20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Vapor Trails

DAY EIGHT: Rush, Vapor Trails, running time 67:15 (too damn long), released May 14, 2002

This is where Rush goes off the rails for me.  Vapor Trails, released after a six year hiatus due mostly to the personal tragedies suffered by Neil Peart, contains moments of brilliance, many wonder riffs, and some effective melodies, but it’s all too much.  Too many songs (who in his right mind thought that a 67-minute album was a good idea?), too many songs that go on forever without adding any forward momentum (listen to “Secret Touch” and tell me you’re not ready to call it a day after four minutes, but it goes on for another two and half), too many ethereal backup vocals that only muddy up the mix, too much clutter, too many busy bass lines, and too many unmemorable melodies (try singing the verses to some of the songs – “Nocturne” or “Freeze,” for instance – and it’s impossible.  The tunes, in effect, lack a tune).

This isn’t to say there aren’t great moments.  I actually love the way the album begins, with the full-throttled, blistering bombardment of “One Little Victory” followed by my favorite track, “Ceiling Unlimited.”  “Ghost Rider” isn’t perfect, but it’s such a personal song that it’s hard not to identify with what Peart is writing about.  And then it’s song after song (after song) with some good parts but way too many unsuccessful sections.  For me, there isn’t a single track beyond this point that works well from beginning to end. 

Take “How it Is,” what should have been a wonderful song.  The chorus is poignant and beautiful, but the verse is a mess, trudging through tuneless and meterless poetry that doesn’t lend itself well to a rock song.  That is what Rush is, after all.  A rock band that writes songs, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a “song” among these thirteen tracks.  “Freeze” also has one of the best, most melodic choruses in all of Rush’s history, but the verses, well…blow.  They’re a mess, stuck in a wall of sound, overly busy bass, tuneless melodies and unnecessary backup vocals.

Another item of concern is what I call the Elvis Costello Syndrome, whereby one tries to cram lyrics into a structure even if they don’t fit the structure well.  And that’s exactly what Rush is doing here.  Consider the following quote from Neil Peart (I got this off of Wikipedia):

Eventually Geddy began to sift through the vast number of jams they had created, finding a verse here, a chorus there, and piecing them together. Often a pattern had only ever been played once in passing, but through the use of computer tools it could be repeated or reworked into a part...once Geddy and Alex had agreed on basic structures, Geddy would go through the lyrics to see what might suit the music and "sing well," then come to me to discuss any improvements, additions, or deletions I could make from my end.

This is a very odd way to compose, and it explains a lot, I think.  Usually, one composes a tune and then writes lyrics to fit the tune, or one composes lyrics and comes up with a melody for the lyrics.  On Vapor Trails, Rush creates songs from jam sessions, and then they review the lyrics to see which ones might work with the verses and choruses. It's a Frankensteinian approach to making music.  Kudos to Rush for trying something different, but unfortunately it doesn’t work.  The result sounds exactly what it is: pieces of music spliced together with lyrics forced into the structure.

Geddy’s bass is incredible on this album, Exhibit A for what’s possible with this instrument, but it’s also Exhibit A on how to muck up a recording.  Too busy.  Too much.  And that pretty much encapsulates the entire album.  Too busy.  Too much.  Even the 2013 remix, which is a definite improvement over the original, suffers from a thwacking kick drum that’s way too hot.  It seems that even a remix couldn’t save this effort.

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 7.  Rewind to 1980’s Permanent Waves.  It’ll be interesting to listen to an album that’s almost one half the length of Vapor Trails.  It’ll be a lot quicker, too.

20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Counterparts

DAY SEVEN: Rush, Counterparts, running time 54:17, released October 19, 1993

Rush continued to explore heavier-guitar production in the 90s, and at the time I remember not caring for it so much.  Hearing "Stick it Out" for the first time, it seemed like a poor throwback, but now in hindsight, it makes perfect sense.  Rush has never isolated itself from musical trends, and as grunge had already taken hold of the airwaves, it’s not surprising that the sound of the times would have impacted the band's writing and production.  It’s probably a good thing that it did, because the result was increased sales and a new generation of followers.

Counterparts begins very solid, with “Animate,” “Stick it Out,” “Cut to the Chase,” “Nobody’s Hero” and “Between Sun & Moon” (the middle track sounding a lot like it belongs on Rush’s previous release, Roll the Bones – to me it’s reminiscent of “Face Up.”), but the album’s middle suffers by comparison.  The overall theme of relationships between men and women lends itself to a more personal, intimate lyrical approach that sometimes sounds a little too straight forward for Rush.  The opening of “Alien Shore, (“You and I, we are strangers by one chromosome”) is, to me, not the best way to begin a song, and the lines like “For you and me, sex is not a competition” from "Alien Shore" just don’t seem to work.

When I saw Rush at Minneapolis’s Target Center in 1994, my least favorite tune was “Double Agent,” and hearing it again today, I stand by my conclusion.  The spoken word section is embarrassingly bad.  When Geddy sings “so tight” and “at war” after speaking the words a moment before, it reminds me of Budweiser’s “Real Men of Genius” ad campaign.  Not good!  

Luckily, the album ends where it began, with three excellent tracks, the instrumental “Leave that Thing Alone” followed by “Cold Fire” and the uplifting “Everyday Glory.”  Why this latter track, or songs like “Cut to the Chase” and “Between Sun & Moon” haven’t made it into a regular concert rotation is one of those mysteries I’ll never understand.  All of these would be welcome replacements for the played-out live performances of “Force Ten” and “Dreamline.”  If Rush has a weakness, it’s the unwillingness to play a more varied setlist from tour to tour. 

As with all of Rush’s releases from 1987 on, this album is too damn long, but it’s still among their best efforts.  Subtract “Double Agent” and “The Speed of Love” and you’ve got a very solid 44 minute album.  Kill your children, artists!  Subtraction is addition.

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 17: Vapor Trails.  I’ll go to the 2013 remix of the album, figuring I shouldn’t have to subject myself to an original mix that even the band was unhappy with.

20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Rush

DAY SIX: Rush, self-titled debut, running time 40:07, released March 1, 1974

It’s hard to imagine how the album Rush would be remembered today were it not for the forty years that followed.  Listening to it now, there are little glimpses of what the band would become, and to separate these songs from the band’s overall legacy is difficult, but this afternoon I attempted to enjoy the album on its own terms, and you know what?  I really liked it.  I actually think that as a total package, it’s a superior product to Fly By Night (which I listened to last week).  However, it aims lower – much lower – than any of their subsequent efforts, and in retrospect it’s easy to see that on the next couple of albums the band needed to find its footing and stumble a few times in order for albums like 2112 and A Farewell to Kings to transpire.  For their debut album, all they needed to do was create good, rocking, blues-based songs, and they succeeded big-time.

I noticed a few things while listening to this album:

1)   John Rutsey’s drumming is very capable, and your average 70s rock band would have been happy to have him laying down their rock grooves.  This surprised me a bit.

2)   Geddy actually sings in a lower register more frequently on this album than he does on the next several, and it sounds good.  If you ever listen to the live version of “Working Man” from All The Worlds A Stage, you’ll notice that Geddy raises the pitch of the verses way, way up.  I like the studio version better, with a discernible melody in a lower register.

3)   Alex Lifeson was all of twenty years old while recording this album, and so much of what he does is melodic and tasteful.  He allows his solos to breathe, something seasoned professionals often fail to do.

4)   Rush employed extensive use of doubling lead vocals and, on occasion, lead guitar, a technique that worked very well to create a fuller sound.

Sure, the lyrics on most of these tunes are silly, but what do you expect from teenagers?  There are great riffs (“Finding My Way,” “What You’re Doing”), refreshingly positive messages from a blues-rock band (“Take a Friend”) and a little foretaste of more ambitious efforts (“Before and After” and “Working Man.”).   Comparing this album to other rock bands of the 70s, Rush is better than anything Kiss ever produced (IMO), and better than bands like Foghat, Head East and Ted Nugent.  It doesn’t reach the heights of, say, Van Halen’s or Boston’s debut album, but still, an honest and impressive album for a bunch of 20 year-olds.

Comparing this album to Fly by Night or Caress of Steel is almost ridiculous.  Those albums aimed very high and missed a bit.  This album aims straight on and, to my ears, hits the mark.  It’s like comparing a Will Ferrell movie to a poor film by Scorsese.  Still, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing in thirteen days.

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 15!  Fast-forward nineteen years to the album Counterparts, an oft-overlooked effort (except for my local college radio station that plays it incessantly!).  Off we go…

20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Grace Under Pressure

DAY FIVE: Rush, Grace Under Pressure, running time 39:12, released April 12, 1984 (my 16^th birthday)

No Rush album captures the feel of a time period the way Grace Under Pressure does, taking us to an era of Reagan and Gorbachev, The Day After, War Games and general paranoia about what lay ahead.  It’s a feeling that might not lend well to an enjoyable listen, and indeed, the entire first side of Rush’s tenth album is in a minor key with production that sounds like cold, stainless steel.  Luckily, just as the album starts to labor under its own weight of self-importance, side two comes to save the day

Rush recruited Peter Henderson to help with production after parting ways with long-time producer Terry Brown, and the results are mixed.  Some of the choices are extremely unsatisfying.  Half way through listening to “Afterimage” I had the sneaking suspicion that Journey’s ”Separate Ways” must have been playing on an endless loop in the control room prior to recording this song.  Terrible synth choices, and for me, the weakest song on the album by far.  The instrumental breaks of this tune and the following track, “Red Sector A,” are among the most unsatisfying of any Rush song.  True, Alex Lifeson doesn’t need to have a guitar solo on every song, but instrumental sections also have to lead somewhere.  Here, they remain stagnant, serving as little more than time filler.

The opening track, “Distant Early Warning,” still holds up well, and the lyrics “You sometimes drive me crazy – but I worry about you” have never resonated more to this father of three.  The dreary mood of side one gives way to a refreshing set of songs on side two that alter the feel of the album just enough to provide a welcomed second wind.  “Kid Gloves” is a fun tune, and one that I would have expected to become a mainstay in Rush’s setlist, but it hasn’t been played in concert since 1984.  Go figure.  Rush added “The Body Electric” to its most recent tour, and I thought it was a refreshing addition.  Yes, the chorus is a little cheesy, but I’ve always been a fool for cheesy songs.  “Red Lenses” is one of those tracks that inspires a heated reaction.  My son hates the song, and from what I’ve read on-line, many other Rush fan feel the same.  I love it.  And though a guitar solo is avoided yet again on this tune, the instrumental passage works, offering a change in feel instead of just droning on the way other tracks from this album do.  "Between the Wheels” ends the album where it began, in an ominous minor key, as if to remind the listener that despite the mild humor of the previous song, things really aren’t okay.  As if we needed reminding.

Lifeson's guitar work on Grace Under Pressure is very interesting.  I comare his crunchy, clean upbeats on "The Enemy Within" to his work on "Vital Signs" three years earlier, and it's apparent to me that by 1984 he'd found his footing, managing to make the guitar relevent even in the evolving sonic landscape of the 80s.  His contribution, both innovative and subtle, warrants repeated listenings.

Grace Under Pressure benefits from it's short length.  One more tune – especially a tune in a minor key – would have put it over the edge.  As it stands, it's a decent, if imperfect, album.

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 1!  The debut album.  Back to the basic blues/rock band with banal lyrics.  This ought to be interesting…

20 Rush Albums in 20 Days: Fly by Night

DAY FOUR: Rush, Fly By Night, running time 37:38, released February 15, 1975

Rush hit paydirt when they recruited Neil Peart to take over drumming duties from original member John Rutsey.  Not only did they inherit a drumming virtuoso, they found a new lyricist – arguably the more important contribution of the two – whose writing would match the musical exploration that was to follow.  Except for a few lingering songs penned by Lee and Lifeson, lyrics would now be the responsibility of Peart, and gone would be the days of “Hey baby it’s a quarter to eight.”  It was a necessary change. 

I am no longer a fan of the high screeching vocal style of early Geddy Lee, and as a result it’s difficult for me to enjoy the first several Rush albums on the same level that I once did.  Indeed, the best songs on Rush’s second album, Fly By Night, are those in which Geddy uses the lower register that would become so familiar in the 80s.  “Making Memories” and “In the End,” in addition to being good songs, both serve as a respite from the shrieking onslaught of Geddy’s vocals.

Still, some of the other tunes are infectious with their complicated grooves and melodic phrases, and Neil’s drumming is so strong that I get the feeling Lee and Lifeson felt unhindered for the first time, able to follow whatever direction their musical imaginations might take them.  “Anthem” begins the album with a vengeance, and it’s apparent with the first lick that this is not the same Rush that recorded “Working Man” just a year before.  Both “Fly by Night” and “Beneath, Between, Behind” are terrifically catchy tunes with great riffs, but the band really misses the mark on three other tracks.  “Best I Can,” written by Lee, is a throw-away song that sounds like a reject from Rush’s debut album.  “Rivendell” is a two minute tune that does on for nearly five minutes with no forward movement.  In effect, it’s a journey that goes nowhere.  And then there’s “By-Tor and the Snow Dog,” a tune that many Rush fanatics love, but for me is overbearing and obnoxious.  In addition to going on far too long, it overshadows Lifeson’s significant guitar work with an incessant and unpleasant “growling” effect created by Lee (and multiple effects).  Yes, I know.  It’s supposed to represent the growl of By-Tor.  I get it.  But it doesn’t make for good listening.  Rush played excerpts from this song on their Vapor Trails tour, and I thought it worked well on that level, but listening to the entire tune isn’t a journey I’d like to repeat anytime soon.

Fly By Night offers glimpses of what the band would become, and while not perfect, its high points still outweigh the low ones.  But better things lay head.  I'm not sure where this will fall when I rank the albums 1 through 20 in another 16 days, but I would suspect somwhere in the bottom half.

Tomorrow, I’ll be listening to…drum roll, please…number 10.  Back to the 80s we go with Grace Under Pressure.  Let’s see if the bridge from the guitar-based Rush to the synth-based Rush holds up well.  Stay tuned…