SNAKES & ARROWS

"Snakes and Arrows" sees Rush doing everything that made me fall in love with them when I was 17 years old: playing absolutely outstanding rock music with artistic flair, boundless energy, technical flourish, and lyrics which gave voice to a jaded teenager's free-thinking fight against conformity (now a thinking-man's fight against the delusional majority). "Snakes and Arrows" is, hands-down, one of Rush's best albums of all time, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with classics and-- I hope-- setting the standard for things to come.

Not to belabor my obvious adoration for the band, I will sum up to say that this album features some of Neil's best lyrics ever (especially for their direct statements, which need to be said), as well as the group's cumulative song-writing. However, "Snakes and Arrows" is dominated by Geddy, whose vocals and bass playing outperform expectations. There is not a single song which tarnishes the album's stellar play, from start to finish. Dazzling.

Songwriting: 5 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 5 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5