VAPOR TRAILS

I really don't know why people bash this album. Okay, it's not classic Rush. So what? What do you expect from a band that had been on hiatus since 1996? I'm sure it took a lot of guts for Neil Peart to come back and bang on the skins again, after all of his personal turmoil. But it seems as if Rush was just what the doctor ordered for him. This album is not really true progressive rock, or at least as proggy as their material from the first 10 years. This new, hard, alternative metal-driven sound should be expected when one considers the recent influences the band has recently had, such as alternative metal acts like Pearl Jam and Tool (Matt Cameron did some drumming for Geddy Lee on his solo album "My Favourite Headache" in 2000). However, even though this is not vintage Rush, this is in many ways what Rush is and what they have always been about - constant evolution. The band started as a Cream/Zeppelin cover band, evolved into one of the finest prog/art rock bands of the late 70's/early 80's, cranked out some heavily Police-influenced pop rock albums in the mid 80's, then finally came back to a harder power trio sound in the 90's. This album just shows how far the band has come, and it highlights the main reason why the band has stayed popular for 30 years. They don't just settle for the norm, rather they challenge themselves to explore new musical boundaries. I. for one, enjoy this album alot. "Earthshine", "Secret Touch", "One Little Victory" and "Ghost Rider" are clearly the best of the bunch, and the boys seem to show some very nice cohesiveness throughout the album. There are some less-inspired tracks on the album, but no one can fault the band on the massive effort they put forth to make this album. If anyone thinks these guys are finished, maybe they should pick this album up. Acutally, you should pick up the Rush in Rio DVD as well and see some of this stuff live. I was able to see them play in Toronto during the R30 tour, and, it's safe to say, even after 30 years, these guys can STILL seriously rock out. Not a collection starter, but definitely a solid pickup.