Rush - Snakes & Arrows
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Free Music Notes for Snakes & Arrows
Free Music Review: This Album Hits a Nerve
Hit: 5 Stars
I have been a Rush fan since I was 10. Haven't missed a tour since 1986. So I guess you could say I am a devoted fan. However, I claim to be unbiased. Some of their work has been forgettable. A handful of Rush albums are notably below par: Rush, Caress of Steel, and Presto; and the last three studio albums: Test for Echo, Vapor Trails, and the silly EP of 60's tunes. I expected more of the same this time around.
Well, this album is beyond my expectations. I like every song, which I haven't been able to say since 1986's Power Windows. This isn't the second coming of Moving Pictures, which is a timeless classic, but the songs and performance are both extremely good.
Geddy Lee's vocals have improved. Not only does he sound excellent on Snakes and Arrows, but he was just slaying these songs live. After seeing them so many times, I noticed a big difference this time around!
I have some objections about the sound of Snakes and Arrows. The mastering is awful. It's one thing to compress audio to maximize volume, but most of these tracks maxed out the limiter and the result is a chopped off square waveform. There are better compression techniques! Some tracks have other digital anamolies. I think the equalization is OK, but it's artificially warm (post-processed). Somehow it's listenable, but I wish Rush would concentrate on making an honest recording, and hire better engineers to achieve it. They haven't had a superb sounding album since Counterparts. Rush has not had consistent studio engineering since Terry Brown was producing, and it's a shame.
Back to positive things, I like the subject matter of the songs. The thinking man is thinking about war and religion, and this is a timely thinking man's album.
Free Music Review: Yet Another Philosophical Prog Gem From Rush
Hit: 5 Stars
Rush has been around for over 30 years. In that time they have held to their guns unwaveringly, immovable against grunge, pop, rap, and every fad and trend the music industry threw at them. Sometimes they were nearly successful ("Moving Pictures" and "Permanent Waves" were very successful Billboard albums) and other times virtually ignored. They have experimented with many diverse styles, always with a progressive edge and intent, pushed themselves artistically, written some of the most intelligent, humanistic and philosophical lyrics in modern music, and displayed a caliber and standard of musicianship far above their peers. Due to all of the above, I have always liked and respected them, and look forward to each new Rush release.
"Snakes And Arrows" actually sets a new bar for the band when compared to their last several releases, and sees them moving in an even more exploratory and progressive direction, with dense, layered production, elaborate and complex instrumentation, and a textural and epic approach to songwriting. It takes a couple of spins to sink in, like many good prog albums do, and is one of the most satisfying rock albums of the year. All of the trademark Rush-isms are there; brilliantly thought-provoking lyrics and amazing drumming from Peart, standout vocals and melodic bass themes from Lee, and diverse, varied and textural guitar explorations from the perpetually underrated guitar hero Lifeson....add great production, the wonderful artwork and packaging Rush fans have come to expect from the band, and an epic, progressive vibe sometimes missing from the band's '90s output, and you have an awesome addition to the collection of any fan of smart modern rock. When these guys hang their hats up, it will be a sad day for me......
Free Music Review: it was 38 years ago today.....
Hit: 5 Stars
'Fly by night' was my intro (at the ripe old age of 16) to Rush. I'm 51 years old now and these three supremely talented men have never failed to amaze me.
Rush has always chosen evolution over stagnation; Following there collective hearts instead of following trends.
They continue to entertain and grow and share with all of us there passion for the thing they do.
There was a time where Rush was known as the LAST OF THE '70' POWER TRIOS....I suppose that's true but....what band, after all these years...has displayed the kind of honesty, integrity, creativity, virtuosity, and love for there craft that Geddy, Alex, and Neil (the new guy) bring to the recording studio and most of all the stage.
My life is sort of a road map...dotted with moments punctuated with there music.
Not a bad sound track to live by...not too bad at all.
I have seen them on stage many times. Highlights of which were back in the day when they toured with "Max Webster" as their opening act....WOW, those were the days but, it was the "Snakes and Arrows" tour about three years ago when I had the best seat in the house.....I'm a stagehand (in Detroit) by trade and my show call assignment was (down stage right) Truss-spot operator; and my assigned target was Neil in the drum kit!!!!
That was a moment....That was special....to watch and be a part of the performance...for these three extraordinary human beings, who's career I have followed for so long.
Here's to 40 more years of being "true to ones self".
I felt it back when I was 16 years old....I know and praise it now, 38 years later as something that is all to rare in the world we live in today.
Open hearts. Open minds.
and ain't life grand.
Peace.
Free Music Review: I like this album.
Hit: 5 Stars
What most "Rush" fans must realize is that "Rush" make music for themselves, not any of you. That being said, i enjoyed this album immensly. The songs on Snakes and Arrows are very heavy (often incorporating heavy metal riffs) while still offering much in the way of instrumental melody. And contrary to other reviews on this site, I did find that there are certainly moments of "Rush Magic" contained therein. For instance, The lyric in "Workin' Them Angels": "turn up the music and smile!" that Geddy enthusiastically shouts, and the beautiful chorus in "The Way The Wind Blows", among others. However, there still exists in this album the classic Rush complexity that fans have come to expect. Surprisingly, Snakes and Arrows also contains three instrumentals of varying lengths. "Hope" is a fully acoustic unaccompanied guitar solo that clocks in at just over two minutes. "Malignant Narcissism" is a highly rythmic and slightly funky number at about three minutes. Lastly, "The Main Monkey Buisness" is a six plus minute musical adventure that should satisfy almost anyone who takes the time to listen closely to the brilliant subtleties within it.This is all the song analysis I am willing to do, as i'd like to leave any potential listener with the pleasure of discovering the rest of this wonderful album for themselves. As for the lyrics on this one, expect something similiar to "vapor Trails" but with quite alot of religion bashing (which I personally enjoy in any form of media). Finally, I would recommend "Snakes and Arrows" to any hard rock fan with an open mind, any person that is a fan of intelligent music, and to the millions of "Rush" fanatics (like myself) who are bound to get this one regardless of what anyone like me has to say about it!Free Music Review: A Long Awaited Return to Form
Hit: 5 Stars
That Snakes and Arrows is a popular album, there is no doubt. The amazon sales rankings and the sheer number of the reviews will attest to that. Its release has been long-anticipated and I would say that for the most part, Rush has not disappointed its legion of fans.
I make no claim to being an expert on the band's music and have been only a sometimes fan for the last 30 years mainly because I have found Geddy Lee's voice often hard to take. Many people I know have the same opinion of Lee's vocal skills. But I say to those who have shared that view that Lee has never sounded better than he does here.
Snakes and Arrows represents a return to the kind of powerhouse rock that made Rush famous in the first place. It is just packed with over an hour of mostly very good and memorable songs. Neil Peart's songwriting here gives the album a lyrical heft that ranks it with Rush's best.
While I like the whole CD, some songs naturally stand out. To me, those are Armor and Sword; the thought-provoking The Larger Bowl; the instrumental The Main Monkey Business; The Way the Wind Blows, with its changing tempos and its lyrics relevant to today's world; Faithless; the driving instrumental Malignant Narcissism; and the inspiring We Hold On.
An earlier reviewer wrote that Snakes and Arrows sounds better with every listen. That's certainly been true for me as well.
If you are an old fan of Rush, chances are you are going to love this CD. If you are a sometime fan like myself, you won't be sorry to own this one for sure. I've had it in my CD changer for several weeks now getting lots of play. The packaging includes a handsome booklet containing lyrics, general information and some artwork pertinent to the lyrics.