I love this CD. It's a perfect transition from VT to CA. It does sound much better, especially the MVI stereo tracks. I love most of the songs, except the Larger Bowl.
Far Cry is a
great Rush tune.
A&S has an interesting drum opening and off-kilter riff, but it really shines in the middle right before the guitar solo. The part that starts with, "Confused alarms of struggle and flight ..." has an almost spooky melody with a haunting harmony, and then it's carried through into the solo with an intensity that only Alex could muster.
WTA is catchy, a nice chorus. I'm a little tired of hearing it live.
Spindrift is a great dissonant, haunting tune that alternates between weird and beautiful. I love that jam at the end on the Blu-ray.
TLB is interesting as a lyrical exercise, but not as a piece of music. I like how some lines are sang at different parts in the melody, shifting their place in the stanzas and altering their emphasis each time. But it's a boring tune.
TMMB is an awesome instrumental. I've got to disagree with Cail here. I love this song, and could listen to it over and over. I like its expansive structure, how it meanders through several different parts with gradually increasing intensity. The main riff could easily be on Clockwork Angels, similar to BU2B or Caravan.
TWTWB hints at Rush's bluesy side, which they really don't show enough. Yes, it sounds like Cream. It also sounds like their early work in the 70s. It could have come off the first album. But then the main riff kicks it into a different direction. I think this song does lack climax/resolution, but those verses are awesome. [Tangent: on the MVI disc, there's a "behind the scenes" video describing each song as it was recorded, and this one is particularly interesting regarding the drums. Neil rerecorded the whole thing after it was finished, based on the advice of his engineer. That story starts on 6:16 of
this video. The beginning of the video has the MalNar story.]
Hope is just gorgeous. I completely agree on that one. [Incidentally, the MVI video has Alex jamming on 6-string, doing either alternate takes of Hope or completely different stuff; it's similar but different. Anyway, I think he *could* go on for hours do this type of music. He obviously has a blast playing it.]
Faithless is just a perfect atheist anthem. The music is pretty, too.
BF gets a lot of grief, but I like its dorky, twangy pseudo-country sound. And I think the chorus is beautiful, very moving lyrically.
MalNar is a classic. I wish they'd do more stuff like this and put some words to it. That bass line is so fun to play, just infectious.
GNF and WHO also get a lot of grief. They're weaker songs, but both have their strong points (unlike Larger Bowl). They remind me more of VT than CA, kind of looking backward rather than forward.
Lyrically, I think this is the pinnacle of Rush messages. It captures the entire spectrum of unbelief, from criticizing religion for how it bends us down, molding us into sometimes violent drones, to showing us the positive side of being faithless. It's not just a critique of religion, but a positive way of life in itself, with its own value system and its own version of Good. Bravest Face reminds me of themes in the Chronicles, how even if there is no magical place, it's still important to face one's life with bravery and authenticity. Each song has its own distinct message, but all of them cohere into a common theme, like Counterparts. I'm glad they finally came out of the agnostic closet.
[I still intend to download the VT "remix" and post my results. Maybe this weekend.]
Joe Biden … putting the Dem in dementia since (at least) 2020.