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Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 18050
Posted: July 09 2013 at 16:52
^ Nah....actually NOPE! I really enjoy Carter and Dennis playing.....but "current" creativity from Vander, Carey and Colaiuta. Couple yrs ago Vander put out that Coltrane memory album, maybe I am missing other work he has put out recently.
Don't see it......now Gavin Harrison and Marco Minneman, albeit younger do have the creativity flowing more than the others.
Still playing the classics without flaw is indeed impressive, but i wouldn't dismiss other aged drummers like..
Dennis Chambers
Carter Beauford
Vinnie Colaiuta
Christian Vander
Danny Carey
who could be said to be surpassing his creativity currently.
Neil Peart is the most influential drummer to me, and got me to start playing drums in the first place - and for that i'm forever grateful, but i'm not blind to that fact he has been disappointing creatively. For about 15 he produced albums that were the pinnacle of rock drumming which can't be topped, it's just sad to see my idol loose steam ;[
Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 18050
Posted: July 09 2013 at 10:51
Ambient Hurricanes wrote:
In my opinion, Vapor Trails is the best album Rush ever recorded. The vocal melodies have never been better, for one; and Geddy sounds like he's 25 again on the album. I also think that the way they structured and arranged the compositions was the best they've ever done; instead of regular repetitive structures, the band arranged the songs so that there was more variety in the repeating parts; song structure is fairly straightforward but they do a better job of not having all the verses/choruses sound alike. Emotionally, the album connects on a very visceral level, and the gritty, distorted production actually adds to the emotional quality of the album, in my opinion. The musicianship is incredible (Geddy's bass...wow) and they try things that they had never attempted before; I love the parts where Alex grinds on those distorted, dissonant harmonics. Freeze is a highlight - brutal and melodic at the same time; Alex somehow manages to play one chord the whole time and make it sound good. My favorite track is Peaceable Kingdom, the heaviest song Rush ever recorded; the throbbing guitar and bass just make me want to headbang and air drum...
And whatever you think of Vapor Trails, you can't argue with the fact that it is a totally unique album, both in Rush's catalog and in music in general. Nothing like it has ever been recorded before or since. In fact, Rush might be the only band ever capable of recording an album along those lines. At once sophisticated and raw, grungy and proggy, layered and garage-sounding, it's a paradox and a masterpiece.
Freeze, Earthshine and Secret Touch for me are some of the best Rush songs. Secret Touch is a roller-coaster of a song...it pounds and pounds!! The intro guitar on Earthshine just tells you what to expect, it does not disappoint.
I'll never forgot the first time I heard the album...thinking how much Neil must have lost some ability, and then the beginning of One Little Victory proves me wrong!
As to the clipping on Vapor Trails, I read somewhere (I think an interview with Alex, but I'm not sure) that some clipping went on during the recording. So they can clean it up a bit, but not entirely.
Personally I'd still love to have a remastered version if they could clean it up somewhat.
Joined: December 10 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 1301
Posted: July 08 2013 at 20:28
Ambient Hurricanes wrote:
In my opinion, Vapor Trails is the best album Rush ever recorded. The vocal melodies have never been better, for one; and Geddy sounds like he's 25 again on the album. I also think that the way they structured and arranged the compositions was the best they've ever done; instead of regular repetitive structures, the band arranged the songs so that there was more variety in the repeating parts; song structure is fairly straightforward but they do a better job of not having all the verses/choruses sound alike. Emotionally, the album connects on a very visceral level, and the gritty, distorted production actually adds to the emotional quality of the album, in my opinion. The musicianship is incredible (Geddy's bass...wow) and they try things that they had never attempted before; I love the parts where Alex grinds on those distorted, dissonant harmonics. Freeze is a highlight - brutal and melodic at the same time; Alex somehow manages to play one chord the whole time and make it sound good. My favorite track is Peaceable Kingdom, the heaviest song Rush ever recorded; the throbbing guitar and bass just make me want to headbang and air drum...
And whatever you think of Vapor Trails, you can't argue with the fact that it is a totally unique album, both in Rush's catalog and in music in general. Nothing like it has ever been recorded before or since. In fact, Rush might be the only band ever capable of recording an album along those lines. At once sophisticated and raw, grungy and proggy, layered and garage-sounding, it's a paradox and a masterpiece.
Very good points! You might be changing my mind. I totally agree about the emotionality of the album. Not to mention the badass cover!
Joined: December 10 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 1301
Posted: July 08 2013 at 20:26
Catcher10 wrote:
I like Vapor Trails, always have. For me I separate it, it is that "new" album after such a long haitus.....When I bought the CD when it came out I never noticed the bad mastering and loudness. Since I am a 95% vinyl listener, it just sounded different to me.....but I do know now it is a bad mastered album.
I would love to see the later Rush catalog remastered for vinyl off the original tapes, especially the thin sounding Presto, RTB and fix VT.
Its hard for me not to think that the guys are not paying attention to the final versions of some of these recent releases.....CA is really not that great sounding, the vinyl version is not very musical, its very bland with little dynamics, hard to explain. I do feel the CD version is also brick-walled.
When I hear what Steven Wilson has done with PT and solo material on vinyl and the remastering he has done with KC, it makes no sense why Rush vinyl and recent releases sound as they do, which is not very good.
All my PT and SW vinyl stuff totally blows away any CD versions I have....This is also the case with Marillion vinyl, which has been redone.reissued in the past few years....just brilliant sounding!
They need to bring back the days of Bob Ludwig, mastering their recordings....The most sought after vinyl Rush 2112 and Moving Pictures is with RL-Masterdisk in the deadwax.....absolutely fantastic!
With you all the way. I can see pop music being brick walled, but why prog? Are the artists just clueless. These are guys that care about music and craft and sound. It's ridiculous. Roine Stolt and John Petrucci need to take some cues from Wilson in terms of mastering. I really respect SW for his commitment to every aspect of his work. Curated to perfection. Stolt almost gets it, but really misses out on little details; artwork up close looks bad, loudness, dated production.
Joined: December 25 2011
Location: internet
Status: Offline
Points: 2549
Posted: July 08 2013 at 19:45
In my opinion, Vapor Trails is the best album Rush ever recorded. The vocal melodies have never been better, for one; and Geddy sounds like he's 25 again on the album. I also think that the way they structured and arranged the compositions was the best they've ever done; instead of regular repetitive structures, the band arranged the songs so that there was more variety in the repeating parts; song structure is fairly straightforward but they do a better job of not having all the verses/choruses sound alike. Emotionally, the album connects on a very visceral level, and the gritty, distorted production actually adds to the emotional quality of the album, in my opinion. The musicianship is incredible (Geddy's bass...wow) and they try things that they had never attempted before; I love the parts where Alex grinds on those distorted, dissonant harmonics. Freeze is a highlight - brutal and melodic at the same time; Alex somehow manages to play one chord the whole time and make it sound good. My favorite track is Peaceable Kingdom, the heaviest song Rush ever recorded; the throbbing guitar and bass just make me want to headbang and air drum...
And whatever you think of Vapor Trails, you can't argue with the fact that it is a totally unique album, both in Rush's catalog and in music in general. Nothing like it has ever been recorded before or since. In fact, Rush might be the only band ever capable of recording an album along those lines. At once sophisticated and raw, grungy and proggy, layered and garage-sounding, it's a paradox and a masterpiece.
Joined: December 19 2007
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 3472
Posted: July 08 2013 at 19:40
I've always really liked Vapor Trails, but I agree it needs to be revisited sonically. I'm sure it could be better sounding if it weren't brickwalled. But I love the writing! For me, it was their best album since Hold Your Fire, although Counterparts was close.
Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258
Posted: July 08 2013 at 19:38
Catcher10 wrote:
I like Vapor Trails, always have. For me I separate it, it is that "new" album after such a long haitus.....When I bought the CD when it came out I never noticed the bad mastering and loudness. Since I am a 95% vinyl listener, it just sounded different to me.....but I do know now it is a bad mastered album.
I would love to see the later Rush catalog remastered for vinyl off the original tapes, especially the thin sounding Presto, RTB and fix VT.
Its hard for me not to think that the guys are not paying attention to the final versions of some of these recent releases.....CA is really not that great sounding, the vinyl version is not very musical, its very bland with little dynamics, hard to explain. I do feel the CD version is also brick-walled.
When I hear what Steven Wilson has done with PT and solo material on vinyl and the remastering he has done with KC, it makes no sense why Rush vinyl and recent releases sound as they do, which is not very good.
All my PT and SW vinyl stuff totally blows away any CD versions I have....This is also the case with Marillion vinyl, which has been redone.reissued in the past few years....just brilliant sounding!
They need to bring back the days of Bob Ludwig, mastering their recordings....The most sought after vinyl Rush 2112 and Moving Pictures is with RL-Masterdisk in the deadwax.....absolutely fantastic!
I certainly hope the CDs come out remastered though that means doubling up.. still a worthwhile exercise I agree
Joined: June 10 2011
Location: Colorado, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 4671
Posted: July 08 2013 at 19:34
VT (which I bought only maybe three years ago) was the first Rush album I purchased since I gave up on them with RTB. While I haven't listened to often or recently, I always enjoyed it when I did. Not sure I want to listen to it now, as all of these low opinions could very well adversely affect my enjoyment!
I like CA well enough, but its not a 4 star album, much less a 5...
Joined: December 23 2009
Location: Emerald City
Status: Offline
Points: 18050
Posted: July 08 2013 at 09:46
I like Vapor Trails, always have. For me I separate it, it is that "new" album after such a long haitus.....When I bought the CD when it came out I never noticed the bad mastering and loudness. Since I am a 95% vinyl listener, it just sounded different to me.....but I do know now it is a bad mastered album.
I would love to see the later Rush catalog remastered for vinyl off the original tapes, especially the thin sounding Presto, RTB and fix VT.
Its hard for me not to think that the guys are not paying attention to the final versions of some of these recent releases.....CA is really not that great sounding, the vinyl version is not very musical, its very bland with little dynamics, hard to explain. I do feel the CD version is also brick-walled.
When I hear what Steven Wilson has done with PT and solo material on vinyl and the remastering he has done with KC, it makes no sense why Rush vinyl and recent releases sound as they do, which is not very good.
All my PT and SW vinyl stuff totally blows away any CD versions I have....This is also the case with Marillion vinyl, which has been redone.reissued in the past few years....just brilliant sounding!
They need to bring back the days of Bob Ludwig, mastering their recordings....The most sought after vinyl Rush 2112 and Moving Pictures is with RL-Masterdisk in the deadwax.....absolutely fantastic!
Joined: December 10 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 1301
Posted: July 08 2013 at 09:13
I like the idea of Vapor Trails, unfortunately, it was a missed opportunity. They are definitely known for changing with the times and that's just what they did. They wrote a bunch of post-grunge/post-alternative tunes and mastered it so loud that its THE classic example of the loudness wars. That being said, it's quite a statement coming back from Neil's tragedies and a bold move. There are some good songs on there. I can't listen to it all the way through, unlike Signals, which i could listen to 3 times in a row and feel like no time has passed. New prog, even from the old masters can be a chore.
Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258
Posted: July 08 2013 at 06:23
^^^ Thanks for reading that!
Yeah, I agree with you - and I guess it can be positive looking at what is good about the album rather than what is bad. Hopefully Rush will make great albums from here on, though I wonder for how long can they do this,...
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