[NeilPeart]

Rush’s Vapor Trails was IMO some of their best, most organic work in years; it’s unfortunate that it was also their worst-sounding album ever. However, Atlantic seems to have heard the Rush fans’ ire and is planning to release a Re-mastered Vapor Trails that will hopefully restore the album to a pristine condition before the record execs forced the engineers to “louden it up a bit.” Finally this album will exhibit the dynamics and punch that the music longs to demonstrate.

Other recent albums (Test for Echo, Roll the Bones, Counterparts and Presto) are also receiving the Re-mastering treatment.

http://www.atlanticrecords.com/album...elease=2600027

 

[jpr703]

Thanks for the info Neil. I'm a huge Rush fan and though I'm more a fan of the earlier stuff, Vapor Trails has always held promise. I've listened to it many times thinking that it had a lot of potential, but the recording just sounded like @ss. Can't wait to check out the new version!

 

[Murdoch]

I hate to burst your bubble, but...this has been rumored for about a year now and NOTHING has materialized beyond the first anouncement. I'm not holding my breath, but I will of course be elated when/if it is released.

My understanding is that the sound probelms in Vapor Trails are not a result of "loudening" the record's final mix, but rather that the individual tracks were recorded too loudly, so there's nothing to "go back to" to fix the problem.

EDIT- looks like Neil could be right. http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/News.htm

 

[Murdoch]

False alarm. UPDATE WANTED!

 

[oilshocked]

Vapor Trails is the only Rush album that I haven't listened to start to finish. The mastering was simply that bad. If Atlantic has a shred of integrity, they will offer a trade-in on old copies.

http://www.prorec.com/prorec/article...256C2E005DAF1C

...in case you haven't read Rip Rowan's take on the album.

 

[Murdoch]

Apparently VT has been remastered but Atlantic Records are going to wait until the next Rush Studio album is released before releasing it too. Typical recording industry bullsh*t.

Details here (you gotta scroll down a bit):

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/News.htm

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I really don't see how they could fix it. It was my understanding that Rush themselves (Neil, Alex and Geddy) were the ones that screwed up the levels (treating ADC levels like analog recording levels, and allowing them to dip into the red once in a while). If it's on the original master digital multitrack that way, I really don't see -- short of some really fancy DSP, and I mean so fancy that I haven't even heard of it yet -- how they can fix it.

 

[vranswer]

Plus you have the nasty little marketing detail of all current store stock that would suddenly have nowhere to go.

 

[rextrade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk I really don't see how they could fix it. It was my understanding that Rush themselves (Neil, Alex and Geddy) were the ones that screwed up the levels (treating ADC levels like analog recording levels, and allowing them to dip into the red once in a while). If it's on the original master digital multitrack that way, I really don't see -- short of some really fancy DSP, and I mean so fancy that I haven't even heard of it yet -- how they can fix it.

That sucks. I always thought it was the mastering.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Someone posted some screenshots of the waveform (probably over on stevehoffman.tv; you can do this yourself if you have the right software on your computer [I think even EAC will be sufficient, but can't check, as my copy of Vapor Trails is not handy]), and you can see the waveform "bottoming out" (and topping, presumably) well within the range of 16 bit data. That tells me it's on the multitrack master.

 

[jacek2]

I am still waiting on the first 4 Rush SACDs promised 2 years ago :
Fly by night
Caress of steel
2112
All the world's a stage

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk Someone posted some screenshots of the waveform (probably over on stevehoffman.tv; you can do this yourself if you have the right software on your computer [I think even EAC will be sufficient, but can't check, as my copy of Vapor Trails is not handy]), and you can see the waveform "bottoming out" (and topping, presumably) well within the range of 16 bit data. That tells me it's on the multitrack master.

That could be massive compression.

See ya
Steve

 

[Doc Sarvis]

They could always re-record it!