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Vapor Trails Remixed - The treeduck verdict - white candles and runes to ward off rushgoober at the ready


treeduck
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It's that time...

 

I'm gonna write notes in a kind brick wall of text since it's VT ;)

 

General extraneous distortion = eliminated

vocals = clear, but not too loud like I expected. I can hear some parts of lines I never heard before

subtle/cleaner guitar parts = unveiled, and powerfully rendered

rhythm guitar = calmed down but not muted except in certain places, it's still a ballsy, angrily powerful riff machine

extra guitar solos = good, I've no problem with this aspect

bass = sharper, crisper, more available to your ear

drums = they sound like drums now and not tupperware, I can hear fills that I didn't notice on the 2002 edition

Geddy gang vocals = they've finally been translated harmonically speaking

One Little Victory = this one sounds nice and clear but not that different to the original overall, I was kind of like eh?? :blink: for a sec

Power guitar riff in the middle of Ceiling Unlimited = almost gone, that's a downer, it's more balanced overall though, nice guitar solo

Ghost Rider = sounds f***ing excellent, this was always one of the meh tracks on the album for me, it's definitely good now

Peaceable Kingdom = Not sure about this track but then I never was, it's got an unusual main riff, the power riff in the middle of this one though is intact, hurrah! The Geddy gang vocals make more harmonic sense here I think.

The Stars Look Down = seems heavier, so much for fear of the lack of VT balls. I like this song better too, the cleaner guitars really benefit from this remix, these songs from Ghost Rider through to How it is were my least faves on here but I like them way better now

How It Is = this seems heavier too! Cleaned up doesn't automatically mean no balls-muted! The main riff here is definitely more powerful. The bass part really works better to my ears now as well.

Vapor Trail = seems like there's more time on this track. Less brick wall = the illusion of more time. Again the bass is revealed telling it's story, that got lost in aural translation last time. The vocals in the verse again make more sense, they're more evident, guitar solo = good, and there seems a lot of "new" guitar parts on this one

Secret Touch = here's one where the bass already worked brilliantly, it sounds just like it did. The guitars don't overpower the vocals now, but still have that rasping roar especially when the vocals aren't present but are not lost when they are. There's some cool clean ringy guitar on here that I never heard before, is there weird effect here too around 2.20? Almost like a synth or guitar synth?

Earthshine = the oooooohs in the chorus aren't as prominent, hmmmm I like the ooooooos. This song sounded good on the original edition, here it's just clearer, though ironically the "old" ringy clean guitars don't quite reach me the same, but the new "new" clean ringy guitars do, is that a new guitar solo too? Sounds good. The riff right after the guitar solo sounds good and chunky and gravelly.

Sweet Miracle = This sounds ballsier in the riff department at the beginning and after each verse, but those guitars don't fight the vocals like before. The "middle eight" with Geddy scatting like an opera singer gone to the jazz side is much clearer and melodic.

Nocturne = it's gonna sound boring but this tune is clearer and sharper especially in the vocals and bass, this one always seemed to have the most extraneous noise on it, but I always liked it anyway. The guitars are still dirty but the land rover isn't going right through the puddles and splashing distortion all over the windows this time. We can "see" where we're going.

Freeze = Listening to this reminds me again that removal of noise can actually make a song more powerful not less, that's the case here. Drums and bass work much better here than the original. Again the Geddy gang vocals make more sense. in fact the all the vocals make more sense on this now. The other edition could be called VT Lost in Translation

Out of the Cradle = on this we get the cleaner guitars and the new wavey guitars working in a much clearer way with the bass, I hear cool guitar amp feedback around 1.40, that I never heard before, fits in nicely. Was it there before? The new wavey guitars at the 3 minute mark are funky chicken neck dance worthy!

Overall verdict = I always liked this album, now I like it better. It's not a no-balls muted too-loud vocals disappointment like I feared it could be. To be succinct for a second, it's f***ing good! It still has it's power, it still has it's balls, the guitars are still fierce, they don't get drowned or lost, they're in your face, they're just not strangling you.

 

Dream Theater = I'm not doing one of these for that album :banana: I'm listening to it now though! :yay: :guitar: :NP: :blaze:

 

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

 

edit: I missed out the word "meh" on the Ghost Rider bit.

Edited by treeduck
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Good show old chap. I agree with almost everything you said!

 

Yes, the feedback was always there in OOTC. It does seem like certain songs got an added measure, but they didn't. That illusion of longer length got me so that I actually checked song lengths on both. Love that chunky and gravelly riff in Earthshine too. Yes, balls intact. Removal of noise does not mean less powerful.

 

Hey, great review! Thanks for suffering for our reading pleasure. :cheers:

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Good show old chap. I agree with almost everything you said!

 

Yes, the feedback was always there in OOTC. It does seem like certain songs got an added measure, but they didn't. That illusion of longer length got me so that I actually checked song lengths on both. Love that chunky and gravelly riff in Earthshine too. Yes, balls intact. Removal of noise does not mean less powerful.

 

Hey, great review! Thanks for suffering for our reading pleasure. :cheers:

:notworthy: :hail:

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Except for Ghost Rider, which I think lost some of its buildup and loneliness which moved into anger, I generally agree with your review. Good stuff.
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Except for Ghost Rider, which I think lost some of its buildup and loneliness which moved into anger, I generally agree with your review. Good stuff.

 

Funny, I never liked the original version of Ghost Rider, but the remixed version knocks me out.

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Great review Duck!! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/birds/brown-duck-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!! :ebert: :haz:

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yeah i always leaned towards the live version of Ghost Rider but find myself liking this version much more now. I also find myself listening to Stars Look Down and How It Is, which I always skipped before. The remix has really come around for me the last few days. I was always a big fan of the record to start with, for all its flaws and all the emotions within it and behind the lyrics are profound to me. diggin on it more and more...
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It's that time...

 

I'm gonna write notes in a kind brick wall of text since it's VT ;)

 

General extraneous distortion = eliminated

vocals = clear, but not too loud like I expected. I can hear some parts of lines I never heard before

subtle/cleaner guitar parts = unveiled, and powerfully rendered

rhythm guitar = calmed down but not muted except in certain places, it's still a ballsy, angrily powerful riff machine

extra guitar solos = good, I've no problem with this aspect

bass = sharper, crisper, more available to your ear

drums = they sound like drums now and not tupperware, I can hear fills that I didn't notice on the 2002 edition

Geddy gang vocals = they've finally been translated harmonically speaking

One Little Victory = this one sounds nice and clear but not that different to the original overall, I was kind of like eh?? :blink: for a sec

Power guitar riff in the middle of Ceiling Unlimited = almost gone, that's a downer, it's more balanced overall though, nice guitar solo

Ghost Rider = sounds f***ing excellent, this was always one of the meh tracks on the album for me, it's definitely good now

Peaceable Kingdom = Not sure about this track but then I never was, it's got an unusual main riff, the power riff in the middle of this one though is intact, hurrah! The Geddy gang vocals make more harmonic sense here I think.

The Stars Look Down = seems heavier, so much for fear of the lack of VT balls. I like this song better too, the cleaner guitars really benefit from this remix, these songs from Ghost Rider through to How it is were my least faves on here but I like them way better now

How It Is = this seems heavier too! Cleaned up doesn't automatically mean no balls-muted! The main riff here is definitely more powerful. The bass part really works better to my ears now as well.

Vapor Trail = seems like there's more time on this track. Less brick wall = the illusion of more time. Again the bass is revealed telling it's story, that got lost in aural translation last time. The vocals in the verse again make more sense, they're more evident, guitar solo = good, and there seems a lot of "new" guitar parts on this one

Secret Touch = here's one where the bass already worked brilliantly, it sounds just like it did. The guitars don't overpower the vocals now, but still have that rasping roar especially when the vocals aren't present but are not lost when they are. There's some cool clean ringy guitar on here that I never heard before, is there weird effect here too around 2.20? Almost like a synth or guitar synth?

Earthshine = the oooooohs in the chorus aren't as prominent, hmmmm I like the ooooooos. This song sounded good on the original edition, here it's just clearer, though ironically the "old" ringy clean guitars don't quite reach me the same, but the new "new" clean ringy guitars do, is that a new guitar solo too? Sounds good. The riff right after the guitar solo sounds good and chunky and gravelly.

Sweet Miracle = This sounds ballsier in the riff department at the beginning and after each verse, but those guitars don't fight the vocals like before. The "middle eight" with Geddy scatting like an opera singer gone to the jazz side is much clearer and melodic.

Nocturne = it's gonna sound boring but this tune is clearer and sharper especially in the vocals and bass, this one always seemed to have the most extraneous noise on it, but I always liked it anyway. The guitars are still dirty but the land rover isn't going right through the puddles and splashing distortion all over the windows this time. We can "see" where we're going.

Freeze = Listening to this reminds me again that removal of noise can actually make a song more powerful not less, that's the case here. Drums and bass work much better here than the original. Again the Geddy gang vocals make more sense. in fact the all the vocals make more sense on this now. The other edition could be called VT Lost in Translation

Out of the Cradle = on this we get the cleaner guitars and the new wavey guitars working in a much clearer way with the bass, I hear cool guitar amp feedback around 1.40, that I never heard before, fits in nicely. Was it there before? The new wavey guitars at the 3 minute mark are funky chicken neck dance worthy!

Overall verdict = I always liked this album, now I like it better. It's not a no-balls muted too-loud vocals disappointment like I feared it could be. To be succinct for a second, it's f***ing good! It still has it's power, it still has it's balls, the guitars are still fierce, they don't get drowned or lost, they're in your face, they're just not strangling you.

 

Dream Theater = I'm not doing one of these for that album :banana: I'm listening to it now though! :yay: :guitar: :NP: :blaze:

 

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

 

edit: I missed out the word "meh" on the Ghost Rider bit.

 

Great review. I agree with just about everything you stated. :codger:

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It's that time...

 

I'm gonna write notes in a kind brick wall of text since it's VT ;)

 

General extraneous distortion = eliminated

vocals = clear, but not too loud like I expected. I can hear some parts of lines I never heard before

subtle/cleaner guitar parts = unveiled, and powerfully rendered

rhythm guitar = calmed down but not muted except in certain places, it's still a ballsy, angrily powerful riff machine

extra guitar solos = good, I've no problem with this aspect

bass = sharper, crisper, more available to your ear

drums = they sound like drums now and not tupperware, I can hear fills that I didn't notice on the 2002 edition

Geddy gang vocals = they've finally been translated harmonically speaking

One Little Victory = this one sounds nice and clear but not that different to the original overall, I was kind of like eh?? :blink: for a sec

Power guitar riff in the middle of Ceiling Unlimited = almost gone, that's a downer, it's more balanced overall though, nice guitar solo

Ghost Rider = sounds f***ing excellent, this was always one of the meh tracks on the album for me, it's definitely good now

Peaceable Kingdom = Not sure about this track but then I never was, it's got an unusual main riff, the power riff in the middle of this one though is intact, hurrah! The Geddy gang vocals make more harmonic sense here I think.

The Stars Look Down = seems heavier, so much for fear of the lack of VT balls. I like this song better too, the cleaner guitars really benefit from this remix, these songs from Ghost Rider through to How it is were my least faves on here but I like them way better now

How It Is = this seems heavier too! Cleaned up doesn't automatically mean no balls-muted! The main riff here is definitely more powerful. The bass part really works better to my ears now as well.

Vapor Trail = seems like there's more time on this track. Less brick wall = the illusion of more time. Again the bass is revealed telling it's story, that got lost in aural translation last time. The vocals in the verse again make more sense, they're more evident, guitar solo = good, and there seems a lot of "new" guitar parts on this one

Secret Touch = here's one where the bass already worked brilliantly, it sounds just like it did. The guitars don't overpower the vocals now, but still have that rasping roar especially when the vocals aren't present but are not lost when they are. There's some cool clean ringy guitar on here that I never heard before, is there weird effect here too around 2.20? Almost like a synth or guitar synth?

Earthshine = the oooooohs in the chorus aren't as prominent, hmmmm I like the ooooooos. This song sounded good on the original edition, here it's just clearer, though ironically the "old" ringy clean guitars don't quite reach me the same, but the new "new" clean ringy guitars do, is that a new guitar solo too? Sounds good. The riff right after the guitar solo sounds good and chunky and gravelly.

Sweet Miracle = This sounds ballsier in the riff department at the beginning and after each verse, but those guitars don't fight the vocals like before. The "middle eight" with Geddy scatting like an opera singer gone to the jazz side is much clearer and melodic.

Nocturne = it's gonna sound boring but this tune is clearer and sharper especially in the vocals and bass, this one always seemed to have the most extraneous noise on it, but I always liked it anyway. The guitars are still dirty but the land rover isn't going right through the puddles and splashing distortion all over the windows this time. We can "see" where we're going.

Freeze = Listening to this reminds me again that removal of noise can actually make a song more powerful not less, that's the case here. Drums and bass work much better here than the original. Again the Geddy gang vocals make more sense. in fact the all the vocals make more sense on this now. The other edition could be called VT Lost in Translation

Out of the Cradle = on this we get the cleaner guitars and the new wavey guitars working in a much clearer way with the bass, I hear cool guitar amp feedback around 1.40, that I never heard before, fits in nicely. Was it there before? The new wavey guitars at the 3 minute mark are funky chicken neck dance worthy!

Overall verdict = I always liked this album, now I like it better. It's not a no-balls muted too-loud vocals disappointment like I feared it could be. To be succinct for a second, it's f***ing good! It still has it's power, it still has it's balls, the guitars are still fierce, they don't get drowned or lost, they're in your face, they're just not strangling you.

 

Dream Theater = I'm not doing one of these for that album :banana: I'm listening to it now though! :yay: :guitar: :NP: :blaze:

 

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

 

edit: I missed out the word "meh" on the Ghost Rider bit.

 

Great review. I agree with just about everything you stated. :codger:

 

:guitar:

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Except for Ghost Rider, which I think lost some of its buildup and loneliness which moved into anger, I generally agree with your review. Good stuff.

 

Funny, I never liked the original version of Ghost Rider, but the remixed version knocks me out.

 

The original version was my favorite song on the album, and one of my top 15-20 favorite songs. I plated the hell out of that bad boy. So it is entirely possible that my love for the original makes any change, including good ones, feel not right for me. I still like the remix for that song, but the intro has more going on, so it seems less lonely. The hard part is less hard, so it seems less angry. To me, the juxtaposition of the lonely and the angry made that song resonate with emotion and loss. Now the difference is not so great, and the emotion it invokes is dulled.

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Nice review, treeduck. I don't know that I agree with you, but I think you did an excellent job of explaining what you liked and why. Very well done. :ebert:

 

For me, I find the VT remix lacking. Certainly, the clarity of the songs is more defined in the remix, but to me ear, I find I do not care the tone of Geddy's bass and vocals. I find them brittle with no warmth at all. I think it is a very well mixed album, technically speaking, but I feel like the emotional impact has been diminished. And, the bass doesn't slam me against the wall like in the original. :haz: To me, Geddy's voice sounds more sterile in the re-mix. I notice it particularly on the title track. I've always heard the band crying in that song (my favourite on the album) but I find that quality missing in the re-mix.

 

I understand and respect critics of the original album and also those who love the re-mix, but I find I prefer the original because I think the raw edginess to the mix makes the emotional impact of the album stronger. I have been playing the original mix for the last week and am reminded of how much I love that album. VT original is a top 5 Rush album to me and has been since it came out. The re-mix ranks lower to me.

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Nice review, treeduck. I don't know that I agree with you, but I think you did an excellent job of explaining what you liked and why. Very well done. :ebert:

 

For me, I find the VT remix lacking. Certainly, the clarity of the songs is more defined in the remix, but to me ear, I find I do not care the tone of Geddy's bass and vocals. I find them brittle with no warmth at all. I think it is a very well mixed album, technically speaking, but I feel like the emotional impact has been diminished. And, the bass doesn't slam me against the wall like in the original. :haz: To me, Geddy's voice sounds more sterile in the re-mix. I notice it particularly on the title track. I've always heard the band crying in that song (my favourite on the album) but I find that quality missing in the re-mix.

 

I understand and respect critics of the original album and also those who love the re-mix, but I find I prefer the original because I think the raw edginess to the mix makes the emotional impact of the album stronger. I have been playing the original mix for the last week and am reminded of how much I love that album. VT original is a top 5 Rush album to me and has been since it came out. The re-mix ranks lower to me.

So you'll carry on using the 2002 original edition then? :hail:

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Nice review, treeduck. I don't know that I agree with you, but I think you did an excellent job of explaining what you liked and why. Very well done. :ebert:

 

For me, I find the VT remix lacking. Certainly, the clarity of the songs is more defined in the remix, but to me ear, I find I do not care the tone of Geddy's bass and vocals. I find them brittle with no warmth at all. I think it is a very well mixed album, technically speaking, but I feel like the emotional impact has been diminished. And, the bass doesn't slam me against the wall like in the original. :haz: To me, Geddy's voice sounds more sterile in the re-mix. I notice it particularly on the title track. I've always heard the band crying in that song (my favourite on the album) but I find that quality missing in the re-mix.

 

I understand and respect critics of the original album and also those who love the re-mix, but I find I prefer the original because I think the raw edginess to the mix makes the emotional impact of the album stronger. I have been playing the original mix for the last week and am reminded of how much I love that album. VT original is a top 5 Rush album to me and has been since it came out. The re-mix ranks lower to me.

So you'll carry on using the 2002 original edition then? :hail:

:yes: I'm happy to keep it as my primary VT. I'm so contrary. :coy:

 

You can't tell yourself how to care, you can't tell yourself how to feel

That's how it is...

 

:cheers:

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Nice job Duckster ol chap! Need to pick up a copy asap! but this thread is waiting for Goober to show up and make it legendary!
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