Appreciation for Snakes And Arrows

[GeddysMullet]

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.

 

I like Bravest Face quite a lot, actually. It's not one of my favourite songs on the album, but that's only because the album is so strong. It's one of the very few Rush albums on which I like every song.

[laughedatbytime]

My appreciation for S&A is solely based on its serviceability as a coaster.

[GeddysMullet]

My appreciation for S&A is solely based on its serviceability as a coaster.

 

At least you understand what the word "appreciation" means, unlike, apparently, some of the other posters in this thread! ;)

[Retrospective]

I love Hope. A lot. I think it's underrated, or at least commonly forgotten. I loved it when I first listened to the album, and I loved seeing it live. I was so excited that Alex got an instrumental to himself. That song still makes me stop and really listen when I'm going through S&A. :Alex:

[EagleMoon]

S&N's is what got me back into the band again. I remember buying Test for Echo and I liked that pretty well. But when Vapor Trails came out I listened to it once or twice and thought "eww". The distorted production turned me off so that it was even hard to listen to regardless of the music, of which I'm still not a fan. (Though i have learned to appreciate Secret Touch). When S&A's came out I kept hearing how good it was, so I bought it. Loved it. I do think it's one of their best produced albums next to Counterparts and Signals.

[trenken]

There's some solid songs on this album. I really wish TWTWB didnt have that bluesy section in it. Seems so out of place and shoehorned in there, otherwise I like the song a lot. Spindrift since its a little odd sounding and edgy, Faithless (aside from the lyrics), Monkey Biz is great, Armor and Sword is pretty good too. A few clunkers but thats ok.

 

I never LOVED the album just because they talked about being inspired by Feedback, and being in my mid 30s I never grew up with those songs, so the album always sounded a little bit dated to me, wish it were little heavier and edgier at times, but overall I do like it more than Clockwork. Do not get me started on that album. I was ok with it for about 3 days when it came out, and it was all downhill from there and now to me its one of their worst albums. So forgettable.

[gjptest]

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

 

+1

 

overall I like SNA a lot, and this is one of my favorite songs on it (at least right now!)

[H. P. L.]

Well, I love FC, WTA, A&S... but I've never gotten to side B in a long time... I can't even rememeber how some of the songs go.

[theredtamasrule]

Well, I love FC, WTA, A&S... but I've never gotten to side B in a long time... I can't even rememeber how some of the songs go.

Duh, duh, duh...doo, duh, doo...ooooo

 

Something like that.

[tommyali]

Snakes and Arrows is awesome from start to finish! Best album since counterparts

[Cyclops]

S&A was a funny album for me. I think I heard Far Cry and expected more songs in that vein, and found myself disappointed my some of the mid-tempo offerings. Of course, the instrumentals hooked me, but it took several spins for the album to hook me as a whole.

 

I'm still not overly fond of The Larger Bowl, The Way The Wind Blows, Bravest Face, or We Hold On, but the rest of the album pretty much rocks, and I found a deep appreciation of Armor and Sword and Faithless. I could listen to Hope every day, and Far Cry is amazing.

[MMCXII]

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.

 

We Hold on might be my favorite on this album. always has been.. I like the picture Neil paints with them lyrics..

[losingit2k]

Great album. Well mixed and produced. Would have been nearly perfect if it were shorter. Say like below:

 

Far Cry (5:21)

Armor And Sword (6:36)

Workin' Them Angels (4:47)

The Larger Bowl (4:07)

The Main Monkey Business (6:01)

Spindrift (5:24)

Hope (2:02)

Faithless (5:31)

Malignant Narcissism (2:17)

Bravest Face (5:12)

The Way The Wind Blows (6:28)

 

By the Way, I do like Bravest Face it has cool verses and an awesome break But I agree, It switches back to long Choruses way too ofter, specialy at the end. A giant leap forward after Vapor Trails concerning its sound quality.

 

:rush: :haz: :rush:

[goose]

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.

Great production! RUSH hadn't sounded this good for several albums, probably since Counterparts. Alex really shines, and Neil's drumming has passion. The lyrical themes can get tiresome when I listen to the album in its entirety, but taken in parts I enjoy just about every track. As time has passed, I'm finding I prefer S&A to Clockwork.

[LedRush]

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.

Great production! RUSH hadn't sounded this good for several albums, probably since Counterparts. Alex really shines, and Neil's drumming has passion. The lyrical themes can get tiresome when I listen to the album in its entirety, but taken in parts I enjoy just about every track. As time has passed, I'm finding I prefer S&A to Clockwork.

 

So much crazy. So little sense.

[gjptest]

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.

I like it. I like most if not all of the album

[presto123]

I like about half of SnA but I still find it to be one of their weaker efforts. I don't mind when Rush goes acoustic but not this kind of acoustic. To me much of the acoustic guitar on SnA has a folkish quality. Probably the last thing I want to hear on a Rush record. I applaud them for trying something new but it was a swing and a miss to me. There are probably five tunes I think are awesome and the rest meh.

[ytserush]

The only thing wrong with this album is that Clockwork Angels came after it and that's unfortunate.

[John V]

I have been a Rush fan from the beginning. But not as much a fan as some of you.

One birthday, my daughters got me the Presto CD and I shortly thereafter bought Roll the Bones CD.

 

I listened to them so much my wife almost threw them away.

So I was absent again for some years. Still liking and still listening, but not like a real fan would.

 

Then a couple years ago, I saw Rush was on DirectV. It was the S&A tour recorded in Rotterdam Holland. Not the complete show, but enough to send me out to buy the DVD.

 

Well, I fell in love all over again. This time my wife did too. S&A will always be a special album to me. It reinvigorated my music life and my thinking. It also showed me how many people take Rush for granted and how some just do not like Rush.

 

I have found those that do not like Rush in many cases are not people I want to like either.

 

Thanks Rush, for S&A. I now have everything recorded, (no boots though) accept for Grace Under Pressure. I will remedy that very soon as I love "Between the Wheels".

[jnoble]

I like about half of SnA but I still find it to be one of their weaker efforts. I don't mind when Rush goes acoustic but not this kind of acoustic. To me much of the acoustic guitar on SnA has a folkish quality. Probably the last thing I want to hear on a Rush record. I applaud them for trying something new but it was a swing and a miss to me. There are probably five tunes I think are awesome and the rest meh.

 

my former neighbor gave me a bootleg CD of the album pre-release he downloaded off the net and I clearly remember listening to it on my computer thinking almost every song sounded just like the one before it. Then I got the legit one and almost tossed it out the car window at one point in frustration at how lame most of it is. Of course it didn't help reading TRF at the time "THIS ALBUM IS THE BEST SINCE MOVING PICTURES!!! A MASTERPIECE!!! OMG I JUST QUIT MY JOB SO I CAN LISTEN TO ARMOR AND SWORD FOR A WEEK STRAIGHT! GREATEST RUSH ALBUM SINCE...." etc etc etc. You know how it gets around here with new albums. :eyeroll:

[Anguyen92]

I made my last post about that thread before watching the Snakes and Arrows DVD and after watching that show. Man, this is a good winner of an album. Out of all the songs that Rush played from that album, I think I like The Main Monkey Business, the most. Such a funny name to say and it is a killer instrumental. May not be greater or as recognizable as YYZ or La Villa Strangiato but still a very good song.

[Slack jaw gaze]

Thanks Rush, for S&A. I now have everything recorded, (no boots though) accept for Grace Under Pressure. I will remedy that very soon as I love "Between the Wheels".

$5 on Amazon right now.

 

http://www.amazon.co...under pressure"

[The Analog Grownup]

Or buy Replay 3X if you don't have A Show of Hands, Exit ... Stage Left and Grace Under Pressure concert dvds. The Grace Under Pressure Tour Live cd comes as a bonus :ebert:

[The Analog Cub]

Snakes And Arrows is fine. I like every song on the album except Bravest Face. Good News First is an okay song but not great, same for We Hold On. Clockwork Angels is definitely better, but then again I love that album to death.

[driventotheedge]

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.

My taste on this album is very similar to Goobs' here (though I like VT better than he does.....but then so does my dog LOL...I kid man, I kid). I am a huge fan of The Way The Wind Blows as well. To me, it's like the "look, we could've been a blues based rock & roll band if we'd wanted to" reminder song from the guys.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2013 by driventotheedge