VAPOR TRAILS

While I'd not call it a total reinvention, I WOULD go so far as to say that the trio seem to be reaching back to their roots a bit, while still maintaining that cutting edge brand of writing/playing they've been known for. Neil, for his part, writes some wonderful lyrics here; a far cry from the sci-fi of past albums, he relies on his expreiences with his (ostensibly) tourtured inner soul. One look at his picture in the inner booklet speaks volumes about what he's feeling. He aches, and that comes through in the lyrics. SAMPLE: "What is the meaning of this? And the stars look down. What are you trying to do? And the stars look down. Was it something I said? And the stars look down." I, for one, enjoy lyrics with a rather personal bent to them, and this record has it in spades. Geddy plays with a fire and fury not seen since 2112, and for every note he plays, he's answered by some of Alex's best riffage in God knows how long. The arrangements may seem slapdash to some whose ear might not be attuned to this kind of aggression, but the more one listens, the more one hears that this is how the album SHOULD have been. Yes, the production is a touch on the muddy side, but that does not mean that you can't hear everything clearly. Ged's vocals on many tracks (Vapor Trails, The Stars Look Down, One Little Victory, Out Of The Cradle, etc.) make me feel the pain and anger that Neil felt when he wrote these amazing lyrics. Hope I don't sound like a Rush "fanboy", but this disc is one of their best. Can't help it...5 stars.