Rush - Vapor Trails

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• RUSH VAPOR TRAILS

Free Music Notes for Vapor Trails

Free Music Review: An Absolute Triumph
Hit: 5 Stars

Absolutely this is the best Rush album since the Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures period. And in some ways, maybe it's better.

It is the first Rush album since Moving Pictures that, as a whole, would appeal to a more mainstream, casual rock fan.

68 minutes of emotional, powerful, artistic, yet simple and often beautiful rock songs. There is nothing to not like on this album.

If you used to listen to Rush but quit around 1982-1985, this is the album where they reclaim you. If you're new to Rush, you're hooked.

!!One important caveat: you need to listen to this album on good quality stereo equipment. Cheap equipment just cannot deal with the depth and complexity of the recording.!!

Neil's reflection on the past 5 years has led to maybe his best lyrics ever. No, he didn't write from an intensely personal view (in fact, Geddy discouraged it to some degree), but, clearly to any Rush fan, the album is about his pain, his recovery, and ultimately his personal redemption.

Geddy's singing is absolutely inspired and they colored and recorded his voice in different ways throughout the album that keep it fresh, exciting and moving. If you've been listening over the last 20 years, you know his voice has matured into a strong yet soft and often beautiful sound. They have taken full advantage of the positive attributes of his voice. There is nothing to grate here and alot to love about it.

Alex's guitar work is absolutely stunning. Forget the fact there are no blazing guitar solos (yes, it would be nice to have a couple). He has reinvented his sound and style again, but in a way that combines and embraces all of his talents of the past. 2112, Working Man, Xanadu, Hemispheres, The Trees, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, Grace under Pressure, etc.....all those styles and tones are present here. He effortlessly moves from amazing power crunching to fat riffing to incredibly beautiful voicings and passages. Layered, sparsed, soaring, grinding. Whatever the piece calls for, he provides.

The songs are undeniably well crafted, as most any Rush song is; however, they have an immediacy and sense of purpose that hits you strongly and holds on. They are deep and meaningful, yet are melodic and most often uplifting and positive. They stay with you in a way that alot of Rush music might not to the casual fan.

Song-by-song:

If these were not corporate pop-only radio times, "Sweet Miracle" would be an instant Rock hit. It's a great tune about the miracle of love in Neil's new life; immediate, pure and simple but powerful. It couldn't be better.

"Secret Touch" resonates with Neil's evocative lyrics "The way out, is the way in", as he realizes that the only way out of the pain of losing those you love, is to open yourself up to love again. Powerful stuff and treated in a positive, exciting way on a track that mixes classic Rush timing changes and powerful playing with moments of simple beauty. A real modern classic.

"Peaceable Kingdom", originally written as an instrumental, recounts our yearning for peace and understanding in a world reeling from the events of 9/11. Exciting and moving.

"One Little Victory", the opening cut you may have heard on the radio, if just for a week or two, is a real grinding rocker that celebrates Rush's return. It's message goes to the heart of what Rush's music has always been about: a celebration of life; and is delivered with flair and grunt and shows that Rush is still one of the best hard rock bands around.

"Nocturne" is a great rocker that evokes passages of 2112 with its trance-like chorus and its awesome riffing working.

"Freeze" is an imaginative piece with a pounding beat framing classic Rush style lyrics and fantastically original work by Lifeson.

"Ghost Rider" is a beautiful moving piece about Neil's aimless motorcycle wanderings after his personal tradegies. A real classic beauty and an emotional piece if you know the story.

"Earthshine" is a trembling jewel of a piece. Hard rocking and uplifting at the same time as the best Rush pieces are.

"How it is" is just a great, great, quirky tune with its jangling guitars and great melody. A totally different sound that works fantastically.

"Vapor Trails" is a typical Rush crafted piece of pure artistry, but with real emotion.

"Ceiling Unlimited", "The Stars Look Down", and "Out of the Cradle" are more typical of some of Rush's more recent works. Good, with great work, but just not great pieces overall.
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Again; and this is important: those reviews saying the album is bland and/or sounds like one long song (one good one!) are listening via a cheap car radio or some other cheap system. The tone of this album is very complex and layered and requires good equipment for true reproduction. When you hear it that way, you'll be as blown away as I was, previous Rush fan or not.

The live tour is going to be amazing and powerfully emotional for a true fan. I can't wait.

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