COUNTERPARTS

Rush went trough some hard times. A dark period was over them after Hold Your Fire. They didn't split up but that was a close call. Rush was heading for strange FM directions. Some like this period, I personnaly could live without it. Instead of taking risks, pushing limits forward, investing in new sounds and re-inventing the band over and over, they just wanted a piece of the commercial cake that is rock n' roll. And it failed. Rush stayed a great rock band, but a poor post-pogressive band. The spark is definitly gone, the sound is du- jour (heavy and rude). But the artwork is awesome, to say the least. The concept of Counterparts is an amazing bonanza of eye-candy pictures and cool logos. The cover art is by far one of the coolest ever. Simple, provocative (hey, obvious dude!), and reflects the theme of the record....man vs. woman. So Peart is a human after all! But, despite the lack of creativity and the disappointing song filling hides a couple of great songs. 'Leave that Thing Alone' is by far one of the greatest songs Rush ever produced. It's a rather sad piece of music, but strong in emotion and musicianship. Catchiest 4 minute song in a long time! 'Stick it out' kicks some serious butt and has a great videoclip on top of that. In one word like in a hundred ones Counterparts stands out in rock heavyness and FM material. Not the most essential record, but the best of what came out in the 1991-2002 period. It's like a Betty Crocker cake. Not very nutricious...but the icing is divine.