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Counterparts

Rush - Counterparts Audio CD

A fair review of the Rush "Counterparts" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Rush reviews here, or go back to the Rush tabs.

Band: Rush
Title: Counterparts
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-08-31
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Animate 2: Stick It Out 3: Cut to the Chase 4: Nobody's Hero 5: Between Sun & Moon 6: Alien Shore 7: Speed of Love 8: Double Agent 9: Leave That Thing Alone 10: Cold Fire 11: Everday Glory

Nobody's Hero...indeed
Even those who also enjoy the album will probably agree that I love it more than it's worth, but that's ok too. I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a minority here when it comes to many fans, according to my browsing of Rush related discussion boards, but I love Counterparts. The interesting thing is that when I list out all the greatest Rush songs ever, few would come from this album. And yet, it remains to me one of Rush's most consistent and wholly satisfying collection of songs as a group; a no-name assortment of vagabonds that get little individual attention, yet still deliver.

Counterparts made a statement to me, although I wasn't in-the-moment to appreciate that change back in 1993. Still, even looking back now it's difficult not to hear a return to attitude and get a sense of the band re-focusing and simplifying itself, stripping away a lot of the layers and getting back to more of a straight-forward three-piece sound. Gone were the textures of Power Windows and Hold Your Fire; fading was the softer lush of Presto and Roll The Bones. Counterparts found the band approaching a new album with louder guitars, more riffs, and a dryer, more upfront sound.

To be blunt, it was refreshingly in-your-face.

Another area where I seem to stand in contrast to many Rush fans is that I think it's one of Rush's strongest lyrical albums. Some folks seem to prefer that Neil write about anything but love. . . that that's not his strong suit, but this album about relationships I find to be incredibly concise and poignant. Not every allusion works. For instance, in the song Alien Shore there's some awkwardness. The "we elect each other President" line is weak and really doesn't mean anything to me. But in most cases he strikes to the core of some really personal issues and does it with style and pointed grace. Cold Fire and Nobody's Hero are great examples of this. The former is arguably one of Peart's finest lyrics ever, adopting a stance from each side of relationship with profound lyrical clarity. Also kudos to Peart for seamlessly using "phosphorescent" in a song. Hero often gets guffaws and immature ridicule for its metrosexual exclamation in the song's opening lines, yet the tune has a wonderful message about both acceptance and what type of person comprises the backbone of society; the song easily outclassing its criticism.

Musically speaking Counterparts is a fun ride. The songs are clearly heavier this time around. Some of the more cynical fans have dismissed the guitars as generic metal-alternative riffola, but at least Lifeson is playing more than just shimmering accents to keyboard riffs again for the first time on nearly a full record since perhaps Moving Pictures twelve years earlier. On Counterparts Alex steps to the plate as something more than the third member of Rush. Songs like Animate chug along at wrist-snapping pace and the cheeky Stick It Out belts your mouth with some fine axe work, as does the rumble and purr of Cut To The Chase. Double Agent is the idiosyncratic song, with its oddly-whispered center lyric over Lifeson's frantic riffing and Peart's persistently growling toms.

That's not to imply that recent Rush is gone from the picture, though. Everyday Glory settles right into what Rush had been doing over the past four years quite nicely with its triumphant and bombastic chorus and anthemic sound. Like with Roll The Bones, Rush takes a stab at another instrumental as well, this time rendering their previous record's effort utterly forgettable in its wake. Leave That Thing Alone is well-seated in the pantheon of the great Rush instrumentals, focusing less on keyboards and getting back to a funky bass-driven sound that marks their best vocal-less effort between 1981 and 2007.

I don't have too much negative to say about this record, which in some ways is unfortunate because reviews are often best when they're scathing and sarcastic. Sadly I don't have much of that on tap for Counterparts. The album's not perfect. Not every song is a ten and in fact, few, if any , are as it turns out. But they're all a solid group of 8-to-8. 5s or higher in my estimation, and that goes back to why I value this recording so much; it's keenly consistent. Songs like Alien Shore and The Speed Of Love are often the subject of ridicule and while they might technically be on the more blas� side of Counterparts than some of the other songs, they're far and above their. . . wait for it. . . counterparts on the most recent previous albums, rising well above the likes of Hand Over Fist and Face Up. In other words, I find none of the songs here even remotely qualify as bad. On Counterparts I don't just tolerate the worst songs, I actually like them.

Tonally speaking I love this record. It marks the return of Peter Collins after a six-year absence, but he's less evident here than on the audio tapestries of Power Windows or Hold Your Fire. With Counterparts you get more of a sense of engineer Kevin Shirley's input and I like the results. I got to know his later production work with Iron Maiden and Journey before enjoying Counterparts after-the-fact, so I was already familiar with Shirley's dry and upfront mixes. I'm not an audiophile and more attuned people than I can go on about his work, their disdain over his compression, etc. but I wish the band had kept Shirley around for a few more albums.

In every understated way, Counterparts is a keeper and their Cadillac of the 1990s. While it will never carry the weight of mighty prog gargantuans like Hemispheres or 2112, nor did it ever even touch the godlike feet of Moving Pictures in terms of popularity and impact, Counterparts remains Rush's sleeping giant.

Nobody's hero indeed.

COUNTERPARTS: 5 stars of 5 (-).

A huge comeback album
When this album came out in the fall of 1993, I said to people, "Rush is back!" The heavier sound from the 1970s and early 1980s was back. Counterparts was, in my opinion, a huge comeback album for Rush. After releasing a string of softer albums between 1982 and 1991, Counterparts goes back to Rush's roots. Heavier guitars are instantly noticable, beginning with the first track, Animate. It gets even heavier with the next track, Stick It Out. In fact, Alex Lifeson provides Jimi Hendrix-like guitar feedback on this track! The album continues to rock with Cut To The Chase, a hard rocker. The next track takes things down a notch with some acoustic guitar mixed with electric, Nobody's Hero. A good song, but I don't care for the subject matter. My least favorite on the disc, but still a good song. The next song is rather pop-like, Between Sun & Moon. The next track really rocks, Alien Shore. Great guitar and drumwork. The Speed Of Love follows, a good song that is catchy. More mellow, but still good. The next track is one of the best on the album, Double Agent. Heavy guitar with some electronically altered voicework by Geddy Lee that sounds sinister! This song's melody and guitar reminds me of some of the material from the song 2112 and the song Cygnus X-1. Excellent, and really heavy. The next song is an instrumental, Leave That Thing Alone. This might be their best instrumental song ever. Right up there with YYZ and Where's My Thing? The next song is a Rush classic, Cold Fire. It is more commercial, but it rocks. It starts with what sounds like some bottleneck guitar work by Alex Lifeson. The album ends with the song Everyday Glory. This song is kind of U2-like.

Overall, this album is a winner. A major comeback for Rush in my eyes, because I felt they were getting too mellow over the previous ten years, though they were releasing quality albums. My only complaint about this album is I feel that Geddy Lee's voice isn't as good as previous albums, and even some albums since, such as Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows. Geddy Lee seems to have a lower range on this album, and seems to "talk" more in some of the songs, rather than sing. His voice seems to lack enthusiasm and energy on some tracks. However, there are some strong vocal performances, such as Alien Shore, Double Agent, and Cold Fire. I highly recommend this album to all fans who don't have it, and to anybody discovering Rush for the first time. This album is just as good as their 1970s and early 1980s material. You won't be disappointed.

Return of the Crunch
Also, despite the presence of a couple of clunkers, they managed to come up with a fairly strong set of songs. After spending the last several years laboring as a better-than-average -- and highly professional -- pop group, Rush returned to its hard-rock roots on COUNTERPARTS. The result was the band's best effort to date since GRACE UNDER PRESSURE.

The album opens with a really astounding 1-2-3 punch. On "Animate" the group manages to deconstruct a riff that sounds like it is straight off of a Pearl Jam record and to turn it into a bit of frothy hard prog-rock. "Stick it Out" is probably Rush's heartiest slab of metal since 2112 and is a heck of a lot of fun. "Cut to the Chase" is another strong up-tempo rocker which manages to sustain the momentum generated by the first two tracks.

After that, the record settles down a little. The best of the remaining tracks are "Between Sun and Moon," "Cold Fire," and "Leave That Thing Alone. " "Nobody's Hero," despite having one of the more ham-fisted verses ever written (the first), is still a good power ballad, complete with a fittingly over-the-top orchestration from Michael Kaman.

The only real dog here is "The Speed of Love" which should have been titled "The Speed of a Slug. " "Double Agent" certainly has problems as well, but at least it has certain parts that I like a lot. I am torn over the spoken bits, because I love the guitar parts in those sections, but they still come across as a little dumb.

Over-all, COUNTERPARTS represented a fine return to form by Rush and hinted at what was to come on their next three superlative albums. I am not sure if it is an essential Rush record, but it is still pretty darned good.
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Organic Rock
Classic organic rock. Fantastic work. Melody, hooks and tons of drive. A worthy effort gentlemen. .

it "Polarized Me"
From the opening track Counterparts, this album takes on a journey back when they had that guitar sound of the 70's. When I purchased this album the first day of its release, I could tell they were moving in a different direction; boy was I ever right!! Counter parts is deffinitly their best album of the 90's. Alex lifeson with some great guitar work on Cut to the Chase, Stick it Out,and the best song Cold Fire to Neal's great writing with songs like Nobody's Hero, which is a tear jerker to Animate, and Cold fire are some of the best lyrics I have ever seen and heard in a song, along with his drum playing and of course and Geddy Lee's bass with hardly any keyboards, is a breath of fresh air. His singing is also0 great on this record. This is a must for Rush fans of all generations. It is a sleeper and under appreciated.

You can see a complete list of all Rush discography, or go back to the Rush tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.