COUNTERPARTS (released Oct 19, 1993)

Roll The Bones had hinted at a possible return to a more stripped down sound, without really going in that direction. It was more of a tease than anything, leaving quite a few of us Rush fans wishing they had just gone for it. In addition, since the release of RTB the music world had changed dramatically...it was time for a major focus shift before Rush was left completely on the outside looking in.

So, how did they respond? They recorded a kick-ass rock record.

This could be the first Rush album since Moving Pictures that you could actually use the adjective "fun" to describe some of it. All of a sudden, in just the opening introduction to Animate...you can hear a looseness, a playfulness that had been completely lacking for the majority of the past decade or longer. The arrangement was insteresting as well, even though I wouldn't go as far as to describe it as progressive, it is more lively than anything since Grace Under Pressure. The other defining characteristic of Animate is the Guitar, yes, there is an actual guitar on this song. You can hear some sparse keyboard in the background, but it is firmly in the background. All of sudden Rush sounds like an actual band again.

Stick It Out was the first single and has been a bit of an arguing point ever since. I loved it, it was heavy, darkly funky and again...fun. I didn't even think it was possible for Rush to record a track like this anymore. I remember most of my friends just loving it, finally a Rush song that JAMS again. Now, the alternate viewpoint is that Rush was trying to jump on the bandwagon of the current rock music scene...tuning to Drop D, etc. But in the end, who really cares? Sure, maybe it was a calculated move, but it worked.

Cut To The Chase is another excellent straight ahead rocker. The buildup from the pseudo-funky intro in to full blown rock riffage is a fantastic dynamic. The crystal clear mix of this record helps accentuate the arrangment, you can hear every little fill, cymbal crash and the slap of the strings on Geddy's bass. Again, I'm struck by the sound of an ACTUAL BAND when listening to this track.

The great vibe of the first 3 tracks is momentarily sidetracked by Nobody's Hero another ridiculously sappy Peart ballad with nauseating lyrics. skip.

Things get wonderfully back on track with Between Sun & Moon. This song is easily one of the best Rush tunes from the entire decade. A breezy rocker with an uber catchy chorus, this one sticks in my head for days. I love Lifeson's stripped down, bluesy solo on this tune.

Alien Shore and The Speed Of Love are both very enjoyable modern-sounding rock tracks, maybe not quite as memorable as some of the other songs, but still fitting the overall mood of the album.

Double Agent brings Rush about as close to progressive as they had come since Grace Under Pressure. While the song doesn't completelly work (the voiceover narrative sounds interesting the first time you hear it, but it's a tad annoying on repeated listenings), it's great to hear Rush play around with rhythmic shifts of this nature again. The entire album comes across as Rush trying to regain their identity through experimentation, which is admirable for a band this far into their career. Lifeson has another great little angst-driven solo on here.

The trend of Rush instrumentals continues with Leave The Thing Alone. Interestingly, the most electronic of all the songs on the album. The real joy of this song is hearing the interplay between Geddy & Neil, they really nail a great groove throughout...Geddy even gets a short little jazzy break. This song ended up on rock radio stations from time to time during the era. Alex takes another gorgeous solo.

The album kind of limps to a close with Cold Fire and Everyday Glory. The former track has some nice moments but does sound a little too "modern rock calculated" while the latter is another in the tradition of snooze inducers that populated albums like Presto.

BUT! Overall, this is a really kick ass Rush album, the only one from the 1990's that I can honestly recommend with very few reservations. The album sold very well, it debuted at #2 on the Billboard Album charts (their highest charting position ever) and went platinum. The tour was also very popular.

I can't for the life of me understand the flack that Counterparts gets. I freakin' love it.

Good album! much better than anything they had done in years

Excellent album, and I remember when this album was released I was excited, finally a Rush album that rocked!!!!

Don't get me wrong I liked their post-Singles material but I felt this album was a return to form. I felt Rush heard what was going on around them and felt inspired and it worked.

I love every song including 'Nobody's Hero' , which maybe a bit preachy but it was an important topic for a band to take on.

This album served as beginning of a creative renaissance for the band.

This is probably my least favorite Rush album, but I still like it.

I don't own a copy -- but I should get it just to fill the holes in my collection. I might like it more given more time with it.

At the time, I still thought they were missing something. I should get this again and give it another listen.

I found a sealed copy of this on CD format at a flea market for a buck and it is still sealed. Probably three years later? After Detuned's description, prehaps it's time to open 'er up.

I think that "Nobody's Hero" would have worked better if the album cover had looked like this:

TEST FOR ECHO (released Sep 10, 1996)

Test For Echo came out during the "dark years" of the late 90's, probably the most depressing era of music in my lifetime. This was the era where I became so disenchanted with everything rock and/or metal that I ran in the opposite direction and converted myself into a jazz geek.

So it was very refreshing to hear that meaty opening riff from DRIVEN on the radio, it felt like a small life raft to cling to in an empty and utterly motionless sea. That riff inspired me enough to use it for a class project in college, I made a fake radio voiceover commercial about "the return of Rush", I got an A.

The stripped down direction that Counterparts started completes it's cycle here, this is primarily a guitar/bass/drums record. The production mirrors this change, doing away with the majority of the extra "polish" that had plagued Rush albums since Power Windows. It's a great sounding record, Geddy's bass is especially noteworthy. This was also Peart's first album after taking jazz drum lessons. He had been lambasted by every jazz critic on the planet for his Buddy Rich tribute album, so in response he went "back to school", including changing the way he holds his sticks to "traditional grip". Honestly, I've never really noticed any difference...although the drums on Echo are less overtly flashy than previous albums.

Songs like Test For Echo, Limbo and Time & Motion show a renewed interest in some progressive rock flavorings in the arrangements. Time & Motion is especially impressive, balancing heavy riff sections with a wonderful jazzy sensibility in the mid-section. These tracks to me sound like a band who is really starting to find their feet again.

This album also contains one of the best Rush "singles" from the 90's. Half The World is a memorable song with a wonderfully catchy chorus. In a better world a song like this would be a hit single. Tracks like Driven and Virtuality continue the flirtation with "alternative" sounds, it works great on the former but the latter is partially derailed by a goofy chorus about "net boy, net girl". Peart's lyrics absolutely destroy some of these songs, Dog Years being a prime example.

Overall this album holds up quite well, the stripped down production helps it from sounding as dated as albums like Presto and Hold Your Fire. Unfortunately, the band would be unable to build on the foundation laid here as a string of tragedies in Peart's personal life would keep the group out of the studio for the next 5 years.

TFO peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts and was certified Gold.

I had not listened to this CD in a very long time and it was a pleasant surprise. I have been listening to the Rush CD's as detuned goes thru the thread and it is amazing career arch and progression.

While I know Rush never considered themselves a metal band the rest of the world did, and it is nice to see the band embrace their roots sort of speak, without sounding retro or like they are trying to relive past glorious.

It seemed the band found a comfortable groove and left behind their musical wilderness years with this album and previous counterparts CD. Mixing some of the elements of what they had learned in the past and present day influences, sadly a tragedy in Neil Peart's life would understandably derail the band for a few years.

Finally, a listenable Rush album for me. I didn't listen to this at first when it came out as I was pretty done with them after Counterparts but I heard Test For Echo on the radio and liked it enough to pick it up and was pleasantly surprised.
And some horrible circumstances as Manny said, keep them from doing music for awhile but, whoa nelly, it's a doozy.

So I had to pull this out again, probably hadn't listened to it for a year or so. The song that stood out that I hadn't noticed before is Totem. I'm not great at describing songs but it has an airy feel and with the jangly guitar intro there is something catchy about it. As you said, this one holds up well.

Totem sounds more like their earlier 90's stuff (it would fit nicely on Roll The Bones). Very melodic tune, that's also the reason I like Half The World so much.

Ahem. Is this representing the pause between albums?

*note* - since there has been a plethora of live albums, DVDs, Collections and other assorted Rush paraphernalia that has been released in the past 10 years, I'm going to cover all of those in one post at the end of the thread.


VAPOR TRAILS (released March 29, 2002)

After an extended hiatus in respect to Neil, Rush began discussing the possibility of recording another album. After the initial meeting Lifeson said he would do it on 2 conditions: no keyboards, no guitar solos. Geddy agreed and the duo started working on new material. Instead of writing separately as they had done for years, they decided to just jam ideas and record them into a computer. These jams were later assembled into actual songs by Geddy and were then passed onto Neil for lyrics. In this manner they spent about a year assembling the album.

I breathed a big sigh of relief when word of a new Rush album started brewing. When the album finally dropped it was worth the 6 year wait...and then some. Thankfully, the brakes were released and Rush allowed themselves to be RUSH again. That spark of "badass" had finally returned and the jams flowed.

One Little Victory is basically a mission statement song. Peart's ridiculous drum intro lets you know that restraint has been left behind. The rest of the song is equally over the top. Geddy applies layer upon layer of frenzied vocal tracks, creating a slightly insane choir...while Lifeson chugs away on his Paul Reed Smith guitar, getting tons of tone with minimal effects. (there IS a guitar solo in this tune also, in a way).

Ceiling Unlimited is a brilliant Rush song, period. This was the tune that got me excited about Rush again. Everything about this song works...a great arrangment, a memorable chorus and a balls out rocking mid section...most definitely a Rush tune.

Ghostrider is a nice tune where Neil opens up a little bit about his healing process. Not one of my favorites from the album, not a bad song.

Peaceable Kingdom is one of the heavier tracks, befitting the post terrorist attack subject matter. Another nice arrangment with a memorably plaintive chorus balancing out the more intense sections.

The Stars Look Down and How It Is are both "okay" tracks, some nice moments, nothing earth shattering.

The next three tracks are all killer however....

The title track is a beautiful song, it's definitely got a prog vibe to it while never showing off.

Secret Touch is easily the catchiest Rush song in ages and should have been the leadoff single. Plus the guitar work in this tune is MEAN!

Earthshine is the slow, heavy track...almost like a sequel to Witch Hunt in spirit, Lifeson's simple doomy riff sets the perfect mood. This song has been a staple of their live shows ever since.

Sweet Miracle does absolutely nothing for me...Nocturne is an improvement, but this is the one song that seems to go overboard into pomposity.

then all of a sudden here comes Freeze storming out of the gate with a very King Crimson-esque riff...one of those "throw down the gauntlet" type of songs, another total kick ass tune. Rush hadn't really played anything quite like this since Permanent Waves era.

Out Of The Cradle is a fun little straight-ahead rocker, ending the album on a bright note.

In conclusion, I love this record. Now, it does suffer from some sonic imperfections because of "brickwalled" mastering techniques, but with material this good I let that pass. Even with a few throwaway tracks, the album is so long it still feels solid. As far as I'm concerned, it was the best album since Grace Under Pressure.

The album did okay in the States, sold better in Canada and Europe. The tour however was a big success and one of the shows would be recorded for a fantastic film (to be covered later).

*new mixes of Secret Touch and Earthshine were premiered on the Retrospective 3 collection. The band was so happy with the results that a planned remaster is in the works. *

Loved this album and it was one of the best in their discography. I was very happy that returned and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the songwriting. The band sounds like it is on fire and seems to have a new leash on life.

The first song is indeed a mission statement.

And i'm listening and wondering where did this come from? Some seriously great work that sounds fresh while reminding me of their classic work in the early years. Songs like Freeze, One Little Victory, Secret Touch and Earthshine stand alongside anything they've done and because it had been so long since I really liked a Rush album this thing got played to death.

Listening to the disc this evening, it had been too long since I revisited this disc, interesting disc on the lyrical side also. The album's lyrics tell a story of tragedy and loss, it takes a journey thru a man's loss, thru grief, hope and moving forward. A powerful album from not only a band re experiencing a rebirth but also of a man who experienced something I could not even begin to imagine.

Good point Manny. I tend to not dwell too deeply into lyrics (especially lyrics about loss which I have a hard time dealing with anyway)...so when I review albums I usually don't even mention them.

So thanks for bringing that up, it's an important component to this album.

I'm sure they were a sort of catharsis. I can't believe others aren't commenting on this album.

I need to update my Rush collection. I don't have anything after Hold Your Fire (except the live albums and Snakes and Arrows).

Then again, may be that's a good thing.

I really wish they would do a complete remaster of Vapor Trails. To my ears it just sounds like a compressed over loud mess....

the songs are good...


Secret Touch has one of the best break downs in Rush history....

Ceilings Unlimited to me has a total U2 rip on the intro riff... just listen to 'I will Follow'.....

I love 'Earthshine' and Iove it even more when I hear the remastered version on Retrospective 3 it just shows me how great that tune is....