ak2112

It's a solid middling effort by the band for me. There are some real stinkers on it (You Bet Your Life) and some absolute gems (Bravado, Ghost of a Chance) so I put it down as average. However, this is one album that was remastered to 24KT gold CD by Audio Fidelity and anyone who like this album owes it to themselves to find a copy of this version and get it. It sounds absolutely amazing. I'm sure its out of print now, but can probably be had for not too much money on ebay, though I can t say for sure because I pre-ordered it immediately and never had to worry about paying a crazy amount for it. Check it out!!

QUOTE (presto123 @ Apr 6 2012, 09:22 PM) SnA lovers would like you to believe that VT is bad but look at those poll numbers. The majority think it is very good to excellent. That still doesn't mean it don't suck! I mean, Britney Spears has sold way more records than Rush but I doubt anyone here would say she's better than them....

Counterparts for me. T4E was OK and VT was absolutely terrible; their worst album.

QUOTE (reani14 @ Apr 5 2012, 04:16 PM) only one iam intrested in that i dont have is. power windows. I have most of the SHM and the artwork and packaging is first rate. wayyy better than the selectors ones. Then you should definately pick up Power Windows on SHM when it comes out. It is one of the best, if not the best sounding of the SHM Rush albums. I have it and rank it a close second to my Japanese 32.8P first pressing CD.

I didnt have to think about this one for a second. I gave it a 1. IMO, it is EASILY their worst album. Even if one can look (or hear) past the piss poor production, I think almost every song sucks. The entire album sounds uninspired and like a band that is sick of making records, not a band that is making their first album in 6 years together. However, the worst part is that almost every single song is too damn long, and I dont mean to say that I dislike their old epic prog songs either. The songs on VT were in BAD need of editing. There is almost no evidence of even a hint of melody and it just sounds tired. Now, compare VT to S&A and its a totally different story. They sound energized, the songs have beautiful melodies and there is good editing and song structure throughout. Every year I get out VT to make sure my opinions are still valid and every year, I barely can make it through the whole album. It's just terrible. I could go the rest of my life without hearing any of those songs live. However, there is one good aspect about them playing VT tracks in concert...it gives me a chance to go to the bathroom.

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 3 2012, 12:49 AM) QUOTE (ak2112 @ Apr 2 2012, 08:31 PM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 2 2012, 08:59 PM) The discs are $30 and the shipping will run between $5 and $20, depending if you ship "SAL", whatever that is, or FedEx. Pretty pricey. That's audiophile money right there. That's upwards of 700-1000% more expensive than a US pressing. Is it really 700-1000% better? Not to most people, it's not. I paid $14 total for shipping 4 CD's. That's $3.50 per disc or about $33 for each CD. I'm not sure what math you're using but that's right in line with many audiophile CD's and nowhere near 700% or 1000% more than a US pressing unless you're talking about a CD from a bargain bin. Have you even seen or heard one of these SHM-CD's?? The math I'm using is that Best Buy is selling the back catalog for $4.99 each going by a recent thread here. At $5 each, spending $50 on a Japanese import (with FedEx shipping) is a 1000% increase. If you only pay the lowest shipping, it's $35 each, or 750% increase. Are these releases that much better? Do they sound, on an average sound system, 750% or 1000% better than a US pressing? Because that's a hell of an endorsement if so. I don't have the equipment required to make the most of that technology, and I'd wager that the average consumer doesn't, either. Audiophiles go nuts for this stuff, and that's fine, I'm not putting that down. They're the ones with $20,000 home sound systems. For the rest of us, we can't tell the difference between something that's awesome and something that's awesome-awesome. I paid $3.50 in shipping. Not sure where you got that. Since they'll be going for $90 and up once they go OOP I'd say they're worth it from a collection aspect at least.

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 2 2012, 08:59 PM) The discs are $30 and the shipping will run between $5 and $20, depending if you ship "SAL", whatever that is, or FedEx. Pretty pricey. That's audiophile money right there. That's upwards of 700-1000% more expensive than a US pressing. Is it really 700-1000% better? Not to most people, it's not. I paid $14 total for shipping 4 CD's. That's $3.50 per disc or about $33 for each CD. I'm not sure what math you're using but that's right in line with many audiophile CD's and nowhere near 700% or 1000% more than a US pressing unless you're talking about a CD from a bargain bin. Have you even seen or heard one of these SHM-CD's??

Here you go.... http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_code_ba...html?key=174288

Hello all, Just wanted to let you guys know that the Japanese mini-LP SHM-CD's are available once again from CDJapan. They will be released on May 23rd and if you order now, you can get first pressing bonuses like posters, etc. that only come with first issues. They cost about $30 a piece, so they arent exactly cheap, but these things are an investment. Many are going for $80 or $90 on ebay and I'm sure these will be no different as they will go out of print quickly. The packaging is really first rate and for the most part they are mastered pretty good; maybe not as well as say a Mofi or Japanese first pressing from the 80's, but a whole lot better than the god-awful 97 remasters and the not much better than awful Sector remasters. They are works or art and sound pretty good. A must for any serious Rush music collector. Enjoy!

QUOTE (snowdog2112 @ Mar 30 2012, 10:53 PM) QUOTE (losingit2k @ Mar 30 2012, 09:32 PM) QUOTE (presto123 @ Mar 30 2012, 10:28 PM) QUOTE (ak2112 @ Mar 30 2012, 09:46 PM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ Mar 28 2012, 02:48 PM) And over 7 minutes, too. Awesome. Just because its over 7 minutes long doesnt mean its going to be a great or even good song. Remember, most of the songs on Vapor Trails were over 5 minutes....and almost every song on that album sucked ass. Lets hope the mew album is as melodic and awesome as Snakes and Arrows. Thats what I'm hoping for at least. Speak for yourself. I like VT better than SnA. VT had at least 6 good tracks on it: One Little Victory Earthshine Secret Touch Vapor Trails Ghost Rider Sweet Miracle Yeah, I personally love S&A much more than Vapor Trails but VT still has a lot on it I like. I also know that there are many Rush fans that think it's one of their best albums, so what's wrong with that? Nothing. All their albums and all their songs have at least some fans who genuinely like them and that doesn't make them "sheep" or "band worshippers" or all these other degrading names I see. I don't mind anybody's opinion about what they like or don't like but I always try to avoid demeaning "It's a piece of shit!" or "It totally sucks ass!" kind of comments because people take their favorite music seriously and get attached to it. I wish people understood that when you are insulting to music that someone else loves and they get defensive it's not because you are insulting the band, you're insulting them. I used this analogy on the VH board but I think it's a good one and hopefully it will make people think. Saying to someone who loves Vapor Trails something like "It's just a piece of shit and Rush should be embarrased they even released it" and thinking that you're only insulting the band or the album is like going into someone's house and saying "Oh my god, I can't believe this crappy furniture, why would anybody want this?" and thinking you're only putting down the furniture manufacturer. What people surround themselves with is an extension of who they are. That should be obvious. But I guess some people think if your friend picks you up in their car and you say "Wow, what a piece of crap, I hate these cars." that your friend shouldn't take it personally because you were only criticizing the automaker. No reasonable person will tell you not to say you don't like something if you don't like it but you should at least learn to be able to be tactful about it. It was a 6 year break between T4E and VT...6 years! To me, the songs on VT sound like a band tired of making music rather than a band excited to be together making music after a long break. There is no focus to any of the songs and they desperately needed someone to explain to them the concept of EDITING! Every song on their is way too long and unfocused. Plus, they all sound the same and there's almost no sense of melodicism to the songs either. Compare the songs on VT to those on S&A and there is no comparison. S&A is dripping with melody and tight song arrangements; something that VT is lacking. Now, there are some great MOMENTS on VT, but no great songs. It just sounds to me like a collage of half finished ideas. And add to that, one of the worst dynamics and over the top compression and you have one nasty sonic mess. I thought S&A was light years better than VT and their best album since Counterparts. Believe me, I have tried to like VT and every year or so I revisit it to give it another chance. It never sounds good to me.

QUOTE (Gilbertk @ Mar 30 2012, 09:49 PM) QUOTE (losingit2k @ Mar 30 2012, 09:47 PM) QUOTE (ak2112 @ Mar 30 2012, 09:46 PM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ Mar 28 2012, 02:48 PM) And over 7 minutes, too. Awesome. Just because its over 7 minutes long doesnt mean its going to be a great or even good song. Remember, most of the songs on Vapor Trails were over 5 minutes....and almost every song on that album sucked ass. Lets hope the mew album is as melodic and awesome as Snakes and Arrows. Thats what I'm hoping for at least. VT was bad because of the Mix, THE MIX! The compression, THE COMPRESSION! The songs, THE SONGS!

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Mar 28 2012, 02:48 PM) And over 7 minutes, too. Awesome. Just because its over 7 minutes long doesnt mean its going to be a great or even good song. Remember, most of the songs on Vapor Trails were over 5 minutes....and almost every song on that album sucked ass. Lets hope the mew album is as melodic and awesome as Snakes and Arrows. Thats what I'm hoping for at least.

I'm looking forward to the new album, but I'm dreading that it will be another horribly mastered mess. Hope I'm wrong!

You only need a DVD player and a 5.1 setup to play the album. No need for a DVD-Audio player.

I have the DVD of Snakes and Arrows and I think the two channel release was better. There's too much airyness in the 5.1 for my tastes. I wish it had been released as a high rez DVD-Audio, but it wasnt. It was on the new MVI format, which isnt high rez and isnt DVD-Audio either. Fingers crossed for the new album on a high rez format like DVD-A or SACD!

I dont think he had much of a choice. His voice was changing and he wasnt going to be able to sing that high much longer. By 1980, he had already lost some of his high range. Just a natural progression.

Good mastering cant make up for crappy material. The album sucks all the way around.

Yes, the mastering was terrible, but even if it hadnt been, this album still would have gone down as one of their worst IMO. First, there is little in the way of vocal melody to any of the songs. It just songs like Geddy was out of practice working out vocal parts. However, the biggest offender is the complete and utter lack of editing. Every single song is waaaaaay too long and they all just meander and end up being an amorphous mass of nothing much. I bought this album the day it came out, like I do every one of their albums. I have listened to it dozens of times since that day, and I still dont like a single entire song on the album. There are PARTS that are good, but in terms of whole songs, the album is a real stinker. I think after that long apart, they just needed more time to get it together. Snakes and Arrows is a 1000 times better album. Great melodies and singing by Geddy, great editing with succinct arrangements and powerful overall song impact. VT, along with their debut album, are the albums I listen to the least.

As I've posted here before, I too am really enjoying the new VH album , but truth be told, Dave's voice is shot to all hell. He does just fine when he stays in his baritone register, but he's trying to sing way too high way too much on this new album and he sounds like $hit when he tries to do that. It's a fun album to listen to, but it doesnt come close to as good as any of the other albums he did with them in the 70's and 80's. The music is absolutely kick ass, but you just cant get around the horrible singing...or at least I cant. I would rank this album above Balance and VH III, but thats as high as it gets in my ranking of VH albums.

I agree with most of your post except for the bass and drum playing in VH to be irrelevant. Alex Van Halen is one of the best rock drummers in history and he's playing his ass of on the new VH album. Wolfie is one hell of a bass player already and he's only 20. Both of them are far from irrelevant. I would also be very careful to someohow equate album sales with quality of music, if thats indeed what you were doing by comparing the sales for the current VH album and Rush's last two albums.

Super. Replacement DVD's with the same brickwalled and overcompressed mastering.....

I didnt really care for DLR's voice on the new stuff at first either, but now I'm reallt enjoying the new album. I think it's a reallt strong album for a bunch of 50 somethings that havent made an album together in 28 years! Plus, the music is just smokin good and super heavy. I'd give the album a 7 out of 10. Now as far as Rush is concerned, I dont think you can compare the two bands at all. Totally different styles. However, this might be the last time you could concievably see both bands on tour in the same year. Very Cool. I saw Rush (Power Windows tour in January) and Van Halen (5150 tour at the Texxas Jam in July) both in 1986 and both shows were mind-blowing, especially Rush since I had second row center seats! Enjoy both bands new stuff and tours while you still can. I bet this is the last time both will be out on the road in the same year....ever!

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I went back and forth for years in my mind as to what the best Rush album was, but for years my mind has been settled: ITS HEMISPHERES! Actually, I have of late come to the conclusion that, for me, the best "early years" album of Rush is Hemispheres, while for their "later years" its Power Windows. The latter album has really grown on me over the years and I also had second row center to that tour at Reunion Arena in Dallas in January 1986, so it really captures a moment in my life that is very near and dear to me! Nothing beats Hemispheres for me however. Their best album and a stone cold classic. Now, if they'd only release it in 5.1 surround on DVD-Audio or SACD, I could die happy!!

The biggest error with the Sector remasters is that they are a loud, brickwalled mess. Louder even than the 97 remasters, which I didnt think was technically possible. Very very sad....

Yep, for someone new to the band, you've done very well with your ranking. For me, Hemispheres will always be their high water mark for me, but if I had to rank them, the top ones would be (along with the best sounding masters for some in parentheses): 1. Hemispheres (Canadian WANK CD) 2. Permanent Waves (Canadian VANKCD) 3. Moving Pictures (MFSL Gold CD) 4. 2112 (Japanese 25.8P CD) 5. Caress of Steel 6. Signals (MFSL Gold CD or Japanese 25.8P CD) 7. Power Windows (Japanese 32.8P CD or SHM CD) 8. Counterparts 9. Hold Your Fire (SHM CD) 10. Snakes and Arrows Those would be my Top 10 for sure, though the bottom 3 could be interchanged at any time. The only two albums by them I pretty much have no use for would be Test for Echo (though I do like the song "Dog Years" while others think its one of their worst songs ever...go figure!) and Vapor Trails, which to me is just pure unfocused crap.