My Latent Snakes & Arrows Review

[the masked drummer]

Just picked it up tonight. Thought I'd be fashionable late. hehe

I'll admit I dogged on Ged's vocals based on my PC speakers in past threads. Talk about jumping to conclusions...

 

I am astounded at how incredible this work of art is. I'm thoroughly impressed. Such a dynamic album. Incredibly dynamic. I found it: dark, light, powerful, weak, serious, comical, traditional, contemporary, surpsising, predictable, happy, sad, thoughtful, neglectful, .. I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Production is awesome in a word.

Notable items:

I thought "Hope" was phenominal.

A general note on odd meter: Rush does it with style. Everything is so musical on this album, and so many bands doing odd meter can't achieve the musicality without sounding mechanical.

OK, I'll finish this later, but I'm stoked about seeing them live again without the compression required to make an audio record. This album regenerated my enthusiasm in the band.

UPDATE 4/4/07: "FAMILIAR YET UNPREDICTABLE"

Far Cry: This 1st track pulls a holeshot. Awesome right out of the gate imho. Gives us that Rush energy we so often crave, or at least I crave it. If it were food, I would be full after hearing it.

DOUBLE BASS ROLLS: Neil does lotsa bass drum rolls on this LP. Bass drum rolls are a cool drum trick Neil learned from Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy, Whitesnake). Neil utilized BDR a loton his drum solos for both ATWAS & ESL. IF you don't know what a bass drum roll is, listen to the intro of "Over the Mountain" by ozzy osbourne.

I LOVE the acoustic guitars on this one! Big Al picks a lot instead of just strumming like he's done in the past. Kudos Alex!!! I enjoy it as much as Steve Howe's greatest work with Yes, and that's a HUGE compliment...

Yeah, the 12-string on Hope provides such a rich texture. I loved it from the first listen...

General note: This collection of songs are unpredictable. For example, I love the drum part (esp china cymbal hehe, always gratifying) on Armor and Sword. I was surprised how the song unfolded. Dark acoustic verses complimented with bright electric sounds, then the pre-chorus floats nicely with the open-hihat. Then, the tension is relieved on the melodic chorus.

Workin' Them Angels: Lyrics are clever, or at least to a drummer that focuses on music and doesn't always try to figure out (perhaps has touble figuring out) what Neil's message is. This one sounds like "Beneath the surface" by Tiles (Magna Carta Records) off "Fence the Clear", 1997, or at least the guitar sound is similar on the choruses:

Fence The Clear by Tiles 1997

Note that I'm not saying Alex ripped off Tiles, but Chris Herin, their guitarist, is heavily influenced by Alex. Listen and draw your own conclusion and get back to me if you would be so kind...

Malignant Narcissism: Definately awesome bass work. There's no way your average bassist would even be able to nail that song even after a full week of dedicated practice, let alone write such a skillful bassline with all that feeling. No way. I'll bet my last dollar on that.

(note to self: Get off your arse and practice your drumming. Just because you're in a band now that demands watered-down drum chops that caters to teenage girls doesn't mean you can slack off.)

The Way the Wind Blows: Again, very DYNAMIC. Love the 3/4 time signature raw blues, then the development into the classic Rush sound. Who can resist that? I can't. Reminds me of the early Kansas tune "Lonely Street", in a way. Is that the name of the song? I think it's on the Song for America album. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I love Kansas. Kerry Livgren is a master composer... OK, stop laughing. Kansas is actually awesome.) Also, the vocals remind me of Double Agent. I love the processing.

The Master Monkey Business: The melody sounds so familiar, but I can't tell you where I heard it. Fact is, I never have. It's familiar yet original. That in itself tells me it's a great piece of music. The drums are so nice cuz Neil backs off of his snare drum and goes for primal beats. That combined with the shimmering guitr tones and eerie keyboards make it an instant classic. It's not YYZ or LTTA, but that was in the past. Like all the songs on this album, I approached it with an open mind and a "cleansed pallette", if you will. Rush has succeeded, yet again, to move in a FORWARD direction, which is a small miracle considering how far they've already "traveled"...

So far guys, this one makes me wanna go to my rich brother's house, send his wife to vegas for the weekend, take summa that "trippin' powder" he gets off the internet for $200/gram, shut out the lights and have a "real" listening party. I can't say that I've felt this way about a Rush album in a long, long time. I found it very accessible on the first listen and I know it will grow on me more and more with time...

 

[PassTheAmmunition]

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 3 2007, 07:56 PM)

Just picked it up tonight. Thought I'd be fashionable late. hehe I'll admit I dogged on Ged's vocals based on my PC speakers in past threads. Talk about jumping to conclusions... I am astounded at how incredible this work of art is. I'm thoroughly impressed. Such a dynamic album. Incredibly dynamic. I found it: dark, light, powerful, weak, serious, comical, traditional, contemporary, surpsising, predictable, surprising, happy, sad, thoughtful, neglectful, .. I think you know what I'm trying to say. Production is awesome in a word. Notable items: I thought "Hope" was phenominal. A general note on odd meter: Rush does it with style. Everything is so musical on this album, and so many bands doing odd meter can't achieve the musicality without sounding mechanical. OK, I'll finish this later, but I'm stoked about seeing them live again. This album regenerated my enthusiasm in the band. (more to come)

Amen brother, well said. If you were here I'd share my IPA.

[Sabs89]

It lessened mine. How does this album appeal to people? I want to hear it, but i can't. I only had one and a half listen, but it is just boring. Musically it is good, not spectacular. Only a few parts of Neil's and Geddy's jump out at me, but with Alex it seems like his best stuff is the accoustic stuff, and they abuse it.

 

Barring Far Cry and Spindrift, you can't walk away humming or air instrumenting any of these songs.

[hunter]

Glad to hear it.

[ReRushed]

QUOTE (Sabs89 @ May 3 2007, 09:00 PM)

Barring Far Cry and Spindrift, you can't walk away humming or air instrumenting any of these songs.

 

I woke up this morning and what do I find myself doing? I am humming "The Larger Bowl"! It was just there, in my head. That tells me it's one catchy tune! Anyway, to each his own.

 

[ReRushed]

QUOTE (hunter @ May 3 2007, 09:00 PM)

Glad to hear it.

Nice avatar!

[Sabs89]

I hope it catches on me.

 

Then again i only have two listens under my belt.

[AdrenalineRush]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ May 3 2007, 09:06 PM)

QUOTE (Sabs89 @ May 3 2007, 09:00 PM) Barring Far Cry and Spindrift, you can't walk away humming or air instrumenting any of these songs.   I woke up this morning and what do I find myself doing? I am humming "The Larger Bowl"! It was just there, in my head. That tells me it's one catchy tune! Anyway, to each his own.   hah same exact thing happened to me this morning! It is one rocking song!

[andrelam]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ May 3 2007, 10:06 PM)

QUOTE (Sabs89 @ May 3 2007, 09:00 PM) Barring Far Cry and Spindrift, you can't walk away humming or air instrumenting any of these songs.   I woke up this morning and what do I find myself doing? I am humming "The Larger Bowl"! It was just there, in my head. That tells me it's one catchy tune! Anyway, to each his own.   I keep myself humming The Larger Bowl and We Hold On... Oh, and I love to air drum on TMMB...

[Room 34]

I am getting just about all of the songs stuck in my head at various points these days.

 

The thing I keep coming back to is that there's a TON of depth in this album. Way more than I was able to appreciate on the first couple of listens. But once you get into it, it REALLY hooks you.

 

After reading some of the negative reviews the other day, I went back and started listening to Counterparts, and I thought for a moment, "Wow, you know, 'Animate' really is a great song. Maybe I've been wrong about the greatness of Snakes and Arrows." So I went and put S&A on again and you know what...? It really WAS as good as I have been thinking it is!

[the masked drummer]

QUOTE (Room 34 @ May 3 2007, 09:08 PM)

I am getting just about all of the songs stuck in my head at various points these days. The thing I keep coming back to is that there's a TON of depth in this album. Way more than I was able to appreciate on the first couple of listens. But once you get into it, it REALLY hooks you. After reading some of the negative reviews the other day, I went back and started listening to Counterparts, and I thought for a moment, "Wow, you know, 'Animate' really is a great song. Maybe I've been wrong about the greatness of Snakes and Arrows." So I went and put S&A on again and you know what...? It really WAS as good as I have been thinking it is!

Speaking of Counterparts I noticed on The Way the Wind Blows that the vocals remind me of Double Agent. I love the vocal processing on both songs.

[the masked drummer]

Oops! I meant the main monkey biz not master monkey biz.

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE

Bass drum rolls are a cool drum trick Neil learned from Tommy Aldridge

 

Really? I never knew that Aldridge was the first to do that......

[treeduck]

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 3 2007, 07:56 PM)

Just picked it up tonight. Thought I'd be fashionable late. hehe I'll admit I dogged on Ged's vocals based on my PC speakers in past threads. Talk about jumping to conclusions... I am astounded at how incredible this work of art is. I'm thoroughly impressed. Such a dynamic album. Incredibly dynamic. I found it: dark, light, powerful, weak, serious, comical, traditional, contemporary, surpsising, predictable, happy, sad, thoughtful, neglectful, .. I think you know what I'm trying to say. Production is awesome in a word. Notable items: I thought "Hope" was phenominal. A general note on odd meter: Rush does it with style. Everything is so musical on this album, and so many bands doing odd meter can't achieve the musicality without sounding mechanical. OK, I'll finish this later, but I'm stoked about seeing them live again without the compression required to make an audio record. This album regenerated my enthusiasm in the band. UPDATE 4/4/07: "FAMILIAR YET UNPREDICTABLE" Far Cry: This 1st track pulls a holeshot. Awesome right out of the gate imho. Gives us that Rush energy we so often crave, or at least I crave it. If it were food, I would be full after hearing it. DOUBLE BASS ROLLS: Neil does lotsa bass drum rolls on this LP. Bass drum rolls are a cool drum trick Neil learned from Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy, Whitesnake). Neil utilized BDR a loton his drum solos for both ATWAS & ESL. IF you don't know what a bass drum roll is, listen to the intro of "Over the Mountain" by ozzy osbourne. I LOVE the acoustic guitars on this one! Big Al picks a lot instead of just strumming like he's done in the past. Kudos Alex!!! I enjoy it as much as Steve Howe's greatest work with Yes, and that's a HUGE compliment... Yeah, the 12-string on Hope provides such a rich texture. I loved it from the first listen... General note: This collection of songs are unpredictable. For example, I love the drum part (esp china cymbal hehe, always gratifying) on Armor and Sword. I was surprised how the song unfolded. Dark acoustic verses complimented with bright electric sounds, then the pre-chorus floats nicely with the open-hihat. Then, the tension is relieved on the melodic chorus. Workin' Them Angels: Lyrics are clever, or at least to a drummer that focuses on music and doesn't always try to figure out (perhaps has touble figuring out) what Neil's message is. This one sounds like "Beneath the surface" by Tiles (Magna Carta Records) off "Fence the Clear", 1997, or at least the guitar sound is similar on the choruses: Fence The Clear by Tiles 1997 Note that I'm not saying Alex ripped off Tiles, but Chris Herin, their guitarist, is heavily influenced by Alex. Listen and draw your own conclusion and get back to me if you would be so kind... Malignant Narcissism: Definately awesome bass work. There's no way your average bassist would even be able to nail that song even after a full week of dedicated practice, let alone write such a skillful bassline with all that feeling. No way. I'll bet my last dollar on that. (note to self: Get off your arse and practice your drumming. Just because you're in a band now that demands watered-down drum chops that caters to teenage girls doesn't mean you can slack off.) The Way the Wind Blows: Again, very DYNAMIC. Love the 3/4 time signature raw blues, then the development into the classic Rush sound. Who can resist that? I can't. Reminds me of the early Kansas tune "Lonely Street", in a way. Is that the name of the song? I think it's on the Song for America album. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I love Kansas. Kerry Livgren is a master composer... OK, stop laughing. Kansas is actually awesome.) Also, the vocals remind me of Double Agent. I love the processing. The Master Monkey Business: The melody sounds so familiar, but I can't tell you where I heard it. Fact is, I never have. It's familiar yet original. That in itself tells me it's a great piece of music. The drums are so nice cuz Neil backs off of his snare drum and goes for primal beats. That combined with the shimmering guitr tones and eerie keyboards make it an instant classic. It's not YYZ or LTTA, but that was in the past. Like all the songs on this album, I approached it with an open mind and a "cleansed pallette", if you will. Rush has succeeded, yet again, to move in a FORWARD direction, which is a small miracle considering how far they've already "traveled"... So far guys, this one makes me wanna go to my rich brother's house, send his wife to vegas for the weekend, take summa that "trippin' powder" he gets off the internet for $200/gram, shut out the lights and have a "real" listening party. I can't say that I've felt this way about a Rush album in a long, long time. I found it very accessible on the first listen and I know it will grow on me more and more with time...

Interesting read mate...

 

[pedro2112]

Dude, "Latent" doesn't mean what you think it means.

 

 

 

[the masked drummer]

QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 07:16 PM)

Dude, "Latent" doesn't mean what you think it means.

Oh really? Educate me. This is what I found at dictionary.com:

 

"Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source

latent [ˈleitənt] adjective

hidden or undeveloped, but capable of being developed

Example: a latent talent for music"

 

What were you saying again?

[the masked drummer]

QUOTE (treeduck @ May 4 2007, 05:10 PM)

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 3 2007, 07:56 PM) Just picked it up tonight. Thought I'd be fashionable late. hehe I'll admit I dogged on Ged's vocals based on my PC speakers in past threads. Talk about jumping to conclusions... I am astounded at how incredible this work of art is. I'm thoroughly impressed.  Such a dynamic album. Incredibly dynamic. I found it: dark, light, powerful, weak, serious, comical, traditional, contemporary, surpsising, predictable,  happy, sad, thoughtful, neglectful, .. I think you  know what I'm trying to say. Production is awesome in a word. Notable items: I thought "Hope" was phenominal. A general note on odd meter: Rush does it with style. Everything is so musical on this album, and so many bands doing odd meter can't achieve the musicality without sounding mechanical. OK, I'll finish this later, but I'm stoked about seeing them live again without the compression required to make an audio record. This album regenerated my enthusiasm in the band. UPDATE 4/4/07:  "FAMILIAR YET UNPREDICTABLE" Far Cry: This 1st track pulls a holeshot. Awesome right out of the gate imho. Gives us that Rush energy we so often crave, or at least I crave it. If it were food, I would be full after hearing it. DOUBLE BASS ROLLS: Neil does lotsa bass drum rolls on this LP. Bass drum rolls are a cool drum trick Neil learned from Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy, Whitesnake). Neil utilized BDR a loton his drum solos for both ATWAS & ESL. IF you don't know what a bass drum roll is, listen to the intro of "Over the Mountain" by ozzy osbourne. I LOVE the acoustic guitars on this one! Big Al picks a lot instead of just strumming like he's done in the past. Kudos Alex!!! I enjoy it as much as Steve Howe's greatest work with Yes, and that's a HUGE compliment... Yeah, the 12-string on Hope provides such a rich texture. I loved it from the first listen... General note: This collection of songs are unpredictable. For example, I love the drum part (esp china cymbal hehe, always gratifying)  on Armor and Sword. I was surprised how the song unfolded. Dark acoustic verses complimented with bright electric sounds, then the pre-chorus floats nicely with the open-hihat. Then, the tension is relieved on the melodic chorus. Workin' Them Angels: Lyrics are clever, or at least to a drummer that focuses on music and doesn't always try to figure out (perhaps has touble figuring out) what Neil's message is. This one sounds like "Beneath the surface" by Tiles (Magna Carta Records) off "Fence the Clear", 1997, or at least the guitar sound is similar on the choruses: Fence The Clear by Tiles 1997 Note that I'm not saying Alex ripped off Tiles, but Chris Herin, their guitarist, is heavily influenced by Alex. Listen and draw your own conclusion and get back to me if you would be so kind... Malignant Narcissism: Definately awesome bass work. There's no way your average bassist would even be able to nail that song even after a full week of dedicated practice, let alone write such a skillful bassline with all that feeling. No way. I'll bet my last dollar on that. (note to self: Get off your arse and practice your drumming. Just because you're in a band now that demands watered-down drum chops that caters to teenage girls doesn't mean you can slack off.) The Way the Wind Blows: Again, very DYNAMIC. Love the 3/4 time signature raw blues, then the development into the classic Rush sound. Who can resist that? I can't. Reminds me of the early Kansas tune "Lonely Street", in a way. Is that the name of the song? I think it's on the Song for America album. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I love Kansas. Kerry Livgren is a master composer... OK, stop laughing. Kansas is actually awesome.) Also, the vocals remind me of Double Agent. I love the processing. The Master Monkey Business: The melody sounds so familiar, but I can't tell you where I heard it. Fact is, I never have. It's familiar yet original. That in itself tells me it's a great piece of music. The drums are so nice cuz Neil backs off of his snare drum and goes for primal beats. That combined with the shimmering guitr tones and eerie keyboards make it an instant classic. It's not YYZ or LTTA, but that was in the past. Like all the songs on this album, I approached it with an open mind and a "cleansed pallette", if you will.  Rush has succeeded, yet again, to move in a FORWARD direction, which is a small miracle considering how far they've already "traveled"... So far guys, this one makes me wanna go to my rich brother's house, send his wife to vegas for the weekend, take summa that  "trippin' powder" he gets off the internet for $200/gram, shut out the lights and have a "real" listening party. I can't say that I've felt this way about a Rush album in a long, long time. I found it very accessible on the first listen and I know it will grow on me more and more with time... Interesting read mate...   Thanks Treeduck. I like your writings, too. I think we're about the same age (I'm 39) and have similar musical tastes, so your viewpoint is usually dead on with mine. That way I can usually just read your comments and not say anything.

[pedro2112]

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 4 2007, 07:12 PM)

QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 07:16 PM) Dude, "Latent" doesn't mean what you think it means. Oh really? Educate me. This is what I found at dictionary.com:   "Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source latent [ˈleitənt] adjective hidden or undeveloped, but capable of being developed Example: a latent talent for music"   What were you saying again? I was saying, that you did not post a "latent" review (there is no such thing).. rather, you posted a "late" review.

[the masked drummer]

QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 10:11 PM)

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 4 2007, 07:12 PM) QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 07:16 PM) Dude, "Latent" doesn't mean what you think it means. Oh really? Educate me. This is what I found at dictionary.com:   "Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source latent [ˈleitənt] adjective hidden or undeveloped, but capable of being developed Example: a latent talent for music"   What were you saying again? I was saying, that you did not post a "latent" review (there is no such thing).. rather, you posted a "late" review. Point well taken. Thanks.

[pedro2112]

QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 5 2007, 12:38 PM)

QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 10:11 PM) QUOTE (the_masked_drummer @ May 4 2007, 07:12 PM) QUOTE (pedro2112 @ May 4 2007, 07:16 PM) Dude, "Latent" doesn't mean what you think it means. Oh really? Educate me. This is what I found at dictionary.com:   "Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source latent [ˈleitənt] adjective hidden or undeveloped, but capable of being developed Example: a latent talent for music"   What were you saying again? I was saying, that you did not post a "latent" review (there is no such thing).. rather, you posted a "late" review. Point well taken. Thanks. Your welcome. In any event, I knew what you meant anyway!

[akmoose]

Me likes Kansas!