Rush - Vapor Trails
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Free Music Notes for Vapor Trails
Free Music Review: Fresh, Organic and the spirit of Rush
Hit: 5 Stars
Vapor Trails is everything that is previous Rush, and everything that isn't. Which is the hallmark of a band who is still progressing. It is easy to look back on a catalog and say why something was good or wasn't, but to be able to place the present in a historical context, especially when one is talking about a new work of art by an established artist/group, is very difficult.Rush has never done the same thing twice on any album. Vapor Trails is no different. Six years or six months, these three men constantly challenge their own limits and it shows in every song they play.
No keyboards on this album and only a tip of the hat towards guitar solos on a couple of songs. But we've seen this coming for the last two albums. Most bands who survived the eighties did the keyboard thing. Rush's music on Signals and Power Windows shows that they can integrate even trendy styles and give it meaning. By not using them now, they create an even stronger sense of evolving music, evolving musicianship and organic art.
Neil's lyrics on Vapor Trails are more abstract than they have been lately, but are sharp and very poetic... he has changed the meter on a few of them, giving the lyric lines more life and power. And his drumming is superb. What he did for vertuosity in the 80's he does for subtly now. How can one play subtly over Alex's constantly varying power chords? With a blend of Geddy's lower fret work (higher pitch), giving him a Michael Manning tone and feel, Neil's drumming is the perfect balance to the drive of this music.
By far their "hardest" album to date, it still grabs elements from their older style, pushing back and forth from one theme to the next, structuring the songs as can be heard on Xanadu and Hemispheres.
The music has much of the feel that Geddy brought to his solo album, but the chemistry between he and Alex gives Rush's music an edge and a staying power that I felt lacked some on his solo album. His singing is great and he continues to create complex and rich harmonies that take great music and set it over the top. The title track has some excellent example of evocative harmonies to Alex's powerful guitar work.
All three musicians sound at their finest. Different than anything they've done before, but still showing their individual prowess and mastering of their own bailiwick, they capture the spirit of Rush.
There is no settling for less with these three. Once again taking what is a trendy sound and style and making it their own, Rush continues to set themselves above their own impeccable standards and create an album that, while receiving much in the way of criticism now, will rise up to take it's place among their best.
Free Music Review: Welcome back an old, sorely missed friend
Hit: 5 Stars
I do tend to get a bit effusive where Rush is concerned but I do feel as if I am an honest fan in so much that I believe that some Rush albums are great, while others only have moments of brilliance. As of the last decade or so, brilliance was intermixed with only good music. I must add that any musician should aspire to be as good.Be that as it may, I absolutely love Vapor Trails. I'm not sure if it's because we have been starved out of new Rush music since 1996 or not. The new album truly benefits from Geddy Lee's solo work because the arrangements are incredible. I love the deep textures and the layering of instrumentation. Incredible!
It certainly doesn't hurt that Rush has never rocked harder than on this album.
One of the stipulations that Alex Lifeson made was to eliminate all keyboard work and even guitar solos. You might wonder how the man who was once considered the heir-apparent to Jimmy Page in the 70's would want to do so. Actually, fans should have noticed that trend back on the 1982 Signals album and every album since. I have respect for a musician who would prefer not be the featured instrumental in favor a cohesive musical unit.
His work in the past indicates that Rush has more than benefited from his unique talent. The music on Vapor Trails is so deeply layered and textured that you won't notice the lack of guitar solos until well after track 13 stops playing. It really is a better album for it. I mostly admire it for the attention spent on the craft of songwriting this time. The band is playing more as an organic unit as opposed to three talented musicians showcasing their work together.
The opener, "One Little Victory", begins with what reminds me of a pounding, big band drum intro. From there we have 13 songs that are unusually personal and much less abstract than previous work. Always topical, Neil Peart even touches on the September 11th tragedies with "Peaceable Kingdom." For the old fans, we get "Freeze" - (part 4 of the Fear series). I guess we can't call it the Fear Trilogy anymore. It is at once dissonant, powerfully aggressive and exquisite.
Every Rush album is just the next step in the evolution of their music. You simply can't play one album back to back with another and hear the same music; they are always different and radically improved from their last work. Vapor Trails is their best album in over a decade. Geddy's voice has mellowed and improved with age and anyone unfairly thinking otherwise has really not listened since the 70's. His vocal control is dramatically improved.
I will never understand why Rush are not more popular. Own this CD and welcome back an old, sorely missed friend.
Free Music Review: An acquired taste...
Hit: 5 Stars
Like T4E, it took me a while to appreciate this album (it didn't take me 5 years, thank god). At first, I thought it was more than too loud...it was bludgeoningly, numbingly loud. However, as my ears adjusted with each successive listening session, it made more and more sense. Part of the adjustment involved listening to such a loud recording for so long...it's about as long as a double album. If I were executive producer, I would have suggested keeping all the songs, minus ...Kingdom, Freeze and Out of Cradle...Not that they're bad songs, I like them fine. I think this would have concentrated the album's theme. However, as Rush said in interviews, they've never held back any recordings, and they offer everything to us that they complete.All of these songs beg to be played live. Having seen their live show on 11-6-02 from the front row, I wanted them to play more selections from VT. We got ...victory, Ghost Rider, ...Touch & Earthshine. One Little Victory opened up the second set, and it was awe-inspiring, and Secret touch was equally explosive. I was lukewarm at first about the recorded version of Ghost Rider, but in concert it really comes to life, with a backing video evoking Neil's motorcycle journeys.
Much flap has been made about Alex eschewing guitar solos, but this should surprise no one who is familiar with his work...he has a big space to fill sonically and he's been focusing on textures more for the last 20 years. In his middle age, he doesn't have to prove to anyone he's a guitar hero any more, at least not in the heavily cliched sense people think of solos and heroism. In fact I submit that the emotional peak of the album is the solo section of Vapor Trail when he rapidly plucks the high notes (right before the second "washed away like footprints in the rain...") That part always gives me goose bumps, every time I hear it.
How It Is is also another emotional high point. Although it wasn't specifically written about 9/11, the words "foot upon the stair, shoulder to the wheel..." and "burning in the moment, trapped by the desperation", etc. make me think of those doomed people trying beyond all hope to escape the WTC collapses before it was too late.
Again, Rush succeeded in making an album that doesn't copy any one else, or simply repeat themselves like so many bands before them (and quite a few contemporaries; the Stones and Aerosmith come to mind). This is an album for the fans, and I am definitely down with it.
By the way, Neil's book "Ghost Rider" is an absolute must-read.
Free Music Review: Best Album Since "Moving Pictures"...REALLY!
Hit: 5 Stars
I became a Rush fan in 1979, and saw the band for the first time in 1981. I have continued to follow their career, and have found compelling facets to each of their albums. However, "Vapor Trails" is the first Rush album since "Moving Pictures" to truly register with me on the gut-level. Geddy has trashed the keyboards, and this CD is stripped down to the basic components of bass, guitar and drums. Do not be misled, however, the arrangements are nuanced and complex, and the guitars are at times multi-tracked to the 6th degree. The stunning thing about these performances is the passion of the players, and the delicate balance of subtlety and power.
"One Little Victory" is a burst of energy (Neil Peart a la Octopus), but I'm predicting "How It Is" will be a big cross-over hit (like "New World Man"). Although everyone's playing is sharp, it occurs to me this is Alex Lifeson's CD. His playing is varied, and at times it is downright ferocious and even CRUNCHY. Check out "Peacable Kingdom", "Earthshine", and "Freeze". It would be an overstatement to say the sound resembled Helmet, but if you know the crunch guitars of Helmet you will understand the context of my comparison. Alternately, the heaviness does not come at the cost of melody. Many of the vocal melodies are very memorable, and are enhanced by Geddy's multi-tracked harmonizing with himself. Such vocal subtelty can be heard on "Sweet Miracle" and "Ghost Rider" to great effect.
Finally, many of Rush's (or more specifically, Neil Peart's) lyrics have bordered on embarrassing in recent years (think of "Dog Years" or "Nobody's Hero"), but "Vapor Trails" is right on the money. I must make an inference here, but I would venture to say that the personal tragedy in Neil's life since 1997 has resulted in some of the best, most creative and sincere lyrics he has even penned. This is not to say that the lyrics are overly personal or autobiographical, but that they have been summoned from the belly of a man who has been wracked with loss and pain, and has come out the other side victorious: "It's not a place, it's a yearning. It's not a race, it's a journey" goes the lyric of "Out of the Cradle". While many of the themes are "heavy", the overall mood is one of victory and celebration.
I am not hesitating at all giving this CD a 5 star rating. I am not full of hyperbole when I say it's the best Rush CD since "Moving Pictures". One of the best bands of my teenage years has re-emerged with a powerful masterpiece. This one is truly a gift for a troubled world.
Free Music Review: All I can say is "wow!"
Hit: 5 Stars
Vapor Trails.I just really love this album. "Ghost Rider" is one of my favorite songs, ever. I love the lyrics, because I realized that I, too, am a ghost rider. Not in the sense that Neil was, but still a ghost rider. The music is also very movingÉ the guitars, the bass, the drums, everything. This song, to my heart, is Rush's masterpiece, in every sense of the word.
The other tracks on the album are also awesome. "One Litty Victory" sure wakes me up in the morning (love Neil's drumming!). "Ceiling Unlimited" has some of Neil's best lyrics and the music is absolutely astounding. Geddy's bass playing is awesome!! (especially around the 3:40 mark). I also enjoy "Peaceable Kingdom" for it's awesome riffs and moving lyrics. "The Stars Look Down" is growing on me, also some good stuff here.
"How It Is" is also a real tear jerker. A song that had to grow on me, but once it did, oh boy, it stuck! "Vapor Trail" is one of my favoritesÉ I really love and frequently moved by the repeating lines of "In a vapor trail" and the building up of the music in the background, to the explosive climax at the end. Great stuff. "Secret Touch" contains some of Geddy's most passionate singing. The breakdown in the middle of the song is really cool, when it just goes down to Alex's guitar and Neil's drumming. Then Geddy comes in, and it builds once more.
"Earthshine" has one of the coolest intros and is just, in simple terms, a really cool song. Great lyrics, great singing, great playing by everyone. "Sweet Miracle" also really moves me. "Oh, sweet miracle of life" is such a great line and the musicianship is so great. There is also a breakdown, and a buildup, and it is very emotional while still being impressive technically. One of Rush's best songs and probably the second best on the album (although, after "Ghost Rider", every song is probably tied for second best!!). "Nocturne" features great drumming and great lyrics. "Freeze" is a welcome addition to the "Fear" series, and is probably my favorite Fear song. Great bass playing, great guitar playing, great drumming, great lyrics. "Out of the Cradle" also had to grow on me, but it is an excellent concluding song for the album.
I've probably outdone myself here, but this is why I love Vapor Trails, and why it is my favorite Rush album. It is very emotional and just utterly awesome!!