RUSH - The *official* thread

Good news, Rush has finally gotten around to re-mixing Vapor Trails which has been in dire need of work since it was initially released. The original mix was done by Geddy Lee and he wasn't familiar enough with digital mixing and ended up making everything too hot and caused digital distortion throughout the album. The band has been unhappy with the sound since it was released and their fanbase has been asking about a remix for years.



“Vapor Trails was an album made under difficult and emotional circumstances – sort of like Rush learning how to be Rush again – and as a result, mistakes were made that we have longed to correct. David Bottrill’s remixes have finally brought some justice and clarity to this deserving body of our work,” says Geddy Lee.

“Every song has been given a new life, from the fire of ‘One Little Victory,’ ‘Secret Touch,’ and ‘Ceiling Unlimited’ to the melodic musicality of ‘Sweet Miracle’ and ‘How It Is’… these songs have been redeemed. Thank you David!”

I read about this and plan to buy it. I also read they are putting together a Rush Boxset.....

Wow, I always thought there was something off with the album. Never knew about Geddy doing the mix and the band not being happy about it, and yet I think I'm some kind of Rush fan. I can't wait to hear the remix.

journeyman wrote:

Wow, I always thought there was something off with the album. Never knew about Geddy doing the mix and the band not being happy about it, and yet I think I'm some kind of Rush fan. I can't wait to hear the remix.

I noticed the digital distortion immediately when the album came out, I still listened to it because it's a killer album, but I've always wished that the sound quality was up to the level of the material.

thumbs up, let's hope for some 33 1/3 action

ill get it. I am interested to hear it cleaned up.

This is one of the few Rush albums I haven't heard. Though I'll be interested to hear the remix regardless.

I haven't heard this album, although I haven't heard much from Hemispheres on. I'd be interested.

Vapor Trails was an important record for Rush. The band had been on hiatus for 6 years (Geddy and Alex both assumed they would never record again) because of the tragic deaths of Peart's daughter and wife. Rush decided to write the album together (instead of each member bringing in nearly completed demos) and there is a definite spontaneity to the arrangements. This was also the first Rush album in many years to be primarily guitar/bass/drums, almost no keyboards or programming was used.

journeyman wrote:

Wow, I always thought there was something off with the album. Never knew about Geddy doing the mix and the band not being happy about it, and yet I think I'm some kind of Rush fan. I can't wait to hear the remix.

I on the other hand, thought the album sounded great and loved the songs. I am also looking forward to the remix, this see if I will notice the difference, being me, probably not!!

Great news. One Little Victory and Earthshine have been redone already for the retrospective albums and sound killer.

Dark Horseman wrote:

Great news. One Little Victory and Earthshine have been redone already for the retrospective albums and sound killer.

The full album remix was done by a different engineer, so there will actually be 3 available versions of One Little Victory and Earthshine.

Dark Horseman wrote:

Great news. One Little Victory and Earthshine have been redone already for the retrospective albums and sound killer.

I don't have the Retrospective album, but listened to the 90 second samples on iTunes and they do sound killer.

I will be picking this up. It never was one of my favorite Rush albums, but I can find something to like about pretty much every Rush album. One of my all-time favorite bands. I always discover new things in their music and I've been listening to them for over a decade.

Rush - Vapor Trails Remixed

Stream here -> http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rush-remix-their-polarizing-album-vapor-trails-premiere-20130927

I'm listening to a stream of the new Vapor Trails Remixed and one of the first things that jumped out at me was all of a sudden there are guitar solos in some of the songs.  That was one of the things that Rush fans complained about when Vapor Trails was first released in 2002, now it appears Lifeson recorded solos for some of the songs but they were left out of the mix originally.  That was actually Lifeson's decision, he told Geddy that he didn't want any keyboards or guitar solos in the final mix.

Rush has always disliked the mix of that album and they have been planning to redo it for years, it really does sound miles better now.  The primary differences are the drums which sound HUGE now, much better EQ and balance in the mix.  Geddy recorded a ton of vocal tracks for this album and they have all been re-arranged in the new mix and sound very different, they even used different takes for Peaceable Kingdom.  The guitar and bass tracks also benefit from the improved EQ, each part has it's own sound space to exist in and can easily be discerned from one another. They have also used different guitar tracks in some of the songs.  Overall the album sounds much larger in scope, the stereo spread is much wider and the mix is more spacious.

It's very much a different album.  For the most part I would say this new mix improves the impact of the songs, although there are a few cases where I prefer the original mix even if the sound is inferior.

I will be keeping both versions but I think I'll be spinning this new one frequently for quite awhile.

I usually don't rebuy albums I already own, but this will be one of the few exceptions

I see.....RED!

I agree the mix is overall much better but unfortunately the dynamic range is still nothing to write home about.

Svengo wrote:

I agree the mix is overall much better but unfortunately the dynamic range is still nothing to write home about.

It's listenable, in the DR 7 to DR 8 range, it is still overall a huge improvement to the original release.  They are planning to release an HDTracks version which should have more dynamic range than the CD and will also be in 24bit.

Does anyone have the Sectors boxsets ?

I own all the Rush albums but they are the 1997 Mercury remasters. I read that the albums included Sectors' boxset are newly remastered editions and sound different / better than the 1997 Mercury remasters. Can anyone confirm?

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

Does anyone have the Sectors boxsets ?

I own all the Rush albums but they are the 1997 Mercury remasters. I read that the albums included Sectors' boxset are newly remastered editions and sound different / better than the 1997 Mercury remasters. Can anyone confirm?

I haven't heard them but most of the feedback I've heard has been good. The best-sounding versions out there are the Japanese SHM-CD releases but they are very expensive.

Rush has announced the release of "Clockwork Angels Tour" coming on DVD/blu-ray/CD on November 19th.



Geddy has stated in an interview that there are NO overdubs or any studio trickery, everything is 100% as it was at the concert. The running time is 3 hours.

Set One
Subdivisions
The Big Money
Force Ten
Grand Designs
The Body Electric
Territories
The Analog Kid
Bravado
Where s My Thing?/ Here It Is! (drum solo)
Far Cry

Set Two
Caravan*
Clockwork Angels*
The Anarchist*
Carnies*
The Wreckers*
Headlong Flight*/ Drumbastica (drum solo)
Peke s Repose (guitar solo)/Halo Effect*
Seven Cities of Gold*
Wish Them Well*
The Garden*
Dreamline*
The Percussor (I) Binary Love Theme (II) Steambanger s Ball (drum solo)
Red Sector A*
YYZ*
The Spirit of Radio

Encore
Tom Sawyer
2112

Bonus
Limelight (soundcheck filmed in Dallas)
Middletown Dreams (filmed in Phoenix)
The Pass (filmed in Phoenix)
Manhattan Project* (filmed in Phoenix)
*With the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble

SPECIAL FEATURES
Can t Stop Thinking Big (25 min tour documentary)
Behind The Scenes (featuring Jay Baruchel)
Outtakes
Interview With Dwush
Family Goy
Family Sawyer
The Watchmaker (intermission tour film)
Office Of The Watchmaker (closing tour film)

I've known about this for some time now and have had zero interest in it (live albums made after 1980 or so don't do anything for me). The claim of no overdubs, however, has me curious. Looks like a decent set list, too.

As for special features, what is Family Goy and Family Sawyer? Family Goy is an episode of Family Guy.

corplhicks wrote:

I've known about this for some time now and have had zero interest in it (live albums made after 1980 or so don't do anything for me). The claim of no overdubs, however, has me curious. Looks like a decent set list, too.

As for special features, what is Family Goy and Family Sawyer? Family Goy is an episode of Family Guy.

There are quite a few artists releasing live albums without any overdubs these days, they usually proclaim it proudly in the promotional materials.

Not sure about the special features but in their recent concert DVDs Rush have included little comedic short films so I'm assuming these are similar.

S.D. wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

I've known about this for some time now and have had zero interest in it (live albums made after 1980 or so don't do anything for me). The claim of no overdubs, however, has me curious. Looks like a decent set list, too.

As for special features, what is Family Goy and Family Sawyer? Family Goy is an episode of Family Guy.

There are quite a few artists releasing live albums without any overdubs these days, they usually proclaim it proudly in the promotional materials.  

Not sure about the special features but in their recent concert DVDs Rush have included little comedic short films so I'm assuming these are similar.

Saw the tour twice, I'm sure it's the pre-show clip.