The release of Rush’s remixed 2002 album, Vapor Trails, has been planned for some time. I’ve had mine on pre-order from Amazon – and although the 
actual CD release has been delayed by a few days, Amazon now has a facility where you get automatic MP3 downloads for the album you buy from their website. I downloaded mine yesterday – along with about 13 other albums I have bought through Amazon previously (and some I didn’t know I had, but I’m not complaining).
Vapor Trails was Rush’s first album for several years, following personal circumstances which put the band on hold.
The album was very good in my opinion, although it was also mixed in such a way that it was loud and distorted, which was a shame. In fact, this gave rise to a lot of criticism from fans who couldn’t see the wood for the leaves. To be honest, I initially liked the raw sound, but the more I listened to it, the more I realised that a lot of detail had been lost.
Well, this remix is incredible. The album is now almost orchestral in its quality, and the only way I can think of in comparing the original to this new version is to show the image below of two picture frames – one very simple, the other ornate and detailed.
You can hear things that weren’t there before, and things that were there (i.e. some distortion) are gone. It’s almost like having a new Rush album rather than a remix.
Rush fans will undoubtedly buy this – but I’d recommend anyone else with an interest in decent music to have a listen, too.