Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on May 14, 2002, on Anthem Records, and was their first studio release since Test for Echo (1996), the longest gap between two Rush albums. After the Test For Echo tour finished in July 1997, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart suffered the loss of his daughter and then his wife in separate tragedies. As a result, the group entered an extended hiatus during which it was not certain they would continue. They eventually reunited in January 2001 to rehearse material for a new album, recording for which lasted until December. For the first and only time since Caress of Steel (1975), the group did not use any keyboards or synthesizers in their music, incorporating many layers of guitar, bass and drums instead.
Vapor Trails reached No. 3 in Canada and No. 6 in the United States. "One Little Victory" was released as the album's lead single in March 2002 and went to No. 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in the United States. The next single was "Secret Touch". The album went gold in Canada in August 2002. The Vapor Trails Tour lasted from June to December 2002, which saw the band play to the largest crowds of its career in Brazil. Following the band's dissatisfaction with the album's overall production, two tracks were remixed for the Retrospective III: 1989–2008 compilation album. The positive feedback from this resulted in the entire Vapor Trails album being remixed by David Bottrill and released on September 30, 2013, as Vapor Trails Remixed, both as a separate release and as part of The Studio Albums 1989–2007.
Background
After Rush finished their Test for Echo Tour in July 1997, the group entered a five-year hiatus following the personal tragedies in drummer Neil Peart's life, losing his daughter Selena in August 1997 and wife Jackie in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus and rode around North America on a motorcycle, covering . At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired." However, in October 2000, after a period of recuperation, Lee announced during promotional interviews for his solo album My Favourite Headache that Rush were to get together in the following January with the intention to write and rehearse material for a new studio album. Lee said that the album was not made for simply new music, but for "the psychological health and welfare of all the people who have gone through a very difficult time."
Writing and recording
The trio gathered at Reaction Studios in Toronto on January 9, 2001, but did not play anything for three weeks. They discussed what they wanted to achieve and how the album should take shape. Lifeson said it was to get "a feel for each other's frame of mind. We needed to see if everybody was really up for it." Lee and Lifeson said that they chose the studio based on its "artist friendly environment, that was very comfortable and accommodating". Among the topics discussed was the album's musical direction which became a source of difficulty as initially, there was little agreement on what it should be. Upon reaching a consensus, Lifeson said the three found common ground "on every aspect of the recording."
The band started working, adopting a three-week-on, one-week-off schedule with no one present apart from a technical assistant. The group was hopeful there was still chemistry amongst them to make an album. They adopted their usual method of writing with Lee and Lifeson working together on musical ideas in the studio control room while Peart worked elsewhere on the lyrics, this time using a pen, paper and a computer. Peart wrote about their attitude towards the sessions: "We laid out no parameters, no goals, no limitations, only that we would take a relaxed, civilized approach." Peart looked through his scrapbook of notes and phrases he'd collected and explored ways of connecting them together to form a complete lyrical idea. Lee and Lifeson developed ideas largely through jam sessions typically kicked off by setting a pattern on a drum machine and playing along, recording every session using Logic Pro. This was to avoid making a demo tape of a collection of songs and re-record them at a later point. This way early takes became the basis of the songs which kept the music fresh using as many original takes where possible.
