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.
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.