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"Counterparts" - What do you really think of this album?


Lorraine
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I think it's easy to dismiss it as a pseudo-desperate attempt to keep up with 90's grunge; i mean, Rush has always followed the zeitgeist, rather than set it. But the album is pretty cohesive as a whole inasmuch as it's all about relationships and the relative identities of the genders.

 

I've never read whatever Neil has to say about the lyrics, but each song concerns some aspect of gender identity and relationships. 'Alien Shore" is up there with Kate Bush's 'Running up that Hill' when it comes to a discussion of the opposite gender's identity (or lack of knowledge thereof); while 'Animate' explores the terrible inconsistencies of the 90's masculine identity (face it - we were all stuck somewhere between Full House and Chuck Norris) and how that uber-sensitive 80's male really didn't have a place in a world where UFC and MMA were already conceived.

 

Anyhow, the music tends toward the monochromatic - it doesn't have the subtleties of RTB -- but that was also a sign of the times. Solos were out; chords were in; power was in; nuances were out. And yet look at the atmospherics of 'Speed of Love' or the melodic guitar on 'Leave that Thing Alone'. Good stuff there.

 

In some ways Rush was drifting. There seemed to be an absence of tension in their lives and so Neil, lyric-wise, started writing topically, much like RTB. This sounds callous, but it took his tragedies to galvanize his lyric - and the band's music - back to something progressive and formative.

 

It's not a throwaway album in the least, unlike T4E, and it's worth a good listen to, especially driving music, every once in a while.

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Because of this thread, I played it yesterday. I think it has the potential to grow on me! I really enjoyed it. Cold Fire, Everyday Glory and Animate really stood out as the best songs, for once Double Agent didn't take the spotlight!

 

Will play again soon to see if it gets even better!

 

It does have a tendency to grow on you. But it is still no AFTK.

 

Lorraine...I am no longer certain that AFTK is even my favourite anymore...

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Because of this thread, I played it yesterday. I think it has the potential to grow on me! I really enjoyed it. Cold Fire, Everyday Glory and Animate really stood out as the best songs, for once Double Agent didn't take the spotlight!

 

Will play again soon to see if it gets even better!

 

It does have a tendency to grow on you. But it is still no AFTK.

 

Lorraine...I am no longer certain that AFTK is even my favourite anymore...

 

:o The end of the world can't be far off.

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I've been listening to this album over and over.

 

Speed of Love would have fit in nicely on Grace Under Pressure. In my opinion, it is a song ten years too late for Counterparts.

 

:outtahere:

Edited by Lorraine
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Because of this thread, I played it yesterday. I think it has the potential to grow on me! I really enjoyed it. Cold Fire, Everyday Glory and Animate really stood out as the best songs, for once Double Agent didn't take the spotlight!

 

Will play again soon to see if it gets even better!

 

It does have a tendency to grow on you. But it is still no AFTK.

 

It was my first Rush Concert,

 

But for me AFTK & Presto should have been produced with a heavier sound like CP. What I would give for that! :cool:

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Counterparts is somewhere about in the middle of the list for me. It was a welcome change from RTB, but at the same time it has sort of a "going through the motions" or "casting about for a direction" feel to it. Sonically, it has more umph than anything since Signals, but Alex's guitar tone is a little mushy on this album (and every album since). I'm a big fan of Alex's more hard-hiting and biting tone, like he got from FBN through 2112. Alien Shore is the standout song for me, showing that Rush can actually groove in the musical sense.
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I've been listening to this album over and over.

 

Speed of Love would have fit in nicely on Grace Under Pressure. In my opinion, it is a song ten years too late for Counterparts.

 

:outtahere:

 

I think CP would have made the most sense if it had come between MP and Signals. It seems more at home down in that part of the catalog.

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I've been listening to this album over and over.

 

Speed of Love would have fit in nicely on Grace Under Pressure. In my opinion, it is a song ten years too late for Counterparts.

 

:outtahere:

 

I think CP would have made the most sense if it had come between MP and Signals. It seems more at home down in that part of the catalog.

 

Believe it or not, that was my reaction to the entire album - that it was out of place in time - but many here claimed it was a refreshing change from the eighties synth-style Rush. Since I know nothing about music, I assumed they were right and that my reaction to CP was way off course. But I still hear, when I listen to CP, the eighties sound.

 

As for Alex and his guitar, if it wasn't for his guitar work on these songs, I think I would put CP in the garbage altogether. Alex is the only redeeming feature on all of the songs for me.

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I've been listening to this album over and over.

 

Speed of Love would have fit in nicely on Grace Under Pressure. In my opinion, it is a song ten years too late for Counterparts.

 

:outtahere:

 

I think CP would have made the most sense if it had come between MP and Signals. It seems more at home down in that part of the catalog.

 

Believe it or not, that was my reaction to the entire album - that it was out of place in time - but many here claimed it was a refreshing change from the eighties synth-style Rush. Since I know nothing about music, I assumed they were right and that my reaction to CP was way off course. But I still hear, when I listen to CP, the eighties sound.

 

As for Alex and his guitar, if it wasn't for his guitar work on these songs, I think I would put CP in the garbage altogether. Alex is the only redeeming feature on all of the songs for me.

 

Bla Bla Bla! :P

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I've been listening to this album over and over.

 

Speed of Love would have fit in nicely on Grace Under Pressure. In my opinion, it is a song ten years too late for Counterparts.

 

:outtahere:

 

I think CP would have made the most sense if it had come between MP and Signals. It seems more at home down in that part of the catalog.

 

Believe it or not, that was my reaction to the entire album - that it was out of place in time - but many here claimed it was a refreshing change from the eighties synth-style Rush. Since I know nothing about music, I assumed they were right and that my reaction to CP was way off course. But I still hear, when I listen to CP, the eighties sound.

 

As for Alex and his guitar, if it wasn't for his guitar work on these songs, I think I would put CP in the garbage altogether. Alex is the only redeeming feature on all of the songs for me.

 

Well at least there's that!

 

The drumming and the drum sound on CP is very good and some of the songs are pretty good, too.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

 

Says who? If it was such a crappy song, they wouldn't have included it on the album. In their eyes, it must have had some merit for them to include it.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

 

Says who? If it was such a crappy song, they wouldn't have included it on the album. In their eyes, it must have had some merit for them to include it.

 

Then explain Tai Shan.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

 

Says who? If it was such a crappy song, they wouldn't have included it on the album. In their eyes, it must have had some merit for them to include it.

 

Every album is going to have, from the listener's point of view, a best track and a worst track. It would seem BC's opinion is that SoL is the worst track.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

Not specifically, but I don't think it was ever really considered. Counterparts was released during a stretch when they were playing only a handful of songs off each new album in order to get as much of the old beloved stuff in as possible. I remember reading comments made by Alex to the effect that he wanted to play Cut to the Chase and Geddy wanted to include Alien Shore, but there wasn't enough time for either one. A slower number like The Speed of Love probably never really had a shot.

Edited by Cyclonus X-1
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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

Not specifically, but I don't think it was ever really considered. Counterparts was released during a stretch when they were playing only a handful of songs off each new album in order to get as much of the old beloved stuff in as possible. I remember reading comments made by Alex to the effect that he wanted to play Cut to the Chase and Geddy wanted to include Alien Shore, but there wasn't enough time for either one. A slower number like The Speed of Love probably never really had a shot.

 

Thank you. That's all I wanted to know. It sounds to me like an easy song for them to do and one that would give them a chance to catch their breath, so I wondered why they chose to do certain songs off this album Stick It Out, Nobodys Hero, Animate, Double Agent and Leave That Thing Alone in lieu of that one.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

 

Says who? If it was such a crappy song, they wouldn't have included it on the album. In their eyes, it must have had some merit for them to include it.

 

Then explain Tai Shan.

 

Tai Shan is a song that the Moodies should've done in the late sixties/early seventies.

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

Not specifically, but I don't think it was ever really considered. Counterparts was released during a stretch when they were playing only a handful of songs off each new album in order to get as much of the old beloved stuff in as possible. I remember reading comments made by Alex to the effect that he wanted to play Cut to the Chase and Geddy wanted to include Alien Shore, but there wasn't enough time for either one. A slower number like The Speed of Love probably never really had a shot.

 

Plus, it is probably the worst song on Rush's worst album, and the lyrics are among Neil's worst. And it is slow and boring. And they played too many CPs songs already. But besides that, great idea! :D

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Does anyone here know why they never did Speed of Love in concert?

 

A cited source from one of the guys? No.

 

Opinion? Cause it's not that great of a song compared to the rest of Counterparts.

 

Says who? If it was such a crappy song, they wouldn't have included it on the album. In their eyes, it must have had some merit for them to include it.

 

Then explain Tai Shan.

 

Tai Shan is a pretty good song, even though it doesn't sound like much of what Rush did. They had a habit from FBN to AFTK to include one song that didn't sound anything like the other stuff Rush were doing. The songs are often considered to be bad by fans, but I quite like most of them. I consider Tai Shan to be like this.

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I wish that for their final album they would aim for something along the lines of AFTK. Maybe an album like that is a once in a lifetime one.

I was quite please with their last effort. What other band has produced a record of that quality, this late in their carreers?

 

The answer? No one. If they have another album in them, if it come anywhere close to the quality of Clockwork Angels, I'll be ecstatic! :banana:

I'd say The Final Frontier by Iron Maiden is better than CA. It's a real grower album, it doesn't really click well at first but I find it's really fantastic whenever I go back to it.

 

Add in the fact that I don't think Clockwork Angels was really that good. It's merely "okay".

 

You can argue that doesn't count since TFF is only Maiden's 15th album whereas CA is Rush's 19th, but at this point I think you'd be playing semantics.

 

As for the topic, Counterparts is honestly very much like CA in terms of how I think of it. It's certainly not bad but I'd still have to put it in the lower half of Rush albums. Though I do love me some Cold Fire.

 

Oh and I'm also in the "Roll the Bones is awesome" camp.

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I usually listen to Counterparts when I mow the lawn for some reason.

 

Its alright, below average rush album, but its still pretty good. Everyone has kind of said this is some way or another- there is just something missing. Nothing so memorable that makes me think "wow, I really need to hear X song"

 

Probably the best thing about the album is how it ends, which is pretty cool. Animate, stick it out, alien shore, leave that thing alone, double agent, cold fire, and everyday glory are all pretty good rush songs, but none are spectacular

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