2002’s Vapor Trails: Rush’s answer to being faced with adversity.
In the time between Test for Echo and Vapor Trails a lot happened in Neil Peart’s life. Soon after the conclusion of the band’s Test for Echo Tour in July 1997, Peart’s first daughter, 19-year-old Selena, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario, on August 10, 1997. Almost a year after his daughter’s death, wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998 according to Neil’s book, Ghost Rider.
For almost 5 years and 55,000 miles across Canada, the United States and parts of South America, Neil was unreachable. In the Rush documentary, Beyond the Lighted Stage, Geddy remembers that periodically he would receive a postcard from a different location signed with one of Neil’s many nicknames. Alex commented that hear from Neil for several months and the band, for the first time in almost 30 years, looked to be breaking up. Neil returned from his journey to the band’s surprise after having stopped in California, met his then-to-be new wife. The band reunited and began work on the album that would become Vapor Trails began in late 2000.
Vapor Trails was not the band’s best work nor was it an album that anyone expected to be, but all things considered, it’s a solid work worth a good listen. In From 1996 to 2002, the band had been marred with tragedy and separated for the longest duration of time of any album. Naturally there was a huge sigh of relief from fans across the world when the band decided to reform amidst the bigger issues at play and produce another album, but the resulting album, sounds quite good all things considered.
Vapor Trails sounds like a modernized version of 1994’s Counterparts combined with a more focused 1996’s Test for Echo. The band retained the hard, modern rock sounds of Counterparts and Test for Echo, but with a sharper focus. Each song sounds like a condensed package neatly wrapped and meticulously cared for before the next package was started on. The album as a whole is chock full of upbeat, in your face rock and plenty of riffs that both guitar players and bassists can enjoy. Clocking in at just over an hour of music, there is certainly a lot to digest.
This album certainly has more strong points than it does weak ones, a noticeable change from their previous album. ‘One Little Victory’ showcases a flurry of intricate drum patterns before bursting into a ‘Driven’-esque guitar groove. The song is a fantastic way to start off the album -starting off with a bang. Other songs including ‘Earthshine’, ‘Nocture’ and the album’s closing track ‘Out of the Cradle’ showcase that same in-your-face attitude, as if reminding the listener that just because they haven’t been producing music for 5 years doesn’t mean the band has lost any of their chops. ‘Ghost Rider’ the album’s most intimate song captures the struggles Neil has been going through in the 5 years Rush was on hiatus and what he learned and observed while on the road all in a neat package just under 6 minutes. It’s a song meant to focus your attention to the lyrics and not so much on the music.
The biggest gripes with this album are two fold. The first is the well-documented issue with the album’s audio quality. During the final stages of production, the album was mastered much louder than it should have been, producing a final cut that sounded overdriven and distorted. This issue was corrected earlier in 2013 when the band re-mixed and re-mastered the album and produced a noticeably better sounding product. The second is the sameness of each song. No one song seems to stick out from the others. All the songs are mid to upper-mid tempo rock songs. This wouldn’t be a problem if the album was 8 or 9 songs long, but at 13 songs and clocking in just over 60 minutes of music, listening to Vapor Trails all the way through can be a bit of a chore for this reason alone.
On the whole, Vapor Trails is Vapor Trails. For what it is, the time in the band’s career that it was made in the circumstances that it was made under, it’s a solid piece. I would chalk it up alongside Counterparts as one of their better works of the 90s/early 00s period. The songs, though similar sounding more often than not, have their strong moments and their weak moments. ‘One Little Victory’ is an enjoyable listen, as is ‘Out of the Cradle’ and ‘Earthshine’. ‘How it Is’ and ‘Ceiling Unlimited’ are pleasantly upbeat and keep the album moving along. ‘Sweet Miracle’ with Geddy’s wailing vocals and hard-hitting opening riff call back to the hookiness of the early 90s Rush.
Vapor Trails was a recovery album, a testament that the band is here for many more albums and tours to come. Even in the face of grave adversity, the band can still come back with a quality product and keep their fans pleased along the way.
Vapor Trails (2002)
- One Little Victory – 5:08
- Ceiling Unlimited – 5:28
- Ghost Rider – 5:41
- Peaceable Kingdom – 5:23
- The Stars Look Down – 4:28
- How It Is – 4:05
- Vapor Trail – 4:57
- Secret Touch – 6:34
- Earthshine – 5:38
- Sweet Miracle – 3:40
- Nocturne – 4:49
- Freeze (Part IV of ‘Fear’) – 6:21
- Out Of The Cradle – 5:03
Credits on Vapor Trails
Liam Birt | Executive Producer |
Pegi Cecconi | Executive Producer |
Joel Kazmi | Assistant |
Geddy Lee | Composer, Engineer |
David Leonard | Mixing |
Roger Lian | Mastering, Sequencing |
Alex Lifeson | Composer, Engineer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandola |
Paul Northfield | Engineer, Producer |
Neil Peart | Composer, Cymbals, Drums |
Rush | Primary Artist, Producer |
Chris Stringer | Assistant |
Hugh Syme | Art Direction, Paintings, Portraits |
Howie Weinberg | Mastering |
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