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A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Fri, Nov 22, 2024

Snakes & Arrows reviews, round 2

Wed, May 2, 2007@12:17PM | comments removed/disabled

UPDATE - 5/2@1:37PM: grand design just let me know that Snakes & Arrows is currently at #5 on iTunes US and #3 on iTunes Canada! Check out the entire top 10 list at this link.

I've gathered up another batch of Snakes & Arrows reviews. But before I get to that I wanted to mention a couple other bits of good news related to the album. According to several readers, the album is doing very well on iTunes. It was at #9 last I heard and at one point was as high as #7. As of this post, it's also #2 in music at Amazon US! And this is really cool; 6 songs from Snakes & Arrows are now on the Rock Jump! Menu at MediaBase. The Rock Jump! Menu is a look at the Top 20 rock tracks with the most increase in spins and the number of stations playing them. It's updated daily and reflects a 7-day rolling total. A lot of this probably reflects all the airplay the songs received over the weekend because of the multiple radio specials. But Workin' them Angels is really moving up and could certainly be the next successful single. I'm curious to see how it will debut on Billboard.

Now onto the reviews. This batch is full of positivity and the ratings range from 7.5 to 9 out of 10.

IGN Music's Andy Patrizio gives the album a 7.5 out of 10 and you can read his full review here. He likes the music but not the lyrics:

... Rush took their sweet time on this record and tried a new approach: the band worked with a producer young enough to be their son. They hired Nick Raskulinecz, who produced The Foo Fighters' One By One and In Your Honor and Velvet Revolver's debut album. Raskulinecz had also worked in Nashville and brought all kinds of different ideas. The result is one of the more musically diverse Rush records effort, as well as one of the most overwhelmingly negative lyrically. ...

Rushguy located this review at 411mania which also gives the album a 7.5 out of 10 and concluded with this:

... The album will take more than one listen to really appreciate. Trust me, when I first listened to it, I thought it was nothing special. However, by the third listen, the album just clicked with me. Snakes and Arrows is a strong release from Rush, but is nowhere near a classic. Instrumentally, the band is great. The problem is the acoustic guitars were used too much, in my opinion. After a while, the songs sorta blend together. If you are a hardcore Rush fan or are interested in something a bit lighter that still rocks from time to time, I would recommend this album. ...

This next review is surprising because it's from metal magazine Terrorizer and reviewer Joseph Stannard gives the album a rating of 8 out of 10. Here's an excerpt courtesy of mackeraljack over at Counterparts:

... in 2007 [Rush] are possibly the only genuinely adult-oriented rock group in circulation, as 'Snakes and Arrows' capably illustrates ... 'Snakes and arrows' is Rush getting on with the business of being Rush while keeping one eye on the precarious state of the world. The plain-speaking purity of Neil Pearts lyricism is lent additional poignance by his acknowledgement that as chaos threatens to encroach on all our lives, the best we can do is carry on regardless. The music is better produced and more disciplined than on 'vapor trails', the moments of heaviness (which are plentiful) constrained within tight compositional structures, although fans of a proggy disposition will thrill at the stop-start dynamics of any of these songs as well as the inclusion of three instrumentals. Often accused of pretentiousness, Rush have scarcely attempted to be anything they're not, and this integrity has ensured them a longevity and credibility few of their contemporaries can boast. 'Snakes and arrows' then is a distinct rarity, an adult rock album, intended, to quote 1981s Limelight 'for those who think and feel'. ...

Lamb Saag pointed me to this positive review at FYE.com. No rating is given but the reviewer sure seems to like it. Here's an excerpt:

... the record is another heavy guitar, bass, and drums...drums...and more drums record. ... Its subject matter is heavy duty: faith and war. From the opening track (and first single), acoustic and electric guitars, bass hum, and Peart's crash-and-thrum urgency in the almighty riff are all present. When Geddy Lee opens his mouth, you know you are in for a ride ...

Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles reviewer Tim Henderson gives the album a 9 out of 10 rating. You can check out the entire review at this link. Here's an excerpt:

... Overall, Snakes & Arrows is one of countless joyous occasions, a serious musical adventure where the price of admission is exceeded greatly by the footsteps trod. Name another rock act that has the longevity, consistency and prominence of Canada's revered three-piece. I didn't think you could. Another trophy for the shelf.

In my last round of reviews I mentioned that the latest issue of Classic Rock Magazine contained a glowing review of the album from Geoff Barton. Reed Lover provided me with a scan of the review. He gives it an 8 out of 10.

You may remember Buffalo News Pop Music Critic Jeff Miers from his glowing review of Far Cry back in March. Well, he likes Snakes & Arrows too not surprisingly. His full review will be published this Friday but he gives us his first impressions in this blog post:

The new Rush disc, "Snakes & Arrows," has hit the streets. I've had it for a few days now and can report that it's brilliant.

Longtime fans of the band will find much to love here - daring musicianship, intelligent and insightful lyrics, ambitious structures, and plenty of FUN stuff. New listeners should be attracted by the singular nature of this wonderful band.

The music is timeless but the production is pleasingly contemporary, meaning this music can't be written off as mere "classic rock."

Like all the group's best records - and this new one clearly ranks among the band's Top 5 - the listener is asked to invest a bit of his or her self in the process of the music's unfolding. That means the more you listen to the record, the more you'll get out of it. This material is ready-made for the stage, and expect to hear plenty of it when the band shows up for its 4th of July gig at Darien lake. Look for my full review of "Snakes & Arrows" in this Friday's Gusto.