Counterparts
Released Atlantic/Anthem, 19 October, 1993.
- Animate (6:03)
- Stick It Out (4:30)
- Cut To The Chase (4:48)
- Nobody’s Hero (4:54)
- Between Sun And Moon (4:37)
- Alien Shore (5:45)
- Speed Of Love (5:02)
- Double Agent (4:51)
- Leave That Thing Alone! (instr.) (4:05)
- Cold Fire (4:26)
- Everyday Glory (5:11)
Additional Musician: John Webster - Keys.
Produced by Peter Collins and Rush.
Lyrics by Peart, except lyrics to ‘Between Sun And Moon’ by Pye Dubois.
The idea that this album was about relationships came rather late in its development process. A number of songs fit the bill – ‘Alien Shore’ and ‘Cold Fire’, as well as the slightly dubious ‘The Speed of Love’ all look at the interpersonal, but there are none of the political or geographical references that were a staple of previous albums. Neil is quite prepared to stick his neck out – not least with ‘Animate’, a song disparagingly in touch with its feminine side. “That became such a cliché certainly through the 80s, of the modern sensitive man,” said Neil. “It became a bit of an act of men pretending to be more sensitive than they actually were, and sometimes women pretending to be more aggressive than they actually were.”
If this album is about anything however, it is the stripped down, updated sound. Against a musical backdrop which was seeing the death of hair metal and a return to a more analogue recording approach, we see Geddy getting his funk back, a more confident Alex and a timely reminder from Neil that drumming is, first and foremost, about hitting things with sticks. With engineer Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley turning the amps up to eleven, the band confidently bangs through the first three songs on the album, each a vibrant, power-trio mix. There’s room for fun and room for anger, the latter working far better here in the raw, than on the more highly polished works of a few albums before.
Songs like ‘Nobody’s Hero’ and ‘Between Sun and Moon’ offer some respite, returning to a more earnest Rush. The former was written about people Neil knew, who had died without the great send-offs one associates with the famous. Ellis, a friend of Neil’s during his time in London, had died of AIDS in the late eighties; another character was involved in a terrible crime in Canada. For once, Alex and Geddy wrote the music to fit the lyrics as there was little they felt like changing. Speaking of which, Neil was happy to tweak the words to ‘Between Sun and Moon’, which was based on a poem by Neil’s old buddy Pye Dubois. “I’m always concerned with Pye, ‘Do you think I’m wrecking up your work?’ because theoretically when he finishes it, he thinks it’s done,” said Neil. “But he seems comfortable with it too, so it’s just like he said, it’s just turning out a good tune that counts.”
Overall the album is both funky and furrowed, silly and serious. While room is left for humour (Geddy called ‘Double Agent’ “one of the goofiest songs I think we’ve ever written”), there is perhaps a hint of indecision, revealing that songs were written as individual entities rather than having a coherent theme, either stylistic or lyrical. While ‘Counterparts’ does stand up in its own right it is maybe indicative that the band was still finding its feet in this brave new, stripped down world. The closer, ‘Everyday Glory’ is a sad, but good, song, suggesting continued hope for the future.