Rush Delivers Bleak View of World in Snakes and Arrows

2 1/2 Stars (**1/2)

Rush returns this week with their 19th studio record and 27th record (including greatest hits and live records) overall under the banner of "Snakes & Arrows", a record that takes Rush fans to a new destination musically never visited before in the band's 33-year history. Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of fans who are eagerly anticipating the May 1st release of the next chapter in Rush world, firmly cementing their belief's that whatever the band gives them is "gospel" and not to be criticized in any way, shape, or form.

However, Rush is a band that is not immune to criticism by those with an objective ear or even those who slandered the band's best work nearly 20 years ago.

No Band/Artist Is.

Rush has a history of being one of the underdogs of rock and roll. The Rodney Dangerfields of Canada. The missing link between abstract and annoying. The fine line between love and hate. Rush's career has been one large book of cliches, as drummer Neil Peart has borrowed just about every single one over the years from the 1 or 2 thousand authors he has referenced over his career, as chief lyricist for the band as well as author of a number of travel books over the last 15 years whether they are on 12-speed bicycles, BMW motorcycles, or BMW sports cars. Peart never has had trouble expressing his love for the road and a journey across the globe on tires.

The problem with Peart these days is he has become a whining snob. On Snakes & Arrows, Peart decides to tell the listener how awful life is and how much he really despises faith and a belief in God. There is a point in making a point. Peart used to know the rules of songwriting very well by not having to repeat a chorus over and over again, especially when it is nothing but one negative opinion after another. Bassist/Vocalist/Keyboardist Geddy Lee used to sing Peart's lyrics with tremendous conviction and passion that you felt as if you were part of the song...part of the journey. Now, Lee tries his best to harmonize with ooohs and ahhhs to make up for the lack of coherent and singable lyrics, a problem which began on the band's 2002 "Vapor Trails" which was panned by fans as missing trademark solos and keyboards as Lee decided to use his voice as the back up music window dressing instead.

Rush went with the track "Far Cry" as the first single to go to radio back in March and has since been climbing the radio charts across the U.S. but has yet to be played on commercial radio in the U.K. for some odd reason. The track is textbook Rush featuring familiar riffs and chorus patterns lifted from earlier Rush tunes like "Jacobs Ladder", "A Farewell To Kings", and "Neurotica". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why Atlantic Records went with the track as the first one out of the box...it is easily the most accessible song for rock radio.

But it doesn't necessarily mean that is a good thing either.

Recycled riffs and feedback distorting guitar sounds a song does not make. But as most Rush fans will agree...it is better than half of the sonic litter that fills the airwaves on a daily basis so Rush gets a pass at offering something listenable on a resource that is hardly listenable itself : radio.

The album goes soft from there. Real soft. We are talking Crosby, Stills, and Nash soft with some Stevie Ray Vaughn thrown in for good measure (see The Way The Wind Blows) and while we are at it why not some jug band singing bears from a Disney flick? To be fair the music has its great moments on Snakes & Arrows. Armor and Sword bangs open like a drummer trying out a new drum set at the local Guitar Center as Peart smashes a china boy cymbal as if it just told him that he has not been impressive on the drums since "Power Windows" (is the cymbal lying?), and the riff takes us into the remaining dark theme of religion, war, politics, and spirits that seem to engulf us all. Guitarist Alex Lifeson wrote the entire record with Lee on their acoustic guitars and it shows...it seems to appear in just about every song and as stated above "it doesn't necessarily mean that is a good thing either".

The track Workin Them Angels is a track that sounds as if Geddy Lee had forgotten about it on his Pro-Tools during the recording of his 2000 solo effort "My Favorite Headache" as it resembles a number of tracks off the release. It also might hold distinction as being one of the worst recorded Rush songs if not the most boring Rush song to ever grace a recording. The song struggles to get out of its own way and this unfortunately is a problem for most of the material on Snakes. With lyrics such as "Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times/Memory drumming at the heart of an English winter/Memories beating at the heart of an African village", of course that just rolls right off the tongue and screams of catchy right there.

"The Larger Bowl" gives us more "woah woah woah ohhhhhhhhh's" than Fonzi being handed bad news on an episode of Happy Days. Lifeson provides a dreamy acoustic melody and by now you have forgotten that you are listening to the same album that has "Far Cry" on it. Peart does not miss the chance to remind us of how bad things are with Lee whining the lyrics "Some are blessed and some are cursed/The golden one or scarred from birth/While others only see the worst/Such a lot of pain on the earth." As the positivity oozes out of the song, Lifeson and Lee give what could be regarded as a Nashville bass intro to a Rascal Flatts guitar solo showing the world that they can crossover just as good as Bon Jovi can when it comes to sing along country rock.

"Spindrift" is a musical thriller that gives us one of the most unique riffs and vocal arrangements in Rush history. A haunting and disturbing song that certainly had metal/hard rock producer Nick Raskulinecz's (Stone Sour, Shadows Fall, Velvet Revolver) hand in it. The song almost echoes the eerie feeling one might have had listening to Witch Hunt for the first time. Oddly enough the sentiment I felt listening to the record was stated crystal clear in "Spindrift" as Peart asks repeatedly "What am I supposed to say?/Where are the words to answer you/When you talk that way?"

Great question to ask Peart yourself when listening to the record.

"The Main Monkey Business" is an instrumental break in the midst of all of this war and religion madness. Think the 1996 track "Limbo" meets a Joe Satriani jam. If one was to look at the title of the track they would expect some kind of off-the-wall musical explosion of insanity to be taking place. Sorry...that is reserved for another instrumental on the record "Malignant Narcissism" which takes this Monkey to the shed and spanks it.

Prediction: Grammy nod goes to one of those two tracks for Best Rock Instrumental.

"The Way The Wind Blows" has visions of The Byrds , Buffalo Springfield, and a scene from the Patrick Swayze classic B-film "Road House" thrown into the mix just to make sure you are paying attention. It is the ultimate ADHD song for musicians who love having no clue what the hell is going on in a song. One minute the listener is in the 1996 song "Driven" then they find themselves in "Turn, Turn, Turn" from The Byrds sprinkling in some outrageous Jeff Healy Band jam that "Cooler" Dalton is beating some ass at the "Double Deuce" in for good measure.

"Hope" is a mini-acoustic piece played exclusively by Lifeson. The track holds the distinction as being the only song ever to appear on a Rush studio record that does not feature anyone else in the band. 1981's "Broon's Bane" was never featured on a studio record only on the live offering "Exit Stage Left...". You can't fault Lifeson for being the sleeper in Rush. The man is regarded as one of the most underrated guitarists of all time, but when he wants to strike a chill up your spine...he can still do it.

Speaking of sleepers...."Faithless" turns out to be one of the tracks that is indeed a "sleeper". Now unlike some of the previously mentioned tracks "Faithless" falls under the category of "sleeper hit", a song that is beautifully orchestrated and sung with the power of classic Rush behind it full force. The only issue to take up with the song is the failure to continue to ride the "high" when the song gets going and is cut too short in favor of more talk singing. It isn't any wonder as to why the song works as well as it does as the key elements of vintage Rush are all present and accounted for...powerful drumming, a beautiful guitar solo, velvet bass lines, and keyboard orchestration that takes your breath away although the message is again of Peart reminding the listener that he has no use for faith and like a whining child tells us over and over that "I don't have faith in faith/I don't believe in belief/You can call me faithless/I still cling to hope/And I believe in love/And that's faith enough for me."

Faithless could easily wind up a crossover hit for the band if marketed correctly.

"Bravest Face" winds up the winner of the "silliest lyric" award. The lyrics sound as if a man out of his mind on dope is blabbering about his afternoon at home watching a "Law and Order" marathon on TNT while flipping back and forth to CNN and clicking on MoveOn.org's web site for the latest and greatest view of the world. Mr. Sunshine hands the listener these words of wisdom while trying to keep a straight face "I like that show where they solve all the murders/An heroic point of view/It's got justice and vengeance too/At least so the story goes/I like that story, makes a satisfying case.", and continues with, "In the sweetest child there's a vicious streak/In the strongest man there's a child so weak/In the whole wide world there's no magic place/So you might as well rise put on your bravest face."

I guess Peart has never been to Disney World before.

"Good News First" is an up-tempo song about the recognition of love and how beautiful it is to say it to someone. Truly one of the high points of the record as it musically doesn't leave the listener in the dumps although Peart tries his best to put you back there with the lyrics "The worst thing about it all is that you've never been right/And now still not really sure what started that fight/But I still get this feeling there's more trouble ahead", makes you feel the love...doesn't it?

"We Hold On" closes out this soap box/coffee house opus with more of the same recycled drumming with hints of "Test For Echo" and "One Little Victory" tossed in to sound complex, but the track is utter filler and too late to pretend the band just recorded what was to be the album that rivaled the band's greatest commercial success "Moving Pictures".

At the end of the day we have Geddy, Alex, and Neil producing a mediocre folk/rock record that will divide fans into their respective camps. The one's who desire and prefer the 1970's records with the long concept songs, the one's who long for the return of the textured and thought out arrangements of the 1980s, the ones who prefer the grunge and confused 1990s period, and then the "others"- the camp that believes "everything" the band does is perfect.

This is what happens when anything lasts 30+ years. One can compare the good ole days of baseball pre-steroids, multi-million dollar contracts, and mega video game endorsements to those of today. Putting the 1940s Yankees against the 1990s Braves. All forms of technology and ways of life can always be compared to by the next generation. The next generation will embrace Rush for what they were without question. A band that set the standard early on in their career, released a boat load of records, sold a ton of those records, and played because they wanted to keep playing regardless of whether they were producing popular music or not.

Rush has reached the point in their career where they have done it all. They have matured as a band and as men and become settled in their ways. Nobody in their right mind should expect another "2112", "Signals", "Grace Under Pressure", or "Permanent Waves"...but there is no harm in wanting or asking for one. Does "Snakes and Arrows" risk turning off some fans? Absolutely. Does it appear to be a record that will gain a new wave of fans? The same can't be said. There simply is no inspiration on the album to be found other than to recognize the negatives in life more often and appreciate the little we do have to work with.

It might come off to the reader of this review that there is a bone I am picking personally with Peart. I am not. I am however stunned at how a man who is as popular, respected, loved, and regarded around the world with so much personal wealth and intelligence can be such a sour puss and lose the role as musician and become "Preacher In Chief".

Peart is nowhere near the top of his game on "Snakes & Arrows" whether it be on drums or at the keyboard writing depressing and preachy lyrics. But the man is to never be disrespected for what he has given us over the years. Nobody can take away the years of joy he has given to tens of millions playing live and on record.

But the man needs to learn how to smile.

Bottom Line: Snakes & Arrows is a great Tom Petty record.