When Rush issued Vapor Trails in 2002, they revealed that -- even after Neil Peart's personal tragedies in the 1990s had cast the group's future in doubt -- they were back with a vengeance. The sound was hard-hitting, direct, and extremely focused. Lyrically, Peart went right after the subject matter he was dealing with -- and it was in the aftermath of 9/11 as well, which couldn't help but influence his lyric writing. In 2004 the band issued a covers EP that was in one way a toss-off, but in another a riotous act of freewheeling joy that offered a side of the band no one had heard for 30 years. There were a couple of live offerings and a 30th anniversary project as well that kept fans happy perhaps, but broke -- though Rush in Rio was the kind of live album every band hopes to record. Snakes & Arrows represents the band's 18th studio album. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Superdrag), the record is another heavy guitar, bass, and drums...drums...and more drums record. The title came -- unconsciously according to Peart -- from a centuries-old Buddhist game of the same name about karma, and also from a play on the words of the children's game Chutes and Ladders. Its subject matter is heavy duty: faith and war. From the opening track (and first single), acoustic and electric guitars, bass hum, and Peart's crash-and-thrum urgency in the almighty riff are all present. When Geddy Lee opens his mouth, you know you are in for a ride: "Pariah dogs and wandering madmen/Barking at strangers and speaking in tongues/The ebb and flow of tidal fortune/Electrical charges are charging up the young/It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit/It's a far cry from the way we thought we'd share it...." At the same time, inside the frame of the refrain, Lee refuses to be conquered in the face of chaos: "One day I feel like I'm ahead of the wheel/And the next it's rolling over me/I can get back on/I can get back on." Alex Lifeson's guitars swell and Peart's crash cymbals ride the riff and push Lee to sing above the wailing fray. Great beginning.
"Armor and Sword" contains an instrumental surprise. After an initial ride-cymbal clash, the guitar and bassline sound exactly like King Crimson playing something from Red or Larks' Tongues in Aspic. The theme is repeated on an acoustic guitar before Lee begins singing about the shadowy side of human nature brought on by the many times children are scarred in development. The boom and crackle of electric guitars and bass are all there, but so is that sense of melody that Rush have trademarked as Lee states, "...No one gets to their heaven without a fight/We hold beliefs as a consolation/A way to take us out of ourselves...." There is no screed for or against religion per se, but a stake in the claim of hope and faith as absolutely necessary to accomplish anything, hence the refrain. Peart beautifully articulates the dark side of life's undersurface; he has been writing the best lyrics of his entire career on the band's last two studio records -- only two in the last ten years. The dynamic works against the melody and Lifeson's brief but screaming solo is a fine cap on it. "Workin' Them Angels" blends the acoustic against the electrics gorgeously, and Lee sings counterpoint to the guitars. "The Larger Bowl" is one of those Rush tunes that builds and builds both lyrically and musically, beginning with only Lee's voice and Lifeson's acoustic guitar. Its shift-and-knot rhythms and spatial dynamics offer the impression -- as does the rest of the album -- that the bandmembers are playing in the same room at the same time (it happened to a lesser degree on Vapor Trails, but here the impression is constant). The sounds -- both hard and soft -- blend together wonderfully. The live feel of the record with its sonic washes and overdubbed guitars and vocals creates near chaos without loss of control. It's like teetering on the edge of an abyss with one eye on both sides of it. Song by song, the notions of tension build, taking the listener to a place where hope and faith are challenged continually, not only in the face of the entire world, but in one's personal relationships -- check "Spindrift." Echoes of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Robert Frost, Matthew Arnold, and The Odyssey are glanced upon, as is The Dhammapada in the Buddhist scriptures -- with more of a thematic than referential purpose.
One thing about Rush that probably gets lost on some casual listeners out there is the fact their material is put together with the express desire to be playable live by the band (using their relatively limited electronic toys compared to many other acts of today). I still find the studio albums extremely enjoyable - but Rush sets some limits on how the songs are put together to ensure the songs can be played live - not lip sync'd with a bunch of recorded sound. That is what makes a live show
I just got this album, and I've really been pleased with the results Peart has achieved in the lyrical department. The topics presented are poignant and thoughtful. And as always, the technicality and instrumentation are unquestioningly brilliant. Another strong album from a great band, even after so many years. I hope they keep it coming
Alleyhse:I'm 42 and I've enjoyed progressive rock since teenager listening to Montreal's CHOM FM.They played alot of Rush.I like the short-lived instrumental concept band Liquid Tension Experiment.It grew out of Dream Theater, minus the latter's often criticized vocals and inane lyrics. "Liquid Tension Experiment I", is better than II.I also enjoy the instrumental progressive guitarist Steve Morse.Try Neal Schon's "I on U" and Neil Zaza (various) both instrumental guitar and excellent.
I just discovered the one year old Rush album today and am embarrassed that I didn't know about it sooner. I bought 2112 in 1975 needless to say Rush has defined my progressive rock obsession ever since. At age 48 I am listening to any new progressive rock that I can find so if anyone has new bands to suggest please post them.
Another great album from one of the most underrated bands in history. This album, while still characteristically Rush somehow is their most diverse album. Also, they still kick a** live as I saw them on this tour. Amazing and the music world will be an emptier place when they finally hang it up.
definitely one of their better albums of the past few, vapor trails brought them back, their ep for their 30th anniversary, while not a serious album blew the proverbial roof of of anything around that time in terms of the sound, their 70's power prog covering some classic rock numbers. But with snakes and arrows, I was only just taking notice of rush alltogether when I heard the larger bowl on the radio. Now being a little more familliar with their work, I say snakes and arrows is one of the be