UPDATE - 11/16@10:00AM: I now have a better scan of the article courtesy RushFanForever.
The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine contains a short feature on Rush titled Rush Roar Back Into the Limelight With New LP where they interview Geddy Lee on the band's upcoming Clockwork Angels album. Reader Dave shot a photo of the piece and I transcribed it below:
Rush Roar Back Into the Limelight With New LP
Album: Clockwork Angels
Due Out: 2012Rush spent the past two years looking back - performing their 1981 classic Moving Pictures in its entirety. But at the same time, the Canadian prog heroes started cranking on thier 20th LP, Clockwork Angels. "We're almost finished writing," says frontman Geddy Lee. "Hopefully we'll have all of the recording done before Christmas."
Last year, Rush tested the waters, releasing two tracks from the album = the Metallica-ish riff monsters "Caravan" and "BU2B" - and playing them on tour. "We figured we had nothing to lose," says Lee. "It was a lot of fun for the fans, and fun for us." The disc is shaping up to be the trio's heaviest in decades. Says Lee, "The two tracks we released point in the direction we're going."
Rush haven't scored a Top 40 hit since 1982's "New World Man," but they've maintained one of rock's biggest cult audiences. And last year's acclaimed documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage helped make them more popular than ever. "We feel invigorated," says Lee. "I think we've come to a point in our lives where we're playing the best we've ever played as a live band.
"You don't know how long that's going to go," he adds. "Rock & roll does have its limits as far as the aging process. You want to go out there and play while you're at your peak." - Andy Greene
The feature is a little outdated as we now know via a more recent interview with Alex Lifeson that the band has now finished the writing process:
... We're in the studio right now. We're plowing away on a new record. Things are going really, really well. We've got all the material written. We've got a few tracks that Neil's done his drum parts on - that's slowly evolving. I'm pretty excited about it actually. It's very fresh - at least for me. From behind these eyes it seems pretty fresh and exciting. Strong melodies and really we're having a ball working on this record. You know Geddy and I have been writing music together for over 40 years and it's amazing to me how we are so excited to get into the studio every day that we work together. And we're like little kids - the kids that we always were when we started this many years ago. ... We're probably a little over a week ahead of our schedule right now, which is pretty amazing for us. ...
Guitar World is running a poll on their website where they are asking readers what album they are most looking forward to in 2012, and Rush's Clockwork Angels is one of the options. So go vote for Rush!
Related Posts:
[Clockwork Angels update: writing completed, recording underway]
[Alex Lifeson Humble and Fred podcast interview now online]
[Geddy Lee talks Clockwork Angels, 2012 tour in new Rolling Stone interview]
[Rush sound engineer Rich Chycki on Clockwork Angels recording, Sector box sets]
[Rush producer Nick Raskulinecz: Clockwork Angels in pre-production; start recording mid-October]
[Rush signs with Roadrunner Records]
[Excerpts from Classic Rock's Prog magazine Rush feature]
[Alex Lifeson interview from the Toledo Free Press]
[New Geddy Lee radio interview at the UK's 106.1 Rock Radio]
[Short Rush Clockwork Angels feature in March issue of Mojo]
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