COUNTERPARTS

This has to be Rush's best effort of the 1990's. Some hard rocking riffs and some of the best basslines ever! The drums are so good, well, thats because of Peart of course. This also has to be among one of the best sounding Rush records ever too. Unlike the two overly produced albums before, which both were lacking in bottom end endlessly, maybe due to the wal bass, this is a much more natural sounding recording. Its got plenty of bottom end, good mix, and very good high end. The vocals are really nice, Geddy singing his best on this record. There are only a few faults which I will get to.

The opening track is pretty much perfection. "Animate" starts off with some guy saying "1, 2, 3, 4" and Neil starts a great drum part, and it gets cranking with one of Geddy's best basslines. He is using his flamenco style really well here. Oh, and I did forget to mention that Geddy started using a different bass now, his good old 1972 Fender Jazz Bass, in which he installed a Badass II Bridge. It sounds awesome and totally stronger than the wal bass. The guitar solo on this song is definatly something to get excited about too, even though its pretty short, its very nice. The lyrics are alright, though maybe not my favorite of Neils, they are definatly alright. "Stick It Out" is the next track, much darker, and slightly worse lyrics. They are not bad lyrics, they are just slightly boring and tedious. The music is much like what you might hear from Metallica doing a slow ballad, which is to say, a very good ballad. The bass lines are pretty tight, and the guitar is scary and spooky enough. The druming of course is a standout, from any point of view, Neil is just one of the best drummers there is to know. "Cut to the Chase" is a good rocker, worse lyrics, now it's starting to get bad. The music is pretty good though throughout the song. "Nobody's Hero" is a very good ballad. The guitar solo is a little different than other Alex solos that I have heard, but its still Alex playing his guitar. It starts with a really good acoustic section and then Geddy starts to sing. The lyrics are actually pretty good on this song, unlike the last track. "Between Sun & Moon" is an all time favorite of mine, even though it is definatly not popular by any means. This is a really good rocker song for me, but not progressive enough for me. The lyrics are alright in this song, though not up to par with other songs from this album, or even songs in the past. The music is all that matters for this song, and I love it. Geddys vocals are exceptionally strong on that track. "Alien Shore" is where it starts to get bad in the album. The music isn't that challenging to me, and its very boring for me. The lyrics are not very good. I'll be honestly, its the worst of the album right here, at least the lyrics. I just wish that Neil didn't write this song, but I do think the music is alright, but not up to par with the rest of the album. "The Speed of Love" is boring too, but not as bad as the last track. The lyrics are pretty bad though, I would never introduce some to Rush with this song, thats for sure. The music is better than the last track, fortunatly. "Double Agent" is another good track from the album. It starts with some of the darkest talking that I have ever heard Geddy say in my life. It's not that Geddy is going lower than ever, it's just what he is saying and how he is saying it, its so scary. The music is pretty good and the lyrics are not too bad on the song, though not as good as "Animate." "Leave that Thing Alone" could be Rush's all time best instrumental. It might not be as exciting in places as "YYZ" is but its really good. The bass solo is pretty good considering, and the guitar part is just beautiful. The drums are to die for on this track too, it makes me feel really good that there are at least a few more instrumentals coming our way in the next couple of years. "Cold Fire" is another favorite from the album. Its got some of the best vocals on the album. Soothing bass, laid back drums, and really floating guitars, this whole song is just so atmospheric. It really knows how to love and how to rock harder than anything else. The lyrics are excellent, considering the rest of the album being a let down lyrically. "Everyday Glory" is alright, but not a very good closer. Its not challenging or beautiful like the last track was.

The album is definatly worth a 4 stars, close to a 5 stars because of the excellent music throughout, but falls short because of the less than welcoming lyrics.