Counterparts (1993)
In 1993, Rush had spent 4 years trying to reinvent their sound and create a classic hard rock Rush record. As the saying goes, third time's a charm.
Counterparts sees the return of Rush as a hard hitting power trio. No more material that they would go on to regret and in its place is a strong, energetic, and often overlooked album. This seems to be the album that Rush wanted to make, a triumphant return to form.
Once again, the band decided it was time to find a new producer. Taking the place of Rupert Hine was Peter Collins, who had previously worked with the band on
Power Windows and
Hold Your Fire. This album also got help from a notable person, especially worth mentioning on a Maiden album, a young Kevin Shirley as engineer. The result was a much heavier more modern sounding album. Sonically,
Counterparts could easily stand up to any other album in its time, and even sounds fresh today.
Like
Presto and
Roll The Bones,
Counterparts features more guitar orientated. However, where the previous two albums focused heavily on vocal melodies and arrangements, this album is very riff driven with the exception of a few songs. Keyboards are almost non-existent, for the most part only acting as texture, and even then they're often mixed pretty low. This is probably Rush's most raw sounding album since the early 70's.
The lyrics are a bit more varied than on
Roll The Bones, but follow a loose theme with many of the songs dealing with the need for balance (a theme not new to Rush), it also features many personal lyrics. Speed Of Love and Cold Fire both deal with love; the former being about the power it has over people and the latter examines two different concepts of love. Alien Shore and Nobody's Hero tackle bigger social issues, such as equality and heroism in the common man. Peart also took inspiration from Pye Dubois, who had cowritten Rush songs before, most noticeably Tom Sawyer. This time, Neil wrote a song based on his poem, "There Is A Lake Between Sun And Moon".
There is a lake between sun and moon
Not too many know about
Some go there for their high noon
Some go there for their midnight moon
It is a moment between silence and shout
Maybe you, might as well me
Why the sun, why the sun
Say yes, say yes, ahh say yes to self-esteem
We want to escape because we don't want to fall in
The signs are clear and so is the fear
We do not trust the firmness of the ground
Then say yes, say yes, ahh say yes to self-esteem
There is a fine place between actor and audience
This is the fine line
The fine line of living
This moment experienced
This fine deliverance
Do what you want to do in no ordinary way
Say what you need to say in no ordinary way
And sing what must be sung in no ordinary way
Say yes, ahh please, please say yes to self esteem
Some go there for their high noon
Some go there fo their midnight moon
It is the moment between silent and shout
This is a fine place
Faces face to face
These bonfire eyes
In the lake of the sky
It is our light to land and leave
Never so dark to unravel the weave
Never give up and never say die
Do what you need to do in no ordinary way
Say what you need to say in no ordinary way
And sing what must be sung in no ordinary way
In a world that had just dived head first into Grunge, Rush still managed to release a commercially successful album. It reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and #14 in the UK. It also landed the band yet another Grammy nomination for an instrumental track with Leave That Thing Alone.
Counterparts is the first Rush album in a long time that doesn't sound dated, it's exactly what modern Rush should sound like. Like most of their later material, it is often overlooked. A shame, as it features some of their best material.
)
I'm thinking about buying the whole box set, since it has quite a few albums I don't own yet.