Vapor Trails vs. Snakes & Arrows

[Animate]

QUOTE (New World Kid @ May 3 2012, 07:17 PM)

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 3 2012, 04:24 PM) Wow, it's interesting (though not surprising) how close the results are so far! These albums really divide people's opinions. I'd like to take a moment and explain why I'm so fond of VT (hint: it has nothing to do with it being "metal" and S&A being "folk"): > The lyric content. When I listen to Vapor Trails, I think, "Wow, Neil is an amazing guy. He has found faith and love for life in the darkest of places. I feel truly inspired to live for the moment and let go of past pain. If he can do it, so can I." When I listen to Snakes & Arrows, I think, "Wow, Neil sure is a cynical old fart. He complains about faith and sounds resigned to the weight of the world. 'Faithless'? 'We Hold On'? That doesn't sound like a guy who's rediscovered his zest for life." The emotional impact of VT is like a sweet and juicy nectarine, or a ripe honeydew. S&A is a bunch of sour grapes. > The chord progressions and riffs....are much more quirky and diverse on Vapor Trails than on Snakes & Arrows. S&A is pretty much all mid-tempo minor pentatonic dirges. Vapor Trails contains some of the most adventurous songwriting I've heard from Rush in decades. > The absence of traditional guitar solos. By abandoning showy, spotlight-on-me guitar solos, Alex was able to get back in touch with the role of his instrument in relation to the ensemble and in relation to the songs. The band grooves together as a unit, each instrument playing off the other, with no one dominating. Everything feels balanced, and as a result, the guitar parts are more interesting and contribute more to each song's arrangement than anything I hear on S&A. > Geddy's vocal delivery....is superb on VT. From Roll The Bones thru Test For Echo, something about his voice sounds off-kilter: his sense of phrasing is off, and he strains his voice in an unpleasant manner. All of that is gone on Vapor Trails. Geddy sings with a newfound zeal and passion that was absent since Presto. In turn he is powerful, tender, loud, and soft, and it all works. On Snakes & Arrows, all that former awkwardness is back with a vengeance. On top of that, the vocal lines themselves sound crammed into the instrumental parts. On VT, the vocals and music appear to have emerged as the result of an organic, integrated songwriting process. > The production....works. Yeah, I said it. Snakes & Arrows is a well-produced album. It's clean, slick, and professional. It's also generic and boring. The timbre is very modern mainstream alt-rock. Vapor Trails, for all its flaws (yes, it is brickwalled... yes, there is an audible crackle of distortion through the whole album...) has a raw, consistent sound that is also unique. It fits. I realize that VT's production is a big stumbling block that simply prevents many people from enjoying the album. I can respect that. I think that if Rush had given the arrangements more room to breathe, used less overdubbing, and went with a more traditional mix/mastering job, VT would rank in most people's top 10. The songwriting and performances are very strong. In conclusion, I love Vapor Trails    One of my favorite Rush albums (their best since Power Windows), and it grows on me with every listen.  I await the opposition's rebuttal....  Your opinion of Vapor Trails is very similar to mine. It's my favorite Rush album. Count me in on "I love VT" also.   It was really hard work to listen to VT, the first 10 times or so, because it seemed so chaotic at first. It never occurred to me to give up and blame production mistakes, because Rush has never disappointed me before when their sound changed dramatically. After a while, the melody lines and al the nuances started coming through. Now, the sounds and themes all fit together.

[CrossedSignals]

[Cyclonus X-1]

S&A in a landslide. It has more songs that I consider great and fewer songs that I regularly skip. The superior production is gravy. I do like VT, though.

[New World Kid]

QUOTE (worthog @ May 3 2012, 06:30 PM)

My grading system: A songs get 5 points, B songs get 3, C songs get 1 VT: 1. One Little Victory A 2. Ceiling Unlimited C 3. "Ghost Rider"  A 4. "Peaceable Kingdom"  C 5. "The Stars Look Down" B  6. "How It Is"  B 7. "Vapor Trail"  A 8. "Secret Touch" B  9. "Earthshine" B  10. "Sweet Miracle"  C 11. "Nocturne"  C 12. "Freeze (Part IV of 'Fear')"  B 13. "Out Of The Cradle" B S&A: 1. "Far Cry"  A 2. "Armor and Sword"  A 3. "Workin' Them Angels" A 4. "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" A  5. "Spindrift"  C 6. "The Main Monkey Business"  B 7. "The Way the Wind Blows"  B 8. "Hope"  B 9. "Faithless"  C 10. "Bravest Face"  C 11. "Good News First"  C 12. "Malignant Narcissism"  A 13. "We Hold On"  C VT: 37 points          S&A: 39 points I'd like to see how others rate songs with this system

Could be fun.

 

One Little Victory - A

Ceiling Unlimited - B

Ghost Rider - A

Peaceable Kingdom - A

The Stars Look Down - D (no points, always skipped)

How It Is - A

Vapor Trail - A

Secret Touch - A

Earthshine - B

Sweet Miracle - A

Nocturne - B

Freeze - B

Out of the Cradle - B

 

Points: 50

 

Far Cry - A

Armor and Sword - A

Workin' Them Angels - B

The Larger Bowl - D (always skipped)

Spindrift - B

The Main Monkey Business - B

The Way the Wind Blows - A

Hope - C

Faithless - B

Bravest Face - C

Good News First - B

Malignant Narcissism - A

We Hold On - C

 

Points: 38

 

I think. Math isn't my best category.

Edited May 4, 2012 by New World Kid

[Captain Avatar]

[Gompers]

No surprise:

Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM)

No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin

Understatement of the century.

 

Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining on a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure.

Edited May 4, 2012 by rushgoober

[Animate]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 07:17 AM)

QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure.   I totally don't agree, but that is still funny!

[Gompers]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 08:17 AM)

QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure. Manure?   I do think some of VT is salvageable, unlike manure, unless you are a gardener.

[GeddysMullet]

I love them both

[CrossedSignals]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 08:17 AM)

QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure. ....says the guy who thinks "Armor And Sword" is one of the 500 best songs of all time.     Mm-hmm. Someone's been hitting the

[metaldad]

S&A blows. Carry on..........

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 4 2012, 07:16 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 08:17 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure. ....says the guy who thinks "Armor And Sword" is one of the 500 best songs of all time.     Mm-hmm. Someone's been hitting the I'll take your and raise you an

[BigBob]

I'll say it once and I'll say it again.

 

Snakes and Arrows is the album to listen to while driving. Especially driving along a highway at night. Armour and Swords send shivers down my spine it so good.

 

Snakes and Arrows by a huge margin!

[EmotionDetector]

I'll say it's an interesting poll since the majority seem to like one or the other by a huge margin. Almost like a love-hate relationship between the two.

 

As is well-known, I am with S&A by a HUGE margin.

 

Lately, I've gone back and listened to VT, and while I still enjoy the songs, I've realized that it has really aged very badly with me.

 

Even with the horrendous sound quality issues aside, the songs themselves just aren't up to par. The overuse of layers just add to the bad experience, and hurt alot of the songs which should sound simpler. Lastly, people will say what they want, but I honestly find that Ged's voice was not at it's best there, and I certainly prefer his vocals on S&A.

 

Like I said...VT has it's share of great songs that I truly enjoy (OLV <remix>, Ceiling Unlimited, Ghost Rider, Vapor Trail, Secret Touch, and Earthshine are all standouts to me), but the album is hurt by way to many layers. It's too much IMO.

[ILSnwdog]

S&A by a little bit. Both have some tremendous songs, but I think S&A is a little deeper. Then there is the dreaded production of VT.

 

[CrossedSignals]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 02:46 PM)

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 4 2012, 07:16 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 08:17 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure. ....says the guy who thinks "Armor And Sword" is one of the 500 best songs of all time.     Mm-hmm. Someone's been hitting the I'll take your and raise you an         Well folks, after the first day of voting, S&A is ahead of VT 25-16. Congratulations to the opposing team for an impressive showing!   One interesting statistic is that 75% of VT fans preferred their choice by a wide margin, while 60% of S&A fans did the same. So, on the whole it appears that VT fans, though less numerous, are slightly more passionate.   I eagerly await the next round of battle!

[BigBob]

This is a fun poll.

 

 

 

 

 

GO Team S&A's!!

Edited May 4, 2012 by BigBob

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 4 2012, 01:24 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 02:46 PM) QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 4 2012, 07:16 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 4 2012, 08:17 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ May 4 2012, 04:32 AM) No surprise: Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin Understatement of the century.   Asking if I like S&A or VT is like asking if I prefer a good meal at a decent restaurant or dining a plate of fresh, steaming horse manure. ....says the guy who thinks "Armor And Sword" is one of the 500 best songs of all time.     Mm-hmm. Someone's been hitting the I'll take your and raise you an         Well folks, after the first day of voting, S&A is ahead of VT 25-16. Congratulations to the opposing team for an impressive showing!   One interesting statistic is that 75% of VT fans preferred their choice by a wide margin, while 60% of S&A fans did the same. So, on the whole it appears that VT fans, though less numerous, are slightly more passionate.   I eagerly await the next round of battle! VT fans have to be slightly more passionate because they're a whole lot more wrong!

[CrossedSignals]

C'mon VT fans! I know there are a ton of you still hiding in the shadows! Come out and play

[1 of the 7]

Snakes & Arrows by a wide margin. Then again, I like most Rush albums more than Snakes & Arrows by a decent margin.

[Stormtron]

VT by a wide margin.

[CantStopThinkingBig]

VT ROCKS... S&A sounds like Presto's big brother. Actually I take that back, that's an insult to Presto

[WCFIELDS]

To me VT is ok, and S&A is one of their worst.....

[CruisingInPrimetime]

Far Cry - A

Armor and Sword - A

Workin' Them Angels - A

The Larger Bowl - B

Spindrift - C

The Main Monkey Business - A

The Way the Wind Blows - A

Hope - B

Faithless - A

Bravest Face - C

Good News First - B

Malignant Narcissism - B

We Hold On - C

 

One Little Victory - B

Ceiling Unlimited - B

Ghost Rider - A

Peaceable Kingdom - A

The Stars Look Down - B

How It Is - B

Vapor Trail - A

Secret Touch - A

Earthshine - A

Sweet Miracle - C

Nocturne - C

Freeze (Part IV of 'Fear') - A

Out Of The Cradle - C

 

 

 

Looks like it's S&A by a very slim margin.

 

 

Vapor Trails 44

 

Snakes and Arrows 45