Jacob’s Ladder: Background

“Part heavy metal, part New Age, this song is not about the vision seen by Jacob in the Bible but rather the atmospheric phenomena that has been named after that image. The tympani pounding parts rock like apocalyptic earthquakes. Alex plays like he’s ascending the ladder in the clouds.”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“We built a whole song around a picture . . . where the rays break through the clouds. I came up with a couple of short pieces of lyrics to set the musical parts up. And we built it all musically, trying to describe it cinematically, as if our music were a film. We have a luminous sky happening and the whole stormy, gloomy atmosphere, and all of a sudden these shafts of brilliance come bursting through. (Modern Drummer) I think Geddy actually suggested the idea, after hearing his mother-in-law use the name. It had a nice sound to it, and of course the event itself is a beautiful and inspiring one.” (Backstage Club, 1985)—Neil in Merely Players

More about “Jacob’s Ladder”

Three “Jacob’s Ladder” tributes.

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