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

Wed, Apr 17, 2024

Snakes & Arrows reviews, round 7

Fri, May 18, 2007@9:51AM | comments removed/disabled

I think we're all starting to get a little tired of the reviews; they're all beginning to run together in my brain it seems. Besides - the only review that really counts is your own... right? :) So this will be my last review roundup post. From here on out I'll just mention any more reviews that I come across in my regular updates posts.

Jim noticed that metacritic.com has now included Snakes & Arrows on their site. They are a site that collects reviews from several major publications, aggregates the ratings and then comes up with a metascore. Their analysis of Snakes & Arrows yields a generally favorable score of 76 and includes ratings from many of the reviews we've covered on this site and a couple that I'd missed. One of which is this generally positive review from Jason Keller of Toronto's NOW Magazine:

Five years after Vapor Trails, Toronto's most consistent stadium-fillers return with another epic journey of technical rock prowess. Neil Peart, as usual, delivers high-concept lyrics via Geddy Lee; this time spirituality, war and faith are the prevailing metaphors. By prog standards the songs are reined in (most clock in at five minutes), but in typical Rush fashion the compositions tend to feel coldly scientific or laboriously calculated. What with Peart's metronomic perfection, Alex Lifeson's restless guitar proficiency and Lee's shape-shifting vocal structures, you might find yourself wondering what just a minuscule amount of pop carelessness would do to this time-tested prog recipe. Nevertheless, it's a solid record on the hour-long whole, and definitely in keeping with the trio's inhuman standard of rock excellence.

He gives it 3 N's ... which I think means 3 out of 4.

Next up I have 2 positive reviews from BlogCritics. The first is from El Bicho and you can read the whole thing here. Here's an excerpt:

... The album drops in like a heavy wave at the Wedge with power not only in the music but in the lyrics as well, tapping into the Rush of old by combining the storytelling of the past with the ideas and passions of the present. ... even if the band moves into another direction with the next album, this one is a testament to a band that isn't afraid of making rock music with a point. ... I have to say that Counterparts, Test for Echo, and Vapor Trails left me wondering if Rush was still the same band I was looking for. I know bands change over time, that's a given, they have to if they want to succeed. Snakes & Arrows will go down as another change in the direction of Rush and one that will bring them a legacy of standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. The music is pure Rush while the words cut and sting like the lip smack of a cold winter wave. The melodies will keep you moving as the lyrics make you think, and thinking leads to change, and change is what these modern day Tom Sawyers are all about. ...

The next is a short review from Marty Dodge:

Rush return with their best album since Power Windows is the short review of this CD. Forget all the naysayers � this is a great album from a band back at their creative best. Neil Peart seems to have worked through all his troubles and is back on cracking form. There is not a duff track on this here CD. I can't get enough of this CD and will be taking it on honeymoon with me. Thirteen tracks of absolute prog perfection. Geddy Lee's voice has lost none of its power, quirkiness and majesty. This is probably a bit short for some of you readers. When its this good there is no need for long-winded gushing. If you have ever liked Rush, get this CD. If you claim to like good heavy rock...well you know the score.

Here's a bad one. This review is from Glenn Meads of The Manchester Evening News. He gives it 2 stars out of 5. An excerpt:

... what the album lacks is a sense of danger; everything sounds so safe and cliched. 'Working Them Angels' almost sounds 'Spinal Tap' - with lyrics that would suit the heavy metal spoof band. "Taking high roads, working angels over time" - you gotta laugh. Then comes some wailing and several more humdingers. I doubt if this is going to turn off any of the die hard fans. But with so many new bands experimenting with sounds and lyrics, you wonder where Rush fit in anymore. Many of their ballads sound like Extreme's cast offs from long ago.

And yet another bad one that comes in from reader Dave S. Douglas Maher of Associated Content seems to have it out for Neil Peart in this bashing review. He still gives it 2.5 stars out of 5 though. He concludes with this assinine statement: Bottom Line: Snakes & Arrows is a great Tom Petty record.

Steven Greenlee of The Boston Globe gives a lukewarm review:

... "Snakes & Arrows" is several steps ahead of more recent [Rush] efforts. The album manages to harken back to the band's prog-rock roots while addressing contemporary issues and laying down some zesty riffs. ... On the whole, though, the disc gets bogged down in songs built on predictable chord changes and rock-by-numbers melodies. If only the guys had held off going into the studio until they had a few more good songs written, then we'd finally have another great Rush record.

John R let me know that Classic Rock Revisited has posted 2 reviews of Snakes & Arrows both of which give the album a B grade. Reviewer Lee Grahm states:

... Snakes & Arrows should please most Rush fans. From die-hards who drew pentagrams on their high school notebooks, to younger listeners just discovering Moving Pictures on iTunes, Snakes & Arrows slithers with confidence and nails its target.

Reviewer Jeb Wright concludes with this:

... In the end, this is a solid album. It is more prog oriented than it is hard rock. Snakes & Arrows shows that Rush is very in tune with where they want to be at the present time. Don't look for a new version of "Tom Sawyer" or "Working Man" though because there are simply not any songs with that spirit. Still, there is enough going on here to peak the curiosity and keep the disc calling back to you to play it again, which is the ultimate sign of a good collection of music.