SNAKES & ARROWS

I'm not a Rush completes and bought this album primarily because, having had a number of their albums in the 70s and 80s on LP and cassette, I have found it hard to find CDs of theirs to replace them: I like their sound and their style of music making, heavy yet varied and intelligent, and so bought the CD soon after release.

I don't know why but I'm always surprised when artists of Rush's vintage produce such stunningly good work. I was amazed at how good this is - simply, if it's not THE best Rush album (and I can't be definite because I haven't heard them all) it must surely be very close to it.

Musically, this album has plenty of pace and energy, like listening to a young band just starting out. From the moment you hear the opening bars of the opener "Far Cry" you know you're in for a real treat. What makes the album so special though is how Rush bring their experience of song composition and arrangement to bear on the music. Their songs have often been complex but here they just seem to always pick the right solution.

The album is also very appealing lyrically. From the vantage point of their age they take a look at the problems of our world that will resonate with many of the fans who have followed them down the years. The fact that they can do so in combination with such stunning music makes for a powerful mix.

My favourite section of the album is a glorious period about half way through the album which features four of the best songs and whilst there is a unity between all the songs on the album it seems to me that these four particularly form a little family.

The quartet starts with a FANTASTIC, blistering rock instrumental, "The Main Monkey Business". I'm not one that is over keen on rock instrumentals but this is an absolute gem! Given the lyrics that are to follow I'd say that this is the "Mother of All Rock Instrumentals", or the "desert storm" that leads to "The Way the Wind Blows" a song that rues the current conflicts between east and west: "now it's come to this/ hollow speeches of mass deception/ from the Middle east to the Middle West/ like crusaders in unholy alliance" sings Geddy Lee to some pacey, angry and effective music. This is followed by "Hope", a softer, shorter acoustic guitar instrumental. The quartet ends with "Faithless": "I don't have faith in faith/ I don't believe in belief/ You can call me faithless/ But I still cling to hope/ And I believe in love/ And that's faith enough for me".

Amen to that! A great section of songs from a great album - well done guys!