Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[ProfessorPeart]

It was only released digitally as part of those complete studio albums collections. So for a time it had a lossy release and HD Tracks had it uncompressed. Since then it appears they completely wiped and replaced it with the remix, which I am not fond of.

Andy VanDette's comment on the remaster he did on the original mixes:

These are the original mixes, but with a much different treatment. For what it is worth........A typical album takes me about 8 hours to master. I spent 4 days on VT, trying to find a way to emphasize the positive, and downplay the negative, with a "car test" every morning on my way in to the studio. I knew this album in particular would receive tremendous scrutiny.  Being a musician, growing up on the other side of Niagara Falls from the band, Rush had a huge influence on me. I hope I have done their catalog justice.

Check it out. I hope you will agree that VT sounds much less 'overblown'. I tried to design it to be more open and dynamic.

It's a shame they took this version down. It is my go-to.

[KevShmev]

I look at VT original / remix this way.

The original sounds so awful I cannot enjoy it or appreciate the music. It really doesn't matter what the remix loses because frankly, it makes it listenable. Hearing some songs live I had some appreciation for that album, but it wasn't until the remix I could truly sit back, enjoy it, and really come to appreciate some of the songs.

That's why you have to go for the 2013 remaster (not the remix).   It retains the energy and fury of the original, while cleaning up the sound and toning down the loudness.  I was able to listen to it several times this week from start to finish, and not once did the sound really bother me.

[TAC]

What year is the Remaster and where is it available?

[The Letter M]

What year is the Remaster and where is it available?

I look at VT original / remix this way.

The original sounds so awful I cannot enjoy it or appreciate the music. It really doesn't matter what the remix loses because frankly, it makes it listenable. Hearing some songs live I had some appreciation for that album, but it wasn't until the remix I could truly sit back, enjoy it, and really come to appreciate some of the songs.

That's why you have to go for the 2013 remaster (not the remix).   It retains the energy and fury of the original, while cleaning up the sound and toning down the loudness.  I was able to listen to it several times this week from start to finish, and not once did the sound really bother me.

I am listening to the 2013 remaster (not the original or that dreadful 2013 remix).

There's a remaster which is not a remix? I didn't know that existed. So in 2013 they did both, a remix AND a straight remaster of the 2002 release?

In fact, the remaster was released (on HDtracks) just 2 or 3 months before the remix. I remember that because I purchased it at the time, but I think, since the remix was released, the remaster wasn't avaible anymore - it was weird.

-Marc.

[faizoff]

I don't know if this is the 2013 remaster of Vapor Trails but it sure looks like it. It's on Qobuz and available for purchase

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0603497923021

It's weird, you need to have an account and subscription to log in. And then it looks like you can buy the albums if you wish.








Edit: I think this link should work for direct purchase.


Album Vapor Trails, Rush | Qobuz: download and streaming in high quality

[TAC]

Cool, thank you!

[Zydar]

Magna Carta has announced the release of "An All-Star Tribute To Rush", a double-album celebrating the career of the Canadian prog-rockers, as reported by Blabbermouth.

The premise of the record is that a line-up of high-profile musicians will perform their own renditions of Rush classics, such as "Tom Sawyer", "Spirit of the Radio", "Working Man", and many more.

Among the confirmed artists of this star-studded cast are Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, Deep Purple's Steve Morse, Dream Theater's James LaBrie and John Petrucci, Sepultura's Andreas Kisser, Testament's Alex Skolnick, Dokken's George Lynch, and many more.

"An All-Star Tribute To Rush" is due for release on June 24, and it will arrive on a deluxe double-CD digipack or a double-LP red vinyl special edition.

You can check out the track list with all contributions below:

Disc 1

Working Man - Sebastian Bach & Jake E. Lee
By-Tor And The Snow Dog - James LaBrie & John Petrucci
Analog Kid - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
The Trees - Mike Baker & Brendt Allman
La Villa Strangiato - Steve Morse
Mission - Eric Martin
Anthem - Mark Slaughter & George Lynch
Jacob's Ladder - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
Closer To The Heart - Fates Warning
Natural Science - Devin Townsend
YYZ - James Murphy
Red Barchetta - James LaBrie
Freewill - Gregoor van der Loo
Tom Sawyer - Alex Skolnick Trio

Disc 2

Distant Early Warning - Randy Jackson
Lakeside Park - Sebastian Bach
Limelight - Kip Winger
Subdivisions - Randy Jackson
Different Strings - Robert Berry
Tom Sawyer - Sebastian Bach
Bastille Day - Jani Lane & Alex Skolnick
A Farewell To Kings - Randy Jackson
Spirit Of The Radio - Kip Winger
2112 Overture / Temples Of Syrinx - Jani Lane & Vinnie Moore
New World Man - Robert Berry
Fly By Night - Sal Marrano
Force Ten - Robert Berry

[King Postwhore]

This is 2 old albums put together.  I own both all ready.

[pg1067]

Magna Carta has announced the release of "An All-Star Tribute To Rush", a double-album celebrating the career of the Canadian prog-rockers, as reported by Blabbermouth.

You can check out the track list with all contributions below:

Disc 1

Working Man - Sebastian Bach & Jake E. Lee
By-Tor And The Snow Dog - James LaBrie & John Petrucci
Analog Kid - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
The Trees - Mike Baker & Brendt Allman
La Villa Strangiato - Steve Morse
Mission - Eric Martin
Anthem - Mark Slaughter & George Lynch
Jacob's Ladder - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
Closer To The Heart - Fates Warning
Natural Science - Devin Townsend
YYZ - James Murphy
Red Barchetta - James LaBrie
Freewill - Gregoor van der Loo
Tom Sawyer - Alex Skolnick Trio

This is odd.  In 1996, Magna Carta Records released a CD called Working Man - A Tribute to Rush ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Man_%E2%80%93_A_Tribute_to_Rush ).  The track list is identical to what's listed here, except that it did not include Tom Sawyer.  The personnel list (in terms of singers and guitarists) is NEARLY identical.  On the '96 album, Petrucci only played on Jacob's Ladder, and guitars on By-Tor and Analog Kid were done by Jake E. Lee and some guy named Michael Romeo.  Billy Sheehan played on 6 of the 13 tracks and Stu Hamm played on 3 tracks.  Mike Portnoy played on the same 6 tracks on which Sheehan played.

I doubt Fates Warning recorded another cover of Closer to the Heart, so I'm wondering if this is the same album and that either the Petrucci credits on By-Tor and Analog Kid are in error or he recorded new guitar parts over the existing material.  Bottom line is that, with a few exceptions (primarily CTTH and Mission), this was a terrible album, and the list of personnel for disc 2 don't make me think this new/re-release will be any better.

[pg1067]

This is 2 old albums put together.  I own both all ready.

That explains it.  Given how poor the first one was, I wouldn't have bought the second one.

[pg1067]

Looks like Doug Helvering will be doing a reaction to both "Books" of Cygnus X-1 tomorrow.  Hope he spends more time on the music than playing amateur lyrical analyst.

[pg1067]

Looks like Doug Helvering will be doing a reaction to both "Books" of Cygnus X-1 tomorrow.  Hope he spends more time on the music than playing amateur lyrical analyst.

Just watched this.  Apparently, it was from a few months ago on some other platform, but it was well done.  A good mix of lyrics and theory and genuine reaction.

[HOF]

Now this is a version of Heardle I can handle.

Rush Heardle:

https://t.co/stYvG8WfV0

[Kram]

Now this is a version of Heardle I can handle.

Rush Heardle:

https://t.co/stYvG8WfV0

Had Cinderella Man, got it in 1.5 secs LOL

[King Postwhore]

Me too.

[HOF]

You guys! There’s only one per day and everyone gets the same song until tomorrow.

[King Postwhore]

I figured that out after playing. Lol

[Kram]

You guys! There’s only one per day and everyone gets the same song until tomorrow.

Well that's no fun!  I was hoping to get one after another until I couldn't get it LOL

[Cool Chris]

Awesome!

[The Letter M]

So Vapor Trails turns 20 years old this Saturday, the 14th.

I remember getting this album the year it came out, around the time I was graduating high school, and it got maximum play on my portable CD player (the old blue-topped Sony Walkman, the one with the 3 green circles and white bottom). My original CD is scratched and scuffed to heck and back, but I was absolutely in love with the album, just as my exploration of Rush was underway. For me, this album holds a special place in my heart as being a turning point album for me, both in my personal life and in my musical life. I'll always link VT with my discovery of Rush and prog in general, and at the time, some of the songs' lyrics really connected with me as well.

Little did we know that VT would be the first in a trio of final albums for the band as they came back in the 21st century following Neil's tragedies, and of those three, this album is almost my favorite (CA barely edges it out). What a statement for the band coming back after a 6 year break since Test For Echo, their longest gap between studio albums. Despite the rough and hot mix of the original release, the songwriting is pretty top notch across the album, and it still makes me sad that more of those songs didn't get played live over the course of the following 13 years until they stopped touring.

I'll have to give this one a spin this weekend in celebration of its 20th birthday! What does everyone else think about VT? What's your history with this album? Were you a Rush fan before it came out? As a fan who got into them just around the release of this album, it was just as much Rush as anything else they'd done up to that point, but I'd be curious to see what long-time Rush fans felt about VT when it came out, and if your thoughts on it have changed in the 20 years since!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I liked Vapor Trails a lot when it came out because, hey, it was a new Rush album, the first one in six years (!!), but I drifted away from it, and it took a recent listen for me to really come around to liking it a lot again.  My initial favorites are still my favorites: Freeze, Nocturne, Earthshine and Vapor Trail. Those are four legitimately great Rush tunes, and Peaceable Kingdom has aged quite nicely for me in particular.  I always listen to the 2013 remaster now (not that dreadful 2013 remix), which has made the album much easier to listen to without get ear fatigue.

[nick_z]

Yes, huge Rush fan here, when VT came out.

First album I'd heard was Counterparts, which I bought somewhat randomly when it was released in 1993. Then it was years of joyful discovery from there  Test for Echo was of course the first new album bought as a fan, then I played the crap out of Different Stages, but the enjoyment of that live turned out to be bittersweet, given the news from Neil's camp. Plus, the dedication on the inner sleeve had a ring of "finality" to it. Bottom line, I figured (sadly) that would be it for the band.

...so, when VT was announced, it was time to get excited again  First day purchase, of course. I certainly remember mild shock from the double bass intro of One Little Victory. It was quite a statement. There was a lot to take in, and because it was so dense musically (and sonically), I felt it didn't "breathe" the same way as the Rush I knew. But other than that, I really liked the album and listened to it a ton. Ceiling Unlimited, Ghost Rider, Vapor Trail, Secret Touch and Earthshine were (and are) my favorite tracks.

VT sits in the bottom half of my Rush album ranking, but it was an important one for Rush and I have great memories from when it was released. I'll give it a spin today!

[King Postwhore]

I was lucky to see the 1st show of the VT tour in Hartford.  It was an emotional experience.

[nick_z]

I was lucky to see the 1st show of the VT tour in Hartford.  It was an emotional experience.

I bet! Quite a cool thing to be a part of.

[ProfessorPeart]

I absolutely love Vapor Trails. Like Kev, I only listen to the Andy Van Dette remaster and not the Bottrill remix.

From Neil's furious opening announcing he's back all the way to the end, this album is a huge winner for me.

[goo-goo]

I absolutely love Vapor Trails. Like Kev, I only listen to the Andy Van Dette remaster and not the Bottrill remix.

From Neil's furious opening announcing he's back all the way to the end, this album is a huge winner for me.

Is there a CD version of the Andy Van Dette remaster?

[faizoff]

I absolutely love Vapor Trails. Like Kev, I only listen to the Andy Van Dette remaster and not the Bottrill remix.

From Neil's furious opening announcing he's back all the way to the end, this album is a huge winner for me.

Is there a CD version of the Andy Van Dette remaster?

I don't know if there is a CD version of that master, closest I could find was this below which we talked about a few weeks ago.

I don't know if this is the 2013 remaster of Vapor Trails but it sure looks like it. It's on Qobuz and available for purchase

https://open.qobuz.com/album/0603497923021

It's weird, you need to have an account and subscription to log in. And then it looks like you can buy the albums if you wish.








Edit: I think this link should work for direct purchase.


Album Vapor Trails, Rush | Qobuz: download and streaming in high quality

[HOF]

Never heard of Qobuz before. Have any of you guys used that site before?

[Stadler]

Never heard of Qobuz before. Have any of you guys used that site before?

I bought the Peter Gabriel B-sides package from them, as well as the Phil Collins B-sides package.  It seems pretty legit.

[faizoff]

Never heard of Qobuz before. Have any of you guys used that site before?

I have a one-month trial of their streaming service, they have HD versions of many albums and it seems pretty good so far. I will buy some of their albums and hear that on my preferred player to make final judgments but I like the web player so far.

[Architeuthis]

From Neil's furious opening announcing he's back all the way to the end, this album is a huge winner for me.

💯😎💥

[pg1067]

VT was a super slow burn for me.

It was released the day after my son was born, so I really didn't get to spend the sort of time with it that I did with some other albums.  My attention was being drawn elsewhere, and brickwalled sound didn't help in that regard.  I got a hall pass to go to the concert in September, but I only really knew One Little Victory by that point.  They played Earthshine (best song on the album), OLV (cool), Ghost Rider and Secret Touch (both just meh).  It took quite a few years before the album really resonated with me, and I regard it as the best of the 21st century albums.

[ytserush]

I was lucky to see the 1st show of the VT tour in Hartford.  It was an emotional experience.

Sure was. Wish I could live it all again!

[ytserush]

This is 2 old albums put together.  I own both all ready.

Three albums. I believe Distant Early Warning was the third.

[Stadler]

VT was a super slow burn for me.

It was released the day after my son was born, so I really didn't get to spend the sort of time with it that I did with some other albums.  My attention was being drawn elsewhere, and brickwalled sound didn't help in that regard.  I got a hall pass to go to the concert in September, but I only really knew One Little Victory by that point.  They played Earthshine (best song on the album), OLV (cool), Ghost Rider and Secret Touch (both just meh).  It took quite a few years before the album really resonated with me, and I regard it as the best of the 21st century albums.

The fuse is still simmering with me.  Still hasn't resonated.