Appreciation for Snakes And Arrows

[WavesandWindows]

I am a HUGE fan of quite a few of the tracks on this album, so I thought I'd start up this thread so others can share their appreciation.

 

 

[theanalogmiddleagedman]

Far Cry is one of my all time favorites. Working Them Angels, The Way the Wind blows and MalNar are also really good.

 

I do like the album a lot, just not as much as I thought I did when it first came out. I used to think Armor and Sword was awesome. I still like it, but not as much as I did at first. For some reason, I like Good News First and We Hold On a lot. No one else seems to like them.

[WavesandWindows]

You've missed one of my (and Geddy's) current favourites, FAITHLESS.

 

 

[GeddysMullet]

Snakes And Arrows is a wonderful record. My first Rush gig was the 2007 Snakes And Arrows gig in New Jersey. I went in a naysayer and came out a fan, largely on the strength of the new material. I was highly impressed to see a band from my childhood still making vital and exciting new music, and playing it with such enthusiasm and vigour. Snakes And Arrows will always have a special place in my heart!

 

I would LOVE to hear "We Hold On" live.

[drbirdsong]

I love Alex's guitar on We Hold On. It is so Middle Eastern killer. I have a lot of love for Bravest Face. It is a really good album and the guitar solos return. At this point is probably just overshadowed by Clockwork Angels and Vapor Trails (for different reasons). Time will be good to it I think.

[toscanobarga]

Good album. Too long and "samey" though.

[Lerxster]

S&A is a great album. It was my favorite since MP when it came out. Saw Rush 7 times on those two legs, a personal high.

 

Its fallen slightly in my esteem since then (the new album halo effect wore off), but I still love it a bunch but don't care much for Bravest Face. Took me longer than most it seems to feel the brilliance of A&S. Side one is a stellar album side. Side two, not too shabby

 

As an aside, I was in the drugstore last week, in a tank top, and a dude walks by and says to me something like- Rush, yeah! Initially I was, huh? I had no Rush apparel on, but then I realized he had seen my S&A ourobros tattoo on my arm. Ha! Can't get anything past a true Rush fan :haz:

[rushgoober]

Ah, an album I can get behind! It seems we've had a rash lately of appreciation threads for the very small amount of not so great albums from Rush.

 

Yeah, I love S&A. I don't love every track - some songs are weaker, specifically Bravest Face, We Hold On, The Larger Bowl (that song got old pretty fast), Faithless (don't like the song philosophically) and Good News First (lyrically doesn't make sense). All the other songs are great, and truth be told, even the weaker songs aren't too bad. The first three songs especially are stone cold classics. Armor & Sword is a masterpiece.

 

Also, the instrumentals are all really great. Far and away their best since YYZ.

 

I was really bummed where after initial excitement on TRF when this came out, a backlash happened a year or two later and people started throwing this album under the bus. S&A was a HUGE comeback album after the very weak T4E and horrendous VT. I couldn't have been more thrilled when it came out and they were back to making great albums - it's a special album to me because it saved their legacy. Can you imagine if VT was their final album? Yikes! And then they followed up S&A with an even better album. Great time to be a Rush fan.

[Ancient Ways]

I like far cry and love larger bowl but at this point I find it plodding and lyrically uninteresting for the most part. So happy that they went a completely different direction with the lyrics this time.

[LedRush]

When the album came out I was so excited, loving Far Cry and the instrumentals and liking the other songs, assuming they would grow on me like with most of Rush's output. But the opposite happened. I still like FC and the instrumentals, but much of the rest are mid-tempo trudges that just bore me. It's not their worst album, but it's in the bottom few for me.

[rushgoober]

When the album came out I was so excited, loving Far Cry and the instrumentals and liking the other songs, assuming they would grow on me like with most of Rush's output. But the opposite happened. I still like FC and the instrumentals, but much of the rest are mid-tempo trudges that just bore me. It's not their worst album, but it's in the bottom few for me.

 

Wow, we almost completely disagree. Shocker! :sarcastic:

 

 

 

 

:P

[coventry]

"Far Cry" is probably one of their strongest "singles" in ages. A great hook, a killer chorus, and an ending that leaves you breathless. Makes an amamzing opener to either set.

[Smegger68]

'Faithless' could have been written for me. On an album full of outstanding material this one still does it for me every time. One of the best songs by anyone, ever.

[jjgittes]

Upon first listening, I felt this album "flowed" very well through the first 9 tracks then sort of lost a little at the back end. I agree with others that feel some of the tracks have lost a little luster upon repeated spins but overall, I like most of the tracks. To me, S&A and "Roll the Bones" are their two best albums post-"Signals."

[Jaminbenb]

Strangely enough it's one of my favorite albums...and I'm an OLD fan! Armor and Sword is one of my favorite tracks, and I can't seem to get enough of the live versions of these tunes!

 

To me THIS album proves that old bands can still put out good albums! (and then follow it up with CA which is no slouch)

[Anguyen92]

I've heard three songs (Far Cry, Workin' Them Angels, and Faithless) from their Time Machine DVD and I liked it very much and I pretty much want to watch the Snakes and Arrows DVD and album because of that.

 

So, I'm sure that this is a winner of an album.

[Cyclonus X-1]

Love Workin' Them Angels and Armor and Sword. Really like The Larger Bowl. Good instrumentals. Good News First is underrated. Don't care for Far Cry. Spindrift is one of their worst songs. Everything else is pretty good.

 

Strong album all in all.

[theredtamasrule]

I was a big fan of S&A when it came out...well...about half of it. That still holds true for me today. 6 of the first 7 tracks are stellar (Bowl being the exception, it's ok I guess). Good News First I really dig too and I never liked MalNar for some reason it seems too obvious a retread of YYZ to my ears. In my collection it remains a 7 song album:

 

Far Cry

A&S

WTA

Spindrift

TMMB

TWTWB

GNF

 

I found that if I shuffle these tunes in with PeW it makes a great mix because the S&A songs do have a similar feel & tempo so it's good to break them up.

 

 

 

 

 

[drbirdsong]

I knew there wasn't a lot of love for Bravest Face. I may be the only one on this forum that likes it. I loved it the moment I heard it. Why do you guys not like it? I know some folks don't like it when Rush goes acoustic, but man that song hits me square in my brain. Give me your reasons please. I don't want to fight about it I just don't understand the dislike of that song.

[theredtamasrule]

I knew there wasn't a lot of love for Bravest Face. I may be the only one on this forum that likes it. I loved it the moment I heard it. Why do you guys not like it? I know some folks don't like it when Rush goes acoustic, but man that song hits me square in my brain. Give me your reasons please. I don't want to fight about it I just don't understand the dislike of that song.

To me it's a classic case of lyric lines being too long and not at all meeting up with the melody. Plus the lyrical content is goofy...still not sure how Ged sang them with conviction. Interesting musical moments: Alex's acoustic work, Neil's choked splash cymbal. It's just seems like such a contrived song overall.

[Lerxster]

I knew there wasn't a lot of love for Bravest Face. I may be the only one on this forum that likes it. I loved it the moment I heard it. Why do you guys not like it? I know some folks don't like it when Rush goes acoustic, but man that song hits me square in my brain. Give me your reasons please. I don't want to fight about it I just don't understand the dislike of that song.

To me it's a classic case of lyric lines being too long and not at all meeting up with the melody. Plus the lyrical content is goofy...still not sure how Ged sang them with conviction. Interesting musical moments: Alex's acoustic work, Neil's choked splash cymbal. It's just seems like such a contrived song overall.

Pretty much agree. The repetitive chorus goes on too long at the end. Don't hate this or any Rush song though.

[Aikenrooster]

Love the album. Love "Faithless," and "Armor and Sword." Some people just hate honestly.

[LedRush]

I knew there wasn't a lot of love for Bravest Face. I may be the only one on this forum that likes it. I loved it the moment I heard it. Why do you guys not like it? I know some folks don't like it when Rush goes acoustic, but man that song hits me square in my brain. Give me your reasons please. I don't want to fight about it I just don't understand the dislike of that song.

To me it's a classic case of lyric lines being too long and not at all meeting up with the melody. Plus the lyrical content is goofy...still not sure how Ged sang them with conviction. Interesting musical moments: Alex's acoustic work, Neil's choked splash cymbal. It's just seems like such a contrived song overall.

Pretty much agree. The repetitive chorus goes on too long at the end. Don't hate this or any Rush song though.

 

I actually like this lyrics and acoustic Rush, but the song is uninteresting to me. It seems uninspired, somehow.

[goose]

For some reason, I like Good News First and We Hold On a lot. No one else seems to like them.

I do. :cheers:

[xmac]

S&A is an amazing record and it's very high up in my overall Rush album spins. I personally find the production quality of this record to be probably the best of all their albums.