VAPOR TRAILS

I didn't give this album a "masterpiece" rating, but I do feel it falls just shy- it's a very strong 4-star album. No one knows how much gas is left in the Rush tank, but if this album came out in the early 90s instead of the early 00s, we'd all see this was the third new direction for Rush in their career, after the big boomin' prog of the 70s and the tighter, more focused synth-metal of the 80s.

Vapor Trails is easily Rush's most progressive album since Power Windows, and probably since Permanent Waves. All three players are reaching WAY beyond their previous boundaries of what they were willing to try. After Neil went to a rearranged drum kit (with only one bass drum) for Roll The Bones, he now turns his reinvention efforts to his lyrics. These are not the same kind of lyrics he's always been known for. Much more in the way of abstract concepts and oblique imagery. It's not so easy to understand what the lyrics are exactly about- you've got to spend time with the lyric booklet. As for Geddy, this is his most vocally ambitious album ever, period. Very unusual vocal melodies and lots of innovative harmonies. He also pushes the upper registers of his voice more than any time since "Available Light". And Alex challenged himself to do something he'd never done before on any album- no guitar solos. He's chosen here to have his instrument fill a different role, instead of as a lead instrument. His guitars are more textural here, filling the void left by yet another big change on this album: no synths whatsoever (although Test For Echo was seriously pared down in that dept). And together with Geddy's bass (with which he's reworking his bass chords work from the late 80s), Alex's guitars make this the hardest edged album they've done since Grace Under Pressure.

But what about the music? Yes, it's more obtuse, it doesn't catch you like the pop-hook- filled 80s era, it doesn't go for the orchestral grandiosity of the 70s. It's denser, more layered, and consequently requires listening on multiple levels- something that usually takes a number of listens to accomplish. I was no exception- I've always taken immediately to Rush's previous releases the instant I first played them, but this one had me waiting to fully appreciate it. Once you do, most of the songs will get stuck in your head very easily. "Earthshine" was first, followed quickly by "Sweet Miracle", "Vapor Trail", "Freeze", "Ghost Rider" and even "One Little Victory". The one that, in the end, has come to the front of my mind as the most representative song is "Peaceable Kingdom". They most apparently put everything they did on the whole album together in this song, with some of the strongest lyrics and a real stuck-in-your-head tune.

If you don't "get" this album, it wouldn't begin to mean that you're a bad Rush fan. But if you have a true appreciation for what this band has been about for the entirety of its career- namely, following its own path, regardless of external pressures, in the name of making the best of their own music possible- you owe it to yourself and to them to give this album a serious listening effort. It's the one album that, more than any other, represents the achievement of their goals as musicians, friends and just good people in their career. - Fletch Brendan Good