3/29: COVER: Jacob's Ladder (Vikram Shankar)

A beautiful piano arrangement that captures the epic drama of the original song

Of all the tunes in Rush’s discography, “Jacob’s Ladder” is one of the most overlooked by would-be cover artists. That’s why I was so delighted to find this gorgeous piano rendition from Vikram Shankar.

A rock musician of many talents, Vikram has done lots of prog and metal covers over the years, including a few Rush ones—like this particularly lovely and tender rendition of “Limelight”. However, it was his take on “Jacob’s Ladder” that first caught my attention.

I love how he interprets the vocal melody in his arrangement, taking his time through each phrasing so that you can really feel the drama and majesty of this musical storm that’s brewing. And when the sun breaks through the clouds around the 4:45 minute and 8:45 minute marks, I get literal goosebumps.

Keep an eye out for some deft handwork, starting around the 6 minute mark. In fact, this whole part of the song is amazing. This is right around when the rain begins to fall, and somehow Vikram makes it sound like the pitter-patter melody he plays with his left hand (and sometimes his right!) is continuous when I can very much see that it is not. I don’t know how he does it—it takes a gifted artist to make it seem those notes feel so natural and smooth.

Anyway, great job to Vikram. Check out his other prog & metal covers, too! They’re a blast.