VAPOR TRAILS

I think that this is tricky one to review. I think that musically, this is Rush's best album since Signals (excepting the delightful aberration known as Counterparts). I can tell you why I think that, and I think the arguments are convincing. But, it sure is hard to get past the sound of the album. Almost every review mentions it - the over the top loudness, bad EQ, the digital artifacts. I'm probably willing to let that slide more than most, because the music is so good and because a lot of albums are guilty of this. I just bought a jazz organ trio album by Dr Lonnie Smith recorded in 2010 that is filled with digital artifacts! Go figure. It would be nice to have a remaster of Vapor Trails, but I do think that this is very aggressive album and it doesn't need to be softened up too much.

One of the reasons that I really like this disc is that Rush is finally experimenting again. To me, they've played it pretty safe since Hold Your Fire. Vapor Trails is not safe. The song forms are more interesting, maybe not proggy but definitely not pop. Keyboards are not replaced with huge power chords or single note riffs as in Counterparts, but instead with intricate layers of polysonic guitars. Alex Lifeson is as creative as he has ever been, creating textures that sometimes border on atonal and that are always subtle and engaging. Geddy Lee's bass line are often in the same range as the guitar (and sometimes higher) which creates some very clever musical effects. The vocal lines are approached in a similar fashion at times creating a wall of sound that is mesmerizing in its counterpoint. Maybe this is one reason why the album is so loud - there is a lot going on!

Lyrically, the album is dark, as well it should be, and there is no feeling of aloofness that one sometimes feels from Peart's lyrics. It all feels real, agonizingly so. A quick listen to Test for Echo puts all of this in stark perspective; TFE sounds like cotton candy in comparison. Highlights for me include Ghost Rider, Earthshine, Peaceable Kingdom, Freeze, and the title track.

It's really shame what happened to this album. If it sounded better, I think it would be hailed as one of Rush's masterpieces. The band themselves seem to disowned the album in a way. They played precious little of it on the supporting tour and have played less of it since. Maybe this is because of the memories associated with making this album; maybe it is because the complexity of the arrangements made playing a lot of this material prohibitive. Rush would go on to make Snakes and Arrows which sonically sounded a lot better but lacked the experimentalist tendencies of Vapor Trails. I hope that as time passes, this offering by the band will be reevaluated in a more positive light.