Rush - Snakes & Arrows
Nearing the end of a challenging week, Friday afternoon I randomly decided to take a look at www.rush.com; idly wondering when they might produce a new studio album. My curiosity was suitably rewarded - ‘Snakes & Arrows’ having been released on May 1st! A couple of phone-calls later I had possession of said album and took it for (loud) company en route to Tring.
The album... Wow... Perhaps not everyone’s choice. My daughter yesterday described ‘The Main Monkey Business’ (one of three instrumental tracks) as “a musical representation of a headache”. Don’t let this put you off though! All the usual Rush ingredients are there - Neil Peart’s driving mind addling paradiddles and twin kicks, Geddy Lee’s crunching hyper bass and Alex Lifeson’s howling but sensitive guitar textures.
The first track - “Far Cry” starts off with battle-like guitar stabs and suspended chords reminiscent of the ‘Hemispheres’ era - way back in the late 70’s. Peart’s lyrics as ever confront the stereotype drummer image...‘Hope’ is an instrumental folk type thing featuring Lifeson playing a bouzouki. ‘Malignant Narcissism’, the third of the instrumental trio is a complete jamfest - I need to learn this one!
As with all Rush albums, the material makes demands of the 
listener. Three to four listens are usually needed before the layers emerge and the textures lodge themselves in your soul - After that... There is no way back! I have been listening to these guys since 1978 and would rate this album as one of their strongest in the last 10 years.
listener. Three to four listens are usually needed before the layers emerge and the textures lodge themselves in your soul - After that... There is no way back! I have been listening to these guys since 1978 and would rate this album as one of their strongest in the last 10 years.
Sunday, 6 May 2007
