Gedneil Alpeart Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 http://www.daveling.co.uk/diary.htm 'Snakes & Arrows' is a vast improvement upon the Canadian trio's last album. I'll be frank, 2002's 'Vapor Trails' did very little for me. This time the band have gone heavier (very heavy in places!), with guitarist Alex Lifeson being let off the leash. Opening track (and first single) 'Far Cry' is probably the best song, being reminiscent of the band's 'Permanent Waves' album. But generally speaking, it's extremely strong throughout. Hugh Syme's artwork is excellent as ever, visualising a theme that seems to run through some of the songs; the elements. 'Spindrift', for instance, uses pounding instrumental parts to re-create waves crashing in on the western shore. 'The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)', meanwhile, picks up where the 'Hemispheres'-era track 'Circumstances' left off with its couplet of: "Some of us live in a cloud of fear/Some live behind iron gates". In the vaguest possible way, Rush also pay lip service to the differences between the Middle East and Middle West in 'The Way The Wind Blows', which features the telling line of "Pray... and pass the ammunition" and a great solo from Lifeson. The best compliment that you could pay Peart's words is that they're thoughtful without being stuffy. The album, too, is heavy, but falls short of being one dimensional. You're gonna like it, I'm sure. ____________________________________________________________ http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2007/rush.htm Nothing concentrates the mind better than having to review a new Rush album after just one solitary play. And after this playback at Atlantic Records HQ in Kensington I was left breathless, if not stunned by the sheer power of an album that stylistically throws in the proverbial kitchen sink. I suppose after such an enduring and varied musical career, it's not surprising that Rush have gone back to their Proggy musical roots. And with former Foo Fighters Alex Raskulinecz at the controls, the band are given a free reign to indulge their musical excesses, as they stretch out and jam in a post Zeppelin heavy duty deluge that manifests itself in a stunning wall of sound. Aside from a high in the mix raucous drum sound and some complex arrangements, vocalist Geddy Lee's successfully uses his impressive high range to give full meaning to Neil Peart's esoteric lyrics. Where once there was a thin high register vocal line, there is now a more mature vocalist whose phrasing puts him up there with Robert Plant in his element. 'Snakes & Arrows' opens with the new single 'Far Cry', which after a big, powerful staccato drum intro opens into a slice of melodic hard rock with a lilting chorus. 'A Far Cry' is much more accessible than much of the rest of the album and sets the standard with a belated chorus that stays in the mind long after the conclusion of the song. The following 'Armor & Sword' features some of Peart's best lyrics, and might be regarded as a metaphor for both personal faith and contemporary world events. The line, 'Our better natures seek elevation, A refuge for the coming night, No One gets to their heaven without a fight', seems to be a personal reflection but can be taken as a wry comment on our times, while 'The suit of shining armor, becomes a keen and bloody sword', is an uncompromising analysis of the machinations of religion and faith. 'Working Them Angels' employs a big wall of sound and is punctuated by urgent time changes which build up a tension that is finally resolved by the 'Working them angels-Overtime' line. 'The Large Bowl' is a more radio friendly affair and is one of the highlights of the album. Opening with an acoustic guitar and a vocal line that recalls Mark Bolan, the hook has a hypnotic quality about it, before Alex Lifeson delivers a trademark solo. There's more of the evocative big sweep wall of sound on 'Spindrift'. The song cleverly uses natural elements in the lyrics as metaphors and delivers big booming chords and a heavy duty rhythm track topped by some lovely bass notes and jangling guitar. Guitarist Alex Lifeson sounds a little like U2's The Edge as the band use an ascending chord sequence and a stop time rhythm before plunging back into an explosion of riffs. 'Spindrift' impresses if only for the fact that Rush manage to make the music conjure up the lyrical imagery. 'The Main Monkey Business' is the first and certainly the most impressive of three instrumental outings. It's interesting to see what Rush make of a piece that doesn't have to accommodate the lyrics, and the result is a guitar-led motif with a vaguely Celtic/Zeppelin sounding feel, and a real sense of presence and controlled power. The mid-section slips into a Space Rock outing that resolves itself in a Prog Metal oeuvre as layers of keyboards beef up the melody line. 'Monkey Business' is both coherent, powerful and delivers a polished production without ever losing the essential band dynamic. Another drum intro graces 'The Way the Wind Blows' before giving way to a surprising heavy duty bluesy guitar led shuffle. If anything there are elements of Jethro Tull's soft Metal period of the late 80's with the song's poignant lyrics about the pseudo East/West religious divide glued together by repeated heavy guitar riffs, some belated space rock elements, and impressive vocal swoops. The second instrumental 'Hope' is a pleasant if unchallenging acoustic link piece with a Eastern, almost sea shanty feel, while 'Faithless' is an impressive return to the lyrical raison d'etre of the album. The line 'I've got my own moral compass to steer by' neatly summarises the song's meaning, and it is essentially a simple outing that derives an anthemic quality from some big production trappings that include the use of a mellotron. If 'Faithless' is another high point of the album then 'Bravest Face' continues the upwards curve, with its acoustic intro, some complex crunching chords, and impressive lyrics that dwell on the nature of mankind's duality. 'Good News First' doesn't work as well, with the high register vocals struggling manfully to unravel the lyrical meaning over another big production wall of sound. Curiously enough the sometimes impenetrable nature of the previous track adds lucidity to the following hard hitting rocked out instrumental 'Malignant Narcissism'. This short piece of guitar drenched Space Rock works really well and even finds time for some impressive bass and drum breaks. The closing 'We Hold On' is the perfect kind of powerful and coherent outing to finish with and features soaring vocals, feverish guitar, a pounding rhythm track and a strong chorus. 'Snakes & Arrows' is a powerful album which in striving to be contemporary is possibly a little heavier and a touch more cluttered than it needed to be. Neil Peart's heartfelt lyrics are impressive throughout, and Geddy Lee's vocals suggest a new maturity. Above all the band find room to jam out enthusiastically, but in occasionally over egging the arrangements and sometimes falling in between the Prog Rock, Space Rock and melodic Metal genres, 'Snakes & Arrows' might be a CD that seeks to consolidate rather than break new ground. ****/***** ____________________________________________________________ From MasterEggCream "Far Cry" -- You already know. I completely agree with one review's comment that it is the most accessible cut on the album. "Armor & Sword" -- Killer melody in the chorus! "No one gets to their heaven without a fight." Midtempo. "Workin' Them Angels" -- Again, another great melody in the chorus. "All this time I've been workin' them angels overtime." Midtempo. "The Larger Bowl" -- A lyrical ponderance on the age-old topic of the haves and the have-nots. Super-catchy, acoustic, folky picking here in the verses, which lead into midtempo choruses. Very different vibe and sound for a Rush song. "Spindrift" -- Dark, midtempo tune. Not terribly melodic. "What am I supposted to say / What are the words to answer you / When you talk that way." "The Main Monkey Business" -- There's a part in here that sounds very, very similar to a section of "Cygnus"; the "through the void, to be destroyed" part. I was expecting something different based on that title, but it is a bad-ass rocking tune! I can't see how they could possibly *not* play this live. "TWTWB" -- Sorry, couldn't resist the abbrev. As observed, there is some sweet, tasty, black-no-sugar blues in this one! Damn, it sounds good. "We can only go the way the wind blows / We can only bow to the here and now / Or be broken down row by row." Nice. A lovely outro. "Hope" -- This one totally caught me off guard. An acoustic guitar instrumental? Wha? (A la Prof. Farnsworth, of course...) It has to be played on steel strings (a reader inquired). My ears are good, but maybe once you hear it you'll make me eat my words... As for arpeggios/classical style, eh, not much. Lots of tasty chord changes and finger-picking, though, and it gave me chills, to be honest -- Alex on acoustic guitar playing a song called "Hope" after that NYE fiasco. Yeah, I'm probably digging too far into it, but that's what I thought on first listen. Speaking of acoustic guitar, it is everywhere on the album. No shock, though, seeing how Alex mentioned (somewhere, I forget) that the album was written on said instrument. "Faithless": i don't have faith in faith i don't believe in belief you can call me faithless you can call me faithless i still cling to hope and i believe in love and that's faith enough for me and that's faith enough for me Nice that this comes after "Hope" in the sequence. A nice mix of fast and slow parts, and a great melody from Geddy in the middle section, then a woozy at first, then piercing solo from Alex. "Bravest Face" -- Great little acoustic strumming in the verses (coupled with some conversational lyrics) and at the outro. All too brief "clean" (vs. distorted) solo. "Good News First" -- Some killer uptempo sections here -- really soaring! And an equally soaring (though brief) solo from Alex. Sweet choruses -- I'm a real sucker for uptempo, melodic stuff, and this track is as full of that as, say, "Far Cry." "MalNar" -- Well, if you heard the leaked version of this, you heard the whole song! Yes, I can't believe how short it is either, but man, does it cook or what? I wish there was more uptempo, full-throttle music like this on the rest of the record. I change my mind about what I said yesterday, about the more likely new instrumental to be played live -- it's got to be this one. And why not? It's only two minutes and change. Must keep eyes trained on Geddy throughout song at concert. It's his jam through and through. I would consider it the 21st century, contemporary version of "YYZ." There's just no way anyone couldn't love this one in the same way. And while everyone's going gaga about the possibilities about "TMMB" -- and don't get me wrong, it's really, really good -- this is the best of the three. "We Hold On" -- "We could be down and gone, but we hold on." Uptempo, with Alex peeling off these distorted, squiggly lines throughout, giving the song a nice sense of urgency. Additionally... Yes, there are guitar solos. Of course, that's an arbitrary term, so you and I might differ on our own interpretations; e.g., do I consider "Far Cry" to have a solo? No. Overall they're on the brief side, and not every song has one. A couple of songs -- "TWTWB" and "The Larger Bowl" were definitely influenced by their recent covers indulgence, especially the latter song -- I couldn't help but hear "Heart Full of Soul" in it. Still amazed at Geddy's vocal strength (and his full head of hair!). He sounds fantastic, especially on some of the quieter moments when it's just his voice or him and Alex's acoustic. And I don't know if it's just me, but the drums sound so freaking great! Perfectly set in the mix and a real nice sharpness and crispness to the snare. I'm glad Alex was quoted as saying he couldn't quite describe the overall sound of the album -- cos from these notes of mine, I bet you're saying to yourself, "Hey, this guy's having trouble too!" I tried my best, folks, at sharing some stuff with you. Hope you enjoyed it. While it might not please everyone -- cos how can you really explain the depth of this band's music from just a couple of listens? -- I'm sure at the very least it'll get you even more excited about May 1. But you know, if you're a Rush fan, you already love it!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemispheresserehpsimeH Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I still have no idea what 'Space Rock' refers to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Apr 15 2007, 09:05 PM) I still have no idea what 'Space Rock' refers to. Space Rock is super tripping music. The band in my signature are the best in that vein IMO. Man, I am drooling like Pavlovs Dog after reading those reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gompers Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Well, from ProgArchives I can add this: http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=15 Psychedelic progressive rock music is a part of larger psychedelic cultural phenomena, which emerged in the mid 1960's. During that time British Invasion and folk-rock bands began to expand the sonic possibilities of their music. These groups abandoned the brief, concise verse-chorus-verse patterns of rock & roll, and moved towards more free-form, fluid song structures. Just as important, the groups began incorporating elements of Indian and Eastern music. The free-from principles of free jazz were adopted to the psychedelic sound, emphasising spontaneous emotions over calculated and estimated construction of music. Also experimenting with electronically altering instruments and voices within the studio using new technology was part of the style. A music being classified as psychedelic progressive rock may contain the elements described before with varying combinations. As the psychedelic movement was a large cultural phenomena, it is difficult to fence psychedelic progressive rock into a one tight category. Therefore psychedelic progressive rock can be found also from the different sub genres of prog, and it also has interfaces with several of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedneil Alpeart Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 I do remember Alex saying that in one of the songs, maybe the long instrumental, there was some Middle Eastern type music section in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Still wondering which of these songs is the Masterpiece Neil was talking about in the writing process? Is it Main Monkey Business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedneil Alpeart Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 Someone told me the other day that they heard that Rush has a new song on their new album called "The Narcissistic Monkey" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 QUOTE (Gedneil Alpeart @ Apr 15 2007, 07:24 PM) Someone told me the other day that they heard that Rush has a new song on their new album called "The Narcissistic Monkey" Yes, that one will be on the upcoming album Heads of Snakes and will round out the Gangster of Boats Trilogy as Part VII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppetKing2112 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 QUOTE (Gedneil Alpeart @ Apr 15 2007, 05:54 PM) Still amazed at Geddy's vocal strength (and his full head of hair!). He sounds fantastic, especially on some of the quieter moments when it's just his voice or him and Alex's acoustic. Geddy a capella? NICE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madra sneachta Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 QUOTE (presto123 @ Apr 16 2007, 03:19 AM) Still wondering which of these songs is the Masterpiece Neil was talking about in the writing process? Is it Main Monkey Business? I get the feeling it's "The Way The Wind Blows". Two weeks from today, we'll know!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kooma Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I cannot wait to hear the entire album.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeJ Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 After reading this I want mine NOW!!! This sounds like it is amazing!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deslock Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Wow. Listening to Snakes and Arrows for the first time was nothing short of a mystical experience. My first impression is that it's their best album since at least Power Windows. It's got the acoustic feel of Presto and Feedback, the catchiness of Roll the Bones, and the edginess of Counterparts, Test for Echo, and VT. But while those albums all have some fantastic songs, they were also riddled with mediocre tunes, bad lyrics, and/or cheesy, awkward moments that detracted from the music. Even CP and VT, as good as they are, have a lot of cringe-inducing songs. Not this time. Most of the songs have that elusive hook that makes you tap your foot and hum along. The album is filled with spine tingling moments and layered textures that make you close your eyes and get lost in the music. And (like with VT) the lyrics are consistently good. The best news: the choruses aren't objectionable. Yes, it only took 18 years, but Geddy figured out to do vocal arrangements that aren't puke inducing. Finally. Rupert Hine, you are forgiven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocinante Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 OMG what an awesome album except for Workin' Them Angels, I don't really like that one TWTWB is probably the best song, very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoorsdk Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 The Main Monkey Business...are you effing KIDDING me?! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZivotSon Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Sounds very hit and miss to me. IMHO, the best songs are Far Cry, Spindrift, TWTWB and We Hold On. This is not a hard rocking album like I expected. Reminds me of a better version of Presto in a lot of ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 QUOTE (deslock @ Apr 19 2007, 09:49 PM) Wow. Listening to Snakes and Arrows for the first time was nothing short of a mystical experience. My first impression is that it's their best album since at least Power Windows. That means it's their best album since Grace Under Pressure! I'm liking the Presto comparisons, because honestly, the only things that I dislike about that album are the ultramale voice part on "Superconductor", the lyrics of "Hand Over Fist", and the castratingly thin production job. If not for those things, it'd probably be nipping at 2112 for fourth place at least. I've got high hopes now. Any echoes of Rush contemporaries like Marillion, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, Opeth, Muse, Dream Theater...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocinante Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 It reminded me of presto in some ways, but I heard some T4E, Hemispheres (Maybe even a little bit of CoS) this album is pretty much all over the place, nonetheless, it rocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoorsdk Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Spindrift = the evolution of Jacob's Ladder. In a way, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedneil Alpeart Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 The comments for this album are going to be all over the place. Some will be disappointed and bummed, others will be elated. It all depends on your taste. Personally, I am "touched" by this record. Lyrics are mindblowing. More later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xdrive Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 QUOTE (Gedneil Alpeart @ Apr 20 2007, 10:08 AM) The comments for this album are going to be all over the place. Some will be disappointed and bummed, others will be elated. It all depends on your taste. Personally, I am "touched" by this record. Lyrics are mindblowing. More later. I agree. As usual there will be some die hard old timers who will complain about how this is not the same style as 2112 or Permanent Waves or one of their other classics, and there will be probably be a lot of guys pissed that it isn't all hard rock or something. There's some amazing moments on this album that the rest of us will get to appreciate right away. But yes, there will be a lot of mixed feelings from fans at first. The albums a HUGE step in the right direction IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedneil Alpeart Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 There are a lot of "folk" elements, lots of acoustic guitar, melody, slower paced songs in general. Tasty chord changes and harmonies, however. Don't expect ripping, wicked tunes with lots of acrobatics (that's my only disappointment in this record so far.......not much in the way of acrobatics....which is surprising since they had mentioned that they were pushed to their abilities.......didn't hear it). But. Alex is all over the place and some really sweet solos are in place. Geddy's singing is as best as he can be. There is a lot of depth.......a very mature Rush here.......but, will not be liked by a lot of Rush fans who are expecting high octane tunes. Overall, it's a very "thick" record, but not "wicked". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xdrive Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Gedneil, I think you put it best. And I think the band have found their new "element" with this more folky style. I think it works really well for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars_volta Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 the term folky scares me. "if i could wave my magic wand....'' *shudders* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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