diatribein Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 (edited) Finally the battle of what I consider to be the best post 80s RUSH album against the one that sadly eliminated synthesizers entirely from RUSH music. It is no secret which one of these I like better, but I know the general sentiment on the board is the opposite. I put "Remixed" in parenthesis because for the purpose of this battle a song from Vapor Trails is from either release. Here we go: One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited > Armor and SwordGhost Rider < Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom < The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down > SpindriftHow It Is > The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail < The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > HopeEarthshine < FaithlessSweet Miracle < Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") > Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle < We Hold On Win for Snakes & Arrows, but closer than expected at 7-6. The closest battle for me was at #3 where my favourite song from Vapor Trails loses to one of my favourites from Snakes & Arrows. That really illustrates how this battle format doesn't show the complete picture. On the surface the two albums appear close, but my favourite song from Vapor Trails wouldn't beat my fifth favourite off of Snakes & Arrows. Only one battle was won by a song I dislike and that is at #12, where Fear defeats instrumental #3. I just find instrumentals boring, and that for me is the one weakness of Snakes & Arrows. Lastly, since this is a thread created by me, I would appreciate not reading any more Bravest Face bashing. It is one of my all time (not just from this album or era) favourite RUSH songs. Those who hate it have made their opinions abundantly clear over and over and over again, so how about if you dislike the song just vote for Sweet Miracle and leave it at that. Parish notes on battle #10 expounding hate are not required. Edited July 3, 2018 by diatribein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red3angel Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Agree with your list. I don’t prefer one album to the other. They depend on my mood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Dad Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited <Armor and SwordGhost Rider < Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom > The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down < SpindriftHow It Is <The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail < The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > HopeEarthshine > FaithlessSweet Miracle - Bravest FaceNocturne <Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle < We Hold On Snakes wins almost definitively. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 It's a case of who cares vs who cares.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeze Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Far CryArmor and SwordGhost RiderPeaceable Kingdom SpindriftThe Main Donkey BusinessVapor TrailSecret Touch Earthshine Sweet Miracle NocturneMalNar We Hold On Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Vapor Trails wins easy. I love every song on VT. I only like some of SA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtron Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 (edited) Far CryCeiling UnlimitedGhost RiderPeaceable KingdomThe Stars Look DownThe Main Monkey BusinessVapor TrailSecret TouchEarthshineSweet MiracleNocturneFreezeOut of the Cradle Edited July 4, 2018 by Stormtron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yyz305 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Vapor Trails wins easy. I love every song on VT. I only like some of SA. Same for me. TMMB is the only S&A winner in a direct match-up such as this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Finally the battle of what I consider to be the best post 80s RUSH album against the one that sadly eliminated synthesizers entirely from RUSH music. It is no secret which one of these I like better, but I know the general sentiment on the board is the opposite. I put "Remixed" in parenthesis because for the purpose of this battle a song from Vapor Trails is from either release. Here we go: One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited > Armor and SwordGhost Rider < Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom < The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down > SpindriftHow It Is > The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail < The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > HopeEarthshine < FaithlessSweet Miracle < Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") > Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle < We Hold On Any VT victory over Snakes has always been small on TRF. There’s another thread (which I can’t find) where Snakes took down VT. http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/97922-vapor-trails-v-snakes-and-arrows/page__mode__show http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/92114-vapor-trails-vs-snakes-arrows/page__hl__%2Bvapor+%2Btrails+%2Bsnakes+%2Barrows This one’s a 3 way battle but Snakes does take second place with VT in last. http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/95748-vapor-trails-vs-snakes-arrows-vs-clockwork-angels/page__hl__%2Bvapor+%2Btrails+%2Bsnakes+%2Barrows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 One Little Victory < Far Cry...not crazy about either, Far Cry squeaks out a win Ceiling Unlimited > Armor & Sword...’not so bad’ defeats ‘not so interesting’ Ghost Rider > Workin’ Them Angels’...how else was I going to vote? Peaceable Kingdom > The Larger Bowl...an easy call The Stars Look Down > Spindrift...one of my below average Rush tunes easily eliminates one of my least enjoyable Rush How It Is < The Main Monkey Business...simian! Vapor Trail > The Way the Wind Blows...two good tunes Secret Touch > Hope...I like both but solo Lifeson couldn’t take down himself + Lee + Peart Earthshine > Faithless...obliteration! Sweet Miracle > Bravest Face...I don’t like one and the other is likely my #1 worst Rush Nocturne > Good News First...don’t care about either but the lyrics on the latter made me vote for the former Freeze < Malignant Narcissism...both okay songs. I used to like Malnar a lot more when it was new. Out of the Cradle > We Hold On...another pair I don’t care about Final score...Vapor Trails: 10Snakes & Arrows: 3 No surprise for me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedRush Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited > Armor and Sword (blowout)Ghost Rider > Workin' Them Angels (blowout)Peaceable Kingdom > The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down > SpindriftHow It Is > The Main Monkey Business (a little close)Vapor Trail > The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > Hope (close, but so different)Earthshine > FaithlessSweet Miracle -> Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant Narcissism (a little close)Out Of The Cradle > We Hold On An 11-2 victory...no surprise as S&A only has 4 listenable songs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Vapor Trails wins easy. I love every song on VT. I only like some of SA. Same for me. TMMB is the only S&A winner in a direct match-up such as this. I could do without it. Nothing on Vapor Trails for me is to be skipped. Nothing on Snakes matches anything on VT. I do enjoy the acoustic and folky vibe of the album but that's it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 (edited) Considering how much better VT is than Snakes, a competition organized in this manner only yields an 8-4 margin for VT. In a battle between Peaceable Kingdom and the Larger Bowl there can be no winner, and Snakes takes the first contest, the last two, and TMMB wins over the nonetheless enjoyable How It Is. Edited July 4, 2018 by laughedatbytime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil1972 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Vapor Trails wins easy. I love every song on VT. I only like some of SA. Same for me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited > Armor and Sword (blowout)Ghost Rider > Workin' Them Angels (blowout)Peaceable Kingdom > The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down > SpindriftHow It Is > The Main Monkey Business (a little close)Vapor Trail > The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > Hope (close, but so different)Earthshine > FaithlessSweet Miracle -> Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant Narcissism (a little close)Out Of The Cradle > We Hold On An 11-2 victory...no surprise as S&A only has 4 listenable songs. All the same votes as mine except that I chose the Monkey song. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket ignites Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 One Little Victory Far CryCeiling Unlimited Armor and SwordGhost Rider Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down SpindriftHow It Is The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch HopeEarthshine FaithlessSweet Miracle Bravest FaceNocturne Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle We Hold On I had a hell of a time with Ghost Rider over Workin' Them Angels and Freeze over MarNar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. JD Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Far CryCeiling Unlimited Workin’ Them AngelsThe Larger BowlSpindriftHow It IsThe Way The Wind BlowsHopeFaithlessSweet Miracle Good News FirstMalignant Narcissism We Hold On Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnoble Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 VT for the lyrics energy and passion, Snakes for the production and reinclusion of instrumentals and proper guitar solos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas King Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 (edited) One Little Victory << Far CryCeiling Unlimited = Armor and SwordGhost Rider > Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom and The Larger Bowl - neitherThe Stars Look Down and Spindrift - neitherHow It Is < The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail > The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > HopeEarthshine >> FaithlessSweet Miracle and Bravest Face - neitherNocturne and Good News First - neitherFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle and We Hold On - neither VT wins barely, 4:3.But for this matchup I consider only VT Remix, because original blows. Edited July 6, 2018 by Texas King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 VT for the lyrics energy and passion, Snakes for the production and reinclusion of instrumentals and proper guitar solos Shurely shome mishtake? hic... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaportrailer Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Vapo(u)r Trails by a country kilometre.Guts and glory. I want to like Snakes but it's rather torpid/ploddy with dubious lyrics. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 (edited) Only picking songs I like from both albums and excluding the ones I think are only “okay” and lower, this is what I’d be left with: Ghost RiderPeaceable KingdomThe Main Monkey BusinessVapor TrailThe Way The Wind BlowsSecret TouchHope Earthshine This would be a very good album to me and would best Clockwork Angels and any 90s Rush album. Edited July 6, 2018 by JohnnyBlaze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosher Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 This will be a challenge for me. A lot of songs I don't like much on both, but some I like a lot. Neither album are anywhere near my top ten Rush albums. I always found Snakes to be a much better album, though. Vapor is near the bottom. My favorite track, though, is from Vapor (of these two). So it will be interesting. So, there was a surprisingly close race. 7-6 Snakes win. A lot of battles put two songs that have annoying moments against each other, so while Vapor may have 'won' some of those, that's only because the annoying moments of Snakes really disappoint me. I HATE a lot of Geddy's vocal affectations on that album, to the point some great music ends up annoying me. Even though on the whole the songs are 'better' than Vapor (in which he also uses some of those same vocal annoyances too often.) I don't know what it is, but whatever things he's doing only bothers me on those two albums. Still, Earthshine is superb, How It Is is also great. Neither song has that vocal problem. One Little Victory would be the best on Vapor, but that's where he introduces his vocal annoyance for the first time. It must be the 'start low then go super high' thing. But it isn't the pitch, it's how he's reaching it. I hate it. Also used in the otherwise very nice Stars Look Down. For Snakes, Far Cry is stellar. The music itself is great throughout the record. I love the instrumentals. Again, it's the vocal thing. Perhaps the three instrumentals are a big part of why I find Snakes superiors. Probably, since Monkey and Malignant are the second and third (in no particular order) on Snakes after Far Cry. All that said, Earthshine is the best track on both albums. One Little Victory < Far Cry Ceiling Unlimited > Armor and SwordGhost Rider > Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom < The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down < SpindriftHow It Is > The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail < The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch < HopeEarthshine > FaithlessSweet Miracle > Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle < We Hold On Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosher Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 After reading everyone else's comments and thinking about the songs without the vocal choices I hate so much, I think I disagree with my album assessment above. On second thought Vapor DOES have the better songs- musically. It just has more of what annoys me so much about both albums. But strip that away and my love for Earthshine and I actually do think Vapor was better. Especially when I remember that 2 of the top 3 songs on Snakes for me are instrumentals. Still, I like Snakes better because Being annoyed sucks. I'd rather be bored. (So Snake win? ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drummerrobin Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 One Little Victory < Far CryCeiling Unlimited < Armor and SwordGhost Rider > Workin' Them AngelsPeaceable Kingdom > The Larger BowlThe Stars Look Down > SpindriftHow It Is < The Main Monkey BusinessVapor Trail > The Way The Wind BlowsSecret Touch > HopeEarthshine > FaithlessSweet Miracle > Bravest FaceNocturne > Good News FirstFreeze (Part IV of "Fear") < Malignant NarcissismOut Of The Cradle < We Hold On Vapor Trails wins 8-5. No surprise as it's easily the album I prefer of the two. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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