keepers 5
keeper avg .385
Rush's first album of this century in a way was the band's most controversial. Its original version was hated by so many, including the band itself, that the whole album was remixed and re-released in 2013. The words dynamic range compression and loudness wars are thrown around a lot, and when I listened to the original version I heard the way the mix seems full-on "in the red" at all times, but the remixed versions were also different in other ways. It took listening to the remixed version to realize how much Geddy Lee's vocals were squished into the original mixes. In some ways it's not the worst thing that one of the most divisive voices in rock music was a little moderated for a change, as in the remixed version Geddy literally jumps out of the mix with tons of reverb. Maybe they could have found some happy medium but at least the remix sounds like a Rush record is supposed to sound. Neil Peart's drums suffer the same fate as Geddy's vocals in the original mix, sounding flat and lifeless, a total effing heresy on a Rush record. In the remixes the drums sound bright, dynamic, and distinct, like great drum tracks should. The sound of Alex Lifeson's guitars wasn't significantly changed for me, but the way all the instruments related together was vastly improved to allow space for each instrument to be heard.
But I formed my opinions while listening to the original version of the album, and while listening to the remixed version is a somewhat different experience, I still point to the same collection of winners and losers among the individual songs. And I think that collection is the best in their entire career after Moving Pictures. Yes, in all 37 years. Yes, I've heard them all. Signals may trigger a coin toss. Consensus seems to consider Vapor Trails some kind of a middling Rush album and I don't understand it. OK "One Little Victory" isn't the best start, actually the weakest opening track in the Rush catalog to date (Rush excels at opening tracks - even "Animate" is much more creative) with an excessive 5-minutes plus of meathead riffs and weak melodies. Fortunately it is followed with "Ceiling Unlimited"****, the best Rush song period since "Big Money", which pours a deluge of riffs and melodies (though it should ended at 3:16 before more than 2 minutes of needless repetition). "Ghost Rider"**** is also full of great riffs from Lee and Lifeson, and Alex's guitar sounds particularly strong. This album finds Peart grappling with the new age of terrorism in a surprisingly interesting way on "Peaceable Kingdom"****, which may be heavily influenced by the angular and syncopated riffs of King's X. As for Peart, I think he's actually better making observations about the outside world than spouting psychological mumbo jumbo as he often does. The lackluster title song (the a-hey-yay song) sits in the mid-album filler of squandered riffs and ideas. The album does have its share of clunkers, such as the "Roll The Bones"- copying "Sweet Miracle" , "Secret Touch" ("the way out is the way in" - oh, is it Neil?), and "How It Is" almost exactly copies one of the riffs of "Ceiling Unlimited". Then "Earthshine"**** begins with the balliest-sounding riff I've ever heard Alex Lifeson unleash - it makes Rush's attempts at grunge in 93 sound forced and stupid and features some more of Peart's best, most evocative lyrics. And I could see calling "Freeze (Part IV Of 'Fear')"**** one of the greatest Rush songs ever or one of the worst - the verses are strange, most of Lifeson's guitar parts are slaps of noise, its tone ranges from pure tension to anthemic, and the ending is repetitive. I choose the former - it's not like any Rush song I've ever heard, much less a song by any other band, and it may come the closest Rush has come in a long time to harnessing their legendary prog-rock powers.
But speaking of too long and too repetitive, another strange factor about recording this album is that the individual songs were composed of live jam sessions assembled together into songs in some pro-tools-y program. It gives the album a loose feel and an impressive collection of riffs, but it also cluttered some of the songs with unnecessary diversions or endings that jump between several false endings before petering out long after the last verse. I know as a prog band Rush is known for meandering instrumental pieces but the structuring of some of the songs could have used some significant tightening up. Sadly, there's no potential "La Villa Strangiato" here; and that's OK - a lot has changed since 1978.
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