Oh, yeah. As our friend, David Elliott, would say: “Bloody prog!”
You Have Spoken: Comments on Vapor Trails
[I’m thrilled by the responses to our recent review of Vapor Trails, remixed. In hopes these very worthy comments get more attention, I’m posting them as a separate post. Enjoy–BB, ed.]
And my concert of the year is…
No, no, no: this is not a post about choosing my favorite concert of 2013 out of fifty concerts attended —for the simple reason that I’ve not attended a single rock concert this year. Not one. (However, I did attend an organ concert a couple of months ago, and it was stunning. But that’s another post.) The fact is, I am one of those pathetic souls (I’m only being half-self-deprecating) who owns some 60,000 songs and has been to very few concerts over the years. In fact, I’ve attended so few relative to my love for music that the one concert that really stands out to me is one I missed: Jeff Buckley in Portland, Oregon, on May 8, 1995. I thought of going, but it was on a Monday night, I had to work early the next morning, I was newly married (and my wife wasn’t a Buckley fan)—and then Buckley drowned two years later. Rock concerts that stand out for the right reason—that is, I actually attended them—include Seal (1994), Martin Sexton (three times), Brandi Carlile (three times), and Def Leppard (1988). I’ve never attended a true prog concert, which probably should get me kicked off of Progarchy.com.
However, I’ve had better luck with jazz—my favorite musical form, when push comes to shove—having seen Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Brad Mehldau (twice), Michael Brecker, Roy Hargrove, and Wayne Shorter in concert, all here in Eugene, Oregon, of all places. Eugene, the home of the University of Oregon (or Nike, if you will), does have some big names drop in on occasion—Elton John was here a couple of years ago, as was the Dali Lama, who did not sing—but not many. Portland is two hours away, but rarely has prog groups perform, as far as I know.
All of which to say that my concert of the year is going to be a solo Chris Cornell show in a couple of weeks at The Shedd, a wonderful and intimate venue (see here and here) all of five minutes from my house. And, yes, my wife is going with me, because she’s game for hearing Cornell with just an acoustic guitar; I doubt she’d go for a Soundgarden gig. This is Cornell’s second “Songbook” tour, and his performances on the first tour earned rave reviews, leading to the release of the “Songbook” album, which featured plenty of great Cornell tunes and some covers (“Imagine”, “Thank You”, and “Billie Jean” being favorites). Cornell is a triple threat: a great rock singer, a fabulous (if often under appreciated) songwriter, and a fine interpreter who likes to go into surprising territory at times, as his cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” demonstrates (he first played it about ten years ago in Sweden). Those who have read my, ahem, detailed review of Soundgarden’s “King Animal” know that I find Cornell’s lyrics to be particular fascinating. A good example of the lyrical prowess is evident in a little known but intriguing Cornell song, “Scar on the Sky” from his second solo album, “Carry On”. Meanwhile, I plan to write about the concert, which will likely be free of prog but still long on great music.
As I fall I leave this scar upon the sky
A simple note for you, I’ll wait for your reply
And in your answer I’ll regain my will to try
So hover in the diving light
We will rip the night
Out of the arms of the sun one more time
Close your eyes and we will fly
Above the clouded sky
And over the dumbstruck world we will run
In these hills they wash the golden grains away
To the valley under all of this I lay
And may you dig me out unearthed and saved
The Prog-Rock Orchestra
Jason Warburg has an excellent review of Full Power over at The Daily Vault.
I really love how he starts it off:
I remember when an album was much more than just a collection of songs. Those old LPs, with their gatefold covers and thick booklets of detailed liner notes, were gateways into alternate realities, with artwork and presentation that enveloped the listener in a new experience, propelling you down the rabbit-hole.
Big Big Train remembers that feeling, too.
In fact, remembering is at the core of Big Big Train’s very identity …
And later on Jason makes an interesting observation about BBT’s orchestral arrangements:
Big Big Train often feels like a prog-rock orchestra even when the brass and strings are absent. There is a density of sound, sophistication and seriousness of purpose here that can only be achieved with careful attention to every detail of each arrangement and performance.
Resignated Joy: Rush and Vapor Trails (2013)
If only. . . .
Listening to the re-released and remixed version of Vapor Trails (originally released May 14, 2002) over the last several days has been akin to a great hike in the Rockies with my brothers. Clean air, deep conversation, and almost ceaseless movement through ever-changing vistas.
Indeed, I often think how much I’d love to have Neil Peart as an older brother. He’s 15 years old than I am, and I doubt if any figure (and, be prepared to be shocked–I was a nerd kid; I read everything I could find) influenced my own view of life and the world more than did Peart, especially between my 13th birthday and my 21st.
During the most troubling parts of my childhood, the Canadian drummer always seemed to offer some of the best advice I received in those days. And, without exaggeration, I can say that some of the lyrics on Moving Pictures, Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows saved my life–quite literally and truly.
I owe Peart a lot.
I know I’m not alone. There are, at the very least, a generation of us North Americans who were guided far more by Peart than by any of our teachers, our pastors and ministers, and, even, our extended relatives. Certainly, between roughly 1981 and 1986, given a choice between spending time with headphones on listening to Rush or watching TV, I would’ve (and did) choose Rush every time. The images Geddy, Alex, and Neil evoked had far more power–at least in my mind, heart, and soul–than that of any exec, writer, or actor associated with the small screen.
I’ve never lost my love of or appreciation of Rush. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve only grown with them.
In particular, I’m happy to note, I’ve celebrated with them. Much of what I knew in the 1990s (those somewhat dreary, pre-marriage graduate school years) came from the internet forum (new in those days), the National Midnight Star and the long-involved discussions of Rush, the lyrics, and the music. The three members of Rush continued to guide me–again, much like my older brothers, always a bit ahead of me in life, always willing to share wisdom with the pesky, somewhat annoying, little brother.
And, of course, as we all did, I mourned with them. When word arrived of Neil’s double losses in the late 1990s–the death of his daughter and his wife–I was devastated for him.
At the time, Neil disappeared, and we all, more or less, assumed Rush was done. Rumors abounded that Neil had gotten on his motorcycle and just taken off. Several friends and I looked for him in the news–an odd announcement here or there might reveal a small detail or a hint. Could he be in Texas, hiding out, looking for a small band to form, perhaps to heal? Perhaps he’d driven to Argentina or Chile.
As it turns out, we were partially right. Neil, as he soon revealed, had indeed been traveling throughout North America on his touring motorcycle, looking for solitude and solace.
After reemerging from a year on the road, he rejoined Geddy and Alex, and the band recorded one of its best albums, an album, as Neil has explained, of victory and redemption.
This would be reason enough to love Vapor Trails. But, the album is also a stunning work of art.
Little did I know when Vapor Trails came out in 2002 that my wife and I would experience something similar, losing our third daughter, Cecilia Rose, named after a great aunt as well as the patron saint of music, in August 2007. Neil would once again–though at a distance–serve as older brother, helping me understand our own terrible and confusing loss. But, this is not the post to go into this. Suffice it say, I understand what Neil experienced.
Vapor Trails
Vapor Trails, as I saw it then, and still do, is three very important things.
First, it’s the most intense album Rush had written and produced since Grace Under Pressure (my favorite Rush album; an album that defined the rather broken, tense world of the 1980s for me).
Second, what’s not to love? The album, even in its resignation and mixed tone, is nothing if not a celebration of life, a tribute of two brothers, supporting and loving the third, helping Neil grieve and helping him overcome. Geddy and Alex throw themselves into this album, as does Neil.
Third, the album is the beginning of an entire re-emergence of Rush, a more rocking as well as more progressive Rush. It’s nearly impossible for me to separate Vapor Trails from Snakes and Arrows and Snakes and Arrows from Clockwork Angels. It’s as though Rush tapped into the very essence of the third wave of prog, having been early pioneers in the genre in the 1970s, and adding their own very Rushian spirit to the movement in the first and second decades of the twenty-first century.
Complaints–but not from me
A lot of long-time Rush fans complained about Vapor Trails when it came out, and many still do. For the diehard Rush fan, Vapor Trails is accepted, but it rarely ranks high. The key excuse for not liking the album has always been, first and foremost, that it was poorly mixed and mastered.
I would never have even considered this as an issue unless others had told me it was. Perhaps I just don’t have the right ears, but I’d always assumed the album was meant to have a bit of a post-grunge, hollowish, sound. I’d assumed this sound quality was a part of its charm.
If, however, the remixed and released version of Vapor Trails is what Rush originally had wanted, then, I finally understand some of the grumblings over the last 11 years.
The remixed 2013 version is a piece of sonic brilliance, an audiophile’s equivalent of an 8- pound bag of peanut M&Ms from Costco, even with the blue dye number 3.
Whatever my own aural limitations, I’m hearing things with the 2013 release that I’d never even imagined with the 2002 version. Every instrument is punctuated and individually enhanced while yet remaining rather seamless in its integration with every other instrument. This is one tight band.
Themes
Not surprisingly, the emotional tone of the lyrics is all over the place. One Little Victory: exactly what it states, victory of life over death. Ceiling Unlimited: hope. Ghost Rider: resignation and penance. Peaceable Kingdom: wishes. The Stars Look Down and How It Is: fate and acceptance. Vapor Trail: fleeting and ephemeral. Secret Touch: stoic fortitude. Earthshine and Sweet Miracle: wonder and grace. Nocturne and Freeze Part IV: unworthiness. Out of the Cradle: victory and pronouncement.
If anything, the 2013 version only highlights Neil’s very personal and confessional lyrics. Indeed, if Grace Under Pressure examines the state of the world and laments, Vapor Trails examines the state of the soul and rejoices. . . mostly.
Too Old To Rock And Roll, Too Young To Die
For my first foray into Progarchy, I would like to talk about the prog god of the year, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, who thankfully is not too old to rock and roll and is definitely too young to die. More specifically, I would like to talk about Ian Anderson’s Thick as a Brick 1 & 2 tour, which I saw at Ravinia, in Highland Park, Illinois, in July of this year. This concert was simply amazing. From the first notes of Thick as a Brick to the final bow, Ian Anderson and co. never cease to amaze. They do not bill themselves as Jethro Tull because Martin Barre is currently not a part of the band. Instead, Florian Opahle fills in as a more than capable guitarist. In fact, every musician in the band is excellent. The lineup is Ian Anderson on flute, acoustic guitar, and vocals, David Goodier on bass, John O’Hara on keyboards and accordion (yes! accordion), Florian Opahle on guitar, Scott Hammond on drums, and Ryan O’Donnell on vocals and stage antics. The latter is an excellent move on Ian Anderson’s part, as O’Donnell can reach the high notes that Anderson can no longer reach. He also has a remarkably similar voice to Ian Anderson of the ’70s, but never fear, for Ian Anderson still does the majority of the singing.
For the concert itself, the band plays Thick as a Brick 1 & 2 in their entirety, as well as Locomotive Breath as an encore. Ian Anderson’s ability to play the flute is unequaled, and he has only gotten better with age. Ian Anderson’s voice has changed considerably over the years, but he still sounds good. Thick as a Brick 2, however, sounds better in concert than it does on the album. I can only attribute that to the fact that the band has been touring for over a year, and knows the music to a tee. Ian Anderson’s flute playing draws the viewer into the concert and captivates their full attention. Thematically, Thick as a Brick 2 makes the listener ponder what life might have been like if they had made different decisions in life, all through relaying several possible career choices for our beloved Gerald Bostock. The final song of the concert, Locomotive Breath, brings the audience to its feet in a finale worthy of Jethro Tull. Throughout the concert, Ian Anderson proves that the music of Jethro Tull really does stand the test of time and that he will never be too old to rock and roll.
For tour dates, click here: http://jethrotull.com/tour-dates/
To read about Ian Anderson’s 2013 award, click here: http://www.progrockmag.com/news/ian-anderson-is-prog-god-2013/
The Best Prog Bands You’ve Never Heard Of (Part One)
Hello Progarchy! As a new member, I’d like to start off with a series that focuses on underappreciated prog rock groups, and Cathedral will be the first. In 1978, this quintet released one of the better American prog albums, Stained Glass Stories, which took elements of Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant, and combined them into one beautiful symphony. The album consists of five songs, two of which (Introspect and The Search) are wonderful epic pieces reminiscent of some of Yes’s finest music. Gong is a shorter instrumental piece that hearkens back to Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. The other two songs (The Crossing and Days & Changes) also have a captivating symphonic sound that will remind listeners of Relayer-era Yes or King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King.
Overall, Cathedral did a superb job creating symphonic music inspired by their more popular British contemporaries while also maintaining their own distinct sound. The musicianship is top notch (listen to the crisp sound of Fred Callan’s Rickenbacker bass and Rudy Perrone’s dexterous handling of lead guitar) and let’s not forget the great cover art. The beautiful pastoral setting (dare I say Tolkienian?) arouses a sense of awe and suits the music perfectly. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I did.
A Tip of the Hat to Rush
John Petrucci has a great track-by-track commentary on the new Dream Theater album over at Music Radar.
Here are some highlights for the Rush-minded amongst us.
Here’s Petrucci on “The Looking Glass”:
“The song is definitely a tip of the hat to Rush. We’re such fans – they’ve been a huge influence on us, and we continue to admire and look up to them. One of the great things about them is how they write really uplifting songs with positive messages, but they always sound cool.
“It’s really interesting. The Spirit Of Radio, Limelight – those are big, big songs with big arena-rock riffs in a major key. Even Free Will has that. The songs aren’t dark, but they’re tough. It’s really hard to write something that can cut both ways like that, but that was my goal.
“The Looking Glass has a few different stylistic changes: There’s the Rush arena-rock major riff, but the verses are tricky as far as time signatures, and the style is a little darker. The pre-choruses are very pretty and flowing – they’re in half-time – and the choruses open up and get really hooky. From verse to pre-chorus to chorus to riff, you’ve got a lot of musical styles, and that helps to keep things interesting.”
And on “Surrender to Reason”:
“This was the first song that we wrote together for the album, so it’s really special to us. You know, we had our discussions, and we even had a meeting in the studio, but then it finally came down to us standing there with our instruments and looking at one another: ‘OK, let’s go!’
“I had the idea for an acoustic in the opener, but on the initial scratch versions I played a clean-sounding electric. Rich was a big fan of the electric, but I told him, ‘I really hear a 12-string there. Trust me, it’ll be cool.’ It almost went the other way, but in the end I put a Taylor 12-string on it.
“It has one of my favorite moments on the album, where John digs into a bass part. He has so much attitude and aggression – it’s great. Once the guitar solo starts, we’re back to trio land – again, harkening back to Rush. It reminds me of something like Working Man off their first album, just that raw bass, drums and guitar, with everybody going for it. The guitar has no delay and no reverb – it’s just dry, in your face, with a flanger on it. It’s one of the more aggressive, fun moments on the album.”
Classical Grass
…with a dash of jazz dissonance:
The Odyssey of Flying Colors
Mike Portnoy comments on the new Flying Colors cover to Prog:
“I’ve been a Dregs fan since the mid-80s, and Odyssey was always one of my favorites. I even chose it for Dream Theater to cover on the Black Clouds & Silver Linings bonus disc in 2009. Playing this incredible instrumental each night with Steve and Dave was an honour — I hope I did it justice!”
Progarchy 
Nice review Brad. Wish it was enough to convince me that I’d like Rush as much as the fans do. I always feel like I’m missing out on something when I read this stuff.
I had a brief flirtation with A farewell to Kings which ended when I couldn’t take anymore of Geddy Lee’s high pitched vocals. But I have Grace under Pressure.. and I haven’t played it for twenty odd years. The world weighed on my shoulders in the 80s too.
I’m going to visit the attic later and dig it out… Got to start again somewhere.
Eric, I wonder what I’d think about Rush if I heard them for the first time at 46 instead of 13. Geddy’s voice has always been “normal” for me. I also think that Americans and Canadians have an unusual relationship with Rush–maybe in the same way that Brits have with Yes? Just thinking out loud here.
I don’t get the people that have voice issues with Geddy and then laud Zeppelin. Robert Plant’s voice is a Holy Mess compared to Geddy’s and just as high in many spots.
Brad,
I listened to the remixed version as I read your review. Like you, I never quite understood the vehement denunciations of the original’s sound when it was released – I was just happy that Rush had returned, and Neil was okay. That said, this new mix is amazing! The separation of the instruments is a revelation, particularly Geddy’s bass lines (for example, the fade at the end of “Secret Touch”). I saw them on the tour for this album, and they were outstanding – obviously having a great time playing together, and the new songs were highlights.
Tad–agreed. So great you saw them on tour. I didn’t for that one–but should have.
I LOVE Vapor Trails and never understood the whiners. I was just glad there was new Rush and that the lyrics and music was as good as ever, and better as a whole than any work they had done in a long time. I lost my mother in 1999, had my wife go through a life threatening illness in 2001 an the birth of our child shortly after. An of course, there were the events of 9/11. Vapor Trails touch me personally and helped me deal with all those life altering events. I sounds silly, but it’s true. I was extremely incensed by all the complaining. The Vapor Trails tour was a real treat as I finally had the financial wherewithal to see them a few different times and get up-close seats. To this day I still regularly listen to Vapor Trails.
Fantastic review that pretty much echoes everything I have thought and experienced over the years with VT. Well written and well said. Very sorry to hear of your personal loss.
Brad, clearly you are a kindred spirit to myself and a few fellow die-hard Rush fan friends of mine. I totally relate to your narrative about the band (particularly Neil) and the meaning of their music in your life. I am so sorry to hear about your daughter, I have a dear daughter myself, and I cannot imagine the unbearable pain. Like with Neil, I’m glad to see you’re OK. I look forward to reading your stuff in the future, and thanks for the article man.
Except listening to the new record (I don’t have it yet), I agree with every word–I feel the same. Thank you very much! (I am from Rotterdam, Holland.)
Love this review, really great way to sum up Vapor Trails. I’ve always thought the same about Vapor Trails and would have loved it with or without the remix. But now that I have it, I wouldn’t be able to take it back. It’s just so good.
“Indeed, if Grace Under Pressure examines the state of the world and laments, Vapor Trails examines the state of the soul and rejoices” … that is an excellent observation. Well put.
Tom, I wish I could take credit for it. I’ve been teaching history of western civ this semester. The line is Plato! But, you know, Plato, Peart. . . .
What a great review!
Brad,
Great and personal review.
Being a Rush fan is a personal choice. Those who aren’t, can shake their heads and wonder what all the fuss is about—but those of us, who have made the deep connection to the music and the words, know the pure gold that dwells within them.
Rush has been the soundtrack from most of my adult life. I listen to other things, but my “go to” soul music is Rush.
It’s a chicken and the eggs kind of thing perhaps, but I wonder sometimes if I’m so happy and content is because of listening to Rush, or I just am, and Rush provides the score.
Hey Eric. Your comments to this review were perfectly expressed. Sometimes a person just can’t identify with what another feels, especially in music. Nonetheless, your respect for the band as a non-fan bleeds through. Definitely give G/P another shot!
Great Article, through and through! It is amazing how similar our connections with Neil and with Rush are! My parents divorced when I was 3, and my older brother and I was raised soley by our mother. Although our father re-entered our lives when I was around 8 years old, I had already unknowingly been gravitating toward father figures from whom I could gleen guidance from. George Lucas and Steven Speilberg were my 1st surrogate fathers. My introduction to rock and roll officially happened when I was introduced to Rush, via Moving Pictures. The music was astounding, but I immediately gravitated to Neils Lyrics. I think I was actually more a Neil fan than a Rush fan, so much in fact, that when I back tracked to assimilate Rush’s older music, I refused to accept the 1st Album for the longest time, because Neil was not on it. Hugh Syme bringing image to Neils vision fits like Hand in glove.
Turn around and walk the razors edge! Clockwork Angels is his and their Masterpiece! “Got my sites on the stars, won’t get that far, but I’ll try anyway!” – and just look at the result from such a mindset!!! Thank you Neil, So Much! You probably are unware that your words and your example of how to live life, has indeed saved many lives! Than you Sir! Rock On, Endlessly! 
I too experienced heinous & tragic loss, when my father took his own life, in late 2010. I had always learned so much from Neil, but to be in a similar situation with losing someone close to you, I really feel in my heart, that Neil’s example to pick himself up, and dust himself off, and to rise up and become greater even than he imagined, is just so Obi Wan Kenobi!!! It’s fucking Awesome!!!
Vapor Trails suffered from a lack of dynamics due to a kind of heavy-handed compression (i.e., a sort-of leveling of the aural plane so everything can get jacked up) at mastering, which I think was fashionable a decade ago and was a hangover of grunge and rock radio competing for ears. Who can forget the sonic thrill of hearing Nirvana’s Smell’s Like Teen Spirit for the first time, as Dave Grohl’s drums introduce Cobain’s guitar roar? Nevermind was a good example of applying compression right, retaining the dynamics while upping the volume and blowing away everything else. Unfortunately, as the 90s wore on and rock radio started seriously compressing what went out over their waves, by the time the sound squirted out of a radio it was as limp as it was loud. Heard Stairway to Heaven recently on the radio? It’s shocking how bad it sounds at its climax. Packing more into the bandwave was what it was all about, and right about the time Rush made Vapor Trails I think a lot of rock bands/artists started seriously backing away from so much compression because of the backlash from the serious listeners, which included themselves (this is all me conjecturing, but I think it’s true — one of the exceptions I can think of is Mastodon’s Leviathan, which is a great album compressed to tattered shreds, although something makes me think this was intentional, as it may have been with Rush back in ’02). Anyway, yeah, the remix. I’d like to hear it, but I kind of agree with you, Brad. I’d say that it’s tricky to play with artistic history. I recall when the Stooges Raw Power was remixed, removing that weird in-a-tin-can production Bowie put on it, and it just sounded wrong. Same would go for Metallica’s …And Justice for All if it received that kind of treatment: I’d totally get why they did it, but a lot of what makes that album, now, is exactly the claustrophobic, bass-less production that critics thought would sink it 25 years ago.
Craig: Thank you for this very helpful explanation!
Great article, I absolutely agree with your review. Didn’t think it needing remixing, but love the remix, and still the original mix has a place in my heart too. Important to note that when Rush fans were also grieving (and not comparable to the loss of child or spouse), some fans got together and started RushCon as a well to celebrate their work and as a way to get together as there were no shows to go to. 13 years later we are endlessly rocking….
The 2002 Vapor Trails distorted like crazy in spots when pushed hard. To this day, it’s the only Rush recording I can’t listen to for that reason alone. I will definitely be checking out this new remaster. Every since I discovered Rush as a kid, they have and will always hold a very special and dear place in my heart. I will forever be one of their biggest and most grateful fans!
I loved Vapor Trails before, despite the compression and harshness. I love it even more now, much more depth and complexity unfolding, like finding great beauty in an old friend.
I’ve also been a diehard Rush fan for more than half my life (old NMSer too) and found Neil’s lyrics saving me time and again. Would they were not needed, but so glad we have them. My condolences for your loss, Brad.
I never heard the original album/mix, but am listening to the remix now and it sounds fabulous: lots of separation, depth, and dynamics. And Geddy sounds great. I think his voice has aged incredibly well; I like it even better now than twenty years ago.
Just the fact that after the long layoff Vapor Trails dives right in with A killer Neil Peart fill is enough to make this a great album.
Great review, Brad. I totally agree on two points: first, that Neil Peart (and Rush) had a stronger influence on who I am today than any didact or narpet ever did. (As that tearful young woman says in the “Boys in Brazil” documentary: “It’s not just music. They teach… they teach us.”) Second, that Vapor Trails has ALWAYS been a great album. I loved it from the start, and love the remix even more. I disagree, though, that the album is similar to the two which followed it; I see Vapor Trails as being something completely unique in the Rush catalog, with a feel and color all its own. The guys really took a lot of chances here – in the guitar layering, the vocal layering, the total absence of keyboards, the dearth of guitar solos – and the result was not only another hard-rocking Rush album, but also something “artsy,” and yes, EMOTIONAL, too. Although I’d rank Vapor Trails below Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Hold Your Fire, Counterparts, Clockwork Angels, and perhaps a few other Rush albums, I posit that nothing else in their catalog is as ARTISTIC as Vapor Trails.
(Another area of disagreement: I’m no great fan of Grace Under Pressure. But hey, fans differ on which Rush albums are the gems and which are the clunkier ones.)