goose Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I agree with your statement that RTB is underrated, in that it is way over-hated. I like a lot of the songs, like Heresy, Ghost of a Chance, Dreamline, Bravado, Where's My Thing? The title track reflects of the entire album in that overall it's pretty solid, but some of the components really detract from the overall work. Take out the rap and Roll the Bones is a great song. Remove Neurotica's chorus and You Bet Your Life, and RTB is a pretty good album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 QUOTE (The Owl @ May 23 2012, 07:27 PM) If I could do it all again I feel a letter grading system (A+, A, A-, B+...etc) would have been better in retrospect.... how do you feel about the scores so far, and would it be too late to change the scoring up a bit? Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossedSignals Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:04 AM) Take out the rap and Roll the Bones is a great song. If Rush ever plays "Roll The Bones" live again, I'm probably going to be the only one in the audience belting out the rap right along with Mr. Skeleton Geddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 23 2012, 11:06 PM) QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:04 AM) Take out the rap and Roll the Bones is a great song. If Rush ever plays "Roll The Bones" live again, I'm probably going to be the only one in the audience fixed Piss break, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossedSignals Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:09 AM) QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 23 2012, 11:06 PM) QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:04 AM) Take out the rap and Roll the Bones is a great song. If Rush ever plays "Roll The Bones" live again, I'm probably going to be the only one in the audience fixed Piss break, anyone? One on one with the band, HELL YEAH I'll take it!! I LOVE Roll The Bones (the song, not the album). The rap is pure camp, and I'm a pretty campy guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 23 2012, 11:12 PM) QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:09 AM) QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ May 23 2012, 11:06 PM) QUOTE (goose @ May 24 2012, 12:04 AM) Take out the rap and Roll the Bones is a great song. If Rush ever plays "Roll The Bones" live again, I'm probably going to be the only one in the audience fixed Piss break, anyone? One on one with the band, HELL YEAH I'll take it!! I LOVE Roll The Bones (the song, not the album). The rap is pure camp, and I'm a pretty campy guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dscrapre Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I like Roll the Bones. Not a favorite album by any stretch, but it's still pretty good. I disagree with your views on the Rap. I love the rap! I'm glad to know that there are at least some other people out there that like the rap too. QUOTE If Rush ever plays "Roll The Bones" live again, I'm probably going to be the only one in the audience belting out the rap right along with Mr. Skeleton Geddy. Trust me, you won't be the only one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 One small P.S about the lack of heaviness/"umph" that I felt this album had, even on the songs I praised. Of all Rush's material I prefer live versions of Roll The Bones material to the studio versions.... I probably would not say that about any other live vs studio versions of Rush songs...(well Vapor Trails would qauify too but more on that when we get there)....and it is because when RTB songs are played live the do have the balls live in terms of heaviness that the studio versions did not have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossedSignals Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Everyone on TRF seems to be obsessed with "heaviness" and "balls". Jus' sayin'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Huge fan of the rap here! The skeleton is especially hilarious! I think it helps to realize the rap is a parody and not intended seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnoble Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (The Owl @ May 24 2012, 08:58 AM) One small P.S about the lack of heaviness/"umph" that I felt this album had, even on the songs I praised. Of all Rush's material I prefer live versions of Roll The Bones material to the studio versions.... I probably would not say that about any other live vs studio versions of Rush songs...(well Vapor Trails would qauify too but more on that when we get there)....and it is because when RTB songs are played live the do have the balls live in terms of heaviness that the studio versions did not have. Alex has mentioned in interviews that while recording his guitar parts on albums like HYF and RTB, it sounded fine in the studio but sometime during postproduction, all the power he thought was there was pushed down/lost in the final mix. Geddy was also expressing disappointment in the overall sound of RTB soon after it came out and that those songs sounded much better live than what they recorded. Edited May 26, 2012 by jnoble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarcasm Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 QUOTE (The Owl @ May 23 2012, 07:27 PM) I need some feedback regarding my scores on the albums, and this is almost same reason I stopped rating the songs.. I feel that I am giving out to some degree arbitrary scores to the albums as a whole... I gave the last album a 77, but gave the debut album a lower score, and I don't feel that's entirely correct. "What I like" as opposed to the somewhat objective "what is good" seems to be conflicting the scores as well, I feel I am second guessing myself in the scoring of these albums.... If I could do it all again I feel a letter grading system (A+, A, A-, B+...etc) would have been better in retrospect.... how do you feel about the scores so far, and would it be too late to change the scoring up a bit? Great review man. I think this album is greatly underrated. I actually like the rap section(or at least before I saw the skeleton) and the fuckiness of the song is good. I used to like face up a lot and I still really like Neurotica and YBYL. Heresy is trash though. Definitely one of my least listened Rush songs. In general this is a fun record. Lots of funk and energy but it has a pronounced early 90's tinge to it and the songs would be a lot better if they were chunkier and had more body. Sadly the band adopted this style during the RTB tour. If these songs had counterparts production, Rush would've had their best since Moving Pictures. Strong melody, energy, and production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DistantEarlyRushFan Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 QUOTE (Czarcasm @ May 26 2012, 01:21 AM) QUOTE (The Owl @ May 23 2012, 07:27 PM) I need some feedback regarding my scores on the albums, and this is almost same reason I stopped rating the songs.. I feel that I am giving out to some degree arbitrary scores to the albums as a whole... I gave the last album a 77, but gave the debut album a lower score, and I don't feel that's entirely correct. "What I like" as opposed to the somewhat objective "what is good" seems to be conflicting the scores as well, I feel I am second guessing myself in the scoring of these albums.... If I could do it all again I feel a letter grading system (A+, A, A-, B+...etc) would have been better in retrospect.... how do you feel about the scores so far, and would it be too late to change the scoring up a bit? Great review man. I think this album is greatly underrated. I actually like the rap section(or at least before I saw the skeleton) and the fuckiness of the song is good. I used to like face up a lot and I still really like Neurotica and YBYL. Heresy is trash though. Definitely one of my least listened Rush songs. In general this is a fun record. Lots of funk and energy but it has a pronounced early 90's tinge to it and the songs would be a lot better if they were chunkier and had more body. Sadly the band adopted this style during the RTB tour. If these songs had counterparts production, Rush would've had their best since Moving Pictures. Strong melody, energy, and production. Agreed 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slack jaw gaze Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 QUOTE (Czarcasm @ May 26 2012, 01:21 AM)the fuckiness of the song is good. TMI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 QUOTE (Czarcasm @ May 26 2012, 01:21 AM) Strong melody That is a real upside to these songs. The lack of melody in RUSH's more recent efforts does get to me after a while. I like the songs...but as complete works I find the albums taxing to listen to in their entireties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) Counterparts Time!!! .. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Rush_Counterparts.jpg Counterparts 1993 - Track #1: Animate Oh, hark! Whats' that I hear... heavy drums? Down-Toned guitar riff? Loads of auditory bliss? Thank Ye Olde music gods... this is what I've been waiting to hear for after covering over a decade's worth of music... What a great lead off track, great layering of deep and rich sound, amazing playing all around. Great lyrics and arrangement make "Animate" one of the most engrossing songs that the band had produced for a long time.. - Track #2: Stick It Out We keep up the heaviness with a piercing guitar riff, and an almost haunting build towards the choral section. The song might be a bit generic in terms of song structure, but it's not a bad thing.... The soft bridge segue into a great solo is great, albiet a bit short lived. Great song overall, even if it is a bit over-conventional (song structure wise) - Track #3: Cut to the Chase Geddy shines at the beginning, with subtle guitar and drums backing him slowly escalating into the main body of the song. This song dosen't grab me in the same way the previous two tracks did, but it still very nice, albiet repetitive in the middle.. The lyrics are not my favorite, but they are far from bad. I do love the extended guitar solo, and the last minute and a half of the song, that ends the song nicely and is far less repetitive than the first half of the track. -Track #4: Nobody's Hero A little acoustic break is kind of welcome here... I will admit I am a bit mixed about this song, I know some love it, and some hate it... I consider myself in the former category.. The lyrics to convey great emotion, emphasized by some great playing and layering of acoustic and electric instruments, and an absolute stellar solo. I will say this however..... the song could have ended a tad sooner, the outro wasn't as great as the first 2/3 of the track... overall great tune though. - Track #5: Between Sun & Moon This is a fine song..... Another great track, a bit lighter than the album has been to this point, but once again we have some great layering of sound played fantastically by the boys. The lyrics are great, some of my favorite in latter day Rush. The track flows very nicely and does not overstay it's welcome... superb spin.. - Track #6: Alien Shore Wow, I know this is starting to sound redundant, but the lead guitar on this album is kicking my ass, I am loving it.....that was a great intro to an otherwise.... "Slightly better than okay" song. The lyrics are not my favorite, but are not as bad as others. My biggest highlight to point out is that I am glad to actually hear a bit of Geddy on bass in this track... With alot of the emphasis on guitar on the album so far, Geddy has kind of gotten lost in the mix, but is a standout here.... The instrumental break is fantastic as well, but it's the bookending first and last minute or so, and the lyrics that kind of drag the song down.(just a bit) - Track #7: The Speed of Love Okay, can we just ignore the lyrics here? I have had a couple of complaints lyrically so far on this album but are comparatively are Shakespearean poetry when looking at this track. Musically this track doesn't do much for me either, a bit too reminiscent of the tracks I had grievances with on the previous two albums... I'd hate to completely dismiss this track outright, but there is not much redeeming here that I like.... a skippable track for me. - Track #8: Double Agent Gonna outright spoil this, this is my favorite track on the album. And one of the more underrated songs in Rush's catalog.... I love the complexity, the mood changes, the overall playing and arrangement, the lyrics..... overall a great song.. It's not without it's faults...or fault.. I am not a fan of spoken word sections in songs (See my Necromancer review), and it does take away from the track slightly, but not enough to stop me loving this track.. - Track #9: Leave that Thing Alone Instrumental time once again. And this is a good one.... and as an instrumental should do all parties are in good showcase.. Great bass work on Geddy's part giving this track the funky groove that permeates the song, great drumming, and as is the case with this album as a whole Alex's playing is amazing. It's a great instrumental. In the same league with "YYZ" or "LaVilla" .....no, but worthy, and better than the instrumental output of "Where's My Thing" on the previous album. - Track #10: Cold Fire If you could tell from alot of my song reviews, I am not that big of songs that could be considered "love songs" lyrically (although the lyrics do state that "This is not a love song").... and while this song does fall into that category, it's not that bad of an offender, in fact they're not that bad at all. Musically the song moves nicely along with the lyrics making a tight and consistant rock song. "Cold Fire is not something that stands out among the Rush catalog, but it's far from being a stinker as well... -Track #11: Everyday Glory We crawl upon yet another closing track of a Rush album. There is alot of richness of sound in this song, the mixing is superb. It's a great closing track, not my favorite of the album, but very, very good. The instrumental arrangement complements they lyrics, and convey a great sense of emotion. I love that it's a bass riff that drives this song instead of guitar, which allows Alex to be free with some amazing chords throughout the song and closing out what has been overall a fantastic album.. -------------------------------Overall Thoughts/ Final Review--------------------------- Well, alot has changed since the last album... Let me be frank, I love Counterparts, it is easily the best of the 90s, probably the best since Moving Pictures or Signals (and arguably still is). Almost all my overall complaints about Roll the Bones have been adressed and improved upon, and while I had some small complaints that I adressed in the song reviews, which (other than "Speed of Love") are very trivial into my overall appreciation of this album . I covered this in detail in the song reviews, so I'll (try to) keep it short here, but ALEX IS BACK, in full force. After being downplayed in the 80s synth albums, and slowly being brought back into prominence over the previous 2 albums, Alex is finally being able to bring his full potential back to the band, and this album demonstrates that... what a superb performance. I also appreciate the tone of the album being dropped down on the album overall, in terms of guitar, drums and bass, giving the aforementioned emphasis on the guitar it's prominence, and the album overall the balls it was lacking on "Roll the Bones" . Though, and I did mention this briefly, and while it may sound a bit contradictory, while I love that the guitar was brought back into the main light, I do feel that did push Geddy back into the mix quite a bit, and other than a few notable instances was lost in it (the mix) a lot of the time. Counterparts is a standout, perhaps the standout album of latter day Rush and while far from the greatness of the 70s albums is still deserved of a grade of Overall Album Score: 83/100 Edited May 28, 2012 by The Owl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) If I could go back, I'd think I'd rate Fly By Night, and Caress of Steel a bit higher... Both of those scored lower than Counterparts, but I like those albums a bit better... And it feels "wrong" I guess to grade an album like counterparts higher than Fly By Night, even while trying to stay objective in my reviews... I guess that's why I feel the scoring has become a bit arbitrary... Ill keep doing that, but pay that in mind when reading the reviews, and don't pay too much attention or put too much emphasis on the scores I gave the albums.....The writeups are the main points anyways, what I like and dislike about an album or song... not some number. Edited May 28, 2012 by The Owl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 QUOTE (The Owl @ May 28 2012, 04:44 PM) Counterparts Time!!! .. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Rush_Counterparts.jpg Counterparts 1993 - Track #1: Animate Oh, hark! Whats' that I hear... heavy drums? Down-Toned guitar riff? Loads of auditory bliss? Thank Ye Olde music gods... this is what I've been waiting to hear for after covering over a decade's worth of music... What a great lead off track, great layering of deep and rich sound, amazing playing all around. Great lyrics and arrangement make "Animate" one of the most engrossing songs that the band had produced for a long time.. - Track #2: Stick It Out We keep up the heaviness with a piercing guitar riff, and an almost haunting build towards the choral section. The song might be a bit generic in terms of song structure, but it's not a bad thing.... The soft bridge segue into a great solo is great, albiet a bit short lived. Great song overall, even if it is a bit over-conventional (song structure wise) - Track #3: Cut to the Chase Geddy shines at the beginning, with subtle guitar and drums backing him slowly escalating into the main body of the song. This song dosen't grab me in the same way the previous two tracks did, but it still very nice, albiet repetitive in the middle.. The lyrics are not my favorite, but they are far from bad. I do love the extended guitar solo, and the last minute and a half of the song, that ends the song nicely and is far less repetitive than the first half of the track. -Track #4: Nobody's Hero A little acoustic break is kind of welcome here... I will admit I am a bit mixed about this song, I know some love it, and some hate it... I consider myself in the former category.. The lyrics to convey great emotion, emphasized by some great playing and layering of acoustic and electric instruments, and an absolute stellar solo. I will say this however..... the song could have ended a tad sooner, the outro wasn't as great as the first 2/3 of the track... overall great tune though. - Track #5: Between Sun & Moon This is a fine song..... Another great track, a bit lighter than the album has been to this point, but once again we have some great layering of sound played fantastically by the boys. The lyrics are great, some of my favorite in latter day Rush. The track flows very nicely and does not overstay it's welcome... superb spin.. - Track #6: Alien Shore Wow, I know this is starting to sound redundant, but the lead guitar on this album is kicking my ass, I am loving it.....that was a great intro to an otherwise.... "Slightly better than okay" song. The lyrics are not my favorite, but are not as bad as others. My biggest highlight to point out is that I am glad to actually hear a bit of Geddy on bass in this track... With alot of the emphasis on guitar on the album so far, Geddy has kind of gotten lost in the mix, but is a standout here.... The instrumental break is fantastic as well, but it's the bookending first and last minute or so, and the lyrics that kind of drag the song down.(just a bit) - Track #7: The Speed of Love Okay, can we just ignore the lyrics here? I have had a couple of complaints lyrically so far on this album but are comparatively are Shakespearean poetry when looking at this track. Musically this track doesn't do much for me either, a bit too reminiscent of the tracks I had grievances with on the previous two albums... I'd hate to completely dismiss this track outright, but there is not much redeeming here that I like.... a skippable track for me. - Track #8: Double Agent Gonna outright spoil this, this is my favorite track on the album. And one of the more underrated songs in Rush's catalog.... I love the complexity, the mood changes, the overall playing and arrangement, the lyrics..... overall a great song.. It's not without it's faults...or fault.. I am not a fan of spoken word sections in songs (See my Necromancer review), and it does take away from the track slightly, but not enough to stop me loving this track.. - Track #9: Leave that Thing Alone Instrumental time once again. And this is a good one.... and as an instrumental should do all parties are in good showcase.. Great bass work on Geddy's part giving this track the funky groove that permeates the song, great drumming, and as is the case with this album as a whole Alex's playing is amazing. It's a great instrumental. In the same league with "YYZ" or "LaVilla" .....no, but worthy, and better than the instrumental output of "Where's My Thing" on the previous album. - Track #10: Cold Fire If you could tell from alot of my song reviews, I am not that big of songs that could be considered "love songs" lyrically (although the lyrics do state that "This is not a love song").... and while this song does fall into that category, it's not that bad of an offender, in fact they're not that bad at all. Musically the song moves nicely along with the lyrics making a tight and consistant rock song. "Cold Fire is not something that stands out among the Rush catalog, but it's far from being a stinker as well... -Track #11: Everyday Glory We crawl upon yet another closing track of a Rush album. There is alot of richness of sound in this song, the mixing is superb. It's a great closing track, not my favorite of the album, but very, very good. The instrumental arrangement complements they lyrics, and convey a great sense of emotion. I love that it's a bass riff that drives this song instead of guitar, which allows Alex to be free with some amazing chords throughout the song and closing out what has been overall a fantastic album.. -------------------------------Overall Thoughts/ Final Review--------------------------- Well, alot has changed since the last album... Let me be frank, I love Counterparts, it is easily the best of the 90s, probably the best since Moving Pictures or Signals (and arguably still is). Almost all my overall complaints about Roll the Bones have been adressed and improved upon, and while I had some small complaints that I adressed in the song reviews, which (other than "Speed of Love") are very trivial into my overall appreciation of this album . I covered this in detail in the song reviews, so I'll (try to) keep it short here, but ALEX IS BACK, in full force. After being downplayed in the 80s synth albums, and slowly being brought back into prominence over the previous 2 albums, Alex is finally being able to bring his full potential back to the band, and this album demonstrates that... what a superb performance. I also appreciate the tone of the album being dropped down on the album overall, in terms of guitar, drums and bass, giving the aforementioned emphasis on the guitar it's prominence, and the album overall the balls it was lacking on "Roll the Bones" . Though, and I did mention this briefly, and while it may sound a bit contradictory, while I love that the guitar was brought back into the main light, I do feel that did push Geddy back into the mix quite a bit, and other than a few notable instances was lost in it (the mix) a lot of the time. Counterparts is a standout, perhaps the standout album of latter day Rush and while far from the greatness of the 70s albums is still deserved of a grade of Overall Album Score: 83/100 You're not still reviewing??? How many months and years have you been doing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 QUOTE (treeduck @ May 28 2012, 04:51 PM) You're not still reviewing??? How many months and years have you been doing this? I did drop into a bit of a procrastinating phase during the 80s albums... now I've gotta quick drop these to make up for lost time until CA comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 QUOTE (The Owl @ May 28 2012, 04:53 PM) QUOTE (treeduck @ May 28 2012, 04:51 PM) You're not still reviewing??? How many months and years have you been doing this? I did drop into a bit of a procrastinating phase during the 80s albums... now I've gotta quick drop these to make up for lost time until CA comes out. Aye... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (The Owl @ May 28 2012, 05:50 PM) And it feels "wrong" I guess to grade an album like counterparts higher than Fly By Night, even while trying to stay objective in my reviews EDIT: Great review of Counterparts, though. Edited May 29, 2012 by Tommy Sawyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
default236 Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 QUOTE (The Owl @ May 28 2012, 03:44 PM) Counterparts Time!!! .. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Rush_Counterparts.jpg Counterparts 1993 - Track #1: Animate Oh, hark! Whats' that I hear... heavy drums? Down-Toned guitar riff? Loads of auditory bliss? Thank Ye Olde music gods... this is what I've been waiting to hear for after covering over a decade's worth of music... What a great lead off track, great layering of deep and rich sound, amazing playing all around. Great lyrics and arrangement make "Animate" one of the most engrossing songs that the band had produced for a long time.. - Track #2: Stick It Out We keep up the heaviness with a piercing guitar riff, and an almost haunting build towards the choral section. The song might be a bit generic in terms of song structure, but it's not a bad thing.... The soft bridge segue into a great solo is great, albiet a bit short lived. Great song overall, even if it is a bit over-conventional (song structure wise) - Track #3: Cut to the Chase Geddy shines at the beginning, with subtle guitar and drums backing him slowly escalating into the main body of the song. This song dosen't grab me in the same way the previous two tracks did, but it still very nice, albiet repetitive in the middle.. The lyrics are not my favorite, but they are far from bad. I do love the extended guitar solo, and the last minute and a half of the song, that ends the song nicely and is far less repetitive than the first half of the track. -Track #4: Nobody's Hero A little acoustic break is kind of welcome here... I will admit I am a bit mixed about this song, I know some love it, and some hate it... I consider myself in the former category.. The lyrics to convey great emotion, emphasized by some great playing and layering of acoustic and electric instruments, and an absolute stellar solo. I will say this however..... the song could have ended a tad sooner, the outro wasn't as great as the first 2/3 of the track... overall great tune though. - Track #5: Between Sun & Moon This is a fine song..... Another great track, a bit lighter than the album has been to this point, but once again we have some great layering of sound played fantastically by the boys. The lyrics are great, some of my favorite in latter day Rush. The track flows very nicely and does not overstay it's welcome... superb spin.. - Track #6: Alien Shore Wow, I know this is starting to sound redundant, but the lead guitar on this album is kicking my ass, I am loving it.....that was a great intro to an otherwise.... "Slightly better than okay" song. The lyrics are not my favorite, but are not as bad as others. My biggest highlight to point out is that I am glad to actually hear a bit of Geddy on bass in this track... With alot of the emphasis on guitar on the album so far, Geddy has kind of gotten lost in the mix, but is a standout here.... The instrumental break is fantastic as well, but it's the bookending first and last minute or so, and the lyrics that kind of drag the song down.(just a bit) - Track #7: The Speed of Love Okay, can we just ignore the lyrics here? I have had a couple of complaints lyrically so far on this album but are comparatively are Shakespearean poetry when looking at this track. Musically this track doesn't do much for me either, a bit too reminiscent of the tracks I had grievances with on the previous two albums... I'd hate to completely dismiss this track outright, but there is not much redeeming here that I like.... a skippable track for me. - Track #8: Double Agent Gonna outright spoil this, this is my favorite track on the album. And one of the more underrated songs in Rush's catalog.... I love the complexity, the mood changes, the overall playing and arrangement, the lyrics..... overall a great song.. It's not without it's faults...or fault.. I am not a fan of spoken word sections in songs (See my Necromancer review), and it does take away from the track slightly, but not enough to stop me loving this track.. - Track #9: Leave that Thing Alone Instrumental time once again. And this is a good one.... and as an instrumental should do all parties are in good showcase.. Great bass work on Geddy's part giving this track the funky groove that permeates the song, great drumming, and as is the case with this album as a whole Alex's playing is amazing. It's a great instrumental. In the same league with "YYZ" or "LaVilla" .....no, but worthy, and better than the instrumental output of "Where's My Thing" on the previous album. - Track #10: Cold Fire If you could tell from alot of my song reviews, I am not that big of songs that could be considered "love songs" lyrically (although the lyrics do state that "This is not a love song").... and while this song does fall into that category, it's not that bad of an offender, in fact they're not that bad at all. Musically the song moves nicely along with the lyrics making a tight and consistant rock song. "Cold Fire is not something that stands out among the Rush catalog, but it's far from being a stinker as well... -Track #11: Everyday Glory We crawl upon yet another closing track of a Rush album. There is alot of richness of sound in this song, the mixing is superb. It's a great closing track, not my favorite of the album, but very, very good. The instrumental arrangement complements they lyrics, and convey a great sense of emotion. I love that it's a bass riff that drives this song instead of guitar, which allows Alex to be free with some amazing chords throughout the song and closing out what has been overall a fantastic album.. -------------------------------Overall Thoughts/ Final Review--------------------------- Well, alot has changed since the last album... Let me be frank, I love Counterparts, it is easily the best of the 90s, probably the best since Moving Pictures or Signals (and arguably still is). Almost all my overall complaints about Roll the Bones have been adressed and improved upon, and while I had some small complaints that I adressed in the song reviews, which (other than "Speed of Love") are very trivial into my overall appreciation of this album . I covered this in detail in the song reviews, so I'll (try to) keep it short here, but ALEX IS BACK, in full force. After being downplayed in the 80s synth albums, and slowly being brought back into prominence over the previous 2 albums, Alex is finally being able to bring his full potential back to the band, and this album demonstrates that... what a superb performance. I also appreciate the tone of the album being dropped down on the album overall, in terms of guitar, drums and bass, giving the aforementioned emphasis on the guitar it's prominence, and the album overall the balls it was lacking on "Roll the Bones" . Though, and I did mention this briefly, and while it may sound a bit contradictory, while I love that the guitar was brought back into the main light, I do feel that did push Geddy back into the mix quite a bit, and other than a few notable instances was lost in it (the mix) a lot of the time. Counterparts is a standout, perhaps the standout album of latter day Rush and while far from the greatness of the 70s albums is still deserved of a grade of Overall Album Score: 83/100 I really enjoyed your review of my favorite Rush album. Just wish you gave it a higher rating, but you made some good arguments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 QUOTE (default236 @ May 29 2012, 06:44 PM) I really enjoyed your review of my favorite Rush album. Just wish you gave it a higher rating, but you made some good arguments. You can pretty much ignore the scores, as I've stated that they've become arbitrary and a bit contradictory due to earlier scores... I'm only still putting them on out of habit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Here we go, vertigo! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Rush_Test_for_Echo.jpg Test For Echo 1996 - Track #1: Test For Echo As Opening songs, this one ain't all that bad, it's got a nice intro into the main groove and subtle riff driven body. The lyrics are different but enjoyable, and fit the song nicely. Geddy's voice does get a bit high in places, but a decent performance still. The solo comes a bit out of nowhere, and leads out what is a very good opening track.... hopefully the rest of the album can be as good as this............ - Track #2: Driven The opening riff builds very well of the previous track, into another nice track. The mix of acoustic guitar sporadically throughout the song really impresses me during bit before the chorus. There is a lot of good sound layering and it meshes well with the heavy down-toned guitar. A very good guitar driven rocker, with a decent set of lyrics... not much more to add - Track #3: Half the World Yes the lyrics are a tad cheesy (comparatively with what's to come on this album, they are Shakespearean), but I actually like the lyrics on this track, and they are pretty clever, or at least I think. Musically this is another standout song. Once again there is a good mix on this track, a nice mix of acoustic and electric guitar, and a subtle bass line underneath. It does come off a tad like a generic rock song, but it does have the "Rush" edge..and at a short 3 and a half minutes it does not overstay it's welcome..and I love the almost folkish sound towards the end. - Track #4: The Color of Right This song has a great epic start with some powerful unisons, and over-arching guitar chords, before falling into somewhat of a bland rock song lyrically and vocally. But is somewhat sustained by strong playing, albiet not the best arranged. Overall a decent, but forgettable track. - Track #5: Time and Motion This song is very strange, musically it's all over the table, and I am getting alot of vibes from this song.. The heaviness and tone of the guitar harkens back to a bit of Witch Hunt (which I adore here), but with a tinge of the 80s synth era arrangement....... both can be great, but mixed it feels a bit awkward, I recognize the playing is pretty good, but I cannot really get into this song, and it does go on quite a bit too long.... not a bad track, but not the best either.. - Track #6: Totem This is kind of becoming a theme on this album, but I can iterate again.. Great playing/ Great instrumental arrangement/ Mediocre lyrics/ bad vocal arrangement/ Ultimately forgettable song. Not much to add that would not make me repeat the same thing I said about the previous 2 tracks.. -Track #7: Dog Years.. Ughh, boy... here we go. I've already stated when I reviewed "Tai Shan" that I though that particular song was the "worst" Rush song ever. But it is worth noting that this song is certainty down there as well..... What can I say about these lyrics that hasn't already been said? Nothing really, they're bad, and I'll leave it at that. (But as far as I know this is the only track where Geddy swears). The song could somewhat be musically redeeming, if it weren't very generic rock sounding, bleeding top rock of the mid-90s. - Track #8: Virtuality The song starts out great, nice riff driven melody. But once again the lyrics, especially in the chorus drag this song way the hell down... Fortunately the mix on this song is kind of bad as well and the music somewhat drowns out the vocals during the individual verses. Musically it's quite better than Dog Years, but not as good as some of the previous tracks..... slightly better than mediocre. - Track #9: Resist. Ahhh, back to a good track. I know most people like the acoustic arrangement of this song that was on 2 of Rush's live albums better, but I have to say I disagree here. I love this version. The mix of the acoustic and electric elements is perfect. And for once on this album Geddy gives a pretty phenomenal performance vocally... as opposed to the rest of the album where the vocal arrangements are less than perfect. The song carries a great deal of emotion that bleeds all the way through the end of the track. A set of decent lyrics certainly help as well , where "decent lyrics" seem to be in a minority on this record. - Track #10: Limbo We come upon yet another Rush instrumental.. How well does this one hold up? Well, it's probably my least favorite of all of Rush's instrumentals personally... It's not bad, in fact there are alot of great moments. The bass playing is great, and I like Geddy's "non-singing vocals" (a la 2112 "Overture"). I really dislike the sound effects, and the coughing screamed out phrases randomly in the middle of the track. But around 3/4 of the way through the track I really don't feel that we've gone anywhere with this track, and we're listening to pretty much the same musical phrases and reprises from the first half of the track..... Not a bad track, but I expect better out of an instrumental by Rush. - Track #11: Carve Away the Stone This track has a good feel to it that I like, it's got a very nice pace throughout the track and never feels repetitive or redundant musically. Maybe not the best album closer, but an overall decent track, and (once again considering what's been on this album already) fairly likable lyrics. It's not the brightest spot on this album (musically or otherwise), but considering the highs and lows on this album, I would still put this on the better half of the songs on this album... ---------------------------------------------Final Thoughts/Overall Review---------------------------------------- What a mixed bag of an album, there is alot to love about Test for Echo, and considering the less than stellar reputation this album has I came into this review (after not listening to this album in quite a long time) expecting to be a bit more harsh, but I really cannot do so. It's alot better than people give it credit for (at least in some areas), but alot of the criticism it does get is deserved.... Musically this album is pretty phenomenal... The playing these guys accomplish is very impressive. And moreso than alot of the previous albums I do get the vibe that Rush is trying very hard to make a great album musically here... I really get the sense that in terms of playing, they are really giving it their all, and it comes out quite a bit on the album.. It dosen't always hit, and there could have been alot more soloing for my taste, but I can understand the effort that it went into writing the music for T4E... Lyrically and vocally however.... this could be one of their worst efforts. There are some lyrics I like on this album, but alot contain the worst Neil has written. And I hardly ever criticize this, but I thought on a vocal level this was one of Geddy's poorest performances. I did not dig the vocal arrangement on over half this album at all... Truth be told, there is only one real stinker on this album (Do I have to name it?), and that is more than can be said about a few other albums, but this album is packed with mediocrity, and is an album where I can say that I truly like less than half of the songs on all levels. What's more is that it really feels like the momentum built with Counterparts is lost.. So where to rate this album? What is good and done right, I love, but the lows also define "Low"... Overall Album Score: 75/100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/85/Rush_Vapor_Trails.jpg/220px-Rush_Vapor_Trails.jpg Vapor Trails 2002 - Track #1: One Little Victory Drums and a Rocking guitar riff open the first album of the new millennium, and it is pretty epic. The track keeps up well through the track. I like the bare essentialness (not a word, I know) to the song.. Guitar, Drums, Bass just going all out, very little overdubs, nice opening piece.. - Track #2: Ceiling Unlimited Another pretty decent song, not as good as the previous track, but does maintain the up-tempo nature and the pace set out by the previous track... there's nothing particularly special about this track, but nothing to especially take away from either. A bit of filler is a good way to quantify this track. - Track #3: Ghost Rider I will go ahead and say this right now... this is my favorite song off this album...and would be in my "top 5 tracks of later-era Rush"... I was gonna refrain about talking about the lyrics until the final/overall review, but I will note on them here just a bit... very moving.. Knowing Neil's story and what these lyrics represent carry a very great emotion... very powerful... The bass work in the track is fantastic especially during the beginning. -Track #4 Peaceable Kingdom Okay, fist note I am liking this a bit more musically than the other tracks, as in it sounds a bit different from the other songs... much more musically diverse than the previous track... Though the horrible mixing of this album (more on this in the final review) really is alot more noticeable here than on the previous tracks I really cannot discern what Geddy is singing half the time. - Track #5: The Stars Look Down This at the beginning sounds about the same as the rest of the album has been so far, very good playing, alot of good riffing and bass grooves, but almost redundant and very little to distinguish it different musically from the rest of the album, though I do like the little bit during the choral sections, and we actually get a guitar solo in this song (however clouded by the mix), and the ending is very nice as well. - Track #6: How It Is Another something a bit different musically, and a bit lighter than the heavyness that the album has been laying on us thus far.... I hardly contemplate this track all, but I am surprised by how I am liking this.. It is a tad forgettable, but has a slight redeeming factor. Not the biggest fan of the vocal arrangement on the track too much, which has up until this point something Geddy has been real strong on. Could have been better shortened by 30 seconds or so, but not a real issue. - Track #7: Vapor Trail We come upon the title track. There is alot to like here. Despite the muddiness of the sound the tones on the guitar are really good, and accentuate the lyrics and vocalization.. We get another taste of a guitar solo, that have been very lacking on this album...but I still think there are things that could have been expanded upon to make it a better track, alot of room to grow that was left musically un-nurtured - Track #8: Secret Touch Bass Groove galore leads us into one of the Live staples from this album... and there is some justification for it's inclusion on several tours... It is one of the standouts of the track... There are mood shifts musically, it's not all just "PLAY LOUD AND PLAY HARD", though there is some of that here as well, and those sections could have been trimmed down a bit as the song is in my opinion just a tad overlong. A great track, still when you break it all down.... - Track #9: Earthshine I almost could not resist the urge to just listen to the Retroactive III version of this track, I really wanted to, but I am gonna stick with the VT version...though the bad mixing is not too noticeable on the studio version of this particular track. This song is another track that does manage to differentiate itself from half the album musically as well.. while still doing alot of the same things as the tracks Ive had problems with.. The opening and driving riff are memorable, the song structure is great, it goes through mood changes, and the solo is very good as well... After Ghost Rider this would be my second favorite of the album...and rightly so, it's a fantastic listen. - Track #10: Sweet Miracle Okay, this song, like "How It Is", is a bit on the liter in it's tone, which does help it out a bit as well. I love that a bit of acoustic guitar can be heard throughout the track, as well as some very good bass work. But that's most of what could be said about this song... I don't find it all that memorable, and it comes off as another filler song in a way, at least one that is slightly shorter than the others, and dosen't overstay any welcome. - Track #11: Nocturne This is another track that I am not too big a fan of as well... Here too, I am slightly disappointed lyrically here as well... the only real weak point Neal has in those regards thus far. A very repetitive and un-remarkable track. - Track #12: Freeze (Part IV of Fear) What, the Fear "trilogy" has a fourth part? Does it work, and the answer is like alot of this album "mixed"... Lyrically yes, I get the vibe it has and where they are trying to go to connect it with the themes displayed in "Witch Hunt/The Weapon/and The Enemy Within", musically it is much less so... The music is not bad, in fact very good (though, once again slightly overlong), but It feels really out of place calling this part of the "Fear series" without a bit of musical connection with those other tracks..... small observation though.. - Track #13: Out of the Cradle The last track on the ride of this album, and I must say the drive of this song at the start at least is very uplifting, and clashes nicely with the lyrics....though getting slightly a bit poppy (I know I've been asking for a bit of musical diversity here, but let's not get carried away), during the choral sections... Despite the mood change though from the rest of the album, the track does get a bit repetitive towards the end, and in all honesty is not the best track to close the album. (Though lyrically it's perfect, how's that for a weird dichotomy?) ---------------------------------Overall Thoughts/Final Review-------------------------------- Oh! What a meaty morsel of an album... what a lot to say.. So first, and I won't tread long here as I kind of harped on this fact quite a bit in the song reviews... but this musically a very uninspiring album... Half the album sounded the freaking same to me....Hard riffing and hard playing.. which I hate to criticize because the playing is fantastic most of the time, but there is little to different the songs musically, there is very little soloing, I'll be damed if I can find an instrumental break that lasts longer than 30 seconds, very few mood changes, and I know I harped on the over-reliance on the synth on the 80s albums, but f**k a little of that would have been more than welcome on here as well.......... ..........however, what is great musically (about half of the album), is great, and I did noted where I stated so in the song reviews, so Ill quit beating the dead horse and move on to my next point of note...a much more positive one... The lyrics, are in my opinion, very good, a return to form for Neil after several albums of him not living up to his fullest... I don't want to go too much into the tragedies and subsequent "recovery" that he went through in the years prior to the album's release, but enough to note that to put all those emotions and reflections into this album as lyrics does carry alot of weight, and feel really real... I also need to state that reading Neil's book "Ghost Rider" does help one appreciate the album slightly more.... These lyrics would of course not be worth noting without the overall great vocal arrangement and performance by Geddy on the album, that helped in some way give the individual identity these "sound alike" songs lacked... a much better performance from him than in "Test for Echo" Okay, the elephant in the room...The mix.......... I really cannot elaborate more than everyone already has....It's shit... It's muddy...It sucks, and it's beyond wonder as to why Rush would release an album with such poor production quality... It takes away from the overall enjoyment of the album, that's what has to be said. I tend to overlook the small sound quality issues in my reviews, but here it's just un-ignorable. I look forward to the remix (If it ever will happen), but until then the mix as well as my pluses and minuses of this album has helped it earn an overall score of.... 77/100 Though, pending a remix of the album, I could see myself giving this album 3-4 extra points overal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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