Snakes & Arrows - Rush (CD)

I have been a RUSH fan since the days of John Rutsey on the very first album. I gotta say that this album delivers some of the best tunes that RUSH has put out in recent albums. I have always said that there is no such thing as a bad RUSH album. Some are better than others of course. But this album is the best one they have put out this millineum. How these guys get better with age I will never know. I am going to see them tour this album tonight. (My 3rd show.) I will DEFINATELY be litening to this album all the way to the show. There is even hints and tastes of their old musical styles from the 80's on here. And good ole Neil Peart is still doing his craziness on the drums. Geddy Lee one time said in an interview that he doesn't know how or where Neil gets his immense energy. Geddy Lee still tears up the bass like tomorrow is his last day to play. As for Alex Lifeson, the man has ALWAYS been under-rated. And he does a TERRIFIC JOB on this album. I gave the album 5 stars. I am VERY HAPPY with my purchase.

THIS JUST IN: I saw the show last night. Tampa, Florida was the 3rd leg of this tour. And I can tell you that THIS SHOW ROCKED!!! RUSH is promoting the hell out of this new album with their latest tour. They played about 5 songs off of this album. They also threw in a great deal of surprises to entertain the crowd. I am not going to reveal the surprises for 2 reasons. 1.)RUSH obviously put ALOT of thought into this show. 2.) It would ruin it for anyone who reads this review and is planning on going to the show. The show started at 7:40 and ended at 11:10. They had approximately 30 minutes of total break time. They gave you a VERY GENEROUS 3 hours of good solid rock-n-roll. The stage show was the best I have seen in all my times seeing them. And the BEST part of the show was when they played Tom Sawyer. I say this because they did something very unique and different to introduce the song into the show. As for the anticipated drum solo? VERY FRESH AND NEW! I LOVED IT! And the crowd stared in AWE and just went NUCKIN' FUTS!!! Neil Peart gives ANOTHER crowd pleasing standing ovation drum solo that is different from what I EVER saw him do before. This show promises to be an entertaining show. And all the more reason I am happy I bought this album.

This also just in... I saw them tour this album for the second time on 4-15-08 in Orlando, Florida. They played ALOT more of the old RUSH that we all know and love while still putting out about 5 songs from the Snakes And Arrows album as well. This particular show I saw was the fourth time I have seen RUSH. And there was no dissapointment to be found here folks! For nearly 35 years RUSH has been the same 3 man band that has never broken up, never had a replacement member and NEVER performed poorly. Not too many bands can make that claim in their consistancy and performance for a 35 year stretch. GO SEE RUSH IN CONCERT BEFORE YOU DIE OR THE BAND RETIRES!!! Enough said!

In my view, this CD contains 3 outstanding tracks - the All-Lerxst all-acoustic guitar solo "HOPE", the way-too-short instrumental "Malignant Narcissism" and the somewhat self-referential "Workin' Them Angels". Overall, the tempo of most of the tracks seems a bit slow - over an hour of music, and only 13 tracks - two of which are just over two minutes. But, these guys still know how to rock... Peart's drumming is as interesting and varied as he's ever been, Lifeson's guitars are crisp and toneful, and Geddy's bass work is unparalled. The school-girl-scream high vocals are now few and far between for Lee as well, but his voice still carries the emotion across quite effectively, and suits Peart's now introspective (verses previously "spacy") lyrics to a tee. These guys have gotten older, but so have I.
It's not the self-titled first album, but has some of that punch. It's not 2112, but some of the phased-out keyboard work is there. It doesn't seem to flow from track to track like Moving Pictures or Permanent Waves, but there is an overall theme. It's not Presto, Hold Your Fire or Roll the Bones, but the Vapor Trails can still be seen. Thanks, guys, for continuing to grow and evolve.