrics and the music, "The Larger Bowl" is totally unique with almost an acoustic folk/rock sound, and there are a lot of other unique songs as well.

In fact, this album seems to have the most variety of any of their previous albums, a lot of times fusing some really strange stuff together. First time I can ever recall any kind of a blues influence in a Rush song.

Lyrically this is a pretty dark album- more emotional than RtB with a lot of the same criticisms of organized religion. Obviously I disagree with a lot, though not all. At least the notion of people using their armor as swords I think is poignant.

My only criticisms would be that it drags in a few spots and there aren't a lot of up-tempo tunes. Far Cry is as rockin as it gets. Still, the complexity of the music and the amazing combination of styles/sounds really drives it forward despite a lot of slower tempo tunes.

So definitely a winner in my book. Still no MP obviously, but it is really unique, and yet still Rush. Honestly, this is the album I've been waiting for them to make ever since RtB- I only hope it ages well. The last of their albums that I fell in love with instantly was CP, and it really isn't high on my list any more.
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: Rush: Far Cry - 02/05/2007 22:35

Just ordered it from Amazon. AND I saw tickets for their tour are being sold. PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ, July 7th!!!!!! Haven't been to a Rush show since Test For Echo, so it's been way too long.