Scooch

I'm okay with them being retired. Their last album being Clockwork Angels and their last tour being R40 is an epic way to end an epic career. I don't want to see them on stage when they're 70 years old, and I certainly do not want them to tour with some sort of changed line up. Most bands don't stay true to their word, comeback and it's never the same. Rush are not most bands!

I bought a new turntable recently and my vinyl copy of Moving Pictures has been sounding mighty fine on it!

Well said. Vapor Trails is unique for Rush. They really have no other album that wears its heart on its sleeve with such sincerity. Rush had to do it and it seemed painful reflected in the 14 months it took to make. I personally love this album. The sound issues embellish the albums emotive point of view and reaffirm the vulnerable place the guys were at - making such a faux pas as many see it. Its a polarizing album for sure, but I love it as much as other Rush albums including the detrimental qualities many hear. Well put! And I completely agree regarding the 'sound issues'!

Thank you! You started a great thread!

Personally, I love this album and consider it among their best, and I have been a Rush fan for 35 years. IMO Rush has one of the best discography's out there in terms of consistency. I'm not saying I love everything they have done, but I really believe each album has many great things about them. It almost seems unfair to rate an album. I do it, so I'm not saying we shouldn't rate albums. But there is a sincerity to Vapor Trails that is stronger than any of their other albums. I see this as the album they had to make, that they had to get out of their systems. The fact they spent 14 months putting it together and also they rereleased it a few years ago, shows us what this one means to the band. To nitpick and grade it, it just feels like we're missing the point. I'm sure if I were to sit in front of them and say something like "I think this song is kind of forgettable" or "I think you guys rocked the shit out of this song" I don't think they would even respond to it, because they weren't trying to "rock out" or write the perfect hook. This came from the heart. There's much more to this album. Personally, it speaks to me. I could relate to Neil's message of arriving at a better place after going through hell. It's not preachy at all - it's just hopeful, and he put it all out there for us to see (warts and all). And the music just helps deliver that message. It has a sense of urgency to it. But I get why it doesn't relate to a lot people. It's certainly a different album for them. Not very clean. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I liked it when it came out. For a while it sat there for me. But over the years, once I dropped all my expectations and just appreciated it for what it is, I've really grown to love this one.

Not sure if this has been shared before, but check this out. Start at 7:30 -

I caught Rik Emmett's show this past Saturday night and it was great. His voice may be lower but it's still in great form. And he still plays a mean guitar. He did a ton of Triumph tunes - Hold On, Fight The Good Fight, Magic power, Somebody's Out There and my favorite of the night - Suitcase Blues. He joked around and offered a few entertaining stories throughout the night. The best part was he came out about 30 minutes after the show to meet those of us who stuck around. He seems a like a good dude - he posed for pictures and signed stuff for people. If you get the chance to check him out, I highly recommend it!

I'm going to see him this Sat night in Plymouth, MA... which is how I stumbled across the fact he was doing the new album (saw it on his web site).

I'm not sure if this has already been shared (if it has, my apologies). Rik Emmett, the former guitarist and singer of Triumph, has a new album coming out that features Alex Lifeson on a couple of tracks, and a few tracks with James LaBrie. Also, there is one track that is a new Triumph song. Sounds interesting - check it out: http://www.rikemmett.com/

That's impressive! She's obviously and talented and intelligent young lady.

Yikes... I still clearly remember getting this the day it came out. It doesn't seem like 20 years at all LOL! I've always liked this album. I thought the singers throughout the album served the songs well, the production was solid and I liked hearing Alex doing his own thing. It was interesting for me - It wasn't like a Rush album, yet I could hear what he brought to Rush's sound.

I'm have no problem with what can be called their synth era. I think many of he arrangements during this time stand up with their most powerful in their catalog. I don't consider myself a fan or non-fan of any era, as I don't really view any part of their discography as an era. I either like the album or I don't. I like Power Windows just as much as I like A Farewell to Kings. To my ears GUP though HYF rocks just as much as anything from 2112 through MP. With that said, it was cool to see them return to a more organic, 3 piece sound with Counterparts. When they returned to it, they were different writers and arrangers than they were 15 years earlier so it was great seeing how they had changed. The "synth era" should be respected as much as any other album from the 70's IMO...

I started getting into Rush when Signals came out (it was my first Rush album). Around Thanksgiving of 1982 I acquired Moving Pictures and Exit... Stage Left. For Christmas I got a gift certificate to Record World, so on New Years Day of my Christmas vacation my buddy and I went Record World to buy a new Rush album. I vividly remember wanting to buy them in reverse order so I was looking at the backs of the album, trying find the album that came out before Moving Pictures in 1981. When I went to the register this older guy rang me up (he was probably college age, but I was 14 at the time so he seemed like an adult to me). When he saw that I was buying Permanent Waves he explained to me I was buying the album on it's 3rd birthday. So it was 33 years ago today I bought Permanent Waves :codger:

http://berickson5.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/thumbs/DSCN0146.JPG?1451661451107

My wife and I combined our album collection when we started living together... until I saw she was mixing in the Grease Soundtrack and Sha-Na-Na with my albums by Yes, Rush and Genesis. So now her albums come first, then my collection :P

I am listening to the reissue of MP right now and wow yeah, they got this one sooo right. :ebert: Good to know. I have some Amazon gift cards and was thinking of getting MP and Signals! The signals one sounds good as well! Thanks - happy to hear this. I've always loved Signals, but the mixing kind of diminishes the dynamics. I'm psyched to hear it sounds good! I think I'm going to order it today.

I am listening to the reissue of MP right now and wow yeah, they got this one sooo right. :ebert: Good to know. I have some Amazon gift cards and was thinking of getting MP and Signals!

Deborah Harry in her prime was... beyond words!

Some interesting points through out this thread! I kind of think of Rush as their own thing. I don't attach a decade to them as, in my mind, they've always floated above a label or a specific time period. And this is one thing I love about them. Even now, when I discuss Rush with non-Rush fans I don't hear anything about when they were most popular... I hear stuff like "All their music sounds the same" Now we all know this isn't true, but I think what it means is, they sound like Rush - they have their own unique style and sound. As far as the Reggae and "New Wave" influences - I don't think they were trying to sound hip or cool. I think they were simply infusing the music that was influencing them at that time. In my simple brain Rush being influenced by The Police is really no different than them being influenced by Led Zeppelin. Yeah, the end result is different as far as what the music will sound like, but they're just infusing musical elements into what they're doing that they hear and like. You can hear a lot Rush's influence in Dream Theater's stuff, and then on Clockwork Angels I heard Dream Theaters influence on them. I didn't think any less of Rush because of it - I think it's awesome they are still listening and growing!

I have the 598's and I couldn't be more happy with them. They are comfortable and even better - they are the best sounding head phones I've ever owned. I realize there are better, but for $140 you can't go wrong :D Yeah I started out with the HD 595's which are the predecessor of the 598's, a few years back. Loved them since they were the best I had ever own at the time. Once I started upgrading it was hard to go back. I passed those on to my oldest son when I got my 700's for Christmas. They are still being loved. :D You just can't go wrong with Sennheiser. That's good old German engineering there. A buddy of mine has the 700's. I tried them on and I admit, I heard a difference. I think I will eventually work my way up to them but for the time being my 598's are making me plenty happy. Also, the 700's look very cool. You're absolutely right - you cannot go wrong with Sennheiser!

I have the 598's and I couldn't be more happy with them. They are comfortable and even better - they are the best sounding head phones I've ever owned. I realize there are better, but for $140 you can't go wrong :D

Remember bringing a new album home? I do. Is there nothing we didn't look at on it over and over? If they had the lyrics printed, that was a plus, and how many were underlined or highlighted with an asterisk, or notes penned alongside of them? I need a magnifying glass these days to read the liner-notes off the cd package. Can they print them any smaller? :codger: There was a kind of reverence to playing a vinyl LP. I know that's a heavy word, but gently laying the record on the turntable was preparation for 20 minutes of pure experience. Yes, exactly. LPs demand your attention, and respect. It's a different experience from digital for sure. Funny as when CDs first came out, I knew a couple people who were preaching this (analog over digital) and I thought they were a little whacked at the time. Now I think there were right, and ahead of their time apparently as a lot of people have come to feel this way. The demand for LPs around the world is far outstripping the supply, and the demand is mostly coming from young people (so I read). Same for me - I remember getting a CD player around 1986, and getting all psyched to hear this new, pristine, digital sound I had been reading about only to have my uncle preach about how nothing will replace the vinyl experience. At the time I dismissed it as a new generation/older generation thing, but now I totally agree. I still buy new music and whenever possible I buy in on vinyl. I won't disagree that part of it for me is nostalgia, but buying music on vinyl makes me excited to buy music again so it can't be a bad thing.

I got a gift certificate to a local music store for Christmas this year, and one of the purchases I made with it was the latest vinyl remaster of A Farewell To Kings. I’ve been a Rush fan since 1982, when vinyl records were the primary format used, so I have Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, Hemispheres, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire (as well as Vapor Trails: Remixed and Clockwork Angels) on vinyl. The other releases I own on CD. Now I’m not a huge audiophile. I do appreciate good sound, but being a working man with a family I just cannot and will not spend more than I need to on audio equipment. However, I do have a decent turntable and a good receiver that I purchased in my younger years. Both are a little dated but are better than average. My big gift last year for Christmas was a pair of Sennheiser headphones. By far they are the nicest piece of audio equipment I own and they sound amazing when plugged into my receiver. So I wondered how good do these latest remasters sound. I really didn’t notice a huge difference with 1997 remasters, other than being louder. And I thought the Sectors remasters were good for some albums, but kind of the same for others. So last night I played the 2015 remaster of A Farewell To Kings back-to-back with my original vinyl copy of Hemispheres. Let me start off by saying, yes, there is a difference. A Farewell To Kings sounds like a new album! It’s not just louder, but more dynamic. It’s not compressed sounding to my ears. To me it sounds more spacious while at the same time having some punch. This is the first time I’ve heard a Rush remaster and was this impressed. When compared to the original pressing of Hemispheres, A Farewell To Kings just sounds more alive and energetic. Don’t get me wrong, my vinyl copy of Hemispheres sounds great but there is a noticeable difference. The original vinyl of Hemispheres sounds slightly muted. It’s more than just a lower volume – the best I could describe it is remember how muted Signals sounded when it came out, it’s not that bad, but it’s same general idea. I have no intention of replacing the current Rush vinyl records I own, but I will be picking up the ones I don’t currently have on vinyl! If they are as good as the one I just purchased I cannot wait to hear 2112, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Plus I’m curious if Signals will contain the same remastering it received with the Sectors box set – as that was the best version of the album I’ve heard yet.

Thanks, Mood Lifter

LOL! I was trying to keep it positive, but now that you mention it - I was bummed. I assumed since it was on the album, of course it would be on the video...