Rush

“Snakes and Arrows offers some monkey business, some spirituality, some lover’s quarrels with the world, some raw sophistication, some dysentery dreams, some malignant narcissism, the spirit of the ’60s, and the Tao of Booujze. It combines everything we know about making music with everything we love about making music.”
Neil Peart

Anthem/Atlantic recording group Rush returns with its first new collection of original material in nearly five years, entitled “SNAKES & ARROWS.” The album sees the legendary trio – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart – operating at the peak of their powers. Never ones to extol their own achievements, for the first time in their career the members of band have been heard to say that they believe “SNAKES & ARROWS” contains the best work of their three decades together… which is saying something remarkable indeed.

Among the highlights are the first single, “Far Cry,” and such outstanding tracks as “Bravest Face” and “The Way the Wind Blows” – which Peart describes as “different from anything we have done before – fresh and vital, yet rooted in some deeper musical streams… It seems that with more time to learn and grow, we can still surprise ourselves.”

“SNAKES & ARROWS” was birthed in a surge of creative energy, beginning in May 2006 as Rush united in a Toronto studio for a month-long pre-production meeting. A number of musical sketches were drawn, setting the stage for further sessions. The band reconvened in September with American Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) coming aboard as co-producer.

“He was a powerhouse of enthusiasm,” Peart says of the Grammy Award-winning Raskulinecz, “and offered suggestions for the arrangements (one of his frequent lines: ‘I’d be curious to hear…’), helping us to shape the songs more effectively. He also encouraged and elevated our individual performances, challenging us to keep reaching higher (another typical line: ‘Hey, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know you could do it!’).”

Within a month, Rush had drafted rough versions of nearly a dozen new songs, many of which touched on themes of spirituality and faith, including “Far Cry,” “Armor and Sword,” and “Faithless.” Elsewhere, relationships entered into the lyrical framework, notably on “Spindrift,” “Good News First,” and the album’s closing track, “We Hold On.” Rush’s much-vaunted musical ingenuity came to the fore on “The Larger Bowl,” which utilizes a Malay verse pattern called the pantoum. Peart suggests that the band’s invigorated artistic fervor stems from their work on 2004’s “FEEDBACK,” a freewheeling collection that saw the band celebrating its 30th anniversary by bashing out garage rock classics.

“That spirit of youthful enthusiasm, and the spirit of the ’60s, is alive in several of these songs,” Peart says, “from the blues sections in ‘The Way the Wind Blows’ to the feedback solo in ‘Far Cry,’ and the simple rhythm section backing for the melodic guitar solo in ‘The Larger Bowl.’”

In November, Rush began final recording at Allaire Studios, a residential studio in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Though plans initially called for a two-week stay before returning to Toronto for a final round of overdubs and vocals, the band found the Allaire atmosphere so conducive, they decided to extend their time there for an additional month. The sessions spurred the spontaneous creation of two instrumental tracks: Lifeson’s poignant solo guitar piece, “Hope” (recorded in a single take), and the brief, quirky “Malignant Narcissism” (a title borrowed from the film, Team America: World Police).

Rush took a holiday break, and then headed west to Hollywood’s Ocean Way Studio for final mixing. Peart, a Californian resident for the past six years, had long commuted to Toronto for rehearsing, writing, and recording, so “it was nice to have Alex and Geddy come to me for a change.”

The resulting “SNAKES & ARROWS” stands among Rush’s most provocative and inventive works, no mean feat for a band whose extraordinary CV entails includes such classics as 1976’s “2112,” 1981’s “MOVING PICTURES,” 1996’s “TEST FOR ECHO,” and 2002’s “VAPOR TRAILS.” With its virtuosic imagination, heartfelt lyricism and sheer artistic power, the album marks the ideal merging of Rush’s craft and passion.

“Naturally, we hope listeners will feel that spirit—all those spirits,” says Peart, “and have a rewarding musical experience, not just once, but again and again.”

Following the May 1st release of “SNAKES & ARROWS,” Rush will embark on a major world tour. Beginning in mid-June, the band will hit more than 45 cities across the U.S. and Canada, wrapping up in late-September. Rush will then cross the Atlantic to tour the UK and Europe throughout the month of October. And then?… to be continued.

Over the course of their decades-spanning career, the Canadian power trio Rush emerged as one of hard rock's most highly regarded bands; although typically brushed aside by critics and although rare recipients of mainstream pop radio airplay, the group nonetheless won an impressive and devoted fan following while their virtuoso performance skills solidified their standing as musicians' musicians.

Rush formed in Toronto, Ontario, in the autumn of 1968, and initially comprised guitarist Alex Lifeson (born Alexander Zivojinovich), vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib), and drummer John Rutsey. In their primary incarnation, the trio drew a heavy influence from Cream, and honed their skills on the Toronto club circuit before issuing their debut single, a rendition of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," in 1973. A self-titled LP followed in 1974, at which time Rutsey exited; he was replaced by drummer Neil Peart, who also assumed the role of the band's primary songwriter, composing the cerebral lyrics (influenced by works of science fiction and fantasy) that gradually became a hallmark of the group's aesthetic.

With Peart firmly ensconced, Rush returned in 1975 with a pair of LPs, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel. Their next effort, 1976's 2112, proved their breakthrough release: a futuristic concept album based on the writings of Ayn Rand, it fused the elements of the trio's sound -- Lee's high-pitched vocals, Peart's epic-length compositions, and Lifeson's complex guitar work -- into a unified whole. Fans loved it -- 2112 was the first in a long line of gold and platinum releases -- while critics dismissed it as overblown and pretentious: either way, it established a formula from which the band rarely deviated throughout the duration of their career.

A Farewell to Kings followed in 1977 and reached the Top 40 in both the U.S. and Britain. After 1978's Hemispheres, Rush achieved even greater popularity with 1980's Permanent Waves, a record marked by Peart's dramatic shift into shorter, less sprawling compositions; the single "The Spirit of Radio" even became a major hit. With 1981's Moving Pictures, the trio scored another hit of sorts with "Tom Sawyer," which garnered heavy exposure on album-oriented radio and became perhaps their best-known song. As the 1980s continued, Rush grew into a phenomenally popular live draw as albums like 1982's Signals (which generated the smash "New World Man"), 1984's Grace Under Pressure, and 1985's Power Windows continued to sell millions of copies.

As the decade drew to a close, the trio cut back on its touring schedule while hardcore followers complained of a sameness afflicting slicker, synth-driven efforts like 1987's Hold Your Fire and 1989's Presto. At the dawn of the 1990s, however, Rush returned to the heavier sound of their early records and placed a renewed emphasis on Lifeson's guitar heroics; consequently, both 1991's Roll the Bones and 1993's Counterparts reached the Top Three on the U.S. album charts. In 1996, the band issued Test for Echo and headed out on the road the following summer. Shortly thereafter, Peart lost his daughter in an automobile accident. Tragedy struck again in 1998 when Peart's wife succumbed to cancer. Dire times in the Rush camp did not cause the band to quit. Lee took time out for a solo stint with 2000's My Favorite Headache; however, rumors of the band playing in the studio began to circulate. It would be five years until anything surfaced from the band. Fans were reassured in early 2002 by news that Rush were recording new songs in Toronto. The fruit of those sessions led to the release of Rush's 17th studio album, Vapor Trails, later that spring. In 2004 the band embarked on their 30th anniversary tour, and in 2006 they returned to the studio to begin work on a new album. The resulting Snakes & Arrows was released in May 2007, followed by Snakes & Arrows Live in early 2008. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide