RUSH Snakes & Arrows

ninerbj

Got this last Tuesday when it was released.
After several spins, I have to say this is some of the best work these guys have put out.
Recording is clean and well done.
The lyrics are darker than most previous work, but works well in my humble opinion.

Check it out...two thumbs up!

MillerLiteScott

I bought it yesterday. I have only listened to it in short spurts but it sounds pretty good but every song seems to have the same sound. So far I like the instrumentals the best.

FicmanS

What a WONDERFUL CD... Rush really brings it on the one, best effort in some time...

engtaz

I did not know they were releaseing anything.. I need to check it out.

Thanks

heiney9

Haven't gotten this release yet, but I have my tix to go see them in September so I guess I better get to know the new stuff so I can recognize the songs.

H9

ninerbj

I can't spin this disc enough! There were a couple of songs I didn't really care for at first, but now those have grown on me and I love every cut!

You guys that have heard this...what do you think of the SQ?

heiney9

ninerbj wrote: »

I can't spin this disc enough! There were a couple of songs I didn't really care for at first, but now those have grown on me and I love every cut!

You guys that have heard this...what do you think of the SQ?

I hope the SQ is loads better than Feedback which was the cover album they put out a few years ago. The sound on that is pretty poor. Actually for as musical as Rush is I haven't been too impressed with their recording/mixing quality.

On Exit Stage Left and Stages you can hear an obvious difference in the venues used to assemble the concert. I'll never understand why Rush doesn't put out a full concert disc from the same show. They always use multiple shows and too me it ruins the continuity of the performance.

H9

steveinaz

Moving Pictures was done well, as was Hemispheres---Rush lost me at Power Windows and on...I have the "early" stuff:

Fly by Night
A Farewell to Kings (awesome)
2112
Hemispheres
Moving Pictures
Permanent Waves
Power Windows (pppphhhhfffffttttttt....)

I might have to check this new one out.

heiney9

I agree Steve, anything Hemispheres or before is very good to excellent. I have a bootlegged radio broadcast of Rush at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland (1976) right after Neil Peart replaced John Rutsy, the original drummer, that is simply an outstanding performance. Very Zeppelin-esque in it's intensity and rawness.

H9

ninerbj

Rush in Rio is a good one venue recording if you like the live stuff.

I agree with H9...the recording of Feedback was not done well at all. The last effort from them before was Vapor Trails, that disc was so poorly recorded (red-lined) the die hard Rush fan can barely make it through the eniter album.

ninerbj

Vapor Trails and Feedback were mastered very hot...a little graph shows a few past recordings.

I think Vapor Trails clipped about 110 times total.

heiney9

ninerbj wrote: »

Rush in Rio is a good one venue recording if you like the live stuff.

I agree with H9...the recording of Feedback was not done well at all. The last effort from them before was Vapor Trails, that disc was so poorly recorded (red-lined) the die hard Rush fan can barely make it through the eniter album.

I tend to be overly critical, but to me it's important to have good mastering/ recording techniques. Rush in Rio is a good Rush document, but the excessive crowd noise/cheering really detracts from the concert. I suppose the idea is to "put you" in the middle of the crowd. I'm not fond of that part of the disc but overall it's not too bad, but could be better.

R30 (I've only watched a handful of times) seems to be a bit better than Rush in RIO

ninerbj

R30 is recorded better...but I wasn't aware it was offered in CD only format like Rio was.

heiney9

ninerbj wrote: »

R30 is recorded better...but I wasn't aware it was offered in CD only format like Rio was.

Sorry, should have been more specific these are DVD version's I'm refering to. Although the special ed. R30 dvd came with a cd version of the show.

H9

steveinaz

heiney9 wrote: »

I tend to be overly critical, but to me it's important to have good mastering/ recording techniques. Rush in Rio is a good Rush document, but the excessive crowd noise/cheering really detracts from the concert. I suppose the idea is to "put you" in the middle of the crowd. I'm not fond of that part of the disc but overall it's not too bad, but could be better.

R30 (I've only watched a handful of times) seems to be a bit better than Rush in RIO

I found the vocals to be far too quiet, of course I'm running 2-channel, maybe with a center channel they were more clear??

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I found the vocals to be far too quiet, of course I'm running 2-channel, maybe with a center channel they were more clear??

Nope, not really. My buddy has 7.1 and we listen to the DVD like that and I've taken it home and listened on my 2 channel system and it's the same.

Systems

steveinaz wrote: »

Moving Pictures was done well, as was Hemispheres---Rush lost me at Power Windows and on...I have the "early" stuff:

Fly by Night
A Farewell to Kings (awesome)
2112
Hemispheres
Moving Pictures
Permanent Waves
Power Windows (pppphhhhfffffttttttt....)

I might have to check this new one out.

I would add the first record RUSH and Grace Under Pressure to your list,but as a big fan I have been very dissapointed in every release since Roll the Bones.I hope the new one is a return to their former glory.

MGPK

I have been a fan/follower of this incredible group for over 25 years, and I do have all of their albums (even scrapped the original cd pressing for the remasters of their earlier works). Many times over the years I have heard people lament either about the sound quality of their recordings and/or the quality of their music. All I have to say is that this band has never followed a formula or given into the mainstream (in regards to their music) and I think that is why they have retained such a dedicating following over the years.

As for the sound quality...Vapor Trails, Feedback and Test for Echo were heavily compressed and should be re-recorded (hopefully in 6 channel high-resolution) and Rush in Rio is the worst live recording I have heard.

The sound quality of Snakes and Arrows was the first thing I noticed when I slipped the disc into my changer and it combined with the music put a huge grin on my face. I think I listened to it probably 10X over with no fatigue from either my system or my ears. I heard that there is a multichannel recording slated for June 5, but I'm not too sure if it is high resolution or just DVD-V.

bamamusicfan

Best thing they've done in many years!

fireshoes

I've got the DVD Audio version ordered that comes out later this month. High-res stereo, the whole album in 5.1, and a making of documentary. Can't wait!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OPOANE/002-8190309-5271268

Systems

fireshoes wrote: »

I've got the DVD Audio version ordered that comes out later this month. High-res stereo, the whole album in 5.1, and a making of documentary. Can't wait!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OPOANE/002-8190309-5271268

I think Ill also wait for the DVD A version to be released.A RUSH studio album in 5.1 should be interesting.Hopefully it will be as well done as the Porcupine Tree DVD A s are.

MGPK

For all you vinyl afficiandos out there, I just received this bulletin from Rush regarding their new release Snakes and Arrows.

SNAKES & ARROWS ON VINYL

We can also confirm that Snakes & Arrows will be available on vinyl as of June
19th in the US and June 26th in Canada. Only 5,000 copies of this 2LP set will
be available, and all will be pressed on 180-gram HQ audiophile vinyl at RTI for
the best possible sound.

Anyways, I thought I would share that little nugget with you. Have a great day.:)

KevinLWhitaker

I have been listening to this album quite a bit over the last several weeks, predominantly in my car (on Polk SR6500 of course). Without a doubt it is much better than their last effort (Vapor Trails). Not only is the music much better but the recording is also "acceptable". Vapor Trails had such poor sound quality that I had great difficulty getting through that album. It was a chore to listen to the whole thing. Although Snakes and Arrows is quite good, I still believe Test for Echo to be the better album. Both are still worth listening too. It is amazing how Rush has remained both so good and so popular over a greater than 30 year span. Think back to many of their contemporary bands (Foreigner, Kansas, Journey, etc.) and those bands are now considered period or era bands, whereas Rush can still have an album that opens in the top 10 of the charts. Amazing.

engtaz

MGPK wrote: »

For all you vinyl afficiandos out there, I just received this bulletin from Rush regarding their new release Snakes and Arrows.

SNAKES & ARROWS ON VINYL

We can also confirm that Snakes & Arrows will be available on vinyl as of June
19th in the US and June 26th in Canada. Only 5,000 copies of this 2LP set will
be available, and all will be pressed on 180-gram HQ audiophile vinyl at RTI for
the best possible sound.

Anyways, I thought I would share that little nugget with you. Have a great day.:)

Thanks for the info.

heiney9

Just listened to this a couple times and while it's a step up from their last few releases, stating it's old school Rush is a bit of a stretch. There are about 4-5 really good cuts and rest are just pretty good.

While the recording is also pretty good (compression wise) I just don't like all the recording techniques used today. Way too much enhancement and delay used on the vocals, guitars and especially the drums.

This is not a complaint just for the Rush release, but for recordings in general. The delay and processing they use in the studio is way over the top. I much prefer the older close mic type recordings. They just go to far in trying to convey the group is playing in this big huge room and the vocals are way off in the distance and drums loose their impact if you over process them. There is no delineation of instruments or sounds. It ends up sounding like a "wall of sound" which is really crappy.

Neil Peart is on my top 10 drummers list and this recording doesn't begin to show what he can do. The drums are dull and lifeless. It's a good thing Bonham and Mooney are dead because if they were still playing today and were recorded like this, they probably would have hung it up a long time ago.

pmckeealaska

I'm a self-confessed Rush fanatic. I have everything they have ever put out. I think Snakes and Arrows is the best album that they have put out since Counterparts in 1993. I didnt think much of Test for Echo and even less about Vapor Trails. The music on both was good, but the vocals seemed lackluster and there was almost no melody to them. On Snakes and Arrows, Geddy's voice is in fine form and all the songs are melodic. The second tune, Armor and Sword I think is the best single song they have put out since "The Pass" from Presto. I'm flying down to see them in Portland and am really looking forward to hearing the new stuff live. Long Live Rush!!

KevinLWhitaker

Pmckee,
I had the opportunity to see Rush last night in Pittsburgh. Fantastic show. I had the good fortune of scoring a ticket in row L and could not have been happier. They played for well over 2 hours. Although we differ in our opinion of TFE we see eye to eye on Snakes and Arrows, it is a great album and one of their best. Although they did a wide range of both old and new music during the show, I feel without a doubt their best performances of the nite were on the new songs from Snakes. They brought a level of energy, enthusiasm, and emotion to the songs from Snakes and Arrows that was not there to the same extent on their old stuff. Do a google search on their set list if interested, that will give you a good idea of what they will play. Enjoy the show.

Systems

I’m a long time Rush fan, been to 3 concerts and have tickets for my 4th here in a few weeks (Vancouver, Wa (aka Portland)). We get VIP tickets there for anything that comes in so Ill be in the 5th row. Snakes is ok, but it’s probably my least favorite album of all time. I've probably listened to it half a million times since it came out (even bought the itunes prerelease of Far Cry). I like my music to be I guess harder rock like and Snakes is just too bland all around for me. Far Cry is a great song and it starts out how I like them to but then just dies. On the flip side, I STILL jam to Test for Echo all the time.

I still listen to Snakes, but as Randy Jackson says "Its just ok dog".

Im absolutly sure it will sound 10 times better from the 5th row.

schwarcw

My son and daughter saw Rush in Pittsburgh last night. My son brought back a live recording he did on mini disk that sounded damn good. For personal listening only!

fireshoes

I got the 5.1 disc tonight (haven't got to listen to it yet). It doesn't actually say DVD-Audio anywhere on the packaging, despite being labeled that way on Amazon. It's called an MVI (Music Video Interactive) disc, which is mentioned on Amazon. It does say on the back that it contains Hi-Resolution Audio, the entire album in 5.1 surround sound, a video documentary, and on the front says all tracks are included in mp3 format as well. The Dolby Digital logo is also at the bottom on the back, in addition to an Advanced Resolution logo. There is also an pc application included called URTone, apparently for making the music into ringtones for your cell phone. I'll probably get a chance to listen to it tomorrow and I'll let you all know how it is.

rlmacklin

I went to local "Disc Exchange" after work Tuesday evening to trade in my Rush "Snakes & Arrows" CD (had since April release) and get the new Rush "Snakes & Arrows" MVI (Music Video Integrated) version, which has entire album in 5.1 Dolby surround mix and advanced resolution stereo plus extras.
Advanced resolution 96/24 stereo mix is excellent sonically.
The Dolby 5.1 surround mix showed potential for added openness/clarity for each instrument/vocal not to be sharing a channel with so much other stuff...but 5.1 would be amazing in an actual high resolution format like SACD or 96 or 192 DVD-A...