Rush - Snakes & Arrows
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Free Music Notes for Snakes & Arrows
Free Music Review: Outstanding, textural and layered release! Great songwriting!
Hit: 5 Stars
Music is HIGHLY subjective... that's a given. You can either feel enthusiastic, lukewarm, or dissapointed about Rush's latest effort. But what I can't accept or understand is some of the whiny reviewers that EXPECTED this to sound like 'Moving Pictures' or '2112' or (fill in your favorite older Rush album), as if the band existed to solely cater to YOUR musical whims and expectations! To those individuals, please can the self-centered stance, and open your minds to accept inevitable and unavoidable change and progress. 'Progressive rock', after all, partially encompasses this view of change and moving forward, as well as the requisite prog style of music tempo and time signature changes. Anywho, to my middle-aged ears, 'Snakes & Arrows' is truly excellent and beautiful, with LOTS of passion, texture, and mastery, which can only be the creation of a veteran, respected, world-class band like RUSH. The lyrics are 'vintage Peart' and even 'darker' than usual this time around, questioning faith and presumably the existence of 'God' (or at least a benevolent 'God') at various points throughout. Can you blame or fault him?! Man is 'laid bare' to fend for himself in an unpredictable, often cruel, vexing world subject to its vagaries and hardships (Peart knows this in 'real life', given the beyond cruel, tragic loss of his daughter and wife)! In summation of this short review, I must also comment on the excellent production and sonics of this epic and masterful CD, which is first rate. They did a SUPERB recording and mastering job, and it shows especially on a killer high end, high resolution audio system (I run McIntosh gear and Magneplanar speakers, as an example). LONG LIVE RUSH! THANK YOU, GEDDY, ALEX, AND NEIL.Free Music Review: Definitely Will Be Yet Another Classic Album By Rush!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
People, you gotta give this album a chance! When I first heard this album, I thought it sounded very weird......and I'm a seasoned Rush listener! I have ALL of their studio albums! But, when I heard it in its entirety two more times, every song fell into place perfectly! That's how it is with very experienced bands like Rush! They make complex albums like this one that NEED multiple listens to get the true feel for the album! I must say, now that I have the true feel for this album, I am enjoying each and every song MORE & MORE with each listen of the album. In fact, I've had that awesome riff in "The Main Monkey Business" in my head ALL DAY TODAY!!! And....each song flows flawlessly from song to song....beginning to end! I can't get over how awesome this album sounds and is! Awesome album, from beginning to end!!!!!!!!! Each song has true texture and feeling....and Geddy's voice is second to none on this album! Powerful sounding voice!
When I compare this album to all their others, I must say that this album has to be in their top 5 best albums ever made. Buy it and truly listen to it, one, two, three and more times. You will think it's one of their BEST as well. Also, as if everything I've stated so far weren't enough, the production and sound quality on this album is PERFECT! Crystal clear sound.....even at high volume! (Unlike Vapor Trails, which I had to return to the store and exchange it for another copy of VT because the sound quality was horrible on the first copy I bought, and I don't think it was much better on the second one either) In summary.....'Snakes & Arrows'.....ENJOY!!!! Sure to be yet another classic by one of the BEST Rock bands of all
Free Music Review: Amen!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
RUSH! Enough said. What do they owe the music community? Well, absolutely nothing. Rock music is a strange commodity in that it offers Britney Spears, The DeFranco Family, 50 Cent...oops...my mistake on 50 Cent.....no music there. Nonetheless, I am sure that classical, romantic, swing music all had their frauds. Question is: who remains in history and who has been tossed to the scrapheap of nothingness.
RUSH LIVES!! Yep, after 38 years of plugging along Rolling Stone even recognized them (Don't sob too hard....AC/DC was on the cover for the first time a few weeks ago....see what happens when you leave ROCK AND ROLL in the hands of popular culture and a bunch of less than desirables..)
OK..... Let's move forward. "Snakes and Arrows" is a tour de force ranking with any of the great albums that RUSH has made over their illustrious career. For any of the uninitiated this should give you some insight into the broad appeal. I have two sons, one is 13 and the other is 9. One plays bass and the other guitar. Guess what bands they like? Well Cheap Trick, Guns and Roses...oh yeah....RUSH! They love this album and so do I. Why would I even inject this into this review? Here's why.
Rush- Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart- are music icons....yes....music icons. No genre needed. "Snakes and Arrows is an inspired effort that just floored me. Get it. Rock with it, and enjoy the lyrics, or be troubled by them. Whatever the case may be, this is an album that deserves intense attantion. Old fan or brand new, you will not be disappointed.....unless you prefer the DeFranco Family or Britney Spears. No hope for 50 cent fans.
Free Music Review: Best release in a long time
Hit: 5 Stars
After almost three decades of ear time, it would be impossible to displace a classic like Moving Pictures from the top slot, but Snakes and Arrows (weird title) is a very solid effort. The songs are strong all the way through. Alex managed to change his sound A LOT without losing that essential Lerxst-ness us guitar player fans know and love. He mostly plays Gibsons into tube amps, no effects, and a lot of acoustic. Geddy is solid on bass (what did you expect?) and his vocals really work quite nicely, though they took me a bit to get used to. Neil's drumming is a bit simpler sounding than in the past, but in a good way that leaves some more space in the material. His lyrics are dark, mostly being reflections on faith and war, in particular making it in a world full of faiths you don't share that's plagued by war and all sorts of bad stuff. This isn't really new for terrain for Rush, though, since most of the scifi the band was famous for went out back in the early 80s. Nonetheless, Neil seems to put it together in a way that the rawer songs on Vapor Trails didn't manage. I give a lot of credit to producer Nick Raskulinecz (who previously worked with Foo Fighters), who pushed the band to strip things down and get back to the 70s in a good way. (Of course, I credit the band for having the wisdom to know they needed to hire a producer to push them.) For instance, recording took 12 days total, from an interview I read with Alex, amazingly short in this day and age. Unlike Vapor Trails---which sounded muddy to me---production is nice and clean, with instruments inhabiting their own distinct sonic space.Free Music Review: Sonically One of Rush's Best
Hit: 5 Stars
True Rush fans will LOVE this CD. By "true fans" I mean those who are fans beyond Moving Pictures and have enjoyed each of the different stages Rush as played through. I admit that when I first listened to Snakes & Arrows I didn't have anyt one song jump out and completely grab me alhtough Far Cry, We Hold On and both insturementals (Main Monkey Business & Malignant Narcissism) were all immediately very good and strong sonically. But like many Rush albums (oops, CDs these days) your appreciation grows each time you hear it. Like other reviewers have commented, by about the 5th play I was totally into the CD. But I still was only playing it on my car CD player. When I finally played it through a good set of headphones and could hear all of the layers of music which comprised the structure of each song, I was sold on this being one of Rush's best products ever and that says alot. I was fortunate enough to see them twice on this tour and as usual their live sound is as close to studio sound as a concert can be. I'd recommend finding the tour book for Snakes & Arrows if you can because Neil does an excellent job of explaining how the lyrics, themes, CD pictures, production and everything has an underlieing storyline that all came together quite by chance (and who says they don't have faith in faith). Lots of humor in both the printed CD and the show as is customary for Rush. I'd definatly recommend to any fan of rock-n-roll to buy this CD, put it in a quality sound system and kick back and enjoy. It is a sonic experience to be savored.