I gave up on Rush several albums ago, in the early 90s. I do not blame Rush, however, I blame myself. But after several years and several albums passed by, I rediscovered a long lost friend while playing a video game. A song on the game soundtrack just happened to be a Rush song I had not heard before!
A little research and a trip to the used CD store later, I filled in the few albums I had missed since I stopped paying attention in the early 90s.
Rush was once-upon-a-time one of my all time favorite bands. But, and true Rush fans will attest to this, they have a habit of almost completely reinventing themselves every four albums or so. I get it. I'm a musician, too, and I understand the need and desire for new and fresh and challenge. I just found it difficult to keep up with their musical meanderings.
The late 90s Rush was like an old friend you haven't seen in awhile. Although the passion was always there, back was the ferocity and aggression I missed from the EARLY days. Neil Peart's strenuous liner notes noted new and harder influences and it was apparent in the music.
Over the next few years, I became reacquainted with my old friend. So I got a little excited when I heard they were (finally!) releasing a new full length CD. And then I got VERY excited when I realized they were releasing the same, but in a feature-packed deluxe DVD- audio version. I waited and waited while my pre-order from Amazon was repeatedly delayed and eventually arrived.
After all that, was it worth?
Yes. I'm not overwhelmed, but I haven't been by a new Rush album since the mid-80s. They take time to get used to, like dipping your tootsies in the pool or sipping your soup. What has always impressed me most about the group is how much sound is being created by only three guys. Rush is a smorgasbord of sound and rhythm, and sometimes a little much to take in all at once. The music can be hard, and not like a rock, but more like a trigonometry test. They ain't your daddy's pop band.
But a few things are obvious. The sound quality is killer. The PCM 96k 24 bit stereo channel is clean, clear, brilliant, and amazing. The disc also includes the ubiquitous 5.1 mix for that more contemporary sound. Whether or not you are a Rush fan, if you appreciate good music, there's no denying that an evening with this disc on a quality sound system is time well spent.
The video portion is fine - nothing great, no surprises. It offers a nice and LONG glimpse at the behind-the-scenes thing. Rush fanatics will revel in it's inclusion, those not so fanatical will likely not find it worth bothering with. The members of Rush, virtuoso percussionist and lyricist Neil Peart especially, apparently have no problems with discussing their work, and do so unabashedly.
One of the nicest surprises is the inclusion of high quality MP3 versions of all the songs. This is great not only for the convenience, but I can imagine the guys in the band saying, "These guys buying the DVD version are going to have trouble ripping the songs, not like a CD. Hey! Let's GIVE 'EM some MP3s!" Gotta love that.
I'm not the type of person to discuss every song on the album and I won't do so now. I will sum up by saying that SNAKES & ARROWS isn't that much of a departure from the modern Rush. It does have some of the best songs I've heard from them in awhile, and it's very quickly growing on me. It's a meld of old and new Rush, same great taste, less calories.
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