SNAKES & ARROWS LIVE

Do we really need another live Rush album? Six so far (including this one), seven if you bought the expanded version of the R30 DVD. Well probably not but here it is, the live document of their 2007 Snakes & Arrows tour. So the question is, does it add anything to their live legacy that the others didn't? Well, yes and no. There's plenty of tracks here making their live album debut but do we have to have Dreamline again! Having said that, nine of the tracks are from their recent Snakes & Arrows album. Okay it is called Snakes & Arrows Live but nine is a bit much from such a recently released album, as good as it was, Rush obviously having much (well founded) faith in it to feature it so heavily on the last tour.

Having got the minor gripes out of the way, taking it on its own merits it's a very good live album. I doubt Rush are capable of putting on a bad performance anyway, they play excellently here throughout and the sound is good and lively in the main. So where this sits in your list of favourite live Rush releases is probably going to depend on how much you like the latest studio album. Fortunately I really like it and the versions here, if not as enjoyable as the studio performances (but how many live albums are?) are all very good. Very welcome is an excellent version of Entre Nous, even more so Circumstances and Witch Hunt. Freewill is also excellent and welcome despite already featuring on three live albums.

So not the best Rush live album, that honour still goes to All the World's a Stage for me (Followed by Exit..Stage Left), but far from the worst. A Show of Hands from my least favourite Rush era is the worst for this fan, In Rio was marred by to much crowd noise despite a good performance so this one sits in the middle alongside R30 and Different Stages.

If you saw them on the last tour, still continuing at the time of writing on its second leg then this album will be a nice memento of a great gig, if you didn't, unless you have to have everything by the band then you probably don't need this cd if you already own a couple of live Rush albums. Verdict; very good but unnecessary. 3 ½ stars.