Vapor Trails

I'll be honest, this album probably won't blow you away of first listen, as it is not very commercial. It takes some time to soak in the character and qualities of the songs. Upon first listen, like reviewers before me, I also thought initially that it was a good album, but not great. The second listen was a little better. On the third listen, I was really blown away, and have been ever since.

It's heavier, more energetic, and more youthful sounding than most people will expect. Alex exerts his heavy guitar-rock jamming influence profusely. They also seem to have reclaimed more emotion than in a long time: anger, joy, hopefulness, fearfulness, and a lot in between, than they've done in a very long time. It's also a little muddier, less starkly experimental than most latter-day Rush albums.

There's a very cool and vital balance they achieved with this record. Many moments are classic rock guitar sound, and many other moments could only come from very contemporary hard rock and metal influences. As always, Rush has evolved with the times, and yet still manages to sound essentially like Rush.

While there are no filler tracks on this records, I won't bore everyone with a track by track analysis. You'll need to hear them for yourself, anyway. But, to wet your musical appetite, here are some songs that are kicking my a$$ right now:

"Ceiling Unlimited": heavy, but accesible, a little like early U2.

"Peaceable Kingdom": Stark, very heavy, not a weak moment.

"How It Is": closest to a classic rock track, pretty smooth, catchy.

"Secret Touch": really jams, great guitar solo somewhat hidden in the mix.

"Earthshine": part classic rock, part grungy guitar, all jamming.

"Freeze": A stunner, The part 4 of Fear surprised the heck out of me. Very heavy, hardcore, great guitar sound.

"Out of the Cradle": a very energetic and melodic album closer, sounds very jacked up, great hooks too.

The rest of the album tracks will probably be slower to warm up to, but give them time, they may surprise you, because they also rock.

I think there is substantially great material here for old Rush fans and newer ones alike. Like I said, you will have to give this one a little bit of time to grow on you, but the pay off is so worth it. Rush faithful will have little trouble with that, but this one really ought to win over new fans. This record, actually surprised me when I didn't think they ever would again, and has me all jacked up for the new tour, reminding me once again how Rush are so damned underrated by most people, it just makes me ill.

For those who have not seen Rush live: it's the best part of all, you MUST go to a show. I won't miss seeing them at least twice per tour.

Sorry for the long post. Take care, God Bless, and happy listening to a great new record.


One of the best prog rock albums ever, period.   November 23, 2002
William M. Boblitt (Fair Oaks, CA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

This album amazed me, because a few times in my life I have heard albums that took a while to grow on me. This one, I have to say, I didn't really like at all, except Ghost Rider, on first listen. Well, the problem was I was cranking it up on my car stereo, which is a good one, but not so great for lots of ditorted guitar. I just sat down and listened to this on headphones, months after I bought it, and it was one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life. The moral of the story, listen to this either on a very high end system that is good at highlighting all the subtle dynamics of all types of music, or listen to this on headphones. There are so many different things going on, the atmosphere of this is thick, and the whole thing plays along almost like a concept album, each song flowing perfectly into the next, and evoking an incredible array of emotion with both lyric and music. Especially the first 6 tracks, they kept me spellbound nonstop, there are a few slow spots but not many. Don't use this for background music, sit and focus on this and listen from beginning to end, and I guarantee that you will either agree that it is actually the best Rush album ever made, yes, even better than Exit or Test for Echo, or 2112. There are very subtle guitar things that are on the verge of subliminal, but they reveal themselves on subsequent listens. Even right after listening to Seargent Peppers on headphones, it still sounded good, as a matter of fact the genius of the soundscaping is in the same ballpark. Even when I saw these guys in concert for some reason I hadn't gotten it with the new stuff, although Earthshine revealed itself well in the live setting. I listen to King Crimson, Yes, Alan Parsons, ELP, and Genesis, and this album is toward the top of the list even compared to the best of all those. If the definition of progressive is evolving, these guys just did it, they made a major new update to their sound, and are in uncharted territory once again, and it all sounds up to date, and good! Oh, and is there any sign of burnout or "age" setting in? Absolutely none, this is as vibrant as ever, and much more so than Test, which I also like, but has been surpassed by lightyears here. After you read this buy this album, immediately, and buy an extra for a friend!