Should I drop Rush definitively after S&A

erik neuteboom wrote:                                             Hello fellow Rush fans.   I just read the 17 reviews about the new Rush album entitled Snakes & Arrows, the rating alternates between 2 and 5 stars. That sounds quite controversial to say the least! If I try to summarize the reviews I notice that the sound on Rush their new album is way from the Seventies and Eighties sound, it's all about accessible, melodic and simply structured rock music, played by great mucicians who has decided to focus on making songs, embellished with some guitar soli and two instrumentals (these are hailed in almost every review). Well, I am huge Rush fan but only from the era Rush-Hold Your Fire, I have visited every Rush concert in Holland (from the Hemispheres tour on the Pinkpop festival in 1979 until the R30 tour in Rotterdam Ahoy 2006) but I didn't buy the albums since Presto and at this moment I am in heavy doubt or I should even visit the two concerts in October because I am afraid that this is no longer my band although they will play early stuff to their many loyal fans. Is Rush really no longer an interesting rock band with great progressive ideas, should I drop Rush definitively, has this current Rush line-up become an average rock band?   I am curious to your opinions because I feel really bad about Rush and their latest effort and I still have to listen to that album  ...

Hey Hey no saying bad things about Rush on this site or you will get a lot of nasty PMs like I did. BTW I heard the new Rush album this morning.

Yes, I'm no fan of albums like Presto or Roll The Bones either. Both have a couple of good songs, tops, the rest is forgettable dross, imho. I do like Counterparts, but Snakes And Arrows far exceeds that, for me at any rate.

So far I am enjoying this album a lot.  The sound is WAY better than Vapor Trails, though I find VT rocked more.

Proglodita wrote: I think the big thing is what erik said: they are focused on making songs. Now, in a new Rush album you can't expect nothing but songs. I just listenned yesterday the new Megadeth album, and my impression was similar, only new songs. I'm not comparing this two bands, but saying what is Rush to me right now: songs (hope to find some good ones).

I am a little confused... people are saying this as if they used to be focused on something other than making songs.   I guess I don't know what you mean by that. Virtuosity?  Solos?  Or are  you just talking about song length?

I've heard Snakes and Arrows twice all the way through now, and I can honestly say I like it, but to me it is a bit of a throwback to their older music, and for me that's not a good thing.  While the instrumentation is excellent, there are very few of those thrilling moments that make me love some of their music.  'Far Cry' is an excellent song, in my opinion the best on the CD.  But it is not the most virtuosic song.  I enjoy effective, either emotionally uplifting or... err... down-tugging music.  I thought the instrumental songs on this album were fantastic, while most of the melodies sung by Geddy Lee came off as weak or didn't seem to fit the music.  There's one song toward the beginning that is extremely repetetive, but it's the only song on the album that I would write off as 'bad'.

To give you some perspective, my favorite albums by Rush are Power Windows and Vapor Trails.  I think Rush sounds better overall when they stick to shorter songs, but Power Windows is an exception for me.  Personally, I generally find that the later the Rush album, the more I like it (meaning I don't like their earliest work much, I think it drags and is neither fun nor interesting unless you're only listening for the musicianship itself, but later they started writing music that I thought had more meaning and became more cohesive, but still incorporated excellent solos and musicianship).

So I guess what I'm saying is if you like old Rush, you'll probably like a lot of the music on this album.  If you're a fan of Vapor Trails or Counterparts in particular, you probably will love 'Far Cry' and one or two other spots on the album, and that's it.   After I've heard the album a few more times I'll probably write a review that's more detailed.

I certainly wouldn't let this album stop me from seeing Rush live.  Why miss a chance to see Neil's amazing drumming skills, in particular?

erik neuteboom wrote: My favorite Rush albums are Moving Pictures and A Farewell To kings, what's so special about Counterparts and S&A that I miss something  ..?

well, I've read enough in this thread to convince myself to avoid this album. I don't need any straightforward rock records. ;P

But to me it seems that many Rush fans in this thread appreciate this kind of straight rock, don't they miss the excitement of 'everlasting' epics?

Yes, but my take on it is that they've done the 'everlasting epics'. I'm certainly no fanboy of any band (though I guess I come close with Genesis) and will call it as I see it, but if they did do a big epic they would understandably have fans comparing it to 'Xanadu' or '2112' and probably less than favourably. I don't really think they are just 'straight rock'- that implies that they have gone for an AOR/'dumbed down' sound and Rush have never sold out to anyone, they have just streamlined their sound over the years.

Well, In my opinion Snakes & Arrows is like a very eclectic and more melodic Vapor Trails, but it's better than Vapor Trails.

Don't expect Cygnus X-1 Book III on this album, it's definately modern Rush.

I still think it's the best they've done since Counterparts, but this album is not quite as good at Counterparts itself.

Yes, as a Rush fan, I miss the big bombastic 70's epics, but it makes no difference.

Rush will never, ever go back to their 70's sound, they have already made those kinds of albums and have progressed onto new things. People need to realize this.

Sure, most of the songs are pretty straight-forward, but then you have songs like The Main Monkey Business, full of great riffs and even MELLOTRON, Malignant Narcissism is an odd, more fun piece, and Hope is very emotional and well-conceived.

I think the best songs are all of the instrumentals, Far Cry, Workin' Them angels (more the verse) and the Way the Wind Blows.

Don't give up on Rush, even playing more straight forward rock, they are better than any straight forward rock band our there today.

I've listened to it twice all the way through now and find it similar in style and sound to the last three albums , however imo they cannot release bad material........saying that though there are 4 or 5 very good songs on the album and 1 or 2 not so good ones.
           However I might suggest that dropping Rush would be like dropping your trousers while walking down the high street.....unthinkable