Vapor Trails (studio album) by Rush

From doombringer 09/12/2025 11:50

Had to rerate this album . Sorry , but this is ,by and large, just an average release from one of the most reliable bands .

Went back and listened to the remixed version from 2013. Adjusted my rating accordingly.
Well...If ever a record needed a remix it was this one. The sound is so much clearer and better defined. Alex's guitar work is unbelievable and Geddy and Neil are just doing their thing. This is a completely different experience to listening to the originally released mix.

I listened to the original version. It starts as if they arrived at the Grunge party 10 years too late. Rush covers Soundgarden? The album gradually seems to calm down and the more intricate tracks come to the fore. Then it dives back into the LOUDNESS. Sorry to say it but this was the least happy I have ever been listening to a Rush album. I'm going to leave it for a bit then head back to the Remixed version.

From Keltron1 03/06/2017 06:36

I love the remixed version and feel that the mix is far cleaner and punchier than the original recording in 2002. The lyrics are from the depths of Neil Peart's struggles with the loss of his wife and daughter and are very emotional. The compositions are solid and the whole (remixed) album is an absolute triumph for Rush. It's one of my faves from Geddy, Alex and Neil. For those fans that think the original recordings were distorted, it's not true - it was the mixing and mastering that muddied the music. David Botrill, the producer who remixed the album in 2013 said, " There was some talk in the fan press that the tracks were distorted in the recording process or that there have been new recordings done. Neither is true. The source recordings are top quality and we didn’t add anything new from those early recordings."

From Fischman 12/14/2016 22:36

There are some very good songs here, but I agree with the general consensus that the production bogs things down a bit. The first two cuts and 'Earthshine' are the highlights.

Terrible production , even the remixed edition some years later is still too fuzzy. Shame as some decent songs that sounded great live: Earthshine, Ghostrider, One little victory, Freeze, Celing Unlimited, secret touch B- MEZ

The production and lack of many "wow" moments are what sink this album for me. I feel like I'm listening to a giant, distorted Wall of Sound: not good. Also, there just aren't very many songs that blow me away from start to finish - I mean, I like some of the ideas in "Ceiling Unlimited", "Freeze", and "Nocturne", but they don't pan out all that much. "One Little Victory" has a great opening but is otherwise uneven due to the strange production. "Earthshine" is great, though, and "Ghost Rider" had potential.

It all adds up to a below average Rush album (and basically an average album overall).