Rush: Alex Lifeson (guitar); Geddy Lee, Neil Peart. Personnel: Geddy Lee (vocals, Mellotron, bass guitar); Alex Lifeson (acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, bouzouki, mandola, mandolin); Ben Mink (strings); Neil Peart (drums, cymbals, tambourine, electronic percussion). Audio Mixers: Nick Raskulinecz; Richard Chycki. Recording information: Allaire Studios, Shokan, NY (11/2006-12/2006); Grandmaster Recorders, Hollywood, CA (11/2006-12/2006). Illustrators: George Eastman; Hugh Syme; Andrew MacNaughtan. Photographer: Andrew MacNaughtan. Arrangers: Rush; Nick Raskulinecz. In the five years since their last full studio album, a covers EP (2004's FEEDBACK) and two live releases (2003's RUSH IN RIO and 2005's R30) hardly sated the throngs of Rush fans hungry for new music. SNAKES & ARROWS is all they could have possibly hoped for and dreamed about. The brash, contemporary vibe of 2002's VAPOR TRAILS has been shed as the trio returns to the polished production and complex arrangements of their most beloved works. Woven into the later-era Rush song stylings are no less than three instrumentals: "The Main Monkey Business" (a hard rocking full-band workout), "Hope" (a solo acoustic guitar piece written and performed by Alex Lifeson), and the humorously titled "Malignant Narcissism" (featuring Geddy Lee's riffy, fretless electric bass and Neil Peart's tasty drum breaks). Keyboards are few and far between on SNAKES & ARROWS, with erstwhile Geddy Lee collaborator Ben Mink contributing strings. Peart's lyrics remain cerebral and poetic--challenging conventional spirituality ("Faithless" and "Armour & Sword"), examining the often troubled nature of mankind ("The Way The Wind Blows" and "The Larger Bowl") and the frailties of communication ("Spindrift" and "Good News First"). All the elements of classic Rush are here, making perhaps the band's finest late-career statement.
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