New Rush CD...Vapor Trails

Man(long and I hope interesting read....or I just wasted my damn time for the band I love),

Anyone listened to this CD? First off, I love the music and I love Rush. I've been a fan since I was like 8 and I'm 31 now. I've been to many shows and will be going to this one. I can't wait for their 3 hour set with no opening act. They plan to play all new older tunes and get rid of some they have been playing on many tours. They have even taken suggestions from a Rush petition online and we will see some of those songs from real early albums.

So, I love the new CD and most of the songs. Rush is rocking...HARD. I like the direction of no keyboards while using the guitar and voice to make up for it. Alex's guitar playing are sounds to behold and trance in and out to. He labels this album "organic" and I have to agree. He layers the guitar in some parts to make up for the keyboards. Neil is up to his unusually high par as usual. He has some really excellent drumming... sounds so good...it hurts. Geddy has some very nice bass going on. He is doing some bass layering and voice layering as well to make up for the lack of keyboards. The bass is lively and pumping...to no end. I really don't know how to explain the sound. It is a very hard Rush album compared to past Rush....has to be the hardest Rush in a decade or more. The lack of keyboard stands out as does the layering...which turns alot of people off. I think its their best music in a long time. It's easy to jump to conclusions as to whether you like it or not. You really have to hear it quite a few times to grasp it and really let it grow on you.

The first time I heard it...I didn't know what to think. I couldn't absorb the music...it seemed to complex and taking it all in was quite a chore. The second listen I began to unravel the layers and was better able to interpret what I was hearing...not so much as a whole at this point...but figuring out the layers of sound of the guitar, bass, and voice(with effects added to the voice). On subsequent listens, I am truly beginning to appreciate the complexity of the music and how it all fits together to form the chemistry that Rush is so reknowned for. Some of the music gives me flashbacks to early Rush...like "Permanent Waves" early.

Geddy has really put alot into his singing and apparently carried over some of his vocal style from his own solo album, "My Favorite Headache". There is definitely some effects added to his voice which leave me bipolar as to whether they should have used them or not. His singing sounds refreshed...as if the break did him some good. He sounds re-invigorated and his voice expresses a creative, melodic freedom I have not heard as much on any other Rush album. Alex's guitar(and I'm a guitarist) has some really hard riffs working. It shifts from very fast-paced riffs to melodic light, energetic sounds and back and forth. You can tell he is trying to make up for the lack of keyboard by energizing his guitar parts. He takes simple chords and plays them with such depth and ingenuity that it transcends the way anyone else can play them. Neil has his moments...many of them. His beat has never been better. His rolls, tempo, technique, and style shine through and complement the music in excellent fashion. Considering he hadn't played but two weeks of four years during his sad period of loss....his comeback is nothing short of miraculous.

Rush cut this album under no pressure....which basically means they did a lot of refining and tuning of the songs....even going so far as to re-write entire songs after their initial cut. They chipped away under no timeline until they had what they felt was the best sculpture of songs in them. They spent more time on this album than any other. The creative process unfolds with Alex and Geddy just jamming together at first and trying to put music to Neil's lyrics. Geddy goes back and forth with Neil to refine the lyrics to make them not so personal to just Neil and more broad in spectrum so it can relate to not only Ged but everyone else. Neil adds his drum parts to the music pretty much after Geddy and Alex have put music to his words. This time around...Neil does it like he invented the drums...showing him to be the expert that he is. It's the final piece of the puzzle and adds to the complexity and chemistry of this album. Put together, they have defined the Rush sound for decades and, as much as they try different directions, it is and always will be...the distinct Rush sound that it is...with little room for other bands to emulate it. It influences many but noone will ever sound quite like it.

Now, the bad...the production. Something went terribly wrong in the production process. There is crackling all over the place. Others have described this as clipping or distortion. I hear it as a mostly constant crackling sound throughout many of their songs. It was hard to hear on first listens and, especially, at low volumes. But, when you turn it up and hear it over and over...it's there and it makes you wonder what happened. The music is still great music...but it would have been so much better if the crackling/clipping/distortion was not there. It's been said that there is no rule as far as this goes...that it may even be acceptable or a by-product. I disagree...I think these songs would sound so much better without it. Something is definitely up as most of the Internet is debating it to no end. It detracts from the sound but it does not bring down the quality of the music...only the quality of the sound. It's been said it had to eminate from the masters they duplicate the CDs from. If so, this one really got by. Some have said to remove it, they would have to re-record. I don't know if it would go that far to remove it...maybe a re-mix of the masters or something. I don't think the discs are defective...as many, many people are talking the same thing. Of course, some people don't hear it or it just doesn't stand out for them.

As far as the music itself, little to no guitar solos by Alex which is quite a shocker. There are a few songs with guitar accentuations...but they are few and far between. The music is really emotional and is meant to be positive. One song, "Peaceable Kingdom", was written right after Sept. 11th and touches light on the issue. "One Little Victory", the song that was initially released to the public via radio, exclamates a triumphant return of Neil Peart to the drum kit...as was intended by the band. The songs really have alot of emotion and power to them. Some say the lyrics are forgettable but I beg to differ. They have very deep meaning and some of them just stand out as easily remembered. Neil constructed his lyrics from writings on bar walls, novels, articles, personal grief, triumph, and new life. It really is a new beginning for Rush....pre-Neil's loss and post-Neil's loss....that loss being his daughter in a car accident and his wife to cancer in the span of 10 months. He has since re-married and brought the band back together with a phone call in January, 2001. All of the songs were written pre-9/11...except the lyrics for one song, "Peaceable Kingdom". The music is kind of transcending and hypnotic in part with a big opening for multimedia and visuals in concert. They have promised a visual feast on this tour and I can't wait.

I really like what they did here...if only I could hear it crackle-free(although it doesn't hardly phase me as I can hear through it). I can live with it...but I would rather live without it. I hope they correct it but I doubt they will exchange customers' CDs for those already sold. The fans have yet to hear officially from the label or band on this issue....although I'm sure its inevitable because it is a hot topic. It's been said that Geddy Lee did most of the final work mixing and producing the final product. If so, then the crackling/clipping/distortion must have really gotten by him and/or whomever else was working with him. After many solid Rush albums, the production of this one is disappointing and a first. I would love to hear what someone who is more trained on the mixing, production, and engineering of sound has to say...like Jeff or someone on his level.

Love the music, though....I hope for a crystal clear performance live. I hope you enjoyed my post/review. Some people either love Rush, hate Rush, enjoy the old stuff, etc. . I am, however, a forever dedicated fan...until the end of the universe. I don't hate any of their songs and could never. I find some less appealing than others...but hate or dislike....never. I am forever dedicated to that which is Rush. It's been said we are a cult following which I happen to agree with. However, we are a massive, peaceful cult like no other.

Surf

 

I don't have my ticket(s) yet. I was amazed at the cost of the tickets this time around. When I saw them on their last tour, I seem to recall paying about $100 to Ticket Connection or one of those places for lower prom on the side at Compaq. I saw them at Smirnoff on the 2nd leg of the tour from the lawn. That sucked hard...you couldn't even hear it from the lawn. I was wondering if all concerts from the lawn area are that lame at Smirnoff or they just weren't turning it up loud enough. I learned my lesson...I'm going to have to get seats in the seated area. However, checking out prices, I'm am sort of shell-shocked. $75 for seats in the 200s sections? Hay Caramba! I tried fiddling around with Ticketmaster online and their "Best seats available" option which basically means "Best seats my ass". I have waited in lines for Rush tickets before and generally end up with subpar seats. Once, I was sixth in line and ended up with non-floor seats(lower prom..on the side of the stage).

So, anyway, any section 100s seats from a ticket "agency" are about $200 each to start. Front row, center was astronomical. There has been a lot of articles in the media about how older bands with strong fan bases are charging buttloads of money for tickets. They know they can get away with it cause they've been around for years and their fans are loyal. It is kind of disheartening, though.

Since everyone I know is not a Rush fan, they probably won't pay what I would be willing to pay to go. So, I may have to go this one alone. I saw a guy on one of the Rush sites selling 1 ticket for 6th row center for about $85. That may be mine. If I can get others to go and get cheaper lawn seats, then I could probably go back and forth....maybe even give them a look from up front.

Sounds like a plan. Three hours of Rush is just to much to pass up....regardless of skyrocketing ticket costs. At least their not as bad as Paul McCartney or The Who.

Surf

 

An interesting article on escalating ticket prices.

Money is not really an issue with me. If I want to see the band, then I will go. I would pay good money to spend a night with my favorite band. I like to look back on past concerts and think "...man...I spent that night with Rush...sweet". It adds up...I spent five or six nights with Rush and counting....I don't even know those guys but I hung with them six nights out of their life . A lot of people in the world don't have that luxury.

The closest I've ever been to meeting Rush is my stupid ex-friend's(or acquaintance..who was NOT a Rush fan) Dad ended up having the excellent duty of giving Rush a tour of Johnson Space Center. This wasn't Signals tour when they wrote Countdown. I think it was "Hold Your Fire" tour. I was at that show and that ungrateful punk, his friend, and his Dad had free floor seats and backstage passes. He met the band and got pictures. He didn't even care...he just had the right Dad. I was dying when I saw them at the show. He's like "..went backstage and took these drum sticks from Neil Peart's drum kit". I'm just like...yeah...whatever....your not even a fan. You don't know jack about their music or them. He kept promising to give me the photos he took backstage with the band; he didn't. My Dad worked at NASA...why couldn't he have given them a tour . By the way, they wrote the song "Countdown" from Signals after they were inspired by watching a live launch in Florida. They wanted a song which captured the drama of blasting off into space aboard the shuttle.

Surf