RUSH – Snakes & Arrows: Special UK Tour Edition

Don’t you just hate it when this happens? You rush (forgive the pun!!) out on the day of release and buy an album by your favorite band only for it to be rereleased a couple of months later with bonus content, which in most cases fails to justify buying it a second time. Well, Rush have gone and done just that, but fortunately this is well worth checking out, and to their credit, many knew this special edition was coming, so those who wanted could hold on and wait.

Released to coincide with their upcoming, eagerly awaited UK Tour, their most extensive tour in nearly 30 years, Snakes & Arrows: The Special UK Tour Edition is literally bursting with features. Most notably, an insightful 45-minute documentary of the making of the album. This is worth the purchase price alone and will have Rush fans salivating at the prospect of watching the band in the studio working on songs, watching how the songs develop, and seeing first hand the band camaraderie that is rarely seen by the public. Each song is discussed by the band with Neil Peart in particular giving fascinating inside knowledge into the meaning of the songs.

That would be enough in itself for most Rush fans, but there are numerous other nuggets to unravel. For audiophiles, the whole album is mixed in 5.1 surround sound to allow the full glory of the album to wash over you from all sides. There are screensavers, buddy icons, wallpapers, and you can even make your own Rush ringtones. Just think how you can get your revenge on all those annoying people with irritating Scissor Sisters ringtones; now you can blast Rush back at them. Surely that makes this worth buying by itself!!!

If you register online, you also get the chance to print off your own Snakes & Arrows poster. The whole album is pre-ripped so that MP3 files can be loaded onto personal MP3 players. Added to this, you can listen to the album while viewing the lyrics on the screen or you can read Neil Peart’s commentary on the making of the album, or you can view the superb Hugh Syme artwork via a digital version of the album booklet, and if you fancy it, you can print them all out too.

This is the first release in the MVI format. This is a Music Video Interactive disc that combines high quality music with video and interactive content that can be played on computers and DVD players, whereas the regular CD in the set can be played on standard CD players. This is an innovate way of winning back punters from the download market by enticing them back with quality packaging and a host of goodies, and judging from this release they have every chance of succeeding. Who would want to download when you can get this fine package for the same price?

This is an excellent set that provides Rush fans with a whole lot more than the basic album. For those who have not bought this album, there is no excuse now. For those who have, there is enough content, especially the documentary, to justify the expense of buying it again. This is one top quality product.

Rush have raised the bar so high and have set the standard for other bands to match when looking at the overall packaging and presentation of their albums. As far as this Special Tour Edition goes, Rush have just made their best album in decades even better.