Steven Wilson would like to work with Rush*

He said so in an interview in the ROCKS magazine. Thought this might be interesting. (German article, translation by myself - sorry for some clunky formulations.)

'I love Rush, but I don't like the sound of their newer albums at all. My favourite album - and here I agree with a lot of people - is "Moving Pictures", then "Hemispheres" and after that "Permanent Waves". They sounded more organic at that time. These albums sound so incredibly good, everything feels frontal, it's got room and energy. In the last twenty albums their albums have become increasingly more electronic and pimped. Rush are incredibly talented musicians. I'd really like to get the chance to do an album with them that sounds the way I imagine Rush.'

So Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves and Hemispheres are his favourites (hardly surprising, though I suppose he doesn't hate the mid-80s albums either). What I found very interesting is that he would like to produce Rush and make them sound the way he thinks they deserve to sound. Wasn't there some talk of him producing them already before Clockwork Angels? Also Alex played on one of his records.

He also stated that he thinks the Led Zeppelin remasters campaign was a missed opportunity. 'I haven't met anyone who was very impressed by them yet. A big opportunity has been missed here, in my opinion. [Jimmy] perhaps should have remixed them in stereo or surround, that would have really given these albums a sonic improvement. Well, at least I would have done it that way, and I would have liked to do it.'

What do you think about these statements of Steven, especially regarding Rush? I think Nick Rasculinecz did a good job on both S&A and CA in terms of arrangements / creative input / inspiration but his mixing on Clockwork Angels...well 'nuff said. And really, this should also help to shut up the people who still won't accept anybody who dares to criticize the sound of a Rush release, now that the 'authority' has spoken, if you like. (This last statement is directed to the people on Amazon and TRF who keep insulting everybody as 'trolls' if they say they don't like the mixing or mastering on CA. As if Rush couldn't make mistakes and realize them later, see: Vapor Trails.)

 

I don't like the sound of the recent or earlier albums.

 

Yeah the Zep remasters are a big missed opportunity but you know the "original mix" mantra.
Jimmy's the boss and Jimmy likes 'em.
Fin.

 

I agree on both...Rush's recent albums have been great musically but I hate the sound of them...and I say that as a huge Rush fan. And the Led Zeppelin remasters as a missed opportunity...he's being to kind. I think they've been pretty crap overall, honestly, and I say that as a massive LZ and Page fan.

 

I'd love to have Steven work on a new Rush album, personally. I have loved Rush's output over the decades. My favorite period, Fly By Night through Moving Pictures. I would say I'm in agreement with SW on Rush's sound. To me their is no comparison between say Hemispheres and ClockWork Angels as far as the sound goes. I'm not even talking about compressed vs. non compressed. Like the debacle with Vaper Trails. The earlier Rush albums had air and the music breathed. On the newer albums it's a wall of sound with all the voids filled in. To me it makes the music less engaging. I still love Rush and listen to all their albums, some more than others, but I understand what SW is referring to.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I think the LZ reissues are a missed opportunity because the deluxe edition extras have been crap except for the live disc with LZ1 and the Sunset Sound mix of Stairway.

 

Very much agree with regard to the sound of latter day Rush releases.

Disagree on the Zep reissues - I'm happy with them. Not that I wouldn't be as happy (or happier) if Steven handled the campaign in similar fashion to what he did with Yes/Crimson/Tull etc. But for someone who has been listening to the Marinos for years and years, the current crop is a noted improvement as fas as I'm concerned.

 

Steven Wilson working on a new Rush album or even remixing some old ones would be a dream come true. I hope it comes true one day...

 

I agree with all of that, and we've probably been through this on this forum a thousand times. But for somebody with his reputation to say it (in public!), it really makes a difference to me. It may also come through and find its way into Rush's camp - or maybe they've finally understood it, hence the new mastering on the hi-res versions?

 

I like old Rush, period. I need solos like on Freewill.

 

The announcement of Rush in 5.1 was one of the main reason I jumped into my first surround player back in the 2000s. Unfortunately, those never materialized back then and the ones that have been released in recent years have been a disappointment. I hope they give SW an opportunity to remix at least one of their albums. I'd love to see him do Grace Under Pressure but it makes more sense for him to remix an album he loves. Permanent Waves perhaps?

 

For me, the last Rush album that sounded decent was Counterparts, but even that pales when stacked up against their early work. Personally, I think the high water mark was Permanent Waves but everything up to and including Signals sounded good.

The newer stuff is just sonic mush. I would love to have them do a stripped down record of guitar, bass, drums, vocals. Do what Sabbath did with "13", but unlike Sabbath, don't compress it all to hell.

 

Rush's sound has suffered greatly over the years once Terry Brown was axed as producer. Fans love the sound he got from the band.

 

It's a sign of his growing swagger that SW would openly campaign to produce Rush or rework Led Zep but I think he needs to be careful how he handles what power he currently wields. Saying this sort of thing in an interview might irritate some people in the industry.

That said, I suspect that he's right on all counts.

 

As if I needed another reason to love Steven Wilson, but there it is.
Houses of the Holy (2018 Steven Wilson 5.1 mix) - drool.

 

I love Counterparts, and I think that the sound still holds up well today though I can understand the complaints against it. For me, the guitar sound has never been better and really that's a massive problem. On the CA tour, Alex ran his guitars through thousands of effects thanks to computers but he doesn't seem to realize that this makes his guitar lose all characteristics. It reminds me of the line in Hemispheres - "I have memory and awareness but I have no shape or form". That 'formless' guitar sound was first heard on Test for Echo, I believe.

And I was very unsure whether I should post it here because I know that some people may get it the wrong way but then I thought of all the Rush fans here. Also, if it's in a magazine, it's out in the public, right?

 

Couldn't agree with him more about Rush's later albums. But apparently, that's they sound they're going for for some reason.

 

I`ve said it before and I`ll say it again. Anything that has the involvement of Richard Chycki sounds abysmal for the most part. Snakes & Arrows on lp is not too bad but still fairly murdered. Snakes & Arrows live is a complete farce. Moving Pictures Live is also a complete farce. Clockwork Angels on lp is pretty poor but almost listenable with a few beers to ease the pain. I basically am unable to enjoy my favourite band of all time these last few years as all I can usually hear is a wall of s**t with a few tunes buried in it somewhere. I haven`t even bothered with the last few live albums as I know I will never listen to them because they will most likely sound terrible. Bring back Terry ffs Rant over!!!

 

I'm not sure what you mean, I am at TRF too and people slam the mixing of the later albums all the time, an opinion I agree with. I would venture hating the new mixes is the majority opinion there. I loved the album Clockwork Angels and hated the mixing and all the recent live albums have been poorly done as well, going back to Rush in Rio. I especially can't stand the echoey parts like in the title track of CA where they were trying to make Geddy sound like he is speaking through a loudspeaker or something but it ends up completely non-understandable.

 

I read an interview with Alex and Geddy a few years back where they blessed modern digital compression and limiting. I think it was particularly Alex that loved the way it made it possible to actually hear everything that's going on at the same time...

The Clockwork Angels Tour may be the sonically most unlistenable album I've encountered so far. And the studio CA suffers a lot from bad production choices too.

 

It took Rush 20 months to record Clockwork Angels. As nice as it would be to have Wilson produce a Rush album, there's no way that he's taking that much time out of his career to actually do it. If Rush could get it written and rehearsed on their own and then bring in SW to record it in, like, a month, then maybe.

But this may be a moot point, as Rush has thus far expressed antipathy regarding the notion of recording another studio album.

 

As a matter of interest (not trying to start an argument and I don't myself have a position) is there anyone who thinks that Rush are writing and performing the best music of their career but being badly produced? I sort of had the impression that they were viewed as well past their prime, and the production was just the cherry on the top of that.

 

Haha, I'd love for Wilson do remix Snakes, Clockwork Angels and maybe Presto and Roll the Bones too?! I would like to think that with the flat transfers that Mister Wilson is producing these days, that other producers will hopefully catch on going into the future.

 

I agree with Steven Wilson about the sound of the recent albums, his 3 favourites and the order in which he mentions them. I'd love to see Steven Wilson and Rush working together.

 

Mr. cash grab ...I mean, Mr. Wilson is right about Rush's recent albums being "pimped."