Snakes & Arrows

]

By March 2006, rough versions of six songs had been completed. The three band members met in Quebec to listen to the material recorded thus far. In May 2006, they refined the songs in a small professional studio in Toronto. After the first six songs were recorded, the band set out to write and record additional songs in September.

American producer Nick Raskulinecz, who worked with the Foo Fighters, was hired to assist the band in producing the album. Raskulinecz, a self-proclaimed fan of the band, reportedly encouraged the band members to explore the limits of their renowned talents and enthusiastically encouraged the band to incorporate the complex rhythmic and melodic patterns that characterized their earlier works. [cite web | url=http://www.neilpeart.net/news/index.html | title = NEP news | work = Neil Peart official website | date = 2006-12-08| accessdate = 2007-03-10] The final mix of the album was recorded at Allaire Studios in Shokan, New York; mixed and engineered by Richard Chycki at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, California,cite web | url = http://www.metropulse.com/articles/2007/17_02/gamut.shtml | title = Beyond Foo | date = 2007-02-17 | accessdate = 2007-03-10 | work = Metro Pulse | last = Gibson | first = Mike] [cite web | url = http://www.mixland.ca/blog/2007/02/rush-dolores-oriordan.html | work = Richard Chycki's official website | title = Impending Rush, Dolores O'Riordan Releases | date = 2007-02-18 | accessdate = 2007-03-10] and mastered by Brian Gardner.

Neil Peart's customary essay on the writing and recording of the album, called "The Game of Snakes and Arrows", has been released on the Rush website.cite web | url = http://www.rush.com/thegameofsnakesandarrows/Rush.Essay4.S&A.pdf | title = "The Game of Snakes and Arrows" | date = 2007-04-04 | accessdate = 2007-03-12 | last = Peart | first = Neil] Neil also wrote an article that appeared in the August 2007 issue of Modern Drummer in which he details his writing process for the album.cite web | url = http://dwdrums.com/peart/index.htm | title = "The Drums of Snakes and Arrows | accessdate = 2007-09-23 | last = Peart | first = Neil | work = DW Drums Website]

Influences and musical direction

Peart, the band's primary lyricist, has stated the lyrical theme of the album is based on his personal reflections on faith, inspired by his motorcycle journeys through North America. [cite web | url = http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003120134 | work = Billboard Magazine | title = Rush wrestling with faith on new album | date = 2006-09-11 | accessdate = 2007-03-10 | first = Jonathan | last = Cohen] Many of the experiences mentioned in the lyrics of "Snakes & Arrows" evolved from Peart's memoirs from his most recent book: "".

According to Lifeson, musical themes for the album were written and developed using acoustic guitars to work out the major parts. These parts were ultimately recorded using acoustic or electric guitars, or other instruments. Lifeson found that writing the songs on acoustic guitars provided a certain purity, assisting him in conceiving the instrumental parts. Both he and Lee used this as an alternative to more traditional methods of song development, which saw the use of amplified electric guitars and the assistance of electronic instruments.Fact|date=March 2007 David Gilmour is credited in the liner notes because he inspired Lifeson to write songs mostly on acoustic guitar. According to an interview from the Sept 2007 issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Lifeson mentioned meeting Gilmour at a concert at Toronto's Massey Hall during Gilmour's "On an Island" tour. [ [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/different-strings/sep-07/31066 Different Strings - Alex Lifeson Gets out of His Comfort Zone to Craft His Biggest Tones Ever - Guitar Player Sept 2007] ]

According to Lee:::– Geddy Lee, interview with "Revolver Magazine". ["Revolver Magazine"]

According to Raskulinecz, the album has a similar sound to Rush's albums of the late 70s, such as "2112", "A Farewell to Kings", and "Hemispheres".

MVI Format

"Snakes & Arrows" is one of the first albums released on Warner Music's "MVI (Music Video Interactive) format." [Rush's "Snakes & Arrows" pre-order page for the [http://rush-preorder.shop.musictoday.com/Product.aspx?cp=10852_10946&pc=R4CD02 DVD-album Format] ] This format is a 25,000 copy limited edition. The album comes in a deluxe box, and includes the 13 songs on the album in hi-resolution audio, the entire album in 5.1 surround sound, a 40 minute video documentary on the making of the album, 26-page booklet (4 pages more than the otherwise identical CD booklet), wallpapers, buddy icons and an exclusive poster for fans that register the MVI copy. After continuous production delays, the album was released on June 26, 2007.

The DVD-ROM portion has 192-kbit/s MP3 files of the entire album. The DVD-Video portion contains both a "high-resolution audio" track (96 kHz/24-bit stereo LPCM) as well as a 5.1 surround-sound track (448 kbit/s Dolby Digital, 48 kHz). There is no DVD-Audio content on the disc.

Track listing

All music written by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, except where noted. All lyricswritten by Neil Peart.
# "Far Cry" - 5:18
# "Armor and Sword" - 6:36
# "Workin' Them Angels" - 4:46
# "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" - 4:07
# "Spindrift" - 5:23
# "The Main Monkey Business" - 6:01
# "The Way the Wind Blows" - 6:28
# "Hope" (Alex Lifeson) - 2:02
# "Faithless" - 5:31
# "Bravest Face" - 5:12
# "Good News First" - 4:51
# "Malignant Narcissism" - 2:17
# "We Hold On" - 4:13

Instrumental tracks

In a first for Rush, this album contains multiple instrumental tracks: "The Main Monkey Business," "Hope," and "Malignant Narcissism." [ [http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2007/rush.htm Get Ready to ROCK! album review] . Retrieved on 2007-04-03] This also marks the first new instrumental piece(s) composed by the band since "Limbo," on 1996's "Test for Echo".

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

ingles

Personnel

The band

* Geddy Lee - bass guitar, bass pedals, mellotron, vocals
* Alex Lifeson - six- and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki
* Neil Peart - drums, percussion, electronic percussion

Other musicians

* Ben Mink - string arrangements on "Faithless".

References