Here we go again! Rush are perhaps the only band that can get away with issuing a studio album and following it up with a live record of the tour for that same album, as is the case here. Is there any band on a major label out there that has as many live records as Rush does? People buy 'em. Lots of people. The reason is that yes, Rush fans are fanatics, and who wouldn't want that in a fan base? The other reason is that they issue new studio recordings so infrequently that fans are grateful to have live offerings documenting a particular tour. Another mystery is how, after 33 years, a band with this kind of longevity manages to stay focused and restless, changing gears and musical approaches to its core sound…
When Rush issued Vapor Trails in 2002, they revealed that – even after Neil Peart's personal tragedies in the 1990s had cast the group's future in doubt – they were back with a vengeance. The sound was hard-hitting, direct, and extremely focused. Lyrically, Peart went right after the subject matter he was dealing with – and it was in the aftermath of 9/11 as well, which couldn't help but influence his lyric writing…
Snakes & Arrows represents the band's 18th studio album. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Superdrag), the record is another heavy guitar, bass, and drums…drums…and more drums record. The title came - unconsciously according to Peart - from a centuries-old Buddhist game of the same name about karma, and also from a play on the words of the children's game Chutes and Ladders. Its subject matter is heavy duty: faith and war. Snakes & Arrows is one of the tightest conceptual records the band has ever released. Musically, it is as strong as their very best material, without a lapse in texture, composition, production, musicianship, or sheer rock intensity. There are real heart and fire in this album. It was well worth waiting for.
2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Rush's eponymous debut album. This deluxe collector's box set brings together live performances by Rush from each decade of their career. It includes 'Rush in Rio,' 'R30,' 'Snakes & Arrows Live,' 'Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland,' and 'Clockwork Angels Tour,' plus a spectacular bonus disc of previously unseen and unreleased live material stretching from 1974 to 2013…