September 10, 1996 - Test For Echo

A week after my last release and three years since "Counterparts", Rush released their sixteenth album "Test For Echo" on September 10, 1996. The legendary prog-rockers continue with their 90s sound of less synthesizers and more guitar driven songs. Let's listen to the latest from Rush!

The album begins with the title track "Test For Echo" and it was also the big hit single off the album. It's got a catchy light guitar riff at times but things sound way better when they switch to a louder riff that sounds pretty cool. Geddy Lee's vocals still sound solid and Alex Lifeson's guitar sounds pretty good leading the way. Geddy's bass is also pretty sweet as usual and of course Neil Peart provides a pretty nifty little drum beat. The guitar solo isn't anything too special, but this song is solid for what's clearly a made-for-radio single. The next song was also a single and it's titled "Driven". Lifeson kicks right into a cool guitar riff and Geddy plays the same riff on bass in the background, both sounding good. Geddy sings a solid verse and the acoustic break before the chorus sounds good before they shift into a catchy chorus. Geddy gets a short bass break that sounds pretty wicked and Lifeson plays some cool guitar to back him. The middle verse is a little dry sadly, but the song is still a pretty cool one with an interesting and catchy main riff. Track 3 is "Half The World" and Lifeson leads the way with a light and breezy guitar riff. It's alright, but it's pretty basic for these guys and Geddy's lyrics seem to be like 60% the name of the song, which definitely drains. Geddy's bass is pretty good throughout actually, but the breezy vibe just isn't what I want out of Rush. Up next is "The Colour Of Right" and it's another pretty light main riff by Lifeson. Geddy's vocals are very sappy on this one and until Geddy finally soices things up with some cool bass there is not a lot happening in the first half of this song. Two solid openers followed by two fluffier songs. Track 5 is "Time And Motion" and it's a rare instance lately of synthesizers! These ones add a cool little extra layer to things, with the guitar still leading the way. Lifeson's main riff is pretty catchy and his solo sounds pretty epic as well. After the last two lighter songs, this was a welcome to return to some harder rock. Up next is "Totem" and Lifeson plays some fast but light guitar while Geddy backs him with some bass that's actually way cooler. The chorus is pretty simple and not their best stuff and after a decent guitar solo there's another pretty unexciting verse as well. An alright song, but this lighter side of Rush is not my favourite: it's just so un-prog-y. Track 7 is "Dog Years" and it has a decent main riff with some solid guitar and bass. Geddy's verse is solid, but he sounds pretty lame singing the chorus. It's also a pretty repetitive song and even though Lifeson plays some decent guitar, this is still a lesser Rush song. The next track is "Virtuality" and it's driven by a fairly heavy and pretty cool main riff. There's some pretty cool guitar, drums and bass on this one and this is easily a contender for song of the album. This is the kind of Rush I like: the kind that gets you moving and headbanging! The chorus is lighter but it's still pretty catchy and the rest of the song is some pretty sweet Rush! Track 9 is "Resist" and Geddy opens things up on piano with a soft but solid little riff. It falls away and Lifeson takes over with some light guitar and things sound pretty epic for a lighter Rush song. This isn't what I typically want from Rush, but they do an excellent job. Up next is the instrumental "Limbo" and Peart plays some cool drums throughout as you'd expect, with lots of great fills. Geddy's bass sounds awesome as always and Lifeson's guitar leads the way. There's some wordless vocals and "ohhing" that I don't find really adds anything but the rhythm section is pretty awesome throughout the whole song. The final song on the album is "Carve Away The Stone" and it's another lighter, made-for-radio track that is alright, but not all that exciting. Geddy plays some cool bass as usual but it's a pretty forgettable song honestly.

That is the end of "Test For Echo" and it was another mixed bag of an album, which seems to be the 90s theme for Rush. It was about half songs that were lesser Rush and half that were actually pretty solid. Those solid songs for me take this newest Rush album over "Roll The Bones", "Presto" and even "Hold Your Fire". But I don't think it was better than their last album "Counterparts" and so 13th place will have to do. This is the end of 90s Rush as well, so hopefully the next decade brings back the fire of older Rush!