No love for Test for Echo :( - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Angeldust

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Joined: September 18 2005
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Topic: No love for Test for Echo :(
Posted: August 15 2006 at 20:20

Rush's test for echo is a great album.Maybe it's a bit more 'difficult' than Counterparts but still rocks !And i love the way Limbo ends with this bass solo fading out...Geddy rocks...But it's quite underrated i think.Anyway complex work from Peart too..Check out 'The work in progress' Dvd where he plays almost the whole album.Nice and interesting to SEE that Rush are still quite proggy

WaywardSon View Drop Down

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Posted: August 14 2006 at 13:32

I was a great Rush fan in the 70´s and early 80´s. After the very weak GUP I felt they really went downhill (With the exception of Power Windows and maybe Counterparts)

Songs like "Driven" and "Resist" sound great live, but not on this album. Very dissapointing release IMHO.

Edited by WaywardSon - August 14 2006 at 13:33

Dr4Wazo

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 22:29

Kitch!

... I personally love "Limbo" althought and I do own the album Embarrassed

"Mëem Otsilennhetëe Dros Sun Surra Steuhn Do Nansei"

Cristi

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 13:47

I lke the album a lot; I don't understand why it is Rush's least popular album either.

richardh

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 12:57

I like that album and their other nineties albums.In fact I didn't like Rush that much until Roll The Bones and T4E. The lyrics are the strongest things about them for me..I could easily relate to them.Nowadays I prefer their eighties albums though.

Ricochet

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 10:45

quite a modest work. Presto, Roll The Bones = better.

Melomaniac View Drop Down

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 10:45

Ghost Rider wrote:

[QUOTE=Tony R]Apart from Dog Years,how are the lyrics "stupid"?
Could you write lyrics as "good" as Peart?

So, you see, we can keep our fanboyism in check and recognise that even prog gods such as Rush can have their off moments... Wink

Not like a particular Dream Theater fanboy we know

"One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio

Melomaniac View Drop Down

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 10:43

Ghost Rider wrote:

Tony R wrote:

Apart from Dog Years,how are the lyrics "stupid"?
Could you write lyrics as "good" as Peart?

I would say that overall T4E is one of Rush's poorest ranking alongside Presto as their "trainwreck" albums.Driven,Resist and the title track are standouts for the album but would struggle to make a Rush "Best of" Double CD...

What he said. Clap

As a matter of fact, I think "Presto" is superior to T4E - and I absolutely agree with Tony's choice of the best tracks. "Limbo" is not bad, but certainly not on a par with other Rush instrumental tracks, and "Dog Years" is utterly awful from both a lyrical and a musical point of view. So, you see, we can keep our fanboyism in check and recognise that even prog gods such as Rush can have their off moments... Wink

I agree 100 % with GR. What I think is the problem with TfE is the fact that it doesn't sound sincere. Sounds like they had to write songs for a contractual obligation and a few good songs came out. Title track, Driven, Time and Motion are the best tracks, Half the World and Resist are good tracks, and the rest, well, even as Rush fanboy ever since high school, I find close to dreadful. I mean, Totem, Dog Years, Virtuality, and Carve Away the Stone are among the worst they have done, musically and lyrically. Instrumental Limbo has it's moments but like GR said, they are far from Leave that Thing Alone, Where's My Thing, YYZ and La Villa Strangiato. The tour was great though, and all the good songs from TfE were amazing live tracks. In fact, I remember thinking that it was maybe time for them to call it a day (regretfully, and as a fanboy, that's saying something!!!). Then came Vapor Trails and I was euphoric !

"One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio

Fritha

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 10:13

As it happens I just had a listen to TFE yesterday evening, not having listened to it for at least a year or so. I always thought the album was much more enjoyable than some of their 70s efforts like the debut, Fly By Night and A Farewell To Kings, and certainly much much better than any of the other post-Presto albums. For one thing it sounds like a consistant album -the first six tracks are all very listenable indeed. And I've solved the dilemma with Dog Years and Virtuality by simply excluding them from iTunes when I transferred the record to my computer -to me they no longer exist, lol.

It may not contain the most substantial Rush music ever made but still, there is enough substance to make me listen with genuine interest and like what I hear on some level for the most part... Definitely worth taking out more than once a year, which I will try to remember from now on.

I was made to love magic

Dalezilla

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 08:03

I love Test For Echo

rushaholic View Drop Down

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 06:45

While I agree that Test For Echo was not there best, I still enjoyed it. Some of the lyrics were not on par with most of the other albums they have released but it was still a pretty good album.

Raff

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Posted: August 13 2006 at 05:17

What he said. Clap

rushfan6588 View Drop Down

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 23:47

Driven to me is one of rush's best live tracks

If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

Bastille Dude View Drop Down

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 23:07

I didn't like it when it came out and I just couldn't listen to it. Then one day something happened and just clicked, now I enjoy it frequently especially Driven and T4E.

DEATH TO FALSE PROG!

Arnold Layne View Drop Down

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 23:05

Driven is one of my favorite songs and i think limbo is awesome, deffianlty an album i would put higher up in my list. i dont like the late eighties and beginings of rush though.

HELP!

Zoot Allures View Drop Down

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 22:59

I listened to it a couple of weeks ago and enjoy throwing it on from time to time. May not be the best Rush disc, but excellent none the less!

The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. - Hunter S. Thompson

YYZed

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 22:37

TFE and Driven are the standouts, both excellent songs. The rest leaves a lot to be desired. You're better off just getting one of the live albums w/ those songs on it. The live performances are better, especially Driven.

Edited by YYZed - August 12 2006 at 22:37

Padraic

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 22:01

I played the hell out of it in college when it came out, but haven't listened to it in a long time. I'll dust if off and see what happens. I can tell you that both the title track and "Driven" are stellar tracks.

Philéas

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 20:44

I think that Test for Echo is Rush's most proggish record since Moving Pictures. I like all songs, even Dog Years (although the lyrics might not be the best).

stonebeard View Drop Down

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Posted: August 12 2006 at 20:41

Hmm, well it dosn't really display much virtuosity compared to, say La Villa Stragiato, but I think it has a good atmosphere and excellent build up. I can say that I enjoy sitting through the album completely. There's filler, but (to me at least) it's benign and enjoyable filler. I have a tougher time sitting through Vapor Trails. The tracks just drag on and on sometimes when the ideas behind them ran out at the 2- or 3-minute mark.

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