Rush Snakes & Arrows

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.

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…

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…

Clockwork Angels has been a long time coming. Rush foreshadowed it in 2010 by releasing "BU2B," and "Caravan" to radio. The next single, "Headlong Flight," didn't appear until 2012. Co-produced with Nick Raskulinecz (who also worked on 2007's Snakes & Arrows), Clockwork Angels is a return to the concept album by the band that perfected it on 2112 in 1976. It centers on a loose narrative about a young man following his dreams. He struggles with inner and outer forces of order and chaos; he encounters an expansive world where colors, images, territories, and characters are embodied by pirates, strange carnivals, rabble-rousing anarchists, and lost cities. His enemy is the Watchmaker, a ruthless authoritarian presence who attempts to rule the universe and all aspects of everyday life with fascistic precision. Neil Peart's lyrics embrace notions of alchemy and steampunk sci-fi in his thematics…

Feature-length documentary about the band + full-length, never-before-seen performances of: "Best I Can" and "Working Man" (with John Rutsey, performed live at Laura Secord SS, Spring 1974), "La Villa Strangiato" (live at Pinkpop 1979), "Between Sun And Moon" (recorded at Hartford, CT, June 28th 2002), "Far Cry" and "Entre Nous" from the Snakes & Arrows tour and "Bravado" and "YYZ" from the R30 tour.

Few bands warrant, let alone deserve, a three-volume retrospective. Rush, however, make the case. As a concern, Rush are still going strong – perhaps stronger than ever as a live attraction – and their studio albums in the 21st century have been as heavy as anything they've ever cut, and very consistent in terms of quality. Rush have issued many compilations, but this makes three that bear the title Retrospective. The first volume covered the years 1974-1980, which addressed the period between their self-titled debut long-player and Permanent Waves; the second covered 1981-1987, bookmarked by the recordings Moving Pictures and Hold Your Fire; and this set covering 1989-2007 tracks the full-lengths Presto through Snakes & Arrows…