"Spindrift" is a compositional song that the simple lyrics try to tie the song together. This is probably my least favorite song on the CD. "The Main Monkey Business" is a 6 minute instrumental that focuses on the musical talent of Rush.
While I like many of the tunes prior to this point, the rest of this CD is great! "The Way the Wind Blows" starts off with a bluesy feel; it quickly grows into a driving beat. This is the only attempt at a "political" statement, but at that is very minor in its statement. I love some of the intonations that Lee does with his voice on this one and the way it mixes with the blues lines from Lifeson.
"Hope" is a nice little ditty that at 2 minutes is truly a transitional piece for guitar. "Faithless" is one of those songs that balances composition with lyrics and harkens back to some of the old Rush circa 2112. "Bravest Face" is another one that combines a catchy tune with, Lee doing some funky vocalizations and lyrics that tie it all together.
"Good News First" is a slow driving tune that builds throughout the song with a catchy middle eight. "Malignant Narcissism" is another instrumental that drives on with the bass line playing off the guitar. A 2 minute transitional that works. "We Hold On", the final track that blends lyrics with instrumentals that not only is classic Rush, but may be a classic in and of it self.
Yes, I like this album! My first take was that the second half was better than the first half, but after three times through, there are no songs that I would remove and only with Spindrift; the worst that I can say about it, is that I don't always notice it when it is on. This album is worth the time and you will find many of the tunes remaining in your head long after the music's done.
Snakes and Arrows' song listing:
Far Cry
Armor And Sword
Workin' Them Angels
The Larger Bowl
Spindrift
The Main Monkey Business
The Way The Wind Blows
Hope
Faithless
Bravest Face
Good News First
Malignant Narcissism
We Hold On
Article comments
1 - Paul Roy
Give this album some time to grow on you. The first few listens left me dissapointed, but after a few weeks I can find much more to enjoy about it. The songs open themselves up and become more distinctive with each subsequent listen. Unfortunately it is still only in the same league as their previous few albums, and doesn't come close to capturing the magic of the Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures era. I look forward to hearing how the new songs go over live when I see them in June.
2 - Jeff Martin
Good review. Although, I really like Spindrift. It's definitely not one of the top songs on the album, but it's not the worst, in my opinion. My least favorite so far is The Larger Bowl. I like it (especially the guitar solo), but it feels too long.
If you get a chance to see them live, do so. The new material sounds great live. I went to the Atlanta show and it was great. They played a couple of the new songs during the first set (Larger Bowl and Main Monkey Business), but the 2nd set opened up with several of the new songs. They started with Far Cry, then Working Them Angels, Armor & Sword and The Way the Wind Blows. When they finished that one, I told my son "Now, they need to play Spindrift." and sure enough, they started Spindrift. A little later in the set they played Malignant Narcissism which was the setup for Neil's Rhythm Method/solo.
3 - T. Michael Testi
Jeff,
Thanks for the comment!
If they get around here, I am going to try to get to the show. I find that depending on the mood I am in, there are quite a few songs that I like. Even Spindrift has become a much more enjoyable tune to me over time.
T.
4 - dann
Been listening to this band for almost 30 years. What can I say - they are great. Still miss the style from the older albums ( Perm-Waves, 2112, etc)but that is just one man's opinion from what was once a better life.
5 - T. Michael Testi
Dann,
Thanks for the comment, I loved the early stuff as well, but do love this one too!
T.