[gloom]

Some musicians age well. I really like what time has done to David Bowie's voice.

 

[Nezer]

OK, I had to buy it seeing how I own all of the other Rush studio recordings...

Has anyone else noticed the clipping in the first track "One Little Victory"? It's also on the intro to the second track "Ceiling Unlimited". On the louder busier sections there listen up high and tell me if you hear a crackle, sort of like your speaker is whacked. it is really apparant in the left channel but it is on both.

Just to make sure it isn't my equipment I've tried 4 different sources, two different amps and two different headphones and it's always there. I also find it very distracting.

I wonder if I got a bad CD or something but it sounds like something that would be in the mix. It almost sounds as if it's coming from the drums.

Anyone else hear this? It's really ruining the CD for me because it's *ALL* I hear!

 

[Superbaldguy]

I noticed this on the first listen, for sure. I could easily blow my loudspeakers with this recording....T4E was plenty juiced up, also.

Maybe Geddy, Alex, and Neil are going tone deaf after all of these years....Really, maybe they think the volume of their productions is OK. I keep the volume down, and try to enjoy the music.

Other than the not-so-squeaky clean production, do you like VT? There's no chance anyone will ever mistake Rush's music for country and western...

 

[Nezer]

The production has always been a big deal for recordings with me. Whoever did the mastering should have heard this (I don't have the CD with me but it's usually Bob Ludwig but he knows better than this) and warned the band.

Of course maybe he/she did and they didn't have time to remix and the masterer had to do the best he/she could with what he/she had.

I have heard that Rush is extremly difficult to work with from the mastering-side of the house. They have a tendency to yell that things are put there for a reason. I can't see it on this though.

Even if I turn the volume WAY WAY down it's still all I can hear!! I might have to try and EQ that out of it as much as possible.

The mastering here is so bad that I almost want to return it as a defective recording.

Maybe this will come out remastered on DVD-A or SACD soon with this problem removed. Or maybe the next pressing will be a remaster that isn't labeled as such.

 

[Superbaldguy]

I read that the band members had a LOT of input on the final production, moreso than usual. Still, the recording is quite heavy in many respects, including the production, so we'll have to learn to live with it.

Just saw a documentary where it was stated that Rush has reached the 40,000,000 record mark in sales, with over 6 million attendees at their concerts. Not too shabby for a trio of boys from Toronto!

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Has anyone else noticed the clipping in the first track "One Little Victory"? It's also on the intro to the second track "Ceiling Unlimited".

is the cd copy protected? if it is, perhaps that's the reason.

i have only two rush albums, moving pictures and exit stage left. i have moving pictures on original vinyl and remastered cd. i see 2112 and other rush albums in the used bin a lot, but have never bought them. moving pictures has a lot of personal meaning for me, i guess i just don't want later, lesser albums to ruin it for me...

 

[kerelybonto]

Woo hoo, finally heard a track off the album. Caught most of "One Little Victory" on the radio, and first impression was that it was a damn good song. I'd just turned the radio on and was sitting there for a few seconds before I realized it was Rush thinking, "Wait, there's no good new music any more. What is this?"

Definitely no ill effects from the time off, it seems. I'll probably go buy the CD soon.

kerelybonto

 

[Nezer]

About the problems I mentioned before, I have some major hootspa...

I wrote the mastering engineer about it. Somehow I doubt he'll respond but I really, really, really badly want to hear that it's a bad pressing.

I find I can listen to it in the car where the quality isn't as high but it's STILL there.

I think it's a good album but I'm dissappointed. They have the edge still but it sounds so disconnected anymore. I really think they would benefit from all three heading to a retreat somewhere and 'find' themselves musically again. It's as if everything is so overproduced. The music, the lyrics... It's just not up to par with the old days. That said I love it a WHOLE lot more than what they were doing in the 80s.

Who else here thinks that Neil should release a CD of him just jamming alone for 74 minutes?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nezer Who else here thinks that Neil should release a CD of him just jamming alone for 74 minutes?

This is basically that...except it's VHS. And a lot of him talking.

He is a minor deity.

 

[Superbaldguy]

Alex's guitar work is all over "Vapor Trails."

I always found that Neil's drumming was pre-dominant in the 80's, and Geddy's bass was always solid and stupendous, but Alex's guitar seemed to be in the background, except during solos. Sure, we all knew he was a wicked player, but we didn't always get that unless we heard the live sets.

On VT, he comes through, loud and clear.

Anyway, this new CD is a quintessential Rush classic, IMHO. Still nothing compares to "Hemispheres," my favourite recording by this band.

 

[millerdog]

I saw Rush live, I think on their Grace Under Pressure tour. I rank them up there with seeing Robert Plant(he did some Zep) and The Eagles(Hotel California tour).
Sometimes I still can't believe that you're only listening to three guys.
I like their early stuff...Working Man, Fly By Night, etc..I guess I gotta get Vapor Trails. Sounds like they went back to basics.
md

 

[kelly]

I don't like this album as much as everyone else seems to, though that's pretty typical of me I guess.

I rank it above Presto and Roll the Bones but significantly below Counterparts and nowhere near Hemispheres, Farewell to Kings, Power Windows, Moving Pictures, 2112 or Permanent Waves. Maybe it's on par with Hold Your Fire and Test For Echo.

Anyway, like all Rush albums, I don't expect my opinion to solidify this quickly and even though it's not my favorite Rush it's still better than almost everything else released these days by anyone else. I'm also pretty damned happy about them going on tour and getting to see them live again.

 

[kerelybonto]

I finally picked up this album yesterday. I've listened to it a few times since and have it on right now.

The most obvious thing about the album is that it definitely does not have that squeaky-clean Rush production sound. It's just not as sharp-sounding, especially the guitars. Now, raw's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it definitely makes the band sound different than what I'm used to. I suppose some people who dislike the band for their "antiseptic" sound could probalby pick up Vapor Trails and like it more than most of their other albums.

Second thing I notice is that Peart's drumming seems a bit toned down. I just haven't found myself awed by any supa-quick sequences anywhere. This could be compounded by the production, but I don't think so ... I really think he's slower, or just not trying to show off his skills. Something.

Lee's vocals are fine. I don't think he really stretches his cords anywhere, and he doesn't just open up and let it out like he did twenty years ago. Gives the album a more subdued feel, I think. Still, though, the most important thing is that it's still his signature voice, and it is.

This might sound absurd, but I think Vapor Trails sounds most like Rush's first album, pre-Peart. Yes, the drumming is definitely Peart, but it's not the amazing extra dimension that it used to be. Combined with the production, or lack of it, the band sounds more riff-centric, Zeppelin-ish ... minus Lee getting into it like Robert Plant as he did on the debut album,.

Anway, I like the album a lot, despite those criticisms. Lined up next to previous Rush albums, I don't think it would come out in front, but it's definitely better than any other new material I've heard recently -- really in about the last five years or so. The opening track, "One Little Victory," is great. I love it. (Although when I hear about the first thirty seconds it reminds my strangely of something off Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger.) The album's a lot of fun, and it's great to hear some new stuff from these guys, even if it's not what I expected from them.

Go buy it if you haven't. You'll enjoy it.

kerelybonto

 

[nec]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nezer Has anyone else noticed the clipping in the first track "One Little Victory"?

Yes, I hear it clearly - it's like a tape recorded by somebody who doesn't know why there's a meter on his tape deck

 

[Superbaldguy]

Devoid of any synths and fancy electronic instruments. I find it very refreshing from the squeaky-clean era of the 80's.

I agree that the production is very edgy and rather rough, but that's probably intentional on their part. I think Geddy, Alex, and Neil wanted to create a whole new direction for the band, one that suits them as they approach their 50's. No need to drag around a bunch of fancy equipment for live shows (although I'll bet they will, still, have some neat set-ups), and a more simply, three-piece approach without a lot of dependance on electronics.

This is, really, a maturity for the band that I was hoping for after the long lay-off, with a somewhat straightforward, guitar-based sound. I guess I would Vapor Trails a "pure" rock recording, maybe the closest to the true ideal of what I would expect from them, after almost 30 years of creating music.

Neil's drums are quite "there," but not overwhelming like they were on such classics as "Moving Pictures" or "Power Windows." Still, he drives the band at break-neck speed. Geddy, of course, is the bassmaster, and I've never heard Alex sound so roughshot over the sound of Rush.

Great CD!