Unitron Rush-Counterparts

After the weak effort 'Roll the Bones', Rush came back rocking with 'Counterparts'. Unlike 'Bones', Counterparts is combining the alternative rock style of 'Presto' and hard rock, instead of being more pop-sounding.

1: Animate. Being the opening song, it makes sense that this is one of my favorites from the album. Animate begins with some powerful drumming by Peart and catchy bass and guitar riffs. The synth stays in the background, unlike in 'Bones'. Lifeson soon gives us really catchy riffs, with Lee giving a great vocal performance. At the bridge Peart slams the drums while Lee gives great rolling bass and Lifeson conducts a great solo. One of Rush's best in a while. (10/10)

2: Stick It Out. Even though the title may sound like an innuendo, the lyrics are about speaking your feelings. This song is probably Rush's heaviest song since 'Kings', with really heavy guitar and drums. Lee gives us really strong vocals that match the heavy instruments. The bridge has really nice acoustics and vocals before the solo comes in. Easily my favorite from the album. (10/10)

3: Cut to the Chase begins with nice guitar and strong bass and vocals by Lee. When the drums come in, it gets a driving beat and some driving riffs. As the song progresses, the bass gets stronger and Deep Purple-like organ comes in for a short while. Lifeson's solo usher in really heavy riffs and great drumming. Another favorite. (10/10)

4: Nobody's Hero starts out with beautiful acoustics and heartfelt vocals by Lee. Once the electric guitar and drums enter, the song gets sort of a power ballad feel. The lyrics are very heartfelt, being about society and how they shun those who are different. (8/10)

5: Between Sun and Moon. Beginning with some catchy guitar and bass, 'Sun & Moon' quickly gets an alternative rock feel. Peart's drumming is really powerful as heard in the chorus. I think this song is a perfect way to combine classic rock and alternative rock styles. (8/10)

6: Alien Shore enters in with great guitar and drums. The bass soon comes in and drives throughout while Lee gives strong vocals. The lyrics are among the strongest, with them being against sexism and racism. The bridge keeps that driving bass while Lifeson conducts a great solo. Another great song. (8/10)

7: The Speed of Love is the weakest song on the album in my opinion. The drum beats are nice and the vocals are good, but it doesn't go anywhere and is a little to pop-like. (2/10)

8: Double Agent begins with quiet bass and great vocals. The guitar quickly comes in, and Lee starts talking very menacingly. Every instrument compliments each other nicely in this song. The lyrics are strong as well, being about our light and darkness. Lifeson guitar shreds during the bridge while the drums keep a steady pace. A unique song and another favorite. (10/10)

9: Leave That Thing Alone is an instrumental that begins in a similar fashion to 'Where's My Thing' from 'Bones'. The bass is strong with heavy guitar, and there is even some haunting keyboard thrown in. Actually better then 'Where's My Thing' from 'Bones'. (8/10)

10: Cold Fire starts out with catchy guitar. The drums quickly get faster, and the song gets slower. The guitar eventually comes back in and the lyrics aren't up to par with some of the other lyrics, but they aren't bad. Not much else to say, a good song though. (8/10)

11: Everyday Glory. Starting out with stand-out synth, Everyday Glory is a weak closer in my opinion and it's a little to pop-like. It doesn't really go anywhere and the guitar isn't really strong in this song. A weak end for a great album. (3/10)

Overall, Counterparts certainly got Rush back on track after 'Bones'. Even though it get a little weak towards the end, Counterparts is still an album that I come back to often. An excellent addition.

Hope you found this review helpful.

siLLy puPPy RUSH basically continued the ideas from “Roll The Bones” on their 15th studio album COUNTERPARTS but while the previous album seemed awkward and the ideas presented were so weak that they stumbled all over themselves, on this album we get a more energized RUSH beefing up the hard rock sound with a strong alternative rock sound that sounds more in tune with what they were aiming for all along. Like many recent albums this one starts off with a very strong and instantly likable track in the form of “Animate.” It displays the strong beefy bass sound of Geddy Lee, a return to the rock guitar sound of Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart delivering his drumming skills that we had been waiting for.

The lyrics as on the previous album are all very personal and dark. The track dealing with the death of a gay friend was definitely the surprise of the album. Subject matter that most rock bands wouldn't touch in a million years. I admire RUSH for taking such topics on. This album starts off fairly strong but like many of their 90s album just simply goes on too long with each track becoming increasingly irrelevant and boring. This album has some really good tracks and seems like a promising comeback but all you have to do is listen to this after one of the classics and it's apparent that the quality of this album is far from past glories but like many out there I can't seem to just write this band off and support even their mediocre efforts of which this is one of the stronger representations.

Warthur Counterparts isn't an album I'd put in the front rank of Rush's discography, but it's still something of a return to form after a run of somewhat variable albums from Hold Your Fire to Roll the Bones. This time around, the band's experiments in incorporating modern alt-rock ideas into their sound from Roll the Bones are brought to fruition, accomplishing the blend in a much more graceful and natural way than that album ever did, and they lean into hard rock more than they have since Moving Pictures.

The opening number, Animate, finds Rush sounding more energetic and forceful than they had since Signals, and I have to give Neil Peart credit for Nobody's Hero - a slice-of-life song which expresses Peart's shock both at the AIDS-related death of a friend and a murder that took place in his home town. (I particularly like how the opening lines take the position that straight people shouldn't be embarrassed of socialising with and supporting their LGBT+ friends.) However, whilst the album has a more or less strong opening, I find the material here isn't quite polished enough to sustain it for the entire 54 minute runtime.

It might be tempting to blame CDs for this; from the mid-1990s onwards the expanded time constraints compared to vinyl offered by CDs, combined with CDs overtaking vinyl in the market, prompted some bands to include poor tracks on their albums for the sake of filling out the running time, and there are plenty of albums out there which could be improved if their creators stuck to a 40 minute running time and trimmed the fat. But I don't think that's the case this time around; the fact is, Rush were coming out of a creative slump here which preceded the shift from vinyl to CDs, and whilst the better songs on here are entertaining enough, the band's classic songs blow this material out of the water. Rush were moving in the right direction at this point, that said, and whilst they weren't at the level of their absolute best albums, their best albums were stellar - second-tier Rush is still pretty good by any standards.

Conor Fynes 'Counterparts' - Rush (9/10)

Boy, was this a suprise... Generally bands that are out and active as long as Rush are pretty much hopeless in terms of making an album that matches up to the phantasm of their classic works. Well, this is what 'Counterparts' is. A fantastic work that could rival most of their traditionally considered 'essential' works, and a fair contender for my favourite Rush album (possibly losing only to Moving Pictures.)

What makes this album so amazing? It's definately not a highly progressive album by any measure. There aren't any epics here; just regular songs, with pretty conventional songwriting. There aren't any virtuoso guitar solos, or some concept behind the music that ties it together as a masterpiece. It's simply for the MUSIC. While it's pretty modern rock for Rush, it's still not something that I would quickly simply want to characterize. It's just music, and very honest music at that. Instead of trying to go all epic and ahead of the times, Rush has composed an album that's sincere.

The flow and songwriting are both great, and compliment each other very nicely. The music is beautiful without losing it's teeth, and the lyrics don't try to be all cryptic. They simply tell stories. And to add to the mix, there's an occasional prog section to liven things up.

'Counterparts' is fantastic. The band is in top form here. It works together both as a single work of music and as individual strong songs. Uncompromised, honest enjoyment.

AtomicCrimsonRush A great Rush album released during the early 90s. The excellent production quality brings out the clanging guitars of Lifeson, the pulsating bass and high falsetto of Lee, and of course Peart's pounding percussion. Not every track is an instant classic but there is enough here to satiate the Rush appetite, namely the first 4 songs. Animate is a brilliant memorable rocker with innovative lyrics and killer riffing as good as it gets. Stick It Out is driven by a hard rock guitar riff, one of Lifeson's most inspirational moments, and very powerful vocals. Cut To The Chase is a melodic gem that is well sung and performed by the group. Nobody's Hero is a terrific single with very strong melody and unforgettable chorus. Another highlight is the ground pounding Leave That Thing Alone instrumental with great lead breaks and keyboard work.

Each track features the trademark resounding echoing phased guitar sound, and Lee's accomplished high octave treatment of the vocals. He is in fine voice throughout and the songs became favourites for MTV boasting promo clips for the first few songs. The songs have also been played live many times through the years and are fan favourites.

Overall this album is one of the best among the Rush 90s years, when Prog was coming back to the forefront of the industry. Rush are certainly one of the most important acts to keep prog flourishing, and this album is one of their best in this troublesome period.

UMUR Counterparts is the fifteenth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. The album was produced by Peter Collins who had also worked with the band on Power Windows (1985) and Hold Your Fire (1987). Counterparts was released through Atlantic Records on the 19th of October 1993.

The music on Counterparts is a departure from the keyboard laden style of eighties Rush and boasts a much more guitar and bass heavy production and songwriting style. The keyboards are very sparse on the album and Alex Lifeson´s heavy guitar riffs really dominate. The production by Peter Collins is excellent and gives the music a much needed warmth. The songs are still rather simple rock tunes with only hints at progressive rock. The instrumental Leave that thing alone is one of the highlights of the album but I also enjoy Animate, Stick it Out and Everyday Glory but there are no weak songs on the album which comes of rather coherent. The musicianship is as always excellent.

While Counterparts is not my favorite album by Rush I think it´s a good album and another transition in sound for the band. One they would develop further on subsequent releases. 3 stars are deserved.