Rush - Snakes & Arrows
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Music CD Cover
Artist: RushBrand: Atlantic
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-05-01
Music Label: Atlantic
Product features:
- 2007 Studio Album!
- Far Cry
- Armor and Sword
- Workin' Them Angels
- The Larger Bowl
- Spindrift
- The Main Monkey Business
- The Way the Wind Blows
- Hope
- Faithless
- Bravest Face
- Good News First
- Malignant Narcissism
- We Hold On
Free Music Notes for Snakes & Arrows
Free Music Review: Their Best Studio Release in Twenty Years
Hit: 5 Stars
The decade spanning 1976 to 1985 established Rush as one of hard rock's premier acts, and the eight studio albums released during this period offer the finest songs of the band's catalog. During that decade Rush was on an incredible roll, with every album offering top-notch songs. Never before and certainly not since has the band matched the quality of songs like Limelight, Free Will, The Analog Kid, The Trees, and a half dozen other classics released during that period.
It's not that the band suddenly started to suck around 1986, but they did abruptly lose two key assets: their songwriting gifts and, equally striking, Alex Lifeson's astonishing ability to compose memorable riffs. I believe Rush's immense popularity is due primarily to Alex Lifeson; at his creative peak the guy was practically a machine -- nearly every guitar riff he came up with was brilliant, and these riffs formed the backbone of the best albums in Rush's catalog.
I don't hold it against Lifeson that his masterful ability to compose energetic guitar riffs and solos seemed to evaporate after 1985, any more than I'd hold it against a 35-year-old who can no longer dunk a basketball. It seems clear that being a first-rate hard rock guitarist is a young man's game. And if you look at some of Lifeson's guitar-god peers, their gifts often eroded in a far more catastrophic manner than did Lifeson's.
It's indeed probable that Lifeson's technical abilities only increased after 1985, as he became interested in complex wailing chords. But any growth he made as an guitarist couldn't begin to offset the creative talent that was lost. Compare the riffs and overall guitar sound of Freewill and The Trees to any Rush song that came after 1985 and it's instantly obvious that something vital had vanished. Without Lifeson's trademark riffs and solos, never again would the band compose a classic on the order of Limelight.
Many of us Rush fans have had a love-hate relationship with post-1985 Rush. We faithfully buy their albums, yet consistently end up with an overall feeling of disappointment. Rush's work ethic and talent is such that they are incapable of releasing a bad album. But without the inspired guitar-driven song writing they once offered, the releases consistently pale when compared to their peak work.
So when Rush released Snakes and Arrows I dutifully yet reluctantly picked up a copy the moment it became available, bracing myself for another album of exceptional craftsmanship yet one that would continue Rush's post-1985 tradition of being an overall letdown. Although Neil Peart had written a lengthy essay ("The Game of Snakes and Arrows") claiming that the recording process had been the most satisfying the band had ever experienced, I was so used to disappointment that I refused to get my hopes up.
After my first listen, I decided this album was worth my time to write a review. But I wanted to make sure I did justice to this album. I've since listened to Snakes and Arrows closely more than twenty times, and I'm not the least bit tired of it. Everything about this album stands up to, and in fact demands, careful and repeated listens.
The only negative comment I can make about this album is that even the best songs don't quite reach the songwriting heights of Rush's classic period. But the band makes up for this deficit, bringing things to the table we've never before heard. Most obvious is the gorgeous sound production. Despite the fact that all three members of Rush are virtuoso musicians, this is nevertheless a band that lives and dies based on its choice of producer. Back during the Terry Brown era, Rush's production work was consistently excellent. Since then, the band has had their ups and downs with different producers. Vapor Trails, their previous studio release of original material, was simply butchered in production. I've repeatedly tried to listen to Vapor Trails but I've never enjoyed the experience. While some listeners regard Vapor Trails as a strong album, I consider it unlistenable.
By contrast, Snakes and Arrows isn't just the best-sounding of Rush's albums, it's among the best-sounding hard rock albums ever released. I can't overstate how highly I regard this album's production. The textures are nuanced and gorgeous, and the attention to sonic detail throughout stands up to the production quality evident in albums by studio geniuses like the Basement Jaxx and Kruder and Dorfmeister.
In Snakes and Arrows, we have an album that is meticulously crafted yet never comes across as sounding slick. If I had the opportunity to tell the band one thing, it would be that they would be out of their minds to ever choose anyone other than Nick Raskulinecz to produce future studio albums. In Snakes and Arrows, Raskulinecz' exquisite production instincts have restored Rush's musical relevance and given the band a new lease on life. Listen closely to any other album in the Rush catalog, and I think you'll agree that none offers the gorgeous sonic qualities of Snakes and Arrows.
Even though the songs on this album aren't as strong as Rush's peak work, the overall listening experience this album offers is the band's finest yet. Put on a pair of good headphones and you're transported to a world in many ways richer and more interesting than what you'll find in Hemispheres or Moving Pictures.
For the first time in twenty years, Rush has released an album that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with their finest work. As songwriters, these guys can no longer dunk a basketball, but their overall game has only improved. After a twenty year drought, I hold Snakes and Arrows, without reservation, as being among the top four albums released by the band. And to think I had thought they were losing it.
Snakes & Arrows Poster
Anthem/Atlantic recording group Rush return with its first new collection of original material in nearly five years, entitled "SNAKES & ARROWS." The album was recorded in the fall of 2006 with Gammy Award-winner Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) and Rush co-producing. "It's hard to describe," Geddy Lee recently told Revolver re: "SNAKES & ARROWS.""It's big, it's bold, and I think it's some of the best work we've done in years. I'm really pleased with the quality ofthe songs, and there's lots of playing on it. " Rush - Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart - will trumpet the release of "SNAKES & ARROWS" with a full-scale North American tour, the renowned trio's first since 2004's "An Evening with Rush: 30th Anniversary Tour."A return to their former glory days, Snakes and Arrows shows this seminal prog rock band reclaiming some of the sonic territory that they'd lost over the past few years. It's not certain what contributed to this artistic rebirth, but Rush has crafted a historical and emotional odyssey that shows many both where they've been and where they're going--from the baroque soundscapes of "The Main Monkey Business," reminiscent of their earliest work to the seductive almost folkloric urgency of "The Way the Wind Blows," which is as dangerous, anxious, and prophetic as anything that Arcade Fire or Mars Volta is doing currently. Main Lyricist Neil Peart has spent the last decade getting over the death of his wife and daughter, and those tragic events have given his songwriting more depth and gravity as he explores the strengths and limitations of faith in both metaphoric and literal detail. While never didactic or ponderous, this disc is really an instruction manual for how one conducts themselves with grace and hope through unendurable pain and the vagaries of life. Gone is much of the shrillness of their earlier incarnations--Geddy Lee's trademark high pitch shrieks have mellowed considerably and Alex Lifesong's guitar playing has an assurance and freedom that can only come with age. --Jaan Uhelszki
With songs such as "Far Cry" and "Workin' Them Angels," Rush has, with Snakes And Arrows crafted one of its finest albums of the decade and this new MVI DVD edition of the title allows you to experience the album in all its splendor. The MVI format (which works in all computers and DVD players but not in conventional CD players) allows you to hear the entire album in 5.1 surround sound (a must, especially for "Malignant Narcissism" and "Faithless"), to catch an in-depth documentary about the recording of this latest outing and extras that allow you to create your own ringtones, make wallpapers and much more. In order to fully enjoy the experience you may have to do some minor maneuvering with your stereo system or computer in order to fully appreciate what the MVI edition offers but any almost immediately proves worth the effort. Obsessives will want to buy the album in this format as it captures Rush in its true multidimensional element and everyone should own a small slice of Rush at this point in the game.??Jedd Beaudoin
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