Let's get sentimental about VAPOR TRAILS - It's almost 20 years since it was first released

[treeduck]

I want to see people crying like babies with nostalgia over this album. Come on now, bawl like little brats!

 

:boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo:

[treeduck]

I saw this page and it had me tearing up... :boohoo:

 

[ST3V]

I remember the day I first listened to Vapor Trails (I don't), I was so ecstatic and euphoric (I wasn't) and I pretty much passed out from how genius the musicianship was (I didn't)!!

[JohnRogers]

I was like, WOW FACE MELTING METAL IS BACK!

 

When I got the remix I was like wow the original recording was garbage.

[jnoble]

I like only half the album. I don't remember my initial overall reaction when I first got it. If it had a better mix and three or four of the weaker songs were left off because it's definitely over-long I would enjoy it better. How It Is is one of my favs

[treeduck]

I was like, WOW FACE MELTING METAL IS BACK!

 

When I got the remix I was like wow the original recording was garbage.

I was one of the people calling for a remix or a remaster but when we got one it sounded like something was missing. It lost it's balls. So I prefer the original.

[invisible airwave]

Didn't get into :rush: until Summer 2008. Back then, I was listening to Weezer and that Jimmy Eat World album. Maladroit had come out that month and is still my favorite from Rivers and co..

[Entre_Perpetuo]

I still haven't got the remix and I still think it's a great album.

 

Not really anywhere near their best, mind you, but a very unique and deep album in their catalogue.

[ST3V]

I still haven't got the remix and I still think it's a great album.

 

Not really anywhere near their best, mind you, but a very unique and deep album in their catalogue.

Agreed, and I agree with Pat as well, the remix made it soft, I've always preferred the original with the exception of How It Is, which is probably no coincidence since it's probably the "softest" song on the album.

[goose]

I love the songs, but can't listen to the entire album in a sitting because of the sound quality.

 

Neil was on fire as a lyricist. Some of his best lyrics, for sure. I'm not crazy about Geddy's overuse of the flamenco bass technique, and it's odd that they remove the keyboards only to replace them with vocal layering.

 

Still, it's a top half of the catalog album for me.

[treeduck]

I still haven't got the remix and I still think it's a great album.

 

Not really anywhere near their best, mind you, but a very unique and deep album in their catalogue.

Forget the remix it sounds soft and placid, like a tiger transformed into a tabby cat.

[TheGhostRider]

I think Vapor Trails gets a lot of undeserved hate. It was the band's first album back in 5 years. Of course it wasn't going to be a masterpiece, but it was certainly much better than people make it out to be. I'd say it's a decent album.

[lifeson90]

Masterpiece for me, if not their best defo top 3.

 

Earthshine ffs

[zepphead]

I remember well the release of Vapor Trails ..... I thought Rush were gone forever.

As comebacks go it is a decent album although it wouldn't make my top 10.

Personally speaking I prefer the remix to the original.

[Rush Didact]

It's brilliant. It's an utterly unique album, unlike anything else the band ever recorded. Unlike anything any other band ever recorded, too.

 

The lyrics are stunning. I love the celestial imagery throughout, and I get chills from the darkness and weight of some songs. Vapor Trail makes me shiver when I listen to it: "Silence all the songbirds / stilled by the killing frost".

 

I still remember the three short teaser MP3s that were released before the album itself. I'm pretty sure they were parts of OLV, Earthshine and Nocturne. I think, anyways. It's been so long and I was so young then that it's hard to remember. All I know is that hearing those first few seconds of Nocturne ("Did I have the dream, or did the dream have me?") made me want to jump up and run around with excitement in a way that nothing else ever has.

 

I love the layering. Vapor Trails is a thick, dense forest of sounds; a dozen guitars, a dozen Geddys. There's something gloriously over the top about it. Even now, 20 years later, I'm still finding new details in the mix, little things I haven't heard before.

 

The production? Yes, it's horrible. No, the remix did not improve things, and I'll always be irritated that the band chose Dave Bottrill to do the job. It could have been done so much better if there wasn't a metalhead at the mixing board. Vapor Trails isn't a metal album, it's a genre unto itself, and it needed a producer who loved it and recognized its weirdness. Bottrill said he didn't even listen to the original as a reference when working on his mix. As soon as I heard that, I gave up on it because I knew it wasn't going to be any good. Missed opportunity.

 

I dream that someday the band will release the entire Protools session to fans and let us create our own mix. I would love to create the audiophile's dream version of Vapor Trails; still dense and thick, but also lush and dynamic and warm. Absolutely faithful to the original, more of a restoration than a remix.

 

I remember working on a restored version of the album with SpaceGhost2112 and MusicInTheAbstract over at Counterparts; the three of us spent hours upon hours tweaking it and trying to come up with the best possible process. Our final version is still the one that I listen to today.

 

Ah, Vapor Trails, I love you...

[Rush Didact]

Check this out! Here's the Internet Archive version of the VT promo website! I'd completely forgotten about this!! :)

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20020527124839/http://rushvaportrails.com:80/

[Rush Didact]

Now I need to know: does anyone out there still have the MP3 teasers? I wish I'd saved them, but they're long gone. Looking at that website again, it looks like they were snippets of Ceiling Unlimited, Vapor Trail, and Nocturne.

[goose]

It's brilliant. It's an utterly unique album, unlike anything else the band ever recorded. Unlike anything any other band ever recorded, too.

 

The lyrics are stunning. I love the celestial imagery throughout, and I get chills from the darkness and weight of some songs. Vapor Trail makes me shiver when I listen to it: "Silence all the songbirds / stilled by the killing frost".

 

I still remember the three short teaser MP3s that were released before the album itself. I'm pretty sure they were parts of OLV, Earthshine and Nocturne. I think, anyways. It's been so long and I was so young then that it's hard to remember. All I know is that hearing those first few seconds of Nocturne ("Did I have the dream, or did the dream have me?") made me want to jump up and run around with excitement in a way that nothing else ever has.

 

I love the layering. Vapor Trails is a thick, dense forest of sounds; a dozen guitars, a dozen Geddys. There's something gloriously over the top about it. Even now, 20 years later, I'm still finding new details in the mix, little things I haven't heard before.

 

The production? Yes, it's horrible. No, the remix did not improve things, and I'll always be irritated that the band chose Dave Bottrill to do the job. It could have been done so much better if there wasn't a metalhead at the mixing board. Vapor Trails isn't a metal album, it's a genre unto itself, and it needed a producer who loved it and recognized its weirdness. Bottrill said he didn't even listen to the original as a reference when working on his mix. As soon as I heard that, I gave up on it because I knew it wasn't going to be any good. Missed opportunity.

 

I dream that someday the band will release the entire Protools session to fans and let us create our own mix. I would love to create the audiophile's dream version of Vapor Trails; still dense and thick, but also lush and dynamic and warm. Absolutely faithful to the original, more of a restoration than a remix.

 

I remember working on a restored version of the album with SpaceGhost2112 and MusicInTheAbstract over at Counterparts; the three of us spent hours upon hours tweaking it and trying to come up with the best possible process. Our final version is still the one that I listen to today.

 

Ah, Vapor Trails, I love you...

:goodone:

[treeduck]

It's brilliant. It's an utterly unique album, unlike anything else the band ever recorded. Unlike anything any other band ever recorded, too.

 

The lyrics are stunning. I love the celestial imagery throughout, and I get chills from the darkness and weight of some songs. Vapor Trail makes me shiver when I listen to it: "Silence all the songbirds / stilled by the killing frost".

 

I still remember the three short teaser MP3s that were released before the album itself. I'm pretty sure they were parts of OLV, Earthshine and Nocturne. I think, anyways. It's been so long and I was so young then that it's hard to remember. All I know is that hearing those first few seconds of Nocturne ("Did I have the dream, or did the dream have me?") made me want to jump up and run around with excitement in a way that nothing else ever has.

 

I love the layering. Vapor Trails is a thick, dense forest of sounds; a dozen guitars, a dozen Geddys. There's something gloriously over the top about it. Even now, 20 years later, I'm still finding new details in the mix, little things I haven't heard before.

 

The production? Yes, it's horrible. No, the remix did not improve things, and I'll always be irritated that the band chose Dave Bottrill to do the job. It could have been done so much better if there wasn't a metalhead at the mixing board. Vapor Trails isn't a metal album, it's a genre unto itself, and it needed a producer who loved it and recognized its weirdness. Bottrill said he didn't even listen to the original as a reference when working on his mix. As soon as I heard that, I gave up on it because I knew it wasn't going to be any good. Missed opportunity.

 

I dream that someday the band will release the entire Protools session to fans and let us create our own mix. I would love to create the audiophile's dream version of Vapor Trails; still dense and thick, but also lush and dynamic and warm. Absolutely faithful to the original, more of a restoration than a remix.

 

I remember working on a restored version of the album with SpaceGhost2112 and MusicInTheAbstract over at Counterparts; the three of us spent hours upon hours tweaking it and trying to come up with the best possible process. Our final version is still the one that I listen to today.

 

Ah, Vapor Trails, I love you...

Didn't Dave Botrill produce the latest Mastodon album and give it a rough muddy sound?

[Charlotte7598]

I think Vapor Trails is underrated. I have a VP poster on my wall actually.

[TheGhostRider]

It's brilliant. It's an utterly unique album, unlike anything else the band ever recorded. Unlike anything any other band ever recorded, too.

 

The lyrics are stunning. I love the celestial imagery throughout, and I get chills from the darkness and weight of some songs. Vapor Trail makes me shiver when I listen to it: "Silence all the songbirds / stilled by the killing frost".

 

I still remember the three short teaser MP3s that were released before the album itself. I'm pretty sure they were parts of OLV, Earthshine and Nocturne. I think, anyways. It's been so long and I was so young then that it's hard to remember. All I know is that hearing those first few seconds of Nocturne ("Did I have the dream, or did the dream have me?") made me want to jump up and run around with excitement in a way that nothing else ever has.

 

I love the layering. Vapor Trails is a thick, dense forest of sounds; a dozen guitars, a dozen Geddys. There's something gloriously over the top about it. Even now, 20 years later, I'm still finding new details in the mix, little things I haven't heard before.

 

The production? Yes, it's horrible. No, the remix did not improve things, and I'll always be irritated that the band chose Dave Bottrill to do the job. It could have been done so much better if there wasn't a metalhead at the mixing board. Vapor Trails isn't a metal album, it's a genre unto itself, and it needed a producer who loved it and recognized its weirdness. Bottrill said he didn't even listen to the original as a reference when working on his mix. As soon as I heard that, I gave up on it because I knew it wasn't going to be any good. Missed opportunity.

 

I dream that someday the band will release the entire Protools session to fans and let us create our own mix. I would love to create the audiophile's dream version of Vapor Trails; still dense and thick, but also lush and dynamic and warm. Absolutely faithful to the original, more of a restoration than a remix.

 

I remember working on a restored version of the album with SpaceGhost2112 and MusicInTheAbstract over at Counterparts; the three of us spent hours upon hours tweaking it and trying to come up with the best possible process. Our final version is still the one that I listen to today.

 

Ah, Vapor Trails, I love you...

 

Do you have this version saved somewhere? It would be cool to hear your custom mix. I found a version of Signals mixed down from 5.1 surround to stereo and and it sounded great. Personally I think the remix sounds better compared to the original. The original mix is super loud and doesn’t sound good the remix is an improvement, maybe not the best, but an improvement.

[ozzy85]

20 years... good Lord, already? I remember buying it and Rush In Rio on the same day. I took them to work and listened to them for about a month straight. I was so f-ing glad they were back. Happy for such a great comeback album and such a positive force in my life.

 

I finally listened to the remix a week ago or so. It's cool, I just prefer the original.

[jacobsbladder]

I'd dropped off Rush at Power Windows. Had kinda been getting into them again and bought Vapor Trails day it came out. 20 seconds in I was back to loving Rush.

[Bahamas]

treeduck, I love that you are making so many new threads and topics - thank you!

 

But, seriously, I hated this album at first listen.

It is a long story, but after a few years of life stuff and not really paying attention to the band, there came this album.

I was, like, WTF?

 

I decided it was more energy than most of us can (maybe?) appreciate - the whole re-starting, let's each not be too, too large with our sounds...too late!

And all that, after deciding to do more music together. They could have ended but chose to keep going.

What a potential sh*t show. I don't wish to sound flaky when I say it sounds "organic", but a bit over the top?

 

But being the dudes they are, it was worked into an album for release. Even had to be re-mastered.

I really feel it is part of the band's story, as much as Caress Of Steel ("down the tubes!"), or, 2112 (too weird!), Moving Pictures (when we got huge)...Vapor Trails...when we went nuts!!

 

And that is why I sincerely love, LOVE, the sounds of Snakes & Arrows.

The follow up of them playing together, again. More refined, more cohesive. An amazing follow up album.

 

...plink, plink...

[grep]

On the Geddyboard I was the first person to call it VT.

 

On CP I was the first person to call the remix VTOI - for Vapor Trails Original Intent.

 

So, that's something. I mean, yeah, VT as an acronym makes sense.... but it's kind of cool to think that i was the first person on the internet to say it. LOL.

 

 

Oh yeah... Rush was back after 5 years. That was a thing. :)

Edited February 20, 2022 by grep