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Vapor Trails Remixed up on Rolling Stone Website


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I really love the new mix and this has catapulted VT much higher on my Rush album rankings.....easily top ten now. There are small things here and there I dont like so much, but overall, it's great to be able to blast this baby in my car without sounding like my speakers broke.

 

The biggest thing I dont like is that section in Freeze with the lyrics starting " I cant stand to reason". Why was the background distorted guitar sound removed?? It sounds too hollow now. That guitar sound made that section sound so badass and wicked before....one of my favorite parts, but now it lost its balls. But, I still LOVE freeze and so glad it's cleaned up. Freeze and Nocturne are prog masterpieces!

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The biggest thing I dont like is that section in Freeze with the lyrics starting " I cant stand to reason". Why was the background distorted guitar sound removed?? It sounds too hollow now. That guitar sound made that section sound so badass and wicked before....one of my favorite parts, but now it lost its balls.

 

I noticed that today. I'm starting to notice little missing parts in alot of the songs. Still loving the remixes but kind of wish he stayed truer to the original mixes.

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Can we start a petition NOW for David Bottrill to mix the next studio record if there is one. These new VT mixes are giving me goosebumps upon goosebumps in headphones. Let Nick R produce but don't let him have anything to do with mixing/mastering. Rush should have been using this guy a long time ago by the sounds of it.
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Can we start a petition NOW for David Bottrill to mix the next studio record if there is one. These new VT mixes are giving me goosebumps upon goosebumps in headphones. Let Nick R produce but don't let him have anything to do with mixing/mastering. Rush should have been using this guy a long time ago by the sounds of it.

 

Better yet, get rid of Nick R ENTIRELY! :outtahere:

Edited by Supersyl
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The biggest thing I dont like is that section in Freeze with the lyrics starting " I cant stand to reason". Why was the background distorted guitar sound removed?? It sounds too hollow now. That guitar sound made that section sound so badass and wicked before....one of my favorite parts, but now it lost its balls.

 

I noticed that today. I'm starting to notice little missing parts in alot of the songs. Still loving the remixes but kind of wish he stayed truer to the original mixes.

 

 

The biggest thing I dont like is that section in Freeze with the lyrics starting " I cant stand to reason". Why was the background distorted guitar sound removed?? It sounds too hollow now. That guitar sound made that section sound so badass and wicked before....one of my favorite parts, but now it lost its balls.

 

I noticed that today. I'm starting to notice little missing parts in alot of the songs. Still loving the remixes but kind of wish he stayed truer to the original mixes.

I think that section is really cleaned up nicely. It just goes into a cacophony of noise there on the original. I do understand where you're coming from though. The stronger bass kind of makes up for it for me.

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OLV-Love the guitar mixing, and the added ripping guitar solo starting at 4:15. Got chills from that. New addition approved!

 

Like how the vocals were mixed on CU. And nope, the solo shouldn't be sitting on the jam's end. I think, maybe, Bottrill was trying to counterpoint Geddy's frenetic playing with a frenetic Alex solo. If I look at it that way, I may be able to make peace with it.

 

Love the more present bass on GR. It feels a little dreamy (or is that creamy) after the 4 min mark, before it hardens back up to the finish. Nice. Some minor touches, but no real departures that I noticed.

 

PK- I'm hearing Geddy vocals here and there in the background throughout the song like never before. This is one of those creamy ones. Loving the bass sound. This is the song they rewrote three times? f*ckin-A! This needs to be played live!!!! Different outro. Love the upgrades on this one. Yeah, he got rid of the hot fuzz, but it burned my ears!

 

TSLD- bass more pronounced. Cleaner sound noticable, but a hardness remains. This song give me chills. Heard a keyboard sound at 1:40, and added vocals at 2:00. Lost the ride cymbal; one of those liberties. Brilliant song, I think. I kinda miss the ride, but it shows up at the end and the minor new additions are welcome!

 

Lovely bass heard now at the beginning of How It Is, and throughout. Wow, Geddy goes from full energetic to gorgeous tonal at the chorus. Hear some background keyboard sounds never heard before during the chorus, almost sounding like an accordian. Much better sounding.

 

VT- Bass is beautiful, not overpowering. You can really hear Alex's haunting tones between 2:55 and 3:10 better. You can hear Geddy's outro vocals clearer. This song has lost none of its potency.

 

ST- Wow, hear the tone of Neil's remixed drum in the beginning compared to the original. Dramatic. No big changes except for some cool loopy guitar feedback heard during the stutter-stops and the extra vocals added to the instrumental part (which is an example of an unnecessary liberty). Seems the guitar isn't as present at times as in the original. Just soooo much easier to listen to though.

 

Earthshine- as was said, its lost none of its grunge. It's just cleaner in that you hear the bass better, but there's still a lot going on. No real noticable changes.

 

Love sweet bass lines of Sweet Miracle. Definate keyboard addition during the Oh Salvation part- Nice.

 

Nocturne sounds like it's had a noise reduction put on it, because it's still dense. Around the 3:30, Geddy sings's do de do do on the original, but that's gone from the remix. I love this song, but it sounds like the least improved.

 

I sense the cymbals were remixed down on Freeze, as were Geddy's do do do's. I really liked the original cymbals and the do do do's. Freeze sure does sound a hell of a lot better here though.

 

OOTC- Nice definition, at the expense of the highs.

 

Listened to RS then my new Remix. It comes at a lower volume, obviously, because it had to. Some of the changes seem like liberties, but the album is so f***ing listenable now- it's glorious. Glorious!!! :hail: :rush: :haz: :cheers:

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Can we start a petition NOW for David Bottrill to mix the next studio record if there is one. These new VT mixes are giving me goosebumps upon goosebumps in headphones. Let Nick R produce but don't let him have anything to do with mixing/mastering. Rush should have been using this guy a long time ago by the sounds of it.

 

Better yet, get rid of Nick R ENTIRELY! :outtahere:

No offense Nick, we love you! :haz:

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OLV-Love the guitar mixing, and the added ripping guitar solo starting at 4:15. Got chills from that. New addition approved!

 

Like how the vocals were mixed on CU. And nope, the solo shouldn't be sitting on the jam's end. I think, maybe, Bottrill was trying to counterpoint Geddy's frenetic playing with a frenetic Alex solo. If I look at it that way, I may be able to make peace with it.

 

Love the more present bass on GR. It feels a little dreamy (or is that creamy) after the 4 min mark, before it hardens back up to the finish. Nice. Some minor touches, but no real departures that I noticed.

 

PK- I'm hearing Geddy vocals here and there in the background throughout the song like never before. This is one of those creamy ones. Loving the bass sound. This is the song they rewrote three times? f*ckin-A! This needs to be played live!!!! Different outro. Love the upgrades on this one. Yeah, he got rid of the hot fuzz, but it burned my ears!

 

TSLD- bass more pronounced. Cleaner sound noticable, but a hardness remains. This song give me chills. Heard a keyboard sound at 1:40, and added vocals at 2:00. Lost the ride cymbal; one of those liberties. Brilliant song, I think. I kinda miss the ride, but it shows up at the end and the minor new additions are welcome!

 

Lovely bass heard now at the beginning of How It Is, and throughout. Wow, Geddy goes from full energetic to gorgeous tonal at the chorus. Hear some background keyboard sounds never heard before during the chorus, almost sounding like an accordian. Much better sounding.

 

VT- Bass is beautiful, not overpowering. You can really hear Alex's haunting tones between 2:55 and 3:10 better. You can hear Geddy's outro vocals clearer. This song has lost none of its potency.

 

ST- Wow, hear the tone of Neil's remixed drum in the beginning compared to the original. Dramatic. No big changes except for some cool loopy guitar feedback heard during the stutter-stops and the extra vocals added to the instrumental part (which is an example of an unnecessary liberty). Seems the guitar isn't as present at times as in the original. Just soooo much easier to listen to though.

 

Earthshine- as was said, its lost none of its grunge. It's just cleaner in that you hear the bass better, but there's still a lot going on. No real noticable changes.

 

Love sweet bass lines of Sweet Miracle. Definate keyboard addition during the Oh Salvation part- Nice.

 

Nocturne sounds like it's had a noise reduction put on it, because it's still dense. Around the 3:30, Geddy sings's do de do do on the original, but that's gone from the remix. I love this song, but it sounds like the least improved.

 

I sense the cymbals were remixed down on Freeze, as were Geddy's do do do's. I really liked the original cymbals and the do do do's. Freeze sure does sound a hell of a lot better here though.

 

OOTC- Nice definition, at the expense of the highs.

 

Listened to RS then my new Remix. It comes at a lower volume, obviously, because it had to. Some of the changes seem like liberties, but the album is so f***ing listenable now- it's glorious. Glorious!!! :hail: :rush: :haz: :cheers:

I guess you pay some attention to the bass.

 

:LOL: :lol: :LOL: :lol:

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The biggest thing I dont like is that section in Freeze with the lyrics starting " I cant stand to reason". Why was the background distorted guitar sound removed?? It sounds too hollow now. That guitar sound made that section sound so badass and wicked before....one of my favorite parts, but now it lost its balls.

 

I noticed that today. I'm starting to notice little missing parts in alot of the songs. Still loving the remixes but kind of wish he stayed truer to the original mixes.

 

Don't forget that Geddy and Alex had to agree to the changes or they wouldn't have been made.

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I've been rather meh on whether I wanted a re-mixed copy. The "jagged edges" and rawness of VT has always been one of its strong points, imo, and to me it reflects of the state of the band at the time.

 

But after reading this thread, it sounds like the remix helps the sound without sacrificing the emotional intensity of the album. Maybe I will pick up a copy after all...

 

:)

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I've been rather meh on whether I wanted a re-mixed copy. The "jagged edges" and rawness of VT has always been one of its strong points, imo, and to me it reflects of the state of the band at the time.

 

But after reading this thread, it sounds like the remix helps the sound without sacrificing the emotional intensity of the album. Maybe I will pick up a copy after all...

 

:)

 

The change in clarity of Geddy's vocals, the crispness of his bass, the fact that Alex now sounds like he is playing his guitars and not a bulldozer, and the nice separation of Neil's drums, makes it all so so so much better and worth the purchase.

 

There is one screwup, just one that I can find... In Out of The Cradle, the second verse arpeggiation by Alex, right after his big power chord is barely there compared to the old mix. I dunno I David Bottrell just missed that as being the main riff for that part of the song or not, but the backing chords are pushed too high in the mix vs the arpeggiation. It really changes the feel of the song. Maybe that is how they intended it to be all along? I dunno, but it is a big change.

 

A lot of people are complaining about the solo in Ceiling Unlimited. I think it was always there, recorded on the master and they pulled it off because I remember Alex saying he recorded some parts that never made it to the final pressing, because he wanted to not use solos just to solo. I think letting it 'Be" there is genius and it adds so much to the song. It is an example of why this remix is good and worth the money to me at least.

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I've been rather meh on whether I wanted a re-mixed copy. The "jagged edges" and rawness of VT has always been one of its strong points, imo, and to me it reflects of the state of the band at the time.

 

But after reading this thread, it sounds like the remix helps the sound without sacrificing the emotional intensity of the album. Maybe I will pick up a copy after all...

 

:)

 

The change in clarity of Geddy's vocals, the crispness of his bass, the fact that Alex now sounds like he is playing his guitars and not a bulldozer, and the nice separation of Neil's drums, makes it all so so so much better and worth the purchase.

 

There is one screwup, just one that I can find... In Out of The Cradle, the second verse arpeggiation by Alex, right after his big power chord is barely there compared to the old mix. I dunno I David Bottrell just missed that as being the main riff for that part of the song or not, but the backing chords are pushed too high in the mix vs the arpeggiation. It really changes the feel of the song. Maybe that is how they intended it to be all along? I dunno, but it is a big change.

 

A lot of people are complaining about the solo in Ceiling Unlimited. I think it was always there, recorded on the master and they pulled it off because I remember Alex saying he recorded some parts that never made it to the final pressing, because he wanted to not use solos just to solo. I think letting it 'Be" there is genius and it adds so much to the song. It is an example of why this remix is good and worth the money to me at least.

 

I'm starting to sound like a broken record but Out Of the Cradle is the only song that suffers. I may have to stick with getting bludgeoned by the original version of that tune.

Edited by Rushman14
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So far, the only song that, to my ears, DOES NOT benefit from the remix is Peaceable Kingdom. I find it weak, so polished up and with the single voice up front. I think that song needs the sonic chaos of the original, and the multiple voices underlying the "we" of the lyrics. Seems to me it has lost a lot of punch. What do others think?

 

I agree with that. There was a claustrophobic feel to the original that's now gone. The new open and airy mixes work fine for the other songs, but not so much for this one.

 

That song and the added solo to Ceiling Unlimited are the two big regrets for me.

 

are you guys noticing in the jam section of Secret Touch, that chordy type lead guitar is missing (at the 2:42 mark)? I can't imagine why they would remove that. There's really nothing else going on there.

 

Another Secret Touch quibble -- anyone else feel like the big guitar chord entrance just after the 4:30 mark sounds sort of odd and disconnected? Like it cuts out for a split second? Just feels like there's a gap in the mix during that transition that I don't notice in the original. Am I nuts? May just be that ST is my favorite song from the album, so any messing with it is held to a higher degree of scrutiny.

 

In general, I like the more distinct parts and roomier sound of the remixed album, but I have (re?)mixed feelings about the way the new songs "work", since I really liked the original. I love the writing on VT, and to be honest, never would've noticed any sound problem if it wasn't constantly being pointed out by others. (I'd rather have the production on Signals or Presto sound like VT 1.0 if given the chance.)

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I have made the observation that the Remix sounds better over headphones than in my car! Anyone notice this yet?

No. I've never been in your car.

 

I was just in his car. He really does need some new speakers... and that smell!!!!

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I have made the observation that the Remix sounds better over headphones than in my car! Anyone notice this yet?

No. I've never been in your car.

 

I was just in his car. He really does need some new speakers... and that smell!!!!

Like rampant, mutant B.O.? Why am I not suprised.

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I have made the observation that the Remix sounds better over headphones than in my car! Anyone notice this yet?

No. I've never been in your car.

 

Well if you would have been in my car you would have noticed it in my car, when you were in..my. um car... Yeah thats it!

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I have made the observation that the Remix sounds better over headphones than in my car! Anyone notice this yet?

No. I've never been in your car.

 

I was just in his car. He really does need some new speakers... and that smell!!!!

Like rampant, mutant B.O.? Why am I not suprised.

 

What? I shower!........ On Saturdays. During high tides or was that Red Tides? Hmmm?

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