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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rush's '90s masterpiece., March 23, 2005
I am often in the minority in my view of this, but I feel "Counterparts" is the Rush masterpiece of the '90s, and may well be their best album. I've often heard of it referred to as Rush's stab at alternative, which I really don't agree with either-- certainly, the band was influenced by a return of guitar-based rock music to the forefront of popular consciousness, and no doubt that assisted in this album fully embracing the guitar as main driver behind the music, but this is the direction the band had been heading for the past several albums-- after the synth wash of "Grace Under Pressure" and "Power Windows", "Hold Your Fire", "Presto", and "Roll the Bones" all walked the path of guitar based performance. What may have been more alternative influenced on this record was the focus on rock rhythms rather than the budding focus on funk and even hip hop rhythms that was so present on "Roll the Bones".
As a result of this sonic shift, this album features some of the most inspired playing by guitarist Alex Lifeson in a long time-- Geddy Lee's bass, so often the most interesting component in Rush material on the past few albums, moved into a more traditional rock roll, freeing Lifeson to fill space better (mind you, Geddy Lee still has one of the most distinctive voices on the bass guitar in rock music, and is instantly recognizable). I also find that Lee's singing is superlative, perhaps the best he's done-- his confidence as a vocalist allows him full control over his range and he fills each song with an investment of emotion I don't feel we'd heard from him in the past. Lyrically, the album also continues the evolution of previous records-- Neil Peart's early albums were fantasy/science fiction influenced, often allegorical or parable. As time wore on, he brought his lyrics into a more modern society, into the current view. The past few Rush albums began to show a trend of lyrics with a much more personal bent, this album continues that trend-- themes largely of love and relationship dominate the album, and even the more globally minded songs ("Nobody's Hero") have a personal slant to the lyrics.
To talk a bit about the songs themselves, there really is a wealth of stunning material here. The rolling, jangly opener, "Animate", with its synth soaked bridge, stands out as one of the best cuts on the album, ditto for instrumental "Leave That Thing Alone", which musically manages to portray a haunting, tense feel.
Beyond these two, the album seeks several directions, easily viewed in its thematic content-- the two I mentioned previously fit in with a sort of struggle in relationships theme that's all ofver the album, including the great, driven "Cut to the Chase" (with another stunning Lifeson guitar solo), "Alien Shore", lyrically an explosion of metaphor, musically its funky in a way much of the material on the last album was, and one of the album's singles, "Cold Fire", a bitter love song with clever word play (how can you not love a love song with the line "she said, 'this is not a love song'") and a sufficiently affected vocal delivery by Lee.
There's also definitely an undercurrent of sort Whitmanesque uplifting of the everyday people, the single "Nobody's Hero", reflecting on how the death of a loved one means everything to some but nothing to most, and the fairly obvious message of "Everyday Glory", the latter a powerful, swelling song, again with a great vocal by Lee.
Finally, there's a handful of experimental songs-- Rush seeking new directions continuously stabs out in a number of ways-- "Stick It Out", with its overt guitar (and great bass playing in its bridge) doesn't quite succeed as well as you'd hope, nor does the straightahead "Speed of Love". The funkier songs on the record though, the unique "Between Sun & Moon" (with great lyrical word play and a monster riffing) churns and chugs and spins and explodes in its chorus, one of the great, overlooked Rush songs, and one of Peart's cleverist moments as a lyricists, and the bizarre, funky, bass-driven "Double Agent", with its strange spoken word vocal, as the peak of '90s Rush experimentalism, it does far better than expected.
Overall, this is a great album, with a lot of varied, intriguing, and successful material. Experimentation abounds, and Rush does well with it. Highly recommended.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rush's best since Power Windows, June 20, 2005
Counterparts is one of Rush's best albums, almost up there with the stuff from their classic period. It's just an extremely well-written, well-recorded and awesomely-performed record from start to finish. The opening duo of Animate and Stick It Out are fantastic and two of Rush's finest moments. Just amazing songs, Animate being a relentless and wrenching song with great lyrics and Stick It Out just kicking you in the gut it's so heavy. Other great cuts on here are the touching Nobody's Hero, the gritty Between Sun and Moon, and one of Rush's coolest instrumentals, Leave That Thing Alone. I also really like Double Agent and Cold Fire. All in all, a great album and the best Rush album of the 1990's era.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
rush's best album, December 4, 2005
many people, particularly a few of my rush-crazed (which is a good thing) relatives (read: my uncle ronnie and my older cousin steve), will think that i'm nuts for calling this rush's best album.
well, that's what opinions are for, though, right?
of course, anyone who's not a fan of alternative/grunge IS NOT going to call "counterparts" their favorite rush album.
i am, however, an alternative/grunge fan.
my family members joke about rush's terrible choice of opening bands in 91 and 93 (primus and candlebox, respectively). my favorite is their dubbing of candlebox as "candleshoe."
but i like candlebox; i saw them in atlanta in 98 my first year of college. i also like primus and think claypool carries on the bass torch of geddy and the other prog-rock bass gods.
yet, it has never seemed to matter (at least to some) that the memebers of rush themselves are fans of alternative/grunge. this is evidenced not only by the choice of opening bands in 91/93 but also by geddy's choice to have matt cameron drum on "my favorite headache;" matt cameron, for those unaware, was the drummer for soundgarden and is currently the drummer for pearl jam. also, to throw back quickly to primus, les claypool makes a few appearances on "victor," alex lifeson's solo album.
so the connections between rush and seattle is there. and, musically speaking, never more so than on "counterparts." if you don't believe me, listen to "spoonman" by soundgarden right after examining "stick it out" and "cut to the chase." thus, "counterparts" is one of the best albums to start your rush collection if you're coming to them for the first time via grunge/alternative/90's rock radio
anyway, enough about the grunge connection, for that's not everyone's cup of tea.
why "counterparts" you say? how can that be rush's best album? well, for one, it is their return to a more organic, trio-based rock sound. of course, rush was never not a trio, but in the 80's the synth and various recorded sounds dang near became a fourth member. while that doesn't negate rush's greatness in the 80's, i personally prefer their rockier, heavier stuff. that's just me - i think metallica and megadeth were the true 80's, not peter gabriel and duran duran. thus, my favorite rush album cannot be from the 80's (although permanent waves might be my 2nd favorite rush record), nor can it be "roll the bones" (which is really an 80's record, despite its release date).
so let's move from there to their late 90's/2000's stuff. i love "test for echo." but i have two beefs that place it under "counterparts." one - alex is beginning to stop soloing like alex. i don't buy rush records to hear sonic youth guitar solos. not that such a sound is bad, but that's why i listen to nirvana. so while i do like the grungier rush exemplified in the mid 90's and 2000's, i don't like the fact that alex thought he had to stop soloing like he used to.
give and take, i guess. if i can get "driven" instead of "mystic rhythms," then i'll settle for grunge guitar solos. anyway, the presence of the "old alex" solos on "counterparts" means that, for me at least, it holds pride of place over "test for echo." (the same priciple also eliminates "vapor trails." and then "feedback" doesn't count b/c it's a cover album.)
secondly, and this is a more minor point, the instramental "limbo" on "echo" sucks tail in comparison to "leave that thing alone" from "counterparts." there is a reason why "leave that thing alone" became a staple "inning-change" tune for TBS braves broadcasts in the mid/late 90's.
so now let's move to the older and definitely more venerated parts of the canon. why is it that i pick "counterparts" over "hemispheres," which is my cousin steve's pick? well, to put it as succintly as possible: i get bored with that 1st track. call me a heretic, but the epic side 1 "hemispheres" ain't no "2112" - and i feel the same way about "the necromancer" and "the fountain of lamneth" on "caress of steel." thus, "caress" and "hemispheres" are x-ed as possibilities for rush's greatest album.
"rush" and "fly by night" are eliminated simply b/c rush had not yet emerged as its own band yet, still lingering in the shadow of zepplin and others.
which leaves me with "farewell to kings." and that would probably be a toss-up with "permanent waves" as to second place on my list. my reasons, other than the 80's argument, is again that i find parts of "xanadu" and "jacob's ladder" a little tedious and/or boring (the same holds true for "the camera eye" from "moving pictures.") in addition, if i have to pick filler-type material, i would choose "double agent" and "the speed of love" over "circumstances," "witch hunt," and "madrigal" every single day of the week.
lastly, and perhaps this is the clincher, "counterparts" has "everyday glory," which is one of my favorite rush songs and, without doubt in my book, neil peart's best lyric EVER. i end my review with his words, which are meaningful whether or not one likes rush's music:
"If the future's looking dark
We're the ones who have to shine
If there's no one in control
We're the ones who draw the line
Though we live in trying times-
We're the one's who have to try
Though we know that time has wings-
We're the one's who have to fly"
God bless to all - matt varnell
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