Rush- Snakes & Arrows
Released May 1st 2007,
Snakes & Arrows is Rush’s eighteenth full length studio album and their first studio album in nearly four years, not counting 2004’s
Feedback EP. The album is produced by former Foo Fighters producer, Nick Raskulinecz along with the members of the band themselves.
The production on
Snakes & Arrows is significantly better than the rather poor production of
Vapor Trails. The music itself is heavy rock with progressive elements. The album shows significant similarities to the band’s sound on both Feedback and early Rush records such as
2112 and
Hemispheres. The record contains three instrumentals, the first new instrumentals since
Test for Echo. The origin of the title, Peart says, comes from the lyrics for “Armor and Sword.” After Googling “Snakes and Arrows”, Peart discovered Leela, The Game of Knowledge. Leela was an old Hindu board game which was the precursor to the common children’s game, Snakes and Ladders. Ironically, the subtitle of this game was The Game of Snakes and Arrows. After discovering this, Peart and the other two band members agreed that this should be the final title of the album. The band also took the cover for that board game and used it as the cover for their album. Though I like the title, I do not particularly prefer the cover opposed to the other artwork made for the album.
Band: Geddy Lee (Bass Guitar, bass pedals, mellotron, keyboards, vocals)
Alex Lifeson (Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki)
Neil Peart (Percussion)
All song written by Lee, Lifeson, Peart
Track List:
1.
Far CryFar Cry is the first single from
Snakes & Arrows, charting at 22nd on the mainstream rock charts. It has been streaming on Rush’s website since March 12th. The song is extremely heavy from the start with repeated riffs showing prominence of Geddy’s bass. The song is well structured with a catchy chorus and several swift changes from riff to riff. The lyrics are damn good as well. This song does suffer from a lack of an Alex solo and the music is a tad repetitive. But overall, good start to the record and a nice choice for the first single.
2.
Armor and SwordKicking off with Peart’s pulsing drums, the song quickly dissolves into simply an acoustic guitar and Geddy’s vocals. After the verse, the acoustic disappears and a heavy electric riff comes in for the chorus. This pattern continues throughout the song, with a synthesizer also aiding in places. Peart’s lyrics are particularly strong on this track. Lifeson has some small solo parts but they are buried too far in the mix in my opinion.
3.
Workin’ Them AngelsVery similar to
Moving Pictures era Rush in my opinion. The guitar clearly is prominent on this track with playing acoustics, electrics, and a mandolin. The lyrics on this track refer to Peart’s tendency to live on the edge. Once again, no guitar solo, but the song is way too strong to count that as a fault.
4.
The Larger BowlThis song is primarily acoustic with Geddy pleading over Lifeson during the verses and even the chorus. Peart’s drumming is particularly noticeable on this track, probably because of the acoustic guitars dominating instead of the electrics. Lifeson has an awesome solo on this track. Not too space-age sounding and not too long. The solo is perfect in length with perfect tone, bravo Alex.
5.
SpindriftThis song starts out with an organ and Geddy’s voice is straight from
2112. Neil’s lyrics are a tad repetitive here but I like the general theme. Another Lifeson dominated track, acoustics and electric are both present on this track, with the electric being more dominant. Overall, this is a nice little tune.
6.
The Main Monkey BusinessNow to the first instrumental and it is rather long, clocking in at roughly six minutes and three seconds. This song flies out of the gate in a rather YYZ-ish manner. Geddy’s voice is heard here. But he sings tones rather than actual words, so the song still qualifies as an instrumental. Lifeson and Peart clash here for dominance as Peart pounds along and Lifeson delivers fierce riffs. Lifeson has a superb solo about half way through the track. His tone is much better here than it was on Feedback and I’m glad. Probably my favorite song on the album, an example of what a Rush track should sound like.
7.
The Way the Wind BlowsThis song starts off rather softly with Peart clacking his drums in a muted, military-like fashion. Then, Lifeson kicks in with some bluesy licks that are clearly the bastard sons of his licks on the self-titled album. Geddy comes in with the verse and the song descends into an acoustic breakdown with Geddy bashing Bush over acoustics. It seems as if every artist has at least one song bashing the USA’s current President and Rush is no exception. Alex continues the bluesy licks during his solo section; he then drops further back into the mix and continues the solo in signature Lifeson tone. Lifeson’s work on this song is easily my favorite work of his on the album. The blending of the acoustics, the electrics, and the meshing of tones are perfect on this song.
8.
HopeThe second instrumental of the album, there is not much to say about this track. It is Lifeson on an acoustic switching from chord to chord and delivering some Middle Eastern licks. It is a nice song, but it is essentially filler.
9.
FaithlessFaithless kicks off with a riff that repeats too often in my opinion. The song descends into an acoustic chorus with some cool organ fills. The lyrics are pretty good too, melancholy with obvious references to the loss of Peart’s wife and daughter. Lifeson’s solo on this track is buried in distortion but it reminds me a lot of his Limelight solo, starting off slowly, then speeding up to a fast run. Faithless is one of the weakest tracks on the album, in my opinion, but not bad by any stretch.
10.
Bravest FaceThe song starts off acoustically with Geddy singing over Lifeson’s nifty riffing. The electrics then come in and Geddy gets epic during the chorus. The pattern repeats itself. The lyrics here are not my favorite ever but they are sufficient. Lifeson delivers some blues licks here again, this time hidden behind Geddy’s singing.
11.
Good News FirstLee’s voice is clearly sung through distortion on this track, the song itself recalls
Vapor Trails. Peart has some nice fills on this track and his lyrics are strong as well. Lifeson plays both electrics and acoustics here and his solo section is sufficient for the song. The song doesn’t stand out particularly but its still a good track.
12.
Malignant NarcissismThe third and final instrumental comes out of the gate fast and hard. With Lifeson shredding away, Peart slapping the skins behind him, and Geddy churning out the bottom. About halfway through, the song disintegrates into feedback, which feels very natural. Each band member then gets a small solo section and this is the only time Geddy gets to show off his bass skills with any type of solo. A little two minute burst that I can’t wait to hear live.
13.
We Hold OnEven as this song is starting, I can tell that it is going to be a powerhouse. It feels like old Rush circa mid-Seventies. The band is focused and tight on this song, with great lyrics and excellent musicianship. Lifeson’s solo part is repetitive but it fits the song well. Geddy’s final wail, Peart’s drumming, and Lifeson’s end part signal a great ending to the record.
Overall, Rush comes into their own on this record. This is the sound of a band who just loves music. They are as tight and focused on this record as they have ever been before. Lifeson makes the most of his solo time and some of his tone on this record is the best I’ve ever heard from him. Peart is a steady rock both in the drumming and lyrics department. Geddy doesn’t try to go for the high vocals very often. He seems to know his age and realize that his voice can’t do those types of high wails anymore.
What can I say, Rush is Rush. They are consistently good in almost everything they do. There are songs on this record that are flashes of greatness and there is not a single track on the record that I did not like. In conclusion, all I can say is that I can’t wait to see them play these songs live.
Grade- 9.5/10Figured I would put this here too.
