Luis Santana/Opinion Director
Released in May 2002, Rush’s seventeenth album, Vapor Trails, was greeted with happiness by fans. After five years on hiatus due to their drummer, Neil Peart’s, personal tragedies, people were happy to see another Rush album. Hearing the album was a different story, however. The original cut is very muddy and loud. The bass doesn’t sound like Geddy Lee’s smooth licks. Nor is the guitar reminiscent of Alex Lifeson’s virtuoso guitar skills, but instead sounds just like someone strumming as hard as they can. Even Neil’s drumming fails and makes everything cacophonous. People weren’t happy, one fan even remixed the album himself, titling it “Vapor Trails: Less Vapor, The Bubba Skarda Mix.” It alleviated some of the problems, but was hardly the remix the album needed.
In 2013, Rush fans’ prayers were answered with the OFFICIAL remix. Rush even admitted that they had messed up in the original mix of Vapor Trails, and wanted to make sure that fans got an album that sounded the way it should. And boy does Vapor Trails sound the way it should!
The first track “One Little Victory,” is as explosive as Rush wanted their entrance to be after a five year hiatus. The sounds of an electronic distortion intermingle with the drum roll in the intro, proving that this album is truly remixed. Each song sounds clear, as it should’ve sounded ten years ago: triumphant and ready to meet the world. But this album is not without its flaws.
The album art of the vinyl, though different on the exterior, is the same on the inside folds. The pictures of the individual band members, while looking powerful ten years ago, look tired now, and old. And the tarot cards which were a prominent feature to the song “Peaceable Kingdom,” seem now like playing cards with no significance.
I find it offensive that Rush didn’t offer a sort of trade in of the album. Saying, “Hey, that album was terrible, mail it back to us, and we’ll give you the new one for free.” This would’ve brought shrieks of joy from the fans and would’ve also made Rush seem less money-hungry. Here they seem to say, “Listen, we mixed it terribly, but you’ll have to pay us for this new mixing if you really want it.” It just doesn’t seem like the band I’ve grown to love to do that sort of thing.
While the Vapor Trails Remix is actually an album you can listen to without destroying your eardrums, it’s not what it could’ve been. And while I’ll never be upset to hear Rush’s music, they won’t be living in the limelight too long pulling stuff like this.
luis.santana@fiusm.com
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