Test For Echo - Rush (CD 1996)

(Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and they do not constitute the essence of this review. Lastly and most importantly, this review is not necessarily written by the point of view of a Rush fan.)

Overall Score: 4/5
Best song: Time and Motion
Worst song: Dog Years

Review Body:

It was now a comfortable distance from the late '80s, and so Rush was allowed to release their best album since Moving Pictures. (The supernatural gods of rock 'n' roll had been sucking the life-force out of old rock bands in the late '80s. That's my theory.) They continued on the path they embarked upon in Counterparts--they let the guitar sound dominate the album with very little keyboards to spoil everything. However, the guitars are not quite as heavy as they were on the grunge-leaning Counterparts. This is the first time in awhile that Rush didn't seem to be going after any particular style. This is very neutral hard-rock. And they seem to have responded to my calls in my Counterparts review to start concentrating more on songwriting. Lucky me! These guys were never great songwriters, but they're paying more heed to melodies and rhythms, which has improved the quality of this album immensely.

Of course, this is a far cry away of anything Beatles-quality. There is a general tendency for these songs to sound the same. That is, it's difficult for me to tell these songs apart once they're through playing. This isn't a very diverse album! However, if you want something guitar-heavy from such a talented band as Rush who is playing as tightly and intricately as ever, then this is up your alley. Just don't expect anything amazing, or even to get the impression that there is more than one song on it.

They start things off nicely with Test For Echo. It has a thick, nicely produced atmosphere with a really cool running guitar riff that pops up occasionally. Geddy Lee even comes up with a fitfully nice vocal melody that provides one or two good hooks. They're hardly Paul McCartney, but they're quite good for Rush. Neil Peart found a few interesting rhythms to play that works with the overall flow of the piece. Its only real flaw is that six-minute running length, which is really pushing it. But I'm willing to forgive that. That's really the only song on the album with such a length problem.

As much as I appreciate most of these songs, Time and Motion takes the cake. That's my undisputed favorite! It has the coolest guitar tones of them all being a tad harder than the rest (featuring a cool, power intro). It features number of interesting rhythms, which makes that a good song to hear develop. The chord changes are even very nice! (It's been awhile since I complimented Rush on their harmonies.) Its overall mood is very cold... but all Rush songs are cold. I can't remember a time when I was ever thinking that Rush was warm. I also gotta admire Lifeson's wired-up solo that he delivers very briefly in the middle. It's perhaps a little too brief, but ... they knew well enough to not keep good things going too long.

Totem is another fun song with good flow. It's a little more upbeat and poppy than the others although it's still very guitar heavy! It also features one of the album's most likable melodies (even though it's not exactly infectious... I don't remember it once it's through playing). I also like Virtuality, with that ultra-cool hard-rock riff that opens the song and a number of interesting song developments throughout. That interacts well with Lee's vocal melody, which also manages to be uncharacteristically catchy for Rush.

Unfortunately, for every massive highlight in Test For Echo, there's a mediocre one. They're songs that provide all the at-the-moment, polished guitar action that you could ask for, but they make almost no impression other than that base-level sound. Driven is a good example of a mediocre song! It's a bit of a klutzy attempt to revisit their glorious YYZ song, but the guitar tones are fun to hear and, once again, I like the rhythms. The only real bomb in here is Dog Years, which doesn't actually bomb that badly. It's grittier than the other songs, which was probably a conscious stylistic decision for them. But this time, the whole song doesn't seem to flow very well, and those guitar riffs don't pique my interest at all!

Despite Dog Years, Rush managed to come out with a consistently enjoyable album, at long last! There are plenty of cool guitar riffs and solos to please any of Lifeson's fans (and everybody who likes the guitar should be a Lifeson fan ... the dude has skills)! Neil Peart seemed more in-tuned with his rhythms than he had been for a little while (although those usually have been pretty good anyway). Of course, Lee is one of the best bass guitarists ever, a fact that I don't seem to mention often enough...... Well, I'm mentioning it now! Rush always have impressive instrumental virtuosos, but now they have finally come up with an album that you might want to hear! Yaaaaaaaay.

Track Reviews:

Test For Echo A-
Listen to all that guitar! This song sounds so flawless that I can hardly believe it... I haven't remembered Rush ever sounding like this ... at least back to those Moving Pictures days. Geddy Lee's singing a melody that's actually interesting, and hooky. The guitars are very polished and comes in with a few great licks here and there. My only possible complaint about it is they sort of stop doing anything new halfway through (it's a six-minute song), and my interest in it wanes. But ... wow, those guitar licks! Very fun to hear!

Driven B
That menacing guitar sequence that opens this is really cool. After that, the song doesn't have that much to offer us. They seem to be returning to their former policy of delivering mediocre melodies. The song development is very clunky, at times. Some parts are good, other parts aren't. That funny rhythmic part reminiscent of YYZ is kind of cool, but that chorus-like section isn't so much. I gave it an extra point for that guitar tone at the very end!

Half the World B+
Not a half-bad pop song! They're concentrating a bit more on the pop-melodies instead of their brand of bland weirdness as in Driven. It's only three minutes, which was just the right length, and I love hearing those guitar tones. This is one remarkably well-produced album, and their efforts do not go unnoticed!

The Color of Right B
This is solidly played, and I can't think of anything wrong with it. The melody is a little bland, and it doesn't do anything to interest me. Again, the guitar tones are good enough to keep this song from sounding *truly* bland. I wish there was something significant to set it apart from the other songs, though!

Time and Motion A
This is what Driven wanted to be, but couldn't quite make it! This is one of Rush's more unusual rhythms, which is executed wonderfully. It's rather mid-tempo, but they create an impressively bleak atmosphere with a number of excellent guitar crunches. A few rhythm changes throughout keep the song relatively fresh (although that part in the middle might not have been their best idea).

Totem A-
This is also one of the album's better songs... It's not quite as flashy as the previous song (though it's still pretty flashy ... every song on here is). It's a relatively quieter and smoother song. I like some the way Lee sings some of the lyrics even though the melody still isn't that great. Lifeson comes in with another good guitar line. That guy is being too awesome!

Dog Years C+
Yikes... Well, I guess it they were bound to hit their faces on the brick wall, eventually. This doesn't come together nearly as well as the other songs. The guitars don't sound quite as appealing (although they're still good) and, of course, the melody is bland! It's easy to forget this song exists, and you might as well do so. I'm just glad that it didn't annoy me.

Virtuality A-
You can tell how bad Dog Years was just by getting a whiff of the superior songs that surrounds it. This song has this really cool dark guitar riff! It also has somewhat of a cool vocal melody in the chorus and interesting song development. (That little diversion around the 1:50 minute mark is a little odd, but it flows well with the rest of the song, and I like hearing it.) This is another whopping Rush success!

Resist B-
Eh, this song is pretty easy to resist. WATCH ME! While there's nothing too wrong with this (it's not as bad as Dog Years ), it's just bland. It doesn't do anything that captures my interest. It shares that quality with many songs from the albums they were releasing six to eight years previously, so that's not a big deal.

Limbo B+
An instrumental. By the sound of those vocal aahhs and how they blend with the atmosphere, it sounds like they were trying to write a musical version of purgatory. I wouldn't put it past 'em! For some reason, I really want to hear Rush put out a purely instrumental album. No, that's not because I'm sick of Geddy Lee's voice, but these guys were such interesting performers, that they always manage to put something interesting in each and every turn. These instrumentals are probably even more vibrant than the regular songs!

Carve Away the Stone B
That guitar intro reminds me of ASSSSSSSSSSIAAAAAAA!!! ... (Sorry, I'm just a little bit bored.) Rush had the common decency to end the album with a decent song although it's of fairly average quality. It starts out well, but loses some of its steam as it progresses. The instrumentation is smooth but non-distinct (how many ways can I say that it's a guitar-heavy rocker?). It's fun to listen to, but doesn't make much of an impression. Hello, Rush!

Concluding Remarks:

Their best album since Moving Pictures, and thus an incredibly well-received return-to-form for the group. Once again, the guitars are in the forefront, and they've moved comfortably away from those pop formulas.