Doper Rush fans: what do you think of Vapor Trails?

Cafe Society
1

Personally, I think it’s an unbelievable album . . . head and shoulders above Test for Echo.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with T4E . . . a few great songs, but not that spectacular overall (though they sure made up for it with the live show). VT, however, seems to be a return to the Rush to which we’ve all grown accustomed. It’ll probably never happen, but a couple songs even seem “catchy” enough to gain widespread popularity . . . particularly “How it Is”.

I’m not really sure what it is, but the album seems to remind me of Presto . . . maybe it’s even what Presto would have been if they had put a little more UMPH into the production? Although don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love that album.

Okay . . . now that I’ve run at the mouth for a bit, what do you folks think?

2

Well, I have only heard one song that’s on the radio (I’m waiting for the overstocked albums to come down in price) and I like it a lot. If it reminds you of Presto, that’s a big endorsement in my opinion, as that is one of my very favorite Rush albums.

3

Rush’s singer has a brief vocal range, which he tries to exceed. The band’s musiical range outstrips Mr. Geddy’s. I’d be interested to hear the other fellows without Lee.

As for the lyrics, the BIG PICTURE presented is so “well, duh” that you really can’t call this stuff deep.

4

I’m going to move this over to Cafe Society as I think it will get a better response over there.

5

Thanks, Euty . . . I almost put it here myself.

Nott . . . no offense, but I asked what Rush fans think about the new album, not what people who don’t like Geddy Lee think about Rush. :wink:

Besides, even if you don’t like his voice, Rush wouldn’t be Rush without his bass style.

(end hijack)

6

haven’t got the album yet, but i might give it a whirl.

Rush without Geddy would be like orange juice without oranges or juice. He and Chris Squire are the reason i spent good money on the electric bass that sits unused in the corner behind the speaker, collecting dust!

7

My first impression is that I like it better than Test For Echo, but not as much as Counterparts and Presto. I also note that it’s a very complex sounding album. I notice something new each time I listen to it, and it’s still growing on me.

I’m really happy to have the boys back, and I’ve already got tickets to the Jones Beach show!

(I almost typed “growing in me.” get…it…out!!)

8

ONE MORE DAY UNTIL PAYDAY!!!

9

Now, I’ve heard a lot of pros and cons about Rush in my day. Geddy Lee having a brief vocal range is a first, though! Let’s just say that I strongly disagree (and I also wonder upon which you base this). Whether you like his voice is another matter, of course.

Also see this thread.

10

I’m off to Rotterdam in about 5 minutes, to go and see…

RUSH!

Yes. Yeah, baby! It’s been 13 years since they were here, on the Roll the Bones tour. But they’re back!

Will report back this weekend. :smiley:

11

Cool! My mom went to see them this August (I was working and couldn’t go)… she said it was an awesome show. Enjoy!

12

So you weren’t the only one left scratching your head :stuck_out_tongue:

13

Ironically, I was just thinking about Vapor Trails vs T4E a couple of days ago. I like the title track from T4E a lot, but the rest of the album pretty much sucked. OTOH, I must admit I was rather disappointed by Vapor Trails in that there is nary a song on that I liked. The album is good and rockin’, but that’s not quite what I look for in a Rush album. I keep hoping they’ll bring back more of the progrssive element, but instead they keep moving further away.

The tour was the best ever, tho.

14

Better late than never. :slight_smile:

The concert was AWESOME. It was the absolute last one of their Vapor Trails/30th year anniversary tour. They’ve been on the road for over 2 years (with a few breaks here and there, they’re not 16 anymore after all!), and Rotterdam was the tour closer. And one could tell they decided to go all out for the fans they left in the dark for 13 years - Roll the Bones was the last tour that took them to The Netherlands.

They played for three-and-a-half hours, only taking a 10 minute break for oxygen, blood transfusions, and of course copious amounts of LSD. They had to play 2112 after the break, see. :smiley:

Three songs of the recent Feedback cover album were played: Summertime Blues, The Seeker, and Crossroads. Off Vapor Trails, they played the following songs: One Litte Victory, Earthshine, and Secret Touch. The rest was older stuff, some played more convincingly than others, but none disappointing. Animate was played a tad too slow for my taste, and Geddy even missed a couple of lines of it. The sounds quality overall was mediocre, which is to be blamed on the concert hall (crowd roars! :D) rather than the band, really. But it did detract from it all, especially during the first part of the show when we were a mere 10 yards away from the stage. Later on, we moved back, and the sound improved.

Three very energetic gentlemen for their age. Of course, the accoustic version of Resist comes just in time for Neil Peart to get his heart restarted after his 8 minute drum solo, but still. :smiley: Incidently, while I don’t like the album version of Resist much, the live accoustic version is goosebump material, absolutely beautiful.

Show highlights included 2112, Limelight (last song of the night), YYZ, and the intro to the show, a 15 minute instrumentel medley of Rush oldies such as Bastille Day, Cygnus X-1, Hemispheres, et cetera.

They seemed more enthousiastic than when I saw them last, in September of 2002 in Irvine, California. No doubt the fact that it was the last concert had something to do with it.

All in all, it was a show for the history books. Definitely one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. Three men old enough to be my father (but only just), and except for Geddy, they seem to be gaining a bit around the middle. But FUCK do they ever rock! :smiley:

15

Why Vapor Trails sounds like crap.

Well, there’s “YYZ”, “La Villa Strangiato”, “Leave That Thing Alone”, etc…

16

Coldfire, did they do the movies with the bobbleheads and the dragon lighting a cigar? I’ve seen the cigar one four times, and I still get a huge kick out of it.

I liked Rush a lot before I saw them in concert. Then, I saw the opening show of the Vapor Trails tour and I *loved *them. They hadn’t been on the road for five years at that point, and Geddy and Alex were playing like puppies on stage. They were so excited, and Geddy had the biggest grin on his face for the whole concert. Neil is so Neil, he didn’t really seem excited.

Mithril

RC1.1 c ?/a 4/0/d/tG GUP/+ 0 gk- < 20% [7oct2004]

17

Peart’s not called the Professor for nothing - he always has that serious look about him. I think I saw him crack a smile during the concert, once. For about a second. :slight_smile:

And yes, they did the whole multi-media spectacle. The Thunderbirds-like movie in which the 70’s Rush Guys kill the dragon with a spacecraft (called Cygnus X1, natch), the dragon lighting the cigar, and an opening and closing video wherein Jerry Stiller plays an old school Rush fan. Which was funny, because Stiller’s not all that known around here, and me and my friends were standing around going “I know this guy from something… but WHAT?”. All of a sudden, my best friend blurts out, “IT’S GEORGE COSTANZA’S DAD!!”. :smiley:

Interesting link, KGS, although I disagree with it. I guess I suscribe to the LOUDER IS BETTER SCHOOL, then? :smiley:
I think VT is an excellent sounding Rush album, eclipsed only by Counterparts in terms of production. Roll the Bones, for example, sounds far too “thin” for my taste, and the Toronto lads have actually said as much in interviews: they think it was produced poorly. Ditto for Presto.

Anyways: these amps go up to eleven, yeah? :wink:

18

I didn’t think much of Vapor Trails.

Hard to explain, but it didn’t sound genuine. It seemed like Rush was trying to be somebody else, almost like they were trying to be…I dunno…*younger… *

BTW,* Presto * was a steaming pile o’ crap!

I liked *Test for Echo * and I loved Roll the Bones. But Rush has been hit or miss with me.

19

I really thought you meant Rush Limbaugh, and that he had recently been talking about “Chemtrails” – one of my favorite persecution fantasies. It’s right up there with Orbital Mind Control Lasers for great conspiracy theories. Oh well. I’m glad you wacky prog-rockers are enjoying your album.