Online streaming of remixed Vapor Trails

[dlm]

Rolling Stone is streaming the remixed Vapor Trails. It sounds sound much better.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...miere-20130927

[trurl]

Well... can't tell much with a streaming player through 1/2" laptop speakers but it seems better...

[ThomasKDye]

I can already tell... Geddy Lee doesn't sound like he's singing from an underground bunker anymore. Good deal!

EDIT: GAH! There's a guitar solo in "Ceiling Unlimited!" Has that always been there???

[Magic Mountain]

The Geddy interview (link at the bottom of above article) was very good and worth checking out. Here is the link:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...-road-20130923

[Paulrus]

Wow -- MUCH improved. Sonically anyway. Some of the songs still do zilch for me as a Rush fan, but I can at least now appreciate the musicianship inside the recordings. I have a feeling they'll sell more than a few copies of this sucker, and hopefully it helps seal the door on the era of over-cooked mixes.

EDIT: GAH! There's a guitar solo in "Ceiling Unlimited!" Has that always been there???

Heh, I know. There's a solo at the end of "One Little Victory" I don't remember being there. It probably was but had been buried or cut. Viva Alex!

[Sordel]

Just listening to that stream now ... sounds good but I don't know the original mix. Was the bass guitar always that low?

[Paulrus]

Just listening to that stream now ... sounds good but I don't know the original mix. Was the bass guitar always that low?

Hmmm, I'm listening to "Secret Touch" and there's nothing low about the bass in that one. I think it was more of a matter of recalibrating the instruments to create more space and depth. In some places that probably meant pulling back on some of the bass, but I think the songs all benefit greatly as a result.

[Paulrus]

Oh by the way, Amazon is taking orders for the album (it drops Sept. 30th) at $9.00 a pop.

[Innerviews]

Am I the only one amused that Disemboweling Stone went from being Rush haters to promoting a remixed Vapor Trails and getting an exclusive stream?

[gearHed289]

Am I the only one amused that Disemboweling Stone went from being Rush haters to promoting a remixed Vapor Trails and getting an exclusive stream?

No kidding! I am definitely amused at how it suddenly became hip to like Rush. Maybe they finally noticed how many bands - even "alternative" bands - have cited them as a major influence over the past, I don't know, 25 years or so?

[Sean]

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/f...ble-nightmare/

Interview with Alex about the remix.

[bRETT]

No kidding! I am definitely amused at how it suddenly became hip to like Rush.l

Hardly sudden. RS has been writing positive things about Rush for at least 15 years. David Fricke wouldn't have got the gig to write the new 2112 notes otherwise.

[NeonKnight]

Wow!

As one of those most disappointed by the original, I am floored! I'm pumping the stream through my main system and it's like a whole new world has opened up to my ears.

I thought I just did not like these tunes or the melodies all that much, in addition to the utterly awful mix.

Oh so clear to me now, after just the first 2 songs, that it was the mix after all. Overjoyed they've seem to overlay a few Alex solos in there too, which was another bitter complaint I had.

I had no such expectations that I could ever be turned around on Vapor Trails. Just based on the first 2 songs I've heard, (and now the beginning of Ghost Rider) I am happy to report:

I was wrong.

[Progatron]

I'm super pumped for this. Going to wait for my CD to arrive though, I want to hear it blast out of my speakers properly rather than an online stream (as tempting as it is to listen early). I can wait. I love the songs on this album, but like everybody in the world except Yanks, I can barely listen to it.

[Scott Bails]

Damnit! Now I'm going to have to buy this damn thing!




Again!

[NeonKnight]

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/f...ble-nightmare/

Interview with Alex about the remix.

Couple revealing insights from Alex here:

There were moments when we hated it. We threw out a bunch of songs and we re-wrote one song, Earthshine, three times.

Interesting to hear they hated their creation as they were making it, even before they heard the final mix of sludge. It took 15 months, so I'm assuming that is longer then normal for them. I'm also guessing it is uncommon for them to hate their other albums while they are making them? Earthshine was one of the few tunes I liked the first time around, so that one was worth the rewrite.

Who has remixed it?

David Bottrell. He produced Tool for a lot of years and I loved that stuff. There was talk about him producing Vapor Trails in 2002, but everything was so fragile at the time that it didn’t work out. But we stayed in touch. He’s a Toronto boy. In fact he lives not too far from where I am.

Excellent selection. Bottrell understands how to keep the bass and drums where they belong after working with Justin and Carey all these years.

But the remix hasn’t made it any easier for Neil to listen to the album…

I don’t think it makes any difference to him at all. He wasn’t involved in the remixing. He basically said, “I tried but I can’t do it.” It just churned up so many memories for him when he listened to the first remixes. He said, “I trust you guys to do it, but I can’t be a part of it.” And we totally understand that, of course. It was what we expected

Interesting to learn that Neil doesn't listen to Vapor Trails, just like the rest of us!

Sorry for Neil though, of course, since his reasons are different then ours. Still, they do play some of these tunes live right, perhaps the tunes that are not so personal?

np Earthshine. Now that's what it should sound like, I can hear all the acoustic and electric guitars and the bass just sounds so sweet. Beautiful, even a nice little Alex solo, so nice.

I even like the reworked album cover better.

Even the Geddy chorusline vocals, something I am not a big fan of, sound much much better to these ears.

$9 on Amazon is a more then fair price, especially for those of us who invested $14 the first time around.

np Sweet Miracle! Now that sounds miraculously better!

[ThomasKDye]

I thought I just did not like these tunes or the melodies all that much, in addition to the utterly awful mix.

Oh so clear to me now, after just the first 2 songs, that it was the mix after all. Overjoyed they've seem to overlay a few Alex solos in there too, which was another bitter complaint I had.

Agreed. I'm finding I'm enjoying songs I really hated before. This is gonna be worth the money.

And I give them slack for screwing it up initially -- it really must have been difficult to record under the circumstances. I remember even then reading interviews where the band members seemed to be rather morose about the whole thing.

[playbass]

I've only heard "One Little Victory" from the original mix. I'm a huge Rush fan but I never touched this record because all my buds said it sucked. Have the new mix on pre-order, going in with virgin-ears on this one, can't wait to hear it.

[Progatron]

I've only heard "One Little Victory" from the original mix. I'm a huge Rush fan but I never touched this record because all my buds said it sucked. Have the new mix on pre-order, going in with virgin-ears on this one, can't wait to hear it.

Wow! Well, I guess better late than never! I hope you enjoy.

[Garden Dreamer]

Got my CD coming in the mail but listened to the stream and it sounds great. I'm stoked. I couldn't listen to the original version; it was so bleak, colorless and painful on the ears. I always knew there were good songs buried under that sonic mess and this proves it.

[BravadoNJ]

yeah i wanna hear this on my stereo first, by the way, it's on it's way!!!

[Progatron]

yeah i wanna hear this on my stereo first, by the way, it's on it's way!!!

Mine is too! Amazon shipped it yesterday (Sunday) but my tracking # indicates it should arrive tomorrow. It sucks that new releases are always Tuesdays since I have Mondays off!

EDIT: scratch that - It has arrived.

[Yodelgoat]

Oh, Hell yeah!

Its like a completely different album! It just sounded like a wad of goo the one and only time I suffered through it - and that was only about 6 months ago, when I finally decided to pick it up. Its like getting 2 Rush albums in 2 years! Neils drums sound just fantastic! And Geddy's voice, well its not anything like I remember. I was surprised that Geddy admits he did the master... Lets keep Ged at the bass, vox, keys and pedals, and let the producers these guys have worked with over the years do their magic. This is wonderful!

Rolling Stone - I'm surprised they finally have come around. Talk about a 180.

If they were to retire today, It would be enough. But Geeze, talk about being at the top of your game! They owe it to themselves to write more. Touring can be a little limited AFAIC. I've loved em live, but if we can get more great albums and shorter tours, good for them. Sixty-something is old enough to not have to slog it out any more.

[Yanks2014]

I sure hope you people are right about this being much improved. 9 bucks is pretty cheap, but I still hate the idea of buying this again when I don't get what all the fuss is all about with the original mix. I'm hoping my tin ears (apparently) will notice a world of difference. I have my doubts, but will hear it soon enough and let you know what I think.

[Sean]

I didn't mind the original either, but it was very clear that this mix is different. I heard things I didn't prior and also heard things I did in a fresh, punchy way. With added clarity.