TEST FOR ECHO

I didn't care for this one. The mood is melancholy, but pointlessly so. At least Power Windows (also a bit on the moody side) had some "take-action" lyrics that left you a ray of hope. Even the more upbeat Virtuality seemed a bit average. The first song seems to set the tone for the whole CD -- life is a struggle, it's cold outside and we're not particularly happy to be here. I would use it for background music, as opposed to putting on a headset and jogging with it. I was disappointed.

The first bit of "Test For Echo" make you craving for more, but then the rest drops into question. "Driven" works and "Resist" is peaceful, along with "Limbo" as an easy going instrumental that can't make up for the rest of the album which blends together as one long, guitar spread. True fans only!

Give this album another halfstar!!!!

For a long time , I thought Rush had folded up with this very unremarkable effort , that only real, confirmed , convinced , die-hard , avid fans should get an ear onto this before eventually before eventually investing in it.

This album is really tough on my ears , with endless power riffs , relatively common songwriting and all songs sounding alive. Surely Rush had decided to go back to their harder rock days , probably encouraged by Dream Theater's successes , but to me it sounds very uninspired , uninventive.

Good artwork sleeve , though , somehow reminding me of the Hemispheres days!

I gave up on RUSH when T4E came out. Such a comeback with Counterparts after the absolute disappointment of RtB, and the the dare bring out non-songs like everything on Test .. except Resist, Half the World and the magnificient Driven. Completely unnecessary. To be omitted.

very good continuation of Counterparts, sometimes sound gets clearer and in few moments I have the feeling that I listen to Hold Your Fire (what is always great feeling). And the last song on the album reminds me Signals times (guitar lines) and it also counts, this is probably the best song on this record. Whole album very good.

Disappointing after Counterparts. Still some good songs on here though. Test For Echo, Half The World, Virtuality and the instrumental Limbo are all up to standard. But the rest are slightly tuneless and inferior to most stuff the band has written. it seems aimless. Maybe the band should not record an album until they have enough decent material available. With their history and fan base, surely the record company will wait until the band are ready!

No one ever noticed the great effort that has to be done to create this record, even if this is not a "materpiece" is one of the most solid Rush record ever... why you may say, well, first the complete transfomation of the playing of Neil Peart trying to understand the basics of jazz and the constant "waving" of the classic grip in drumming, the sharp orientation of Geedy Lee into a more straight compositions avoiding the "easy" bridges, and the understanding of the music by numbers by Alex Lifeson; this record starts with a very nice tune, creating a complex sound that is followed by "Driven" a nice syncopated song with a very fluid music. The whole record acts as an entity, solid and very rational. For those who has doubts to buy it, just give a chance to hear it at least twice to understand the hard work behind it.

Previous reviews for this album imply poor melody and tunelessness. How ironic that this album actually contains great rock songs with some of the best singalong chorus's on any rush album. Half the world, Colour of right, Totem, Carve away the stone and Resist have brilliant melodies. The title track kicks off in very typical Rush album opener mode and the follow up 'Driven' and 'Time and Motion' are also monster tracks!I admit it took a while to 'get' this album but a few listens sorted out that problem. I do agree that it may need a little perseverance though. (It doesnt help either that the worst Rush song EVER i.e. 'Dog Years' appears on this album...skip this track and you've got a 10 track fantastic rush record). The instrumental 'Limbo' is probably not in the same league as YYZ or Leave that / where's my thing either. But honestly folks, those 8 or so I mentioned earlier more than compensate for this. Don't dismiss this album so quickly, it's definitely worth more than a try.

A rather dull output from the canadian superstars -typical of a once great band, exhausted of good ideas. i know its hard to understand why Rush have chosen this particular MOR direction, you simply cannot compare this album to the greatness of say, hold your fire or power windows -but what has happened to Rush? for instance, where have the unique keyboards gone that set them apart from everone else during the eighties and nineties. Rush could still do very well, as tired as they are -but what is this grunge crap they keep putting out for us? I blame geddy myself. from here-on Rush get worse in my opinion. This is a middle of the tracks, below average, pop rock album, embarrassingly cheesy lyrics and nothing to write home about.

I confess giving Rush a miss after Power Wndows from 1985 and then a couple of years back I got a copy of Test For Echo. This was desperate times in the hope of getting convinced that to rekindle my investemnt in Rush from 1985 onwards let's see what they had to offer. Test For Echo was initially for me a nightmare, I am surprised that this release has slowly but surely grown on me though. An album that I once labelled as poor has actually turned out to be not that atrocious. Quite pleasant to the ear and in fact pretty darn good. Maybe it is because there is a dearth of classic bands left, maybe just because my mind was closed to modern day Rush. Thankfully I have had time to see the error in judgement.

This is BARELY 3 stars material, almost a collection item. Rush went back from a 3 year vacation where they should thought harder to make a better comeback. Because you don't get charm new fans with that kind of job. Why Rush lowered their scyscraper standards at this point? CounterParts had a much rougher and dirtier edge, which was the basic trademark of the album. But for Test for Echo, even the concerts were lacking sparks and energy. Maybe they didn't believe in their product at that time.

But on the bright side, Hugh Syme did an immaculate job on the cover art. Rush became at Roll the Bones somesort of a "cool inside booklet" band. The theme was the Great North with lots of cool Inuit references. Winter theme is a nice way to describe the album despite the lack of creativity of the songs. The song Driven fits pretty well and so is the Test for Echo song. The wrapping of the record is far superior and creative than what's inside. Guys, the cool booklet and art work is giving me hope that someday, I won't look down so much on the album. Man, "Rush art" is certainly a nice voyage in extravagant and imaginative art...like the Floyd use to do. Cheers to Hugh Syme and the Boys for such exquisite and humorous job.

Anyway some songs are totally worth the try. Test for Echo for instance, is a nice post- prog exercise with cool toms rolls and bass subtilities. Driven, is for me, one of the best songs ever written by Rush. Driven is a great ride with tension and excellent guitar/ bass/drum interaction. Worthy of a definitive attention. It's catchy, heavy and satisfying. Check out also Time and Motion, it's a weird song and it's a heavy one also. My favorite would be Driven and Carve Away the Stone. Don't know why, that last song has all my sympathy an respect. It won't go through ages, but it will please your ears, I hope.

Anyway, do not start here for the 1990 and up period...you might regret an album with only 4 or 5 ncie songs....because Rush is more than capable of an album of total killer and no filler.

Certanly not a prog album nor a classic...but since the eighties or mid-eighties Rush were not a 100% prog band, so why some of you still compare this one with any of their 70's albums, by far and it´s obvious their firsts albums were true killers, but sadly those times were gone but not the virtuosity of the Canadian trio. It's an album to hear and have some fun, one of the albums that you can do anything wherever the place or whatever the activity and is really a good companion. Test for Echo, Driven, The Color of Right, Totem, Virtuality, Resist and the instrumental Limbo are really good tunes. You can pass it if you like, but IMHO it's not that bad as some of you think.

While this album has a couple songs that are great (Driven, Virtuosity) it is easily Rush's worst album, with Power Windows following at a close second. It's amazing to me how lackluster most of these songs are, especially when considering the albums that bookmark this effort. I prefer Rush's latter releases (though I'm generally more metal than new wave), but this is the only album in Rush's catalogue that I find to be mediocre. In comparison to other bands' 16th albums, ya gotta give it credit, it's pretty damn good. But in comparison to any other Rush release, it's a piss-poor effort. If you want modern Rush, try Vapor Trails or Counterparts instead.

Once again Rush displays why they are such brilliant artists! I found the variations and progressions to be a true example of the ever expanding nature of Rush. Neil's lyrics are (as usual) stellar, and the "orchestration" of the music is phenomenal. Powerful, introspective, and melodic - a "Must-Have" for the Rush fan, and great listening for the casual listener. Bravo!

Wow. This album is tasteless. Rush seems to use one riff over and over on this album and it is not a very good riff to begin with. Also the production on this album is lacking. Neil Pert's drums are in the background (what a shame) and Geddy Lee's bass is even further back. There are plenty of other Rush albums which are worthy of your time and money, but this is not one of them.

This album is a fair Rush album, that is to say that it is better than average. Though it cannot compare to the earlier projects, Test for Echo is still good. The title track, Driven, Totem, and Virtuality are all excellent. The Color of Right and Dog Years aren't too bad either. As a whole, it is not at all bad. Counterparts is generally considered a departure from their normal tunes with it's more alternative/hard rock sound, so this was a good way to get back into the swing of their normal stuff. Though it does lack the customarily lengthy tracks, Test for Echo is definitely worth picking up if you're a Rush fan, but not one to start with.

I am a huge Rush fan but no matter how hard I try, I cannot warm up to this album. This is where Rush has lost themselves in the desperate attempt to sound contemporary. For a contemporary album, this is probably not too bad, comrared to Oasis and Nirvana etc., but as a Rush album, this is pretty awful. This is not the same group that gave us "Permanent Waves", "Moving Pictures" and "Signals". The songwriting is just not there, and lyrically it is pretty dried up too. This is not for the fans of the classic Rush, which to me has ended with "Power Windows". One and a half, really.

Well, finally I am going to review an album by my favorite band of all time. Why start with this one? I'm not sure; inspiration just struck as I was reading through the existing reviews, plus I'm getting tired of doling out 4 and 5-star reviews (I have only reviewed albums that are all-time favorites thus far).

Well, as music in general goes (and especially most 90's music), this is a decent album. By Rush standards, it is NOT! While the band stopped making every song a masterpiece around the time of Grace Under Pressure (IMO), there were always more great songs than stinkers on the subsequent albums. That equation is flipped upside down here; most is generic post-alternative quasi-prog. You may say, "Well, so was Counterparts", and you would be correct. However, the difference is that Counterparts has mostly good songs, and had a nice organic sound, unlike this over-produced, overly slick effort.

There are nice moments: the title track is pretty interesting, "Driven" is propulsive (naturally, with that title), "Half The World" is catchy, and "Totem" has some good moments. "Limbo" is excellent, as are all of Rush's instrumentals, though it isn't as expansive as, say, "La Villa Strangiato" or as aggressive as "YYZ". Resist is OK, but not nearly as good as the live acoustic version they did on the last couple of tours.

Now to the bad: just about everything else. My biggest complaint with this album are the lyrics (heresy!): some of them are plain banal and almost laughable. And to make it worse, some of the songs they reside in would be outstanding otherwise, especially "Dog Years". Man, when I first heard that one, I was in heaven at first with that aggressive, fast, almost punky guitar riff. Geddy started singing and I was thinking "Finally, Geddy is screaming in that high register again; sweet!!!" Then the chorus arrives and all good feelings are immediately killed by the awful lyrics. The same could be said for "Virtuality"; "Net boy, net girl..." What the...?!?!?! Neil, we all know you can do better, and did do better on Vapor Trails.

Definitely not the place to start for new and aspiring Rushophiles.

I recall that this album managed to reach the Finnish top-10 charts as it was released! Maybe this kind of popularity and accessibility is one reason that why it is so hated in the (elitist?) prog community. I liked it! There are many different styles used in the songs, but the album sounds as a compact piece, and at least I enjoyed most of the compositions. If you liked "Counterparts" and "Vapor Trails", I recommend you to try listening this one!

Been a fan for dog years and T4e is not one of the better albums Rush has released. i'll keep it as a fan but some of the lyrical content leaves much to be desired. Allthough i understand the message of the title track. I just cant seem to get past lines like, "Tough talking hoodboys in pro team logo knockoffs". Couldn't there have been some other way to say that? I guess not. It doesn't roll off the tongue well and kinda ruins the song for me. That is just one example of some of the horrific (for lack of better word) lyrics deposited in this record. I'm sorry Neil! Other than that, it's Rush and the musicianship is there. Not to mention the cd art and graphics are incredible throughout. If I had to guess without looking, I would say that it is Hugh Syme magic. If only the songs as a whole were up to snuff. Well, you can't have it all in a handbag. You could opt to listen to something other than t4e in the Rush catalogue while enjoying the t4e artwork. 'nuff sed!

Okay maybe I am missing something here because I love this album! Ask yourself what youd think of this if came out after P.W. insted of moving pictures? This album would be thought of as a classic! Compare this to the dismal Hold your fire! This Album is pure Rush and worth another listen by those who slam it so hard in reviews. Really Im at a loss for words here this album is really really good and the best album theyve done in years! Please give it another listen.

Contains very few memorable or catchy songs. "Half the World" seems to be the most memorable song. It would be a decent song for any other band, but it is not very good by Rush standards. "Driven" has a cool driving riff, but you can't really base a song on it. However, it is a good song live. It is a good showcase of their playing. It just isn't a good showcase of their songwriting. I usually like Rush lyrics, but "Virtuality" has some corny lyrics that just make me cringe. I can't even remember the rest of the songs. That's how much of an impact it made on me.

In my opinion, it is their worst album. A real letdown after "Counterparts".

I think a lot of people do not understant 1993-2003 Rush period. Give this one a listen with an open mind and, Rush have always changed as years go passing, we can't wait for another 2112 or Hemispheres, that's the fact. In test for echo you will find a lot of good material (Driven is really GREAT!) and a couple of not very good songs. Anyway this is a really enyoyable album. 3.5 stars.

Before this album Rush had begun their journey to merge their styles into something truly unique. The prior albums showed the intent and also the promise. But it wasn't until Test For Echo that they truly achieved their goal.

A hard edged batch of well constructed songs that blended nicely with their more lush, keyboard ladden works of the 80's. Alex Lifeson is the focal point in this LP as it is definately guitar driven but the nice melodies and thoughtful lyrics remain as does the atmosphere left over from that 80's sound which was their best sound up to this point. This may be Rush at their peak. A perfect marriage of past and present in a stunning packege of fine music.

It is an honest, well conceived work that is a pleasure to listen to over and over again. All the elements that span Rush's magnificent career are present. The wealth of knowledge the trio have garnered through the years are at the forefront along with a few new and subtle nuances. It's a clean, crisp product with tremendous upside that gets better each time I listen to it.

Everything on the album is top notch from the engineering to the song structure right down to the final output. I consider this to be a landmark album in the many phases of the history of Rush.

It's hard to imagine any fan of this band finding fault with this album because no matter what your favorite "era" for Rush, there is something here for every fan.

This was actually my 2nd RUSH experience; the first being a snippet of LIMELIGHT that I heard on T.V. So, naturally, I was hooked(What's not to like about LIMELIGHT???). When I heard they were putting out a new disc, I immediately went out and bought it. I sat in my room, pressed PLAY on my CD player, and closed my eyes. I was told that RUSH was an experience, not merely something one listens to.

SHIT!

My glee upon hearing Lifeson's opening to the title track was replaced by doubt, anger, sadness, and finally, heartbreak. I ended my listening session by grabbing it out of the CD player, trying to break it and the case in half. It didn't work.

In retrospect, I'm glad it didn't. No...it's no masterpiece, and it's certainly no MOVING PICTURES or HEMISPHERES. The production is muddy, the songs are half-baked and the album as a whole is bogged down by half-assed, uninspired playing(Alex, COME ON!!!!) and a stupid concept(Tough-talking hoodboys? WTF?). What few flashes of instrumental brilliance there are get lost in the overwhelmingly muddy, tin-can sound. But, as the years go by, it, like an infectious disease, begins to grow on the listener. There are bright spots in several places, such as when they tone down the grunge(remember, this was '96) and go acoustic, as on the beautifully evocative RESIST, a song that Geddy dedicates to "the great people of SCOTLAND". Peart finally shows flashes of his old wit on CARVE AWAY THE STONE, and comes through with his shaprness intact. So, in closing, I give it 3 stars. It's not great but it's far from the worst album they've ever done.

I don´t like this one. I really don´t expect another xanadu but i realy liked counterparts and I expected something equaly inspired.

TFE is not what I expected. Less dynamic tracks with more easy listening forms. The members skills don´t save the game as the compositions themselves don´t help.

Nevertheles there are some good tracks here like driven, time and motion, limbo, test for echo and resist.

Overall I´d give it 3 stars. Enjoy (almost)

Wow. What's so wrong with this album? Tunes written with an interesting twist. This is far from the dog many claim it to be. Granted, it was somewhat of a step back from the huge tidal wave of Counterparts but it doesn't really deserve to be slammed. The brilliantly written and sung chorus on Totem is alone worth the price of the album. Driven is totally smokin. Each song has something really catchy. Limbo has some incredible vocal work from Geddy. I believe this album is an excellent addition to any collection.

After the heavy Counterparts, Rush entered the studio again and created an album in the same vein. The only problem is that there seemed to be no true inspiration on this album. The music tends to be tedious and goes on, save a few good tracks. The lyrics blend mediocrity and are somewhat uninspired. The musicianship, however, is still top tier. Lifeson plays grungy and heavy parts combining with solos, Lee plays sophisticated bass lines and tasteful keyboards while singing at what seems to be his designated voice nowadays. Peart keeps the pace up with rough and agressive drumming, but writes seldom though provoking lyrics on this one.

The only tracks that are worth mentioning are Test For Echo, Driven, and Resist. Test For Echo opens the album, and has some genuinely heavy sections and some good lyrics (arguably the best on the album along with Resist). A great riff during the verses by Lifeson also keeps the originality level at a high. Driven adds a heavier twist to the action by combining a rising scale with some brutal 4th chords. Tasteful vocals by Lee and some precision drumming by Peart are highlights of the song. Resist is easily one of the most emotional pieces Rush has ever crafted. With some weeping guitar lines, and some melancholic vocals from Lee, and Peart's best lyrical contribution to the album, as well, the song has now become a live acoustic favorite.

Overall, there are some likable qualities to the album, but overall, it is marred by bland and mediocre lyrics, and uninspired riffs and song structures. 2.5/5.

This is just not a very good album. I own several Rush CD's and I'm a big fan, however, they basically mailed this one in. Not 1 song made me say "Man, that was a good tune", the only prog song was an instrumental "Limbo" which was decent. The rest of this record was the standard 4-5 min. radio made staples, and Rush sleep walks thru this. Q: Was this a contract requirement album?

Ok guys, I hate to break it to you, but in Geddy Lee's own words, Rush have ****never considered themselves a prog band**** so why should they ****try**** to write a prog album? If you step back and listen to this album with prog out of your mind, this is really an awesome listen. The riffs, in addition to being very appropriate for the 90s, are catchy, complex, and evolve flawlessly. Driven and Limbo are most worthy of note (a common mention among reviews, but worth mentioning again) for musicality and rhythms (oh man, the time changes of Driven blow me away!) and the lyrics for Totem and Half The World are very insightful and unusually political (sort of) for Neil Peart.. This album stands out from all the other Rush albums mostly for it's production. Alex Lifeson's parts especially have shed all their gloss from Counterparts, and have an almost grungy quality to them, which makes for interesting repeat listens. I listened to this album three times in a row after buying it. The only issue I faced was that Neil Peart at moments (especially Dog Years) seems to be running out of motifs, which sometimes distracts the listener. As far as a hard rock album is concerned, this is the crème de la crème, and has progressive tendencies, but should not be confused as a progressive rock album. I would love to give this album five starts, but I'm still giving it four stars because Geddy actually says "chasing cars in doggy heaven". I hope that was an inside joke :P

The last Rush album for 5 years, "Test for Echo" was a disappointment (to put it mildly) to the majority of the band's fans, seen as it came out after one of their strongest efforts, the nearly perfect "Counterparts". I give it 3 stars on account of the few good tracks it contains, which are indeed worthy of mention even if they cannot completely rescue an album featuring the utterly awful "Dog Years", easily the worst Rush track ever - of which the less said, the better.

A real pity, as the album opens in style with the haunting, intense title-track: great lyrics and Geddy's priceless bass lines make it one of the best-ever openers for the band. "Driven" gives free rein to Alex's furious riffing, while Geddy sings splendidly. Unfortunately, things start going downhill from there, reaching a nadir with "Dog Years" . With this notable exception, though, many of the songs are not so much bad as nondescript. "Totem" has intriguing lyrics and a good closing section, "Time and Motion" is a heavier than usual effort (which I quite like), and the instrumental "Limbo", while obviously not on a par with masterpieces like "La Villa Strangiato" or "YYZ", features interesting basswork courtesy of Mr Lee. This leaves one of the album's standout tracks, the moving "Resist", whose lyrics pay homage to the sharp wit of the great Oscar Wilde ("I can learn to resist /Anything but temptation"), and which the band have taken to performing acoustically on stage (very beautifully, too). A final mention for the stylish, Eskimo-inspired sleeve with its cool blue tones and evocative stone figure.

After the release of this album (and of the subsequent triple live "Different Stages"), hard times were waiting for the band, especially for drummer Neil Peart. This not-quite- successful album risked being their last, which would have been a pity. Non-essential - though far from utterly disposable - is probably the best definition for "Test for Echo".

'Test for Echo' became an addition to my collection after having viewed the strong performance of 'Driven' on the 'Rush in Rio' DVD. That song, and a handful of others, made it a worthy purchase. As an album however, it lacks a certain something - a certain depth, and that's disappointing; certainly for an album coming from a band of such calibre as Rush, and intended to be a showcase for Peart's formidable drumming ability.

'Test for Echo' - title song of the album, is good. The introduction is nice, particularly the sound of Peart's ride in accompaniment to the melody. I cannot agree with those who cite the song as melancholic; rather the mood is one of honesty and integrity in the face of an imperfect society. The song contains a great moment, following a fine guitar solo, where Peart's clinically executed snare roll and tom-run fill explodes us into the final two minutes of an impressive song.

'Driven' is also no let down. It has a heavier feel in the chorus and main riff, in contrast to an acoustically strummed pre-chorus. The lyrics are fairly straightforward. The time signatures are not. Sounds best however, live.

'Half the World' is fairly uninteresting, other than for a pleasant mandola accompaniment during the second half of the song. 'The Color of Right' is irritating lyrically, in addition to being being musically unremarkable. It doesn't deserve a place on the album, which may be said also of 'Dog Years', and very nearly 'Totem'. This song's saving grace lies in interesting thematic material present in part of the lyrics ("Media messiahs preying on my fears/Pop culture prophets playing in my ears"), and a pleasant guitar solo and it's accompaniment, of the laid back description.

'Time and Motion' goes towards making up for the afore mentioned blips, combing a great synthesiser riff, an interesting guitar solo and a dynamic bass part to create the highlight of this album. The music really illustrates the lyrics, for example when, three minutes into the song, contrasting heavy and mysterious adjacent ideas illustrate the lyrical subject at hand; the turbulent and powerful force of the sea as it answers the celestial call of the moon. Yes, certainly this song is the highlight of 'Test for Echo', the progressive element strong here, brother to the instrumental track 'Limbo' featured later on the album.

'Virtuality' probably sounds fine live and is pleasant enough to listen to, albeit rather boring. 'Resist' is actually quite pleasant. After having enjoyed the acoustic version on 'Rush in Rio', it was interesting to encounter the studio recording.

'Limbo', an instrumental, continues in similar vain to 'Time and Motion' - another highlight of 'Test for Echo'. The drumming is dynamic, but Peart doesn't overplay. Bass and guitar interact well together, weaving in and out of one another to create a complex texture of polyphony. The vocal harmony present in parts of the song helps to create in it a mood, one which helps tie it in with the other better elements of 'Test for Echo'. No doubt, this is one of Rush's finer works.

'Carve Away the Stone' is pleasant enough to listen to, in no way outstanding however, and grows irritating when listen to over frequently. This says something about the album as a whole, which is reasonable, but not what one expects from Rush, other than for a few core songs (namely 'Test for Echo', 'Driven', 'Time and Motion' and 'Limbo'.) These four songs do make the album worth purchasing if you're a fan; it's just a shame more of the album isn't of matching quality. Peart dedicated himself to mastership of the drum kit in the two years prior to the creation of this album. 'Test for Echo' is supposed to be a showcase of his ability. And granted, the drum parts are perfectly arranged; fills occur just at the right moments, and the grooves always lay down a solid backbone for each song. The songs themselves just don't match. Couldn't Peart's showcase have been something a little more remarkable musically? A little more prog would certainly not have gone amiss.

The album deserves a sad three stars, in light of the general mediocrity of what should have been a great album.

This is at least a controversial album, as we can see by reviews above. Most Rush fans don't like "Test for Echo", but IMHO this is a very decent effort, a good 90's Rush album. In fact, I prefer this album to "Roll the Bones" and "Vapor Trails" (two good albums, in my opinion) - which doesn't mean that I would call it a classic or an essential album to progheads or even to casual Rush fans. This album is mellower than "Counterparts", usually hailed as Rush's "return to top form" by so many fans, but I don't see anything disappointing on "Test for Echo" because most elements that made Rush so great are present here: Geddy Lee's amazing musicianship, Alex Lifeson's discrete virtuosity and Neil Peart's complex drumming and philosophical lyrics. Highlights: title track, "Driven" and the beautiful "Resist". All Rush fans probably have this album, at least in sake of completeness - casual fans will find other finer offers in Rush's catalogue; most prog-rockers won't find much in this album; but I like it anyway, and today I must say that I listen to this album more often than to "Counterparts" or "Vapor Trails".

Not a total mess-up like some people believe it to be. I'm a fan of Rush, and even though I'm not exactly flexible with their albums I do believe this was quite a turning point for Rush. They changed their sound, like they keep doing, and came up with this record. Some of the songs are very pop-like, some are proggy like Limbo and the title track. I don't know, don't have much to say actually, it's just a standard record that's easy to listen to, even my sister likes it. It shows Rush's proggression, it's not a masterpiece, but no Rush album has been a masterpiece since the beggining of the 80s, but Rush fans will never give up, Rush will release at least one more masterpiece.

This one comes as a sort of a let down after the return to form with the fantastic and nearly flawless Counterparts. However, this one is still filled with enough good material for even casual Rush fans to enjoy. Excluding the abysmal "Dog Years", even the albums low points aren't all the low, suffering the problem of being mediocre rather than bad. You'll find yourself forgetting which track was which but will not walk away holding any grudges.

Overall the album has a much harder sound the previous releases and is played at a bit faster tempo. The use of synths are all but gone which will be a relief to those weary of their synth drenched 70's work. Lyrics here range from very good on "Driven" and "Resist" to pretty uninspired "Color Of Right" but as a whole they're impressive.

The album starts out strong with the frantic rocker "Test For Echo" showing us that Lifeson is still the riff master that he always was coming in the loudest we've heard him on recent albums. The album doesn't let up yet bringing us the best Rush song from the 90s, "Driven." We're then met with some mediocre tracks which I personally get a kick out of but casual fans will probably only give these the occasional listen. Then the album closes out nicely with an impressive instrumental in "Limbo" and the moving "Resist" which features some very emotional drumming on by the hands of Peart.

A very nice album that is somewhat underrated here. This is not the train wreck it's made out to be, but it's also not an essential listen.

I am a die-hard Rush fan, close to being an unconditional fan... where it not for two of their albums : Roll the Bones and this one, Test for Echo. Apart from Counterparts, the 90's have to be Rush's least interesting period, and this album is the least interesting from that period. Only 3 songs I enjoy on this one : Test For Echo, Driven, and Time and Motion. Resist is way better acoustic, as played on Rush in Rio. This is also the case for TfE and Driven : both are excellent live numbers, as heard on Different Stages. The rest of the album, well, falls flat. Rush sounded like a band that were on automatic pilot with this album, slowly but surely drifting towards the end of their career (and God knows it came close, knowing the events in Neil's life). Even lyrically, the ever-smart and witty Neil Peart wrote righteous and cheesy stuff here (Virtuality and The Color of Right, and the awful Totem).

Fans will sure want to complete their collection buying this album, and others should stick with the live versions of the songs I mentionned earlier, as I think the rest of the album is far from necessary in anyone's collection.

Even though "Test for Echo" is not considered as the band's best album but I still consider this is a good album to have. With the inclusion of more synthesizer sounds since "Signal" album, "Test for Echo" tries to combine the band's old sound with modern sound, with a bit influence of Alternative music or AOR. Take the opening track "Test for Echo" (5:55) for example. It takes the ambient music with synthesizer and guitar work in continuous stream of music which is then followed with bass and drums in electronic sounds. It flows naturally with low to mid register notes of Geddy Lee vocal. Bass guitar is still being played as old style of Rush - which in a way has characterized the music of Rush. This opening track is an excellent in its tight compositions. If you love old style Rush you would hardly deny this.

"Driven" (4:26) has been played in many Rush live album versions and it becomes an important part of the show, obviously. The strong point of this track is in its rhythm section and soft guitar riffs combined with bass lines. Again, you can find interesting bass lines combined with all good drumming and synthesizer works. "Half the World" (3:42) tries to bring the music in its mild level with its guitar-based rhythm section in floating style. "The Color of Right" (4:48) sounds like a continuation of previous track especially on the way rhythm section is built and - of course the low to mid register notes on vocal line. (What a great strategy I can notice here - with the vocalist getting older, the band tries to avoid high register notes in its composition!).

"Time and Motion" (5:01) takes the music into more uplifting mode with the blast of music that combines guitar riffs and melodic synthesizer shot. "Totem" (4:57) continues the previous track style. "Dog Years" (4:54) is a rocker with faster tempo and higher register notes on vocal and nice guitar riffs. "Virtuality" (5:43) is another rocker with firmer guitar riffs than previous track. "Resist" (4:23) brings the music into a kind of ballad with nice guitar fills and rhythm section. "Limbo" (5:28) reminds me to the music style of "signal" album. "Carve Away the Stone" (4:05) concludes the album with medium tempo music.

Overall, this is a good album from Rush. Even though there is no distinctive difference between one track to another - all sound alike, I would say, but Rush manages the album in relatively stable manner. Forget about the old style of Rush music with subtle high and low differentiation, this album sounds much more modern in approach and style. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

I have to admit that my liking in RUSH are quite different to most of fans. I like the period following the Moving pictures much more than the previous one. For me, every song after MP is a jewel of a unique nature. My most favorites are Hold your fire, Counterparts and Vapor trails. they all represent something like a peak or a core of their various styles. In this context, Test for echo is a link between two styles, two crystal structures, it is a metamorphosis, a step toward another essence which was found in the following Vapor trails. It is a way to the simpler but more consistent expression. It is very enjoyable by listening their art to discover their ways of thinking and evolution.

This is not bad. Ok this is not prog,but i think it is a very good hard rock album. 2 sides to Rush,Prog & Hard Rock! This is the best of their hard rock side! Some great rocking tracks from Rush. Ok not a starter for Rush but a great album nonetheless!! Give it a try!

Rush's worst album to date. Period. Even the synth-driven pop of the 80s was more inventive than this. The band really drops the ball here after the excellent Counterparts. However, just as Rush has never made a full masterpiece, so too have they not made a complete failure.

The title track is intense with some fabulous lyrics and great singing. Driven has some great riffing, though the live versions complete with a stunning bass solo is so much better. Limbo is an instrumental with some neat bass from Geddy, though it is vastly inferior to YYZ and La Villa Strangiato

Dog Years is awful, it is certainly the worst song here and one of the worst Rush tunes ever. Pretty much everything in between Driven and Limbo fails to excite, which the exception of the lyrically superb Resist.

This album would be the start of hard times for the band, particularly Neil Peart, who received a double tragedy that nearly ended Rush. Thankfully, this is not their swan song. Things would improve dramtically on Vapor Trails, though its production is awful.

Grade: D

Certainly not in their top five, Test For Echo remains a cool album with some great songs and some fillers. The good parts are Test For Echo, the best track, Driven, Time And Motion a heavier song with a dark tone, Resist a beautiful ballad and the instrumental Limbo. The other songs are quite annoying, too much string driven, close to what they would do later in Vapor Trails. This album is better than Presto or Vapor Trails but don't expect any Moving Pictures, it's nothing like that. 3 stars

Keeping up with the rock, but slipping a little in quality, "Test for Echo" is a somewhat mixed bag of serious keepers with a few that'll leave you scratching your head. The lyrics are smart (as always) but the band's playing shows little inventiveness, making the album somewhat bland for periods.

The title track rocks hard, with Geddy's self-described "flamenco bass" sounding very strong, and while most of the songs have all three members on their game, they just don't catch one as much as with "Counterparts". "Resist" is rightfully one of the better songs on the album, with poignant lyrics and vocals; while I enjoy the superficially silly "Dog Years" and "Totem" as well.

As a whole, another one for the fans, but far from the group's weakest.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

Dreadful. Two good songs - Driven and Resist. The rest is simply snoozeworthy. I have no idea how a band that has produced such excellent music as Rush could release something this boring. The songs drone along slowly, with truly dull riffs that absolutely fail to catch the attention of the listener; likewise, the vocal lines are not remotely interesting. As usual Neil Peart has written some good lyrics with his consistent skill in wordsmithing, but in the context of such poor music they mean nothing. If every track on this album was as good as Driven and Resist, I would give this album four, perhaps five stars. They are not, however, and the eleven tracks of total drudgery drag this album all the way down to one star.

Superb songwriting throughout make TFE one of Rush's best records. Standout tracks include Driven, Time and Motion, Driven, Limbo, and Resist. This is not an album; however, for Rush/prog purists. Prog masterpieces are nowhere to found on this recording. Tight little hard rock/prog twist songs make up the matter of this album and it is only with repeated listening that the true brilliance of what they are going is finally achieved in the intricacies of the intenste musicianship and sound that goes into making this one of the most underrated recordings in the Rush pantheon. TFE is an excellent album release by a band that continues to shatter general expectations from a bunch of "fans" who want them to record Tom Sawyer and 2112 over and over until they croak.

3.5 stars. This was the first RUSH album since the "Signals" record that I actually bought soon after it's release. I had heard some songs off of the "Counterparts" album and was very pleased to hear they had gone back to the guitar driven music that I loved so much. I almost like this one as much as the "Counterparts" album, mainly because I listened to it so much back then. I liked it so much I am probably one of the few who actually has, and still wears a "Test For Echo" t-shirt. The picture in the liner notes where the song "Test For Echo" lyrics are located with the picture of the wolf howling and the moon in the background, that is what is on the front of my RUSH shirt. It has the concert venues and dates on the back. I wear it with pride. All the pictures in the liner notes are so well done by Hugh Syme, including the front cover.To quote Lifeson "I feel like we arrived with this record. There's a particular feel that I don't think we had before-a nice groove and a lot of really good RUSH songs."

"Test For Echo" is a great tune ! I like the way Alex breaks off into that uptempo melody (with Neil and Geddy) on and off throughout this song. This melody contrasted with the mellow chorus works well. "Driven" continues the contrast of the heavy passages with the acoustic mellow ones. Alex grinds away, and also gives us some screaming guitar solos.There is really a sonic assault to end the song. "Half The World" has this powerful undercurrent throughout of great bass and drum work. Alex plays mandola on this one."The Color Of Right" is an uplifting song for me with a tasteful guitar solo. "Time And Motion" has some scorching guitar and heavy drums follow. The drumming is a highlight on this powerful tune.

"Totem" is a song where Neil goes to great lengths to say he only believes in what he can hear and see. "Dog Years" has such a good intro of thundering bass and drums.The lyrics are silly but the instrumental parts are great ! "Virtuality" is another amazing, heavy song. I love the bass and drum work. Again a good contrast of heavy and light passages. "Resist" is so uplifting ! Neil was inspired to write this when he visited Scotland, and it's all about the people of Scotland so check out the lyrics. Geddy's vocals are so well done. "Limbo" has some fantastic bass in it. The vocal melodies in the background are a nice touch. "Carve Away The Stone" has some powerful instrumental work on it including a raw solo from Alex.

Favourite songs for me are the instrumental "Limbo" and "Time and Motion". For me this is close to a 4 star record and better than most of the synth driven records that came after "Signals". Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure I've not been really rocked by a Rush album since Grace Under Pressure. I haven't owned every one of them since but in general much of what I have heard, while not bad, doesn't excite me.

While obviously well played and of high Rush standards, Test For Echo is like many of their albums of the last twenty years: not bad, but perhaps getting a little tired, a little formulaic, and a far cry from anything remotely resembling Moving Pics. I'm not saying they have to copy past glories but honestly...Dog Years? C'mon guys. "Limbo" is a pretty impressive track and my probably my favorite of this set, they seem to break out of it and let their hair down a bit. Not enough of course, but it does rock.

I think there are a few good songs here but I'd say most of the album is for big Rush fans only. I'd have a hard time recommending that a wide prog audience spend their hard-earned money on this album with so much great stuff out there.

The booklet is very nice with great graphics, lyrics, and charming photos of the boys in their youth. The cover art is also quite good.

This is easily my least favorite Rush album. While there are a few classic Rush songs here ("Driven" and "Resist"), most of the album is full of bland and frankly, rather boring songs. The beginning of the album gets off to a good start with the good title track followed by "Driven," a really good Rush song. After that, the album this plummets. I can barely tell everything from "Half The World" to "Totem" apart because they're just so bad. I do know I'm out of that part of the album when "Dog Years" comes on- definitely the worst Rush song ever. "Virtuality" has a pretty cool riff, but the lyrics are just way too cheesy. "Resist" is a great song, but the live acoustic version Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee have been performing on Rush's 2002 and 2004 tours is a million times better than this, the studio version. Buy "Rush In Rio" to hear it instead. I don't really care about the last two songs. Like with all Rush albums, the band's performance is great. It's just that what their performing isn't all that great. Most of the songs here just sound generic and are not really that memorable. They may have been trying to return to their roots as this is a very guitar-driven rock album, but it didn't work. Their debut is better. Oh well. With this in mind, make this your last Rush purchase.

Standout songs: "Driven"

Rush ends the 90s with a mixed effort.

Here is a good album, but not so much as good as Rush can do. Each song holds it's own, but therein lies the problem, as Rush has always really been an album band. Even on an album with plentiful singles (Moving pictures, for exapmle), the album still sounds like an album with a revolving theme and powerful songs. This album, however, just sounds like a bunch of songs without any real direction. Some of the tracks are fairly exceptional, TIME AND MOTION is a great track, as is HALF THE WORLD, the rest are good, but really without any direction.

Without much more to add, this album is mostly for Rush fans and those who want to hear some interesting experimentation. 2.5 stars.

Never mind this album. It's not a complete piece of trash like Vapor trails, but it's close to it. Especially when you compare it to Rush's great old stuff like Hemispheres and A Farewell to Kings, and even to their good but less good 80s albums, Rush has hit their artistic slump these past few albums. Now, I've never heard anything by Rush that I thought was BAD, like horribly bad, but this one sure doesn't live up to even modest standards in progressive music, or even good not-prog music. I mean, at least on Roll the Bones the songwriting itself was really very good, but on this it's just... blah. So what if it is guitar driven, it's not in a good way; it sounds scratchy (or at least to my ears) and more like a background supporting the rest of the music in much of the album. Even this years' Snakes and Arrows has its decencies in comparison. I think I could literally write better music than most of this album, and that's incredibly sad considering we're talking about Rush compared to me. Only get this album if you are an extremely die hard fan or collector of Rush music (like me).

What's the matter with this album, guys?

I really love this record... I have almost the entire Rush's discography, and I consider this is a worthy disc, full of energic songs, where the band sounded really alive and full of new ideas, adapting themselves to 90's sound... And this is not Dream Theater! The music is really far... Maybe some instrumental passages... But Dream Theater has always sounded a little Rush to me, the canadians are an obvious influence to these american's guys... So is not strange the tin relation between both bands. I find this discussión about Rush copying Dream Theater really silly!

Another great fact of Test for Echo is the production... Sensational. Every instrument sounds clear and perfect. Geddy's singing is also great, offering us the typical choirs of the later Rush's albums. The Lifeson's playing is more riff oriented, but still full of details, and this fact makes possible the strong Neil Peart's drums that we can hear throughout the album.

Best songs: Test for Echo (a presentation of the diffent direction abd style of the album...), Half the World (a song that givea us a glimpse of what Rush would do in future releases...), The Colour of Right (typical happy Rush's song...), Dog Years (great rock song), Resist (I love the mellow Geddy's singing here...)

Conclusion: an underrated album... Catchy, funny and different are some adjectives I could give. I really don't understand why a lot of people call this music rubbish... In my opinion Test for Echo is better than Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, Rush, Power Windows... And in terms of quality, is almost on the same level than the 11 years later Snakes and Arrows. A really worthy rock album, in conclusion...

My rating: ***1/2

Of the post Moving Picture albums, most Rush has taken some time to appreciate. This one however did not take as long. I found it to an excellent release with some finely written music. It has two of my favorite ever Rush songs on it too. The album's title I have always felt was a message to the fans out there...asking just that: Are you out there? One thing to keep in mind, Neil Peart was going through some very difficult personal times during the writing of this album. And after the release of Lifeson's "Victor", the band adopted the slogan: Individually, we are a ass; but together, we are a genius.

Here we go...the title track is so fitting and the perfect opener of the song set. That's one thing Rush has always provided, a strong, powerful and memorable opening song. It sets the pace for what's to come and the next song does just that with its odd time signature I haven't figured out yet but think it's 6/8 and 7/8 alternating. Driven drives home Rush's power again. Solid guitar riff and the song also has a short but sweet bass solo by Geddy Lee. He plays around with that solo on the live version, but that's for another review.

Up next is one of those songs that happens to be a favorite of mine but also a simply great song period. Half The World has a nice vocal hook, great lyrics, and it also includes a mandolin complement during the guitar solo section. The Color of Right again reminds us that Rush can write good songs, Prog or not. The song message is one we should universally agree upon and is typical Peart.

Now what can you say about Time and Motion not being Prog? Very little. This song lets everyone know that Rush still can put together a progressive tune with style. The middle dynamic change still gives me chills. Very dark for Rush in fact. This is my second favorite off the album. Totem musically changes mood for the album to something upbeat. Notice lyrically that Neil Peart returns to his observances of religion, which come out later in a future release more obviously. This song qualifies as one of those not so Prog songs, but still a good song in its own right.

Now comes the song that had many Rush fans scratching their heads. Dog Years. What was Neil thinking!?!? I'd have to call this a lyrical filler. I think the music suffered because of those lyrics, which may in fact simply being tongue in cheek. Musically, this is a strong song. Fortunately Virtuality pulls out the power again and gets the adrenaline flowing. The opening riff is yet another example of Alex Lifeson's talent. And I love that dissonant chord he finishes the riff with.

I have learned to resist, Resist. I little too "soft" for me, although many fans love it. With Limbo, Rush gives us another great instrumental which is highlighted by Geddy singing almost a la the Overture on 2112. This leads into Carve Away the Stone, which revisits a Peart theme about perseverance albeit in a less than positive light. The analogy he uses is the story of Sisyphus, condemned to forever roll a huge stone uphill that always rolled down again, but Peart's message is to never stop trying.

All in all, this album gets 4.5 stars from me because I do play it regularly. It also contains songs that are must listens for any Prog lover. It does not belong in the "for collectors only" category and is at least an excellent addition to any Prog music collection. Why? Without Test For Echo, you wouldn't have some of Rush's best material, TFE, Driven, HTW, T&M, and Virtuality.

With Counterparts representing the absolute low-point in the Rush catalog I was not very enthusiastic about this release. Unfortunately Test For Echo delivered about what I expected, which is mediocrity. The songs are bland, Geddy's voice has been flattened to the point of being virtually invisible and Alex power chords his way through every song with none of the panache, creativity and liveliness present on classic Rush songs.

Test For Echo is, literally, the only song on here I can even listen to. And it's basically the same song they've opened with on previous albums (Show Don't Tell, Dreamline, etc.). A blot on the Rush landscape.

Test for Echo is the last studio album from the bands 1990 releases I call their "Contemporary period". Albums included are Presto (1989), Roll the Bones (1991), Counterparts (1993), Test for Echo (1996), and Different Stages "Live" (1998).

Wow, after putting out an album every year for almost two decades, Rush finally began to slow things down. There was a two-year gap between Roll the Bones and Counterparts. Then the band took a much needed vacation that lasted a year and a half! So now we have a prominent 3-year space between Counterparts ('93) and Test for Echo. This album almost became the last RUSH album because the band went on a permanent hiatus in 1997 due to major family tragedies in drummer Neil Peart's life. Peter Collins was brought back for the forth time to produce. Test for Echo is not nearly as "heavy" as Counterparts was. Test has a nice balance to it without a predominance of guitar sound in the mix. Good song writing and decent production.

Test for Echo is not one of Rush's most popular albums, but it is a solid piece of work. The title track is one of my favorites. They even gave us another cool instrumental. I do have to admit that the best thing about Test for Echo was the tour. It was billed as "an Evening with Rush". No opening act. It was Great! Two and a half plus hours of nothing but RUSH! They even played "2112" in its entirety for the first time (I have now lived!).

Best Track: Test for Echo

Just like the band's third era and "Hold Your Fire", I find that Rush's fourth era finds a great closure in the fourth and last item from that particular time, in this case, the "Test for Echo" album. The band had never given up on their art-rock basic intentionality, but definitely they were apart from the progressive rock structures that had become abundantly essential in their 77-81 albums and had been gradually decreasing in their 82-87 efforts. From the days of "Presto", it seemed like Rush had just become another hard rock band with a slightly superior level of musical complexity than others (the early grunge bands, the remaining hair-metal and AOR bands), yet losing some of the muscle and nerve that had become a sort of Rush-trademark. But alas, their 1993 release "Counterparts" found the band recovering themselves into harder and more complex terrains in the realm of rock. The same goes for "Test for Echo", an art-rock effort with noticeable (if not dominant) prog leanings and yet sounding very contemporary. All in all, "Test for Echo" manages to introduce a higher dose of complexity and a more interesting series of musical ideas. Getting started with a powerful opener such as the title track, one can tell that the entry is effective: catchy riffs, intricate rhythmic development, full exploding dynamics and that special magic that can only come from a perfectly amalgamated power trio like this. 'Driven' follows, bearing what is arguably the album's highlight in terms of writing and arrangements: the succession of 15/8, 14/8 and 6/8 patterns is both compact and fluid for a song that remains a bit commercial while being, mostly, cleverly complex. 'Half the World' and 'The Color of Right' are less impressive, but properly retain the stamina installed by the first two tracks. 'Time and Motion' stands on a heavy psychedelic ground, rocking steadily through its constant alternations between 5/4 and 6/8 tempos. There is a sense of constraint in the guitar arrangements, which allows the synth ornaments stay clearly audible in the mix. 'Totem' and 'Dog Years' rock really hard, but only the former feels really appealing to me; the other one is just a pretext to keep on listening with relative pleasure. None of them I find great, bit I do find 'Virtuality' great: its drive is on the commercial note not unlike tracks 3 & 4, but there is more to it, an effective exercise on pop-rock with a heavy guitar- laden twist and Peart's clever management of the otherwise ordinary rhythmic pattern. The Rush fan can't have enough of those syncopations, rolls and intruding cowbells, all of them Peart-style, pure and simple. In terms of commercially oriented rock, the band really nailed it on this one. 'Resist' is an acoustic ballad that partially hints at the softer moments of the band's late 70s era: the use of dulcimer and mandola among the acoustic guitar and synth layers feels adequate for the sort of quiet solemnity that the lyrics provide about the idea of dealing with the negative side of life with grace and character. and love. The instrumental 'Limbo', just like the one in "Counterparts", is mostly a pretext to do some jamming and state a simplistic, expanded architecture around it. These rushing guys have always been good at it and this track is no exception. The album is closed down by 'Carve Away the Stone', a sort of epitome that combines the moods of tracks 2, 3 and 6: it is powerful enough, includes some tempo variations, and also some catchy riffs. "Test for Echo" is a very good prelude to what perhaps is the best Rush live effort ever - "Different Stages". 3 ¾ stars for this one!

An often-maligned album from Rush's 90s period... this isn't close to being one of their best, but it's still a pretty good solid hard rock effort that is more than your average rock album.

For some reason, I don't feel like a track by track analysis is appropriate here, and I'll just go over the highlights. My favorite is "Totem", with its brilliant lyrics and blend of acoustic parts and the more rocky tendencies that tend to be prevalent on this album. Great song! Another song that often gets way too much crap, even from Rush fans, is "Dog Years". There is plenty of solid instrumentation from the group here, with typical tight melodies and well-written, well-structured songs with insightful lyrics. "Resist" is a wonderful anthem, while the title track is a very effective opening. "Limbo" is another great instrumental similar to "YYZ".

This is a highly enjoyable release from the trio once again. It's very hard to rate and almost feels like a 3.5 or someone in between both of those ratings for me. However, it is a "good, but not essential" album because it's one of their least progressive outings.

If you're looking for straight-up prog, look elsewhere. If you're looking for awesome hard rock songs with some interesting instrumentation, however, it's hard to get much better than this.

I think Rush reached to a point in the late 90's where the lack of creativity is shown in their music. Sorry, if I had to say that about a band which had made along many years the top billing in the progressive music world. And that remark came a short time after Counterparts album, which in my opinion is an excellent one, even if does sound much heavier than other albums.

The sound of the album is rather alternative and there's nothing brilliant nor in the voice of Geddy Lee, nor in the musical parts. However, there are some songs which are a little bit more progressive: Test for Echo, Time and Motion and the instrumental Limbo-the best part of the album, IMO. Test for Echo is a stumbling block for me, a challenge for me in trying to understand Rush music in this period of the band, IMO, very less-inspired.

Only for fans!

Another Rush album, but where's the prog?

I know a lot of people claim that Rush lost their progressive ways after the Signals/Grace Under Pressure era of the band, although I happen to disagree. I honestly don't think that Rush abandoned being a progressive rock band, but rather that their sound has progressed throughout the various periods the band has gone through. However, I must admit that I don't think this album is particularly progressive. It sounds much more in the veins of hard rock. That doesn't mean however that I don't think this isn't a good album by any stretch of the imagination.

Rush is past the days of Rolling Bones, where they were moving from their synth period towards a more proggy hard-rock oriented period. This album is a black sheep among the latter period because of the lack of prog rock. However, it still has some very good songs, my favorites being Driven, Dog Years, Totem, Virtuality, and Carve Away the Stone. The instrumentation and lyrics are all still very good. If however you're looking to try some more modern Rush, don't come to this expecting to hear any prog, which I'm sure has disappointed a lot of people on this site. I'd like to give it more, but I simply can't justify more than 3 stars for this album simply because it's a good hard rock album, not a heavy prog album. If you want modern proggy Rush, look elsewhere.

My first Rush album (really!), and I've never tired of it. Each song is spectacular and colorful, even if almost all of them border on simplicity. The lyrics are some of the best of any Rush album. That's not to discount the impeccably good playing from this Canadian trio. The sound is crisp, rugged, and begs to be heard and reheard.

"Test for Echo" Loaded with Alex Lifeson's clean, chorused guitar and Geddy Lee's mellow vocals, the album gets underway. But it's scarcely thirty seconds before the Lee's bass and Lifeson's distorted sound come in and bring the music to heavy maturity. Lifeson's solo is well-crafted, but I believe he could have chosen a different sound. Also, I think Neil Peart's drumming is really muddy in parts.

"Driven" With a heavy guitar riff and funky bass riff, the most popular track from the album is in full swing. Acoustic guitar and synthesizer back up the lead-in to the chorus before the heavy guitars and drums return. Lee delivers a phenomenal bass solo.

"Half the World" A folksier rock song than the others, this has a catchy melody (and even catchier lyrics). It's clever, even if the music is pretty plain. The acoustic instrumentation adds variety, if only briefly.

"The Color of Right" Another more run-of-the-mill rock song, this keeps my interest far longer than what the typical rock band doles out. I've never not enjoyed it, so there's that; the harmonies are good, the musicianship is good, the lyrics are good- I suppose it's the composition itself that just doesn't stand out. I also feel that the arrangement toward the end is rather sloppy.

"Time and Motion" I have always held mixed feelings about this one. I feel the guitar work (especially on the solo) is rather sloppy and that the overall sound is far too noisy. On the other hand, the refrain is one of the best vocal melodies ever written in heavy progressive rock, and the bridge is so intriguing. It's honestly difficult to judge.

"Totem" Quasi-religious lyrics and a fantastic rhythm make this an outstanding track. Peart uses those toms to impart a slightly tribal feel, but Lee's vocals are at once boastful and mysterious. Lifeson delivers a proper solo for the chord progression, even if it is brief, giving way to the darkest part of the song.

"Dog Years" One of the heavier tracks, this one has some terrific, thought-provoking lyrics. The bridge is much softer, but builds exceptionally, especially with Lee's bass growling in the background.

"Virtuality" Rush keeps it heavy with yet another great song full of relevant lyrics, this time about the strange nature of technology and the interconnectedness of the informational highway.

"Resist" The electric guitars are toned down a bit to allow the piano sound and acoustic guitar room to breathe. The vocals are lovely, with inspirational lyrics that build into an impressive and encouraging conclusion.

"Limbo" The instrumental of the album has a ripping bass line to kick it off. Lee's vocals soar in the backdrop, filling out one of the band's more complex works in terms of arrangement. It's a sprawling piece of music, one that takes several listens to fully enjoy.

"Carve Away the Stone" The final song is another encouraging one. It features a simple blast of heavily distorted guitar chords with Lee singing, before an intriguing instrumental pre-chorus engages the hearer. While the lyrics promote self-sufficiency in overcoming obstacles, the instrumental jam in the middle just grooves on all fronts.

What the heck happened here? When I first listened Test for Echo, I could not believe what I was hearing. I was literally speechless. Was this Rush? Or was it a really bad solo project? I looked at over the insert and all three names were present. Yes, this was Rush... But what the heck happened to them??

What we have here is a group trying to regain their former hard rock days (before Rush turned progressive) and absolutely failing at it. Probably the worst thing about it is Geddy Lee is still singing in the style he perfected in the 1980s up through the Counterparts album. That just doesn't work with this album at all. The guitar is on overload, and even though I admire Lifeson's abilities, I think he just lost it here. From time to time it is muffled and often sloppy.

One could only guess what Rush was trying to accomplish with this album. Even though their die-hard fans enjoyed their endlessly formulaic approach which started with Signals (and I too admired much of what they have done since Signals), maybe Rush was tiring of this approach. The song structures were still short, but the musical composition skills seemed to have been thrown out the window. I'm shocked. Maybe that's the effect they were aiming for? It worked on me, but in a negative way.

This one should definitely be avoided. For collectors and die-hard fans only. Two stars. Even Hold Your Fire is better than this. It's only saving grace is the neat album cover featuring an inukshuk.

This may not be Rush's progiest record ever, but its an alright rock album. The lyrics on this album range from stunning and majestic to incredible terrible. Its too mcuh range in this album with the lyrics to make the terrible ones enjoyable. Geddy Lees voice has gotten alot better with age, and his bass playing has gotten alot more fluid and louder since their debut back in 1974. This is much more modern rock than some other records by the band. One thing that stands out for me in this album is the awesome drumming and the great vocal harmonies on some of the songs. Alex's playing is always a highlight as he is great at making riffs and solo's, and its well showcased for this album.

"Test for Echo" is a great title tack, one of the best in years. It has some interesting drumming and some great and melodic basslines. The guitar solo is very interesting to me, not too fast, but it has some nice flow with the overall feel. The vocal harmonies are great, though not at the Yes standard, they are definatly excellent for Rush harmonies. The lyrics are very good for this the hard rocker type of song. "Driven" is the next track, and is by far and away my absolute favorite of all the songs on the album. Its very dark, though maybe not as dark as "Test for Echo," the lyrics are much more thought-provoking than the other tracks on this record. The bassline is excellent, and so is the very interesting drumming. Neil is really pounding. The guitar in this song is alright. The bass solo that Geddy plays is extended and much more interesting live. "Half the World" has a nice and smooth bassline, and the guitar is pretty much nice and upbeat, not much too it. The drumming is excellent. The lyrics are very odd to me, though they make sense to me. Half the world, and half the world is bad is much the moral of the stroy for this song. "Color of Right" is where I usually loose interest in the album. The music is too much alternative and grungy to me, though I really like the drumming. The lyrics are pretty much about love, which you don't hear Rush do too often, though on the first Rush album thats all you heard. The music is just uninteresting, as with the lyrics. Not a top cut of beef from the album. "Time and Motion" is a personal favorite of mine, nice keyboards and a very great riff. The lyrics are pretty good for the most part, much better than the last two songs on the album. "Totem" is probably my least favorite, its just got an odd vibe. The music is not very good, but I like the lyrics for song reason. Geddy sings really well on this track, despite it being a track that isn't great. "Dog Years" is terrible. The lyrics and the music are so wierd and stupid sometimes. It sounds too much like a metal track than a regular Rush track, even though Rush is heavy prog, they are not really prog metal. This is one of the tracks that Rush swears, the word "bitch" appears on this track. "Virtuality" has some nice riffing and some great much, though the lyrics are really wierd. Its not a favorite, but I love the way they play it live. Awesome basslines, by the way. "Resist" is an alright ballad, though maybe not as good as Rush's other ballads 'Rivendell" or "Tears" but, it has some nice keyboards and vocal harmonies. "Limbo" is a very good instrumental, not as good as some other instrumentals back in the past or in the future for Rush. Its got some great basslines, and some crunching guitar topped with some smooth and fluid drumming by Mr. Peart. "Carve Away the Stone" is terrible, not a great song at all. I wish it closed with "Limbo" because the lyrics are crunching my ears at times. The music good on this track, despite the bad lyrics.

Good music with bad lyrics dosen't always make a good album, thats why I can only give this album a 2 stars because of that reason.

Test for echo is a big disappointment to me. Possibly their worst album (the only one). With the exception of Driven (and maybe Limbo and Resist), TFE is boring. Musicianship is weak and lyrics are uninspired. I would even say that several of Rush's worst songs are there : Half the World (boring and repetitive), Test for Echo (too long, repetitive and cliché), Virtuality (worst chorus and lyrics in Rush history), Time and Motion (failed progressive attempt), etc. Even Rush doesn't seem to like it because they haven't played any songs from this album since Snakes and arrows tour in 2007. Score : 4.5 /10, really.

This is a Rush album that I once had and tried to get into many times but finally gave up on and traded it in. Nothing about this album grabbed me and no single track even stands out from the rest. They all seem to just flow into the next song with little distinction. Was Rush burned out and falling short of ideas? Maybe- it was not until 2002 that they put out their next studio album. I also have a hard time telling this album apart from it's predecessor Counterparts, which I also have never liked much. Unlike most efforts by Rush, this has little interest and nothing new to offer. I would grade this as a 2 stars. Rush maniacs get it, for the rest of us, stick to Farewell To Kings, 2112, Permanent Waves, and the other wonderous albums created by this band.

At the time of this review, TFE is Rush's lowest rated album. I can't say I'm surprised by that as I would only rate Roll The Bones lower then this one. But at the time of its release I was very surprised and disappointed indeed. I had appreciated the "Rush-goes-grunge" style of Counterparts a lot and the few songs from TFE that I had heard on the radio sounded great. As it turned out, the radio station had clearly picked the only tracks worth hearing.

The opening track contains some great moments, especially at the start. Lifeson's 12 string picking and Lee's pensive vocals create a very spacey and warm atmosphere, it's immediately followed by a vintage Lifeson circular riff. The remainder of the song tends to drag a bit though. I think they should have cut this one down to under 5 minutes.

It is followed by Driven, another song that combines some splendid riffing with rather bland vocals. It's a complaint I have with the entire album really. Geddy Lee is simply not into it. He sounds tired and a bit bored frankly. Still the main riff is so powerful here that it saves the entire song. Then comes a blow, a nasty one. Half the World must easily be the cheesiest song ever recorded by Rush, or no, it must be the following one, The Color of Right, or no Totem, or no, sorry for all this confusion, it's definitely Dog Years that wins the "poorest Rush song ever" award.

The remainder of the songs are average at best, except for one. Rush managed to craft one song here that must be amongst their best since the material from Power Windows. Time And Motion is a powerful track building a strong tension and a weird alienated feel. Judging from Lifeson's Victor album, this must be clearly one from his hand.

Apart from a few tunes this album lacks the good songwriting that Rush had kept going for so many years. Better avoided.

'Test For Echo' - Rush (4/10)

After such an unexpected triumph with 'Counterparts,' it was all anyone could do but hope for another album of the same calibre from this power trio. After a two year wait, 'Test For Echo' was released. Had I picked up this album when it first came out, I would have undoubtedly been much more dissapointed than I am. As it stands however, this is for all intents and purposes, a functional hard rock album. However, there is very little here to warrant much of a revisitation. There are a few tracks here that are very enjoyable, but the majority of the tracks adhere to a very by-the-numbers approach. To any lesser band, this might be an acceptable run of the mill piece of work, but for a band that has released such impressive material consistently over the years, 'Test For Echo' is that much more of a dissapointment. After giving this album a few listens, it's no wonder why the band decided to go on hiatus for so long afterwards...

On a more positive note, you can still certainly hear the musical skill of this group in the music, but it gets muddied over by comparatively mediocre songwriting. Disregarding the legion of forgettable tracks on 'Test For Echo' however, there are a few that really stuck out as being great. The first of these is 'Driven.' It is alot faster paced than the mid-tempo norm here, and has a very strong vocal delivery in the chorus. Some acoustic work in the pre-chorus also gives the song the added dynamic that most of the album simply lacks. Another great song (made even better by a beautiful performance of it on the 'R30' DVD) is the charming power ballad 'Resist,' which is a much more subtle piece of music than most of the 'rock' direction the album generally follows. Lastly is the instrumental 'Limbo,' which certainly doesn't come close to measuring up to the classic instrumentals of the band, but it's an atmospheric jam for the band, focusing on some great bass work from Geddy Lee.

As a whole however, the band revolves too heavily around the same tired guitar tones and riffs here. Very few of the songs have an identity of their own, and the album suffers as a result. This band rarely dissapoints me, but 'Test For Echo' easily qualifies as one of their worst albums to date.

This album will always be special to me, because it was the first rush album I heard. I had listened to some random tracks such as Tom Sawyer, Distant Early Warning among others. This album may not be as progressive as Hemispheres or as elegant as Moving Pictures but is still on hell of an album. Even when Rush take a stad at pop music or better yet Pop Prog they are still better than most pop bands. I particularly like Alex LIfeson´s work because it is very intense and complex. This is also the first album thar Neil Peart rcorded after having Drumming lessons with Freddy Grubber and althout he still sounds like Neil Peart he plays with a completely different feel and expression. The tempos are loser and more sparse but still very intricate and complex (albeit in some songs, not the whole album). Many prog reviewers and friends discard this album as being inferior but if you give it a chace with an open mind you´ll certainly find a lot to love on this album has you have on many others from this extraordinary band.

This album cannot decide if it wants to be the great COUNTERPARTS or the mediocre ROLL THE BONES, with songs splitting the difference between the two. Sometimes, this results in winners, like "Driven", which is one of RUSH's best songs and indicates that they REALLY like KING'S X, or the title track, which, despite it's silly lyrics, offers some great music. If anything though, the lyrics keep cropping up again and again as terribly awkward and disjointed, reaching a pinnacle of awful in "Dog Years", which features the line, I am not kidding: "It's not the season of the witch / It's the season of the bitch" or something to that effect. It is beyond cringe-worthy.

However, some of the more middling songs are still solid, like "Time and Motion" or "Totem". The instrumental "Limbo" features parts that would appear again and again in NEIL PEART's wonderful drum solos and the aforementioned "Time and Motion" sounds like a time-displaced song from SNAKES & ARROWS, which is great in my book. However, there are too many awkward moments, like "Resist", or "Virtuality", or "Dog Years". I picked this up because I am a collector and I knew of some great songs. Normally, this ends with me saying that the album deserves three stars for the quality of the good songs. This time, though, I can't say that honestly. Roll the Bones is a three-star album because it has great songs and middling songs, as with HOLD YOUR FIRE. This, however, features great songs and easily the worst songs Rush has ever recorded. A Rush fan should check it out, I feel, to get a sense of where the ideas from VAPOR TRAILS forward would come from, but no one else. Two stars.

Rush followed up the hard rocking "Counterparts" (their best album since the early eighties) with this mixed bag. It starts out promising. The first song, the title track, is as good, and a similar style as the previous album. It's followed by Driven, which has a great bass line and rhythm, but loses momentum in a humdrum verse section.

There are enough good tracks on this album to make it worth owning. Time And Motion, the instrumental Limbo and especially Virtuality are all excellent Rush tracks. And as usual, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are talented enough to make even the lesser songs listenable.

If you, like me, are resigned to Rush only inserting small flashes of prog into their music, then I would say you would appreciate much of this album.

I think that many fans keep this as one of their weakest albums, and i actually understand why. It is bit boring in places, and it's not very progressive. I agree that it is one of their weakest albums, but still i give it 3 stars. This is very uneven album, because there are very great moments like the title track, but there's also some rubbish like "Virtuality" I'm not a big fan of the "new" Rush sound, so albums after "Presto" can't get very high rating from me. But don't get me wrong, Test For Echo is a GOOD album, but if you are not a big fan of Rush, you should think twice before you buy this one.

And Key tracks imo: Test For Echo, Driven, Carve Away the Stone

Songs you might ignore imo: Dog years, Virtuality, Resist.

After the release of Counterparts, expectations about a new album grew a lot. But what else further disappointment can be said about Test For Echo ?

This album appears to me like Roll The Bones, with mainstream of musical approach that is not easy to identify. The problem here is that there are no real good songs to make any difference and call our musical attention. Like in Presto, a lack of composition first line quality appears here.

But at least there is some material that frees it from being a total miss. Time and Motion is a strong song, the highest point here. The opener is not a solid opener, but has its value as well as Driven has. The last song that calls positively attention here is the instrumental Limbo, almost matching the same level of Leave That Thing Alone from previous album, for instance. Now, if we move to other tracks, I really find no real good comments about them, they just put down album´s overall quality.

I may be too tough on it, but we always expect more from Rush, and so this is Test For Echo, two and a half stars. Two good songs makes it a few better than Presto, but even so I round it for two stars.

Power blackout for Rush on another non-prog album.

"Test For Echo" is the last album I bought to complete the entire collection and I did not expect anything close to their classic of the 70s, but it is rather disappointing how the band lost the power of that era and shed their prog tendencies to embrace a cliched AOR hard rock vibe. The guitars clang and resound in a similar vein to "Presto" and "Roll the Bones", and the synth is kind of dominant sucking the power out of the band. There are ballads and mod tempo commercial sounding tracks, and the album does not have many heavy tracks, it all seems to follow a kind of mid range radio sound, the band had sold out again. The booklet is quite nice with some weird but fascinating art work.

"Counterparts" previously had shown how heavy and innovative the band could be and this followup should have taken this to heart and maintained the heavy complex approach. Sadly there is little on this that grabbed my attention and it is one of the most forgettable albums for Rush. As always there are highlights that save the album from complete obsolescence.

Test For Echo is a killer opener with a very cool riff and Lee sounds great. Driven is a solid rocker, and had a quirky amusing promo clip to go with it at the time. Half The World is not too bad with some inventive lyrics and catchy chorus. The next few songs are all very much the same structure and are very AOR in style. Resist is another standout track and Limbo is a great instrumental that always works well for the power trio.

Nothing else to say except I am glad the band branched out for a heavier sound on their next albums, in fact "Vapor Trails" buries this album for sheer quality and driving blasting rock, the band at their best. The fact that the album is way better than "Presto" or "Roll the Bones" earns it a 3 star rating, but only just by the skin of its teeth. It really is not one of Rush's greatest hours.

After a 3 year absence Rush finally delivered with an ok album. I'm sorry but this album doesn't do all that much for me but the few songs i remember are memorable and great tracks. The title track is a great song that i always go back to. Driven is a powerful track with a great riff and mood that I always enjoy. Half the World is another great song but that's where the album goes downhill. The next songs don't hold up well for me. Overall, not a great album and I would recommend it for the highlight songs you'll see at the end. 3 stars. Highlights: Test For Echo, Driven, Half the World, Time and Motion, Resist and Limbo

Time and motion

In my book, the early 90's is Rush's weakest period in the whole of their long career with 1991's Roll The Bones and 1993's Counterparts being two of the band's least good albums ever. 1996's Test For Echo was a breath of fresh air after these two lacklustre predecessors and a worthy album in its own right. The dense and murky production of Counterparts is thankfully abandoned here in favour of a more "open" and vivid sound and keyboards once again form part of the band's sound (although discreetly so). Many Rush fans seem to think that Test For Echo was disappointing in comparison with the previous album. For me, however, exactly the opposite is true. While Counterparts was very one- dimensional to these ears, Test For Echo is a bit more diverse and a more interesting affair. Indeed, it remains a bit of a mystery to me why anyone - especially Prog fans - would prefer Counterparts over Test For Echo. While Test For Echo is hardly a Prog album (Rush abandoned Prog countless years earlier), it does contain one or two nods to the band's classic period. Some people even claim that Rush were inspired by Dream Theater while creating this album, which, if it would be true, would be a very great thing indeed. But while they clearly had a major impact on the progressive Metal genre, Rush is neither Metal nor progressive on Test For Echo. Still, if there is any 90's or 00's Rush album on which they are trying to do the kind of things that should get noticed by the Prog fan it is Test For Echo.

The opening trio that includes the title-track, Driven and Half The World constitutes a good start to the album. The latter track is a somewhat folky tune that features a nice acoustic solo. The lyrics consist of some social commentary. Time And Motion is probably the track that inspired the idea that Rush is copying Dream Theater. It is a rather heavy affair with some sparse keyboard fills. I enjoy it, but if you expect anything like Images And Words, you will be seriously disappointed. Another track that certainly deserves special mention is the delightful, semi-acoustic, semi-ballad Resist which is one of the very few post-Moving Pictures Rush songs that really sounds like a classic. And this tune has indeed gone on to be a live favourite in the band's acoustic set. It is not 2112 or Hemispheres, of course, but it does hark back to the band's golden years and reminds of songs like Closer To The Heart and Different Strings. The wonderful expression "I can resist anything but temptation" that forms part of the lyrics is, however, not a Neil Peart original, but an Oscar Wilde quote.

While I agree that there are a couple of tracks in the middle of this album that can legitimately be called fillers, the album as a whole holds up quite well. It is hardly an album I will return to often, but it is one of the better latter-day Rush albums and certainly the best Rush album of the 90's. As many others have pointed out, Test For Echo also features one of Rush's best ever sleeve designs.

If you are at all tempted, it is not necessary to resist - this is a quite worthy release

In my opinion (obviously), out of all the 18 studio albums Rush have put out, there are only four good records. I mean really, really good; classics. They are Caress Of Steel, 2112, A Farewell To Kings, and Hemispheres. It's no accident that they are all consecutive, from 1975 through 1978. Like most bands I guess, the golden years are the early ones. I haven't loved any subsequent Rush record (save a couple of live ones) though I have liked one or two. Permanent Waves , Moving Pictures and Signals were mixed...okay-ish. But Grace Under Pressure through Counterparts were really pretty meh. A case of Rush being all cool and progressive and moving with the times...but the times produced awful music, and Rush went with the flow. Test For Echo has a middle-of-the-road-y, meh-y feel to it for sure, but it's more likeable than anything they'd done since Signals. I have no idea why. But it is. It's one of only a handful of studio records by Rush I like to listen to from time to time.

Hmmmm....... I was positive raving about this album when I got it on it's release date. But a lot of water har run into Loch Life since then. This is the final Rush album before the big earthquake that hit Rush and in particular; Neil Peart. It could easily had been the final Rush album too. Rush disbanded for a while when Neil Peart was recovering from his personal losses, harrowingly documented in his own excellent books.

Rush continued from where they left the studio at the end of Counterparts. Intelligent crafted guitar based medium length songs. Always relevant and always interesting. Test For Echo is one of their harder albums and it really pulls a punch. Alex Lifeson's guitars takes no prisoners.

From this album, the title track, Driven and an acoustic version of Resist is the ones they tend to do live. Of the songs here though, I don't think there is any great Rush classics. The album is only interesting because of the power trio sound and the details every Rush is so full of. Their musicianship is top notch and this album can only cement's their position as one of the technical best bands this planet has ever seen. But the songs are only good in my view and this album is not high on my list of best Rush albums.

3 stars

Counterparts wasn't quite a return to form - when "on form" for Rush includes classics like Moving Pictures, 2112, and A Farewell to Kings, returning to it is a difficult proposition indeed and Counterparts didn't quite get there. But it was their strongest album for some time and had some pretty good songs, so Rush fans had plenty of reason to be hopeful about the followup. "Maybe," everyone thought, "this is it, the breakthrough, the comeback, the definitive blowing away of the cobwebs which puts Rush back at the top of their game."

Spoiler: it isn't. Test For Echo isn't a terrible album, but it doesn't feel very necessary either; musically speaking, it's essentially Diet Counterparts, a retread of that territory with the sound toned down a little and a bit less inclined to get heavy from time to time. If you liked that album, Test For Echo might do it for you, though I suspect many of those who embraced Counterparts will find Test rather lightweight.

If Counterparts didn't impress you or seem like much of a comeback, and if you absolutely cannot stand the lighter sound Rush adopted for their synth period (and which still stuck around in a less synthy way on Presto and Roll the Bones), then Test For Echo certainly won't win you over. That said, if you like the idea of something that sounds like an intermediate step between Roll the Bones and Counterparts in the heaviness stakes, then Test For Echo isn't half bad. I suspect it won't be many people's favourite Rush album, but I think it's possible to be too harsh to it, because it's not a total embarrassment either.

Why the hate?

This album is great! Don't let the haters fool you, even if not strictly prog, this album is a great rocker that is certainly more pleasant than albums such as Hold Your Fire and Signals. I'd put it at about equal to Counterparts and Vapor Trails and better than and Snakes and Arrows, comparing it to the nearest albums.

Test for Echo is a great way to start the album, one of the best songs. The vocals are a real treat on that one. Driven is a heavy riff-fest which even Ged gets into with a nice bass solo. Half the World is next, my favorite song of the album as well as one of my favorites of all Rush's songs. The lyrics are especially meaningful. The Color of Right and Time and Motion follow. Both are meh, but I prefer CoR slighly. Totem is a great song with good rhythm and lyrics. Dog Years follow - the only real clunker. Virtuality is amazing, with a powerhouse riff and 'interesting' lyrics about the early Internet. (Not as bad as usually considered!) Resist is a beautiful mostly acoustic piece, followed by Limbo, a 3 star instrumental, unfortunately Rush's worst (or maybe least best). Carve Away the Stone is not the best closer but a decent song with some good lyrics.

All in all, a great album, not quite the quality of Rush masterpieces such as Hemispheres and Moving Pictures. I would still recommend this album to Counterparts fans or to fans of a more guitar-driven rock.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Test For Echo is... I guess it's considered one of the weaker albums by the majority of people, or even the worst of Rush's huge collection. I can't really tell if this is the worst Rush album of all, (if there's even a bad Rush album out there) but I can certainly say that I enjoy this album very much. It's not my personal favorite. And I agree, it's one of the weaker ones. But still, you've got to give this album a chance. Listen to it twice, three times, or ten times. I'm sure you'll appreciate it after a while, just like I did. But why is this one of Rush's weaker albums? Well... The album lacks flexibility, a lot of songs sound mediocre and don't stand out too much. Also, it is NOT a mediocre album if you don't compare it to previous albums of Rush. A lot of people tend to compare Test For Echo to their older stuff, and that's just wrong. Two Rush albums never sounded the same, they like to change their style everytime. So... Comparing two albums is rather stupid. I'll go quickly through the songs featured on this CD. "Test For Echo", the title track, is really amazing. "Driven" continues the pure greatness of "Test For Echo", and even adds more variety to it with the acoustic guitar chorus. "Half The World" seems to be a weaker song, though. I never got into it, but it's not a bad song by any means. No. 4 is "The Color Of Right". I think the opinions about this song are divided, some people like to think it's a filler, while people like me enjoy it very much. "Time And Motion" was my personal worst track of the album at first, and I always skipped it after hearing "The Color Of Right", but now I like it as much as the others, I guess. "Totem" is a very very upbeat sounding song and it's one of my favorite songs on this record. It's about religion, I think? Well, let's move on to the next song. Now here's what I don't understand. A lot of people hate this song and I don't understand why. Sure, it seems to be a filler and sounds extremely mediocre but it has it's moments, really. I didn't like it too much at first, too. But it really grew on me. Give it a chance! "Virtuality" seems to be one of the best tracks on Test For Echo. I think it's the song I listened fifty times in a row. Followed by "Resist", probably their BEST song. It's either "Test For Echo", "Driven", "Virtuality" or this one. I love this song, it has a really warm feeling to it. The middle part does it for me. "Limbo" isn't their best instrument in the world, though it perfectly illustrates the whole Test For Echo sound. I don't even know how to phrase it, but this track fits PERFECTLY together with all the other tracks, despite being an instrumental. Even though being one of the weaker instrumentals of Rush's career, what a pity. The final track, "Carve Away The Stone" isn't too great to be honest. After "Limbo", it sounds rather weak. But that's just my opinion, it's still a mediocre track for a Rush song.

Now that's it for Test For Echo! What I can say to all people out there, (especially Rush fans who tend to judge quickly) is that you should really give this album a chance. For real. Give this album a fair chance, don't judge too quick. Don't expect this to be Hemispheres 2, there will never be a Hemispheres 2, or a sequel to Moving Pictures, 2112, etc. It's a fresh Rush album with shorter, a whole lot simpler songs. And with that being said... I give this album 3 stars! Absolutely fair I think.

Well, they really pulled things together for this album. Test For Echo was their strongest effort in a long time, bringing back the consistant songwriting quality of albums like Signals, Hold Your Fire, and Roll the Bones, and returning to a more guitar dominated sound but with a few synth garnishings like that of Permanent Waves, but slightly updated to make use of new instrument technology and recording techniques. I remember reading in a newspaper article soon after the album was released that Alex Lifeson was very proud of the album, and in particular, the guitar tone. I would not be surprised if those were in fact his words in the article, seeing as how the tone he captures on Test For Echo is one of the best on any Rush album, it being very strong and powerful, yet kinda rough around the edges, but with a full spectum of frequencies. The riffs are also some of the best he'd come up with for several albums (not to the detriment of the riffs on any of the immediately previous albums; they're just that good.) Speaking of news, the opening title track is a great commentary about how the news gets all their information from the same source and never really has anything new to say, among other good points it raises on the subject. There are many other examples of great lyrics on this album, which have also evolved with the rest of the band's commendable virtues. Neil Peart has fine tuned his scientific approach to philosophy and added a nice dose of light humor that definitely increases the overall listenability of the album. All of the lyrics are great, in fact, but "The Colour of Right" and "Totem" are standouts. There's plenty to appreciate sonically on Test For Echo, like the minor key, suspenseful melodies on "Driven", "Time and Motion", and the title track, the great melody and chord change writing in songs like "Half the World", and "Totem", the combination of Lifeson's new guitar sound and the expertly recorded drums of Neil Peart, which have a new depth of attack and clarity (just listen to those floor toms!), best exemplified on "Virtuality" and the title track, and the fact that the band are using their playing skills as sonic enticements, like the cool picking effects Lifeson does on the pre- chorus of "Virtuality", Geddy Lee's bass solo on "Driven", and some of the best applications of odd time signatures I've heard from any band on "Driven", "Time and Motion", and "Carve Away the Stone." There are many other things to praise about the album, like the awesome middle sections of both "Time and Motion" and "Virtuality," but you really have to hear the album to understand why it stands out among their other 90's albums. Sure, "Leave That Thing Alone" may be a slightly better instrumental than "Limbo", and maybe "Nobody's Hero" is more emotionally resonant than "Resist", but I'm not complaining! Test For Echo is a thouroughly great album, that also gets my vote for their best sound production and cover art. 5 stars easily.

After the promising Counterparts, Test For Echoes doesn't live up to the same potential. It's simply messy, overly loud, and lacks any great melodic ideas. While I appreciated the alternative sound in their previous effort, this time around it is somewhat of a turn off.

This is probably the band's most uninspired record; it just seems like it's riff after riff without any real ideas blooming. In addition, some songs are just downright terrible, like 'Dog Years.' Unfortunately, not even 'Driven' and 'Resist' save this album from getting a full on one star, which it undoubtedly deserves. I love Rush, but this is simply a terrible record.

2/10

Sonically, this is a masterful comeback. The songwriting is more or less back to the level I'd like from Rush, but what's most important to me is how this sucker sounds. The production is utterly fantastic, and an absolute treat for fans of Lifeson's guitar. Whereas in the 80's the band would have chosen to fill some of the space in the mix with synths, here they mostly fill it with guitar and more guitar. All of Alex's best tricks are on prominent display here, from mad soloing to powerful riffing to his hypnotic ambient style.

Even better, to me, is that, whereas the heaviness on Counterparts could seem a bit forced at times, with the extensive use of grunge tones, the heaviness doesn't seem awkward or discomforting at any time. Add in that there are several solid riffs here (and I still maintain that good riffs are the primary source of quality heavy music), and you have this listener's delight. Plus, Neil apparently took some drumming refresher lessons since the last album, and in the process revamped his style, providing some badly needed swing to his sound.

Once again, the two best tracks on the album come first, and they are awesome. The lyrics of the opening title track seem a bit on the raving nonsense side, which might turn off some people, but I find the main guitar pattern catchy and economical, and the faster instrumental breaks are simply breathtaking. As for "Driven," I think that even somebody who's not a Rush fan should this song at least a couple of times in their lives. The main rhythm guitar part is like NOTHING we've heard from Rush before, and the riff is just soooo good. And the middle jam, a classic Geddy/Alex duel the likes of which hasn't been heard from the band since "Working Man," whomps me into the ground each time.

As usual for Rush, the rest of the album doesn't live up to the initial onslaught, but whereas with most Rush albums this means a mix between average and poor tracks, here it just means a bunch of tracks that range from average to very good. I'd be hard-pressed to call a single of the remaining tracks bad, and the only major problem is that the songs blend a bit too much for my tastes (except for the closing "Carve Away the Stone," a good song that opens with a lot of power). The instrumental ("Limbo") is a little half-hearted this time around, and tracks like "Time and Motion" or "The Color of Right" will never strike me as particularly good, but I'm fine with the rest. "Half the World" and "Resist" are very catchy pop- rockers with notably good lyrics, "Virtuality" has some great riffage despite the incredibly dumb lyrics (Neil Peart, of all people, should not be writing about the internet), and even the oft-maligned "Totem" and "Dog Years" seem fine to me. Heck, I think "Dog Years" is waaaaaaaaaay underappreciated; if anybody needed to loosen up and write song lyrics that mention "doggy heaven," it was Neil Peart. The melody seems fine to me, too.

I guess what I appreciate most about this album is that Rush finally seemed to find a sound they were totally comfortable with. When I listen to Test for Echo, I never find myself thinking that Rush sounds like a bunch of old men on this album. They don't sound mellowed-out and boring (like on much of Presto and Roll the Bones) and they don't sound like mellowed-out and boring old men awkwardly trying to latch onto what the kids are doing (like on much of Counterparts). This should have been a great formula for Rush to use in dominating the remainder of the 90's, and only good days should have been ahead.

Two and a half stars. First off, I am a huge Rush fan. There are no albums by this band that I don't love. Except this one. Mind you, not all of it is bad. Parts of it are great. There is still great musical interplay between Geddy, Alex and Neil but there is too much blandness and truly awful moments that spoil it.

Test For Echo is a great hard rocking song along with Driven. Nice way to start off an album. Next up is Half the World. Not a bad song but not memorable either.

The Colour Of Right. After the nice intro it just becomes a bland song. Nothing special.

Time and Motion. Good song. Nice structure. Proggy time signature. Not great but solid.

Totem. This song at first sounds like a commercial hit. It starts to go through a typical modern Rush change which in the past would have been good but It seems like the they had trouble matching the lyrics to the music in some parts. It has good parts and bad parts. Unfortunately it ends on one of the bad parts.

Dog Years. This song would have made a funny outtake or bonus track. But as track on an album? Awful moment number one, when Geddy sings "I would rather be a tortoise from Galapagos or a span of geological time." I often wonder what he thought before he sang that goofy line. Also lots of dog puns and clichés. Serious, bitch, tale (tail), sniffing at the hydrant etc.

Virtualty. Has great parts and ridiculous parts. Cool riff at the beginning, great guitar picking in the pre chorus. And then Net boy, net girl....put your message in a modem and throw it in the cyber sea. Corny.

Resist. Great song. Much better when they redid it live acoustically though.

Limbo. Rush always scores when they do an instrumental. This one is no different.

Carve Away at the Stone. And they end the album with another bland track.

Like i mentioned earlier, there are bright spots but overall it's just a disappointing effort . The better songs aren't as great as other efforts and the bad ones are among, if not, the worst. Thankfully there was much better albums that followed this. I do have to say that the production is crystal clear although a little too compressed.

I don't get the hate for this album - it was, like the previous one, a warm shower after the freeze that set in in the mid 80's. I've read some reviews where some think that Rush were emulating Dream Theater here and I simply don't get that either as they are nothing like similar on this album. Sure the Rush sound on this album is heavier than it had been for a long while however why is that a bad thing? There isn't a track on here that is bad or even mediocre - I sense a backlash on the band for their 3 weaker albums in the mid 80's. Highlights are "Driven" and "Resist". Usually I like longer tracks than what are on offer through album but aside from that small point I like the album - a lot. I think that a mistake that many listeners make regarding music is to expect a band to continue with their successes of the past, truth is that doesn't really happen. Anyone expecting another 2112 would be kind of seriously let down - besides, the fact that I find 2112 great is due to the fact that there isn't another 2112. This was the nineties - not the 70's and this specific album is a good album for the 90's. I find that with most bands there is a peak period and it's usually downhill from that point - a strong band keeps the interest flowing however even though they can't reproduce the creativity and the formula that once made them great - with this release and the previous one my interest was definitely still flowing. So - a seriously under-rated album which I will happily award four stars to and mean it - and those who know me know that I can't abide what I believe to be bad music and above that I'm usually very outspoken. To the haters - give this album another couple of listens and then tell me that it's worth the average rating that it is presented with here.

This album has already been thoroughly eviscerated by other reviewers, so I'll be succinct here. This is a strong example of a band writing on autopilot, recycling songwriting tricks prevalent throughout their previous efforts with the assumption a winning formula will do the work for them. The end result is a hodge-podge of uninspiring tracks that offer little emotion or indication of the group's actual level of talent. Barring a few interesting tracks, such as the title track, Driven, Time and Motion, the rest are very forgettable and emotionally flat. There are a few redeeming moments within certain tracks, such as select passages of the instrumental Limbo and Alex's solo on Carve Away the Stone (the tone he employs is quite interesting, actually), but any I haven't mentioned thus far are all tracks I regard as 2-star affairs or even lower. This is a rare for me, as I usually can at least find some redeeming qualities that my subjective preferences don't identify. But in the case of this album, tracks like Totem, Dog Years, and Virtuality are too unappealing for me to even pretend to like for the sake of rationalizing a potential silver lining. They're just plain bad to me, and I can't write a dishonest review, even for a band that has strong sentimental significance for me as my gateway into the prog community and a source of early inspiration for me as a budding musician.

In short, this is one of their weakest efforts, and I do not recommend it to anyone who is not already a dedicated fan. I've heard too many albums by this group and others that have moved and inspired me to the point that I cannot and will not give this anything higher than 2 stars. Even the best tracks on the album are far cries from 5 star songs, every single one of them. The fact that the weakest tracks are grouped so close together does absolutely nothing to redeem the album as a whole either. Not an album for completionists only, as a few songs are still good, but this is an undeniably weak release that I rarely play any more for good reason. I simply have many better albums that I would rather hear instead and do not feel I'm missing anything by not returning to this one in the slightest.

In mid '90s I was already a big fan of the band, since discovering them in 1991 through Roll the bones album for the first time. I remember buying Test for echo when it hiting the shleves in 1996, and for sure I was not disippointed at all by the album sound or manner of composing. With this release Rush really wanted to go back to their roots of the '70s with a more edgy kind of heavy prog, the keyboards passages were left behind this time. Well, I really don't get it , what is so bad in this album, what is missing here that Test for echo is considered only for die hard fans. I really like this release, ok is nothing close to masterpiece or something alike, is not among best Rush albums, but has all the Rush ingredients. The heaviness is more evident here then on previous 2-3 albums is like a return to Caress of steel era or 2112 but less complicated manuvres are present or less elaborated arrangements like on those albums, but still solid I might say. Pieces like Test For Echo, Half The World, Time And Motion or Limbo are absolutly Rush it can be in sound, musicianship and all, no complains from me. Excellent art work, like on every Rush album btw. So, to me was and is a quite solid Rush album, I like it no matter what other said about it. 3.5 stars for sure.

It seems like one step forward and two back for RUSH on their 16th studio album TEST FOR ECHO. After a promising return to a hard rock sound that they had exhibited on their previous album, they decided to tone it down a bit again recalling the tepidness of their late 80s and early 90s works. I honestly don't know what to think about this album. First listen, hated it. Second listen, appreciated it a little more. Third listen, appreciated it but found it relatively boring. I pretty much stopped there as far as evolving any opinion about the musical content.

Although Neil Peart took drum lessons to learn how to incorporate jazz methods and the band plays well, the songs seem weaker and we basically get the same kind of alienating distant sounding distorted tracks that 'Counterparts' had to offer only the newly energized passion seems to be dampened quite a bit. It's an ok album that will neither offend nor excite which is too bad because I was hoping for a lot more after such a promising glimpse on the prior album. The art work is actually better than the music which incorporates the cultural ways of the native American Innuit of Northern Canada. Overall a big fat disappointment.

Test for Echo marks Rush's last album before the tragedy that had befallen Neil Peart in which his daughter and wife died in a car accident, and at the same time, the album marks the effective end of Rush's era of more straightforward rock music. This specific sound initially emerged when Presto was released, using more traditional rock style to counter their previous synth-based pop elements with albums like Hold Your Fire. But I've gotta say, despite trying to get back to basics, these guys have made some pretty odd decisions in their 90s work. For instance, who honestly expected the rapping in the bridge of "Roll the Bones?" Or how about those funk guitar sections in the instrumental "Where's My Thing?" Well, Test for Echo also sees Rush test the waters of a few new sounds, but also scales things back to a surprising degree.

When you get down to it, this is probably the most conventional album the band have ever crafted. Sure, it certainly has its progressive moments (what Rush album doesn't), but much more emphasis is placed on both accessibility and atmosphere this time around. What definitely adds to its appeal, however, is the balance of moods and sounds displayed. Turn on the album and you're greeted first by the melancholic and textured title track. Take another stab at the record and you find the more upbeat and commercial rock number "Half the World." But as usual, the best songs here are the ones that go for straight-up complexity and focus on the band's instrumental interplay. "Time and Motion" is easily the standout track on Test for Echo as it combines some of Alex Lifeson's heaviest guitar work with Rush's typically unusual time signatures and an almost orchestral and cinematic vibe with the synthesizers. The lyrics, keeping in with this era of Rush's career, often focus on real-world scenarios and concepts; "Virtuality," for instance, addresses how relationships and overall communication are affected by the Internet, while "Driven" is what I can assume is about being in control of your own life during its ups and downs (similar to Incubus' "Drive"). Once again, Peart's lyricism is of a very high quality and still proves that he is just as good at depicting realistic subjects as he was with his more fantasy-based material of the 70s.

Unfortunately, the homogeneity of the album is the price one has to pay for these perks. There are some more experimental tunes on the record, but the overall bland sound of the whole thing makes the experience quite tiring after a while. Geddy Lee's voice doesn't really do much to shake things up either, being unusually one-note compared to his normal style. And therein lies the big problem with Test for Echo: no matter how much seasoning there is on an album, it doesn't do much to help when the core of the record is so uninteresting. Samey mid-tempo numbers like "The Color of Right," "Resist," and multiple other songs lead me to believe that perhaps the band members' hearts weren't fully into it this time. As for the more unusual tunes, "Dog Years" is probably the most notable for being so... odd. Between the punk-esque opening riff and the weird lyrics that relate to the title, I'm not exactly sure what to think of the song. At the very least, though, it helps break up some of the monotony.

Test for Echo is a bit of an oddity in Rush's discography. It's certainly not a bad record, but suffers from a serious lack of standout moments... not even standout tracks, just standout moments. If there were a few more songs like "Time and Motion" or "Driven," then this could have turned out to be one of Rush's finest records. But as it stands Test for Echo is just barely above average and can safely be considered the worst album the band have released. Luckily, 2002's Vapor Trails would see this legendary act reborn with a fresh new style and attitude, so things only went up from here.

"Test for Echo" was Rush's first album in 3 years and they wouldn't release on until 5 years after. The band took a well deserved rest before releasing this one, and they returned to the studio feeling refreshed and positive. They would use Peter Collins once again to help produce the album. This time, however, they changed their song writing method. Alex and Geddy would write out the music and Neil would write the lyrics, as usual, but this time the basic framework of the music was written at the same time the lyrics were being written, and then they would try to fit the music to the lyrics, and then when they agreed on the combination, they would add all of the bells and whistles.

Alex always claimed that this was one of Rush's better albums and contains some of his favorite tracks. Unfortunately, most everyone else, mostly fans, didn't think so. Of course, it sold well, it is Rush after all. But, for some reason, this doesn't match up to the standard of Rush's other albums. It is probably more accessible than their other albums, but it also lacks a heart. It does start out well enough with the title track "Test for Echo" and "Driven", the latter becoming a concert staple that shows off Geddy's bass skills in an extended instrumental section. However, the quality of the music starts to fail in the next two sub- standard songs, "Half the World" and "The Color of Right". Although it might be true that some lesser bands and their fans would be happy with those songs, but Rush's standard had always been higher than this, and the songs become quite underwhelming compared to many of their other songs and albums. To me, the songs get to sounding to similar to each other. There are a few other bright spots on the rest of the album, but overall, this is an underwhelming effort that seems to be half hearted. Even the instrumental "Limbo" actually just consists of parts and pieces of other songs that never got finished.

Rush was in a more guitar-centered phase at this point, which had begun with one of my favorite albums "Presto", continued on one of my least favorites "Roll the Bones" and then another favorite "Counterparts" and finally ending that phase with this album. There are still bits of synth mixed in there on this album, but it is pushed way to the back of the sound. This phase worked well at times, and not so well like this time.

I put off reviewing this album for quite a while because the things I have to say about it pretty much reflect what other reviewers have already said, but since it has been a while since anyone has reviewed it now, I thought I would throw my 2 cents worth in. It manages 3 stars, but have we come to expect so much more from this amazing band.

Test for Echo is probably the least lucid album on Rush's discography. There is no greater display of virtuosity, and a timid use of synthesizers, which gave each work of the band a unique atmosphere.The rhythmic melodies and bases were privileged, very dynamic and intense with the guitars, but in general without leaving the mold. Due to this, the progressive component has a smaller presence, following the path of the previous works.

It's worth noting the intensity of the initial Test for Echo, the bass and guitar lines on Driven, and the elaborate Resist, the best on the album in my opinion. The rest of the material maintains a discreet level, without going further. Very little for the great musicians who are canadians.

After the Test for Echo, the band took a 6-year break until the next job, Vapor Trails, due to the painful family tragedies of Neil Peart, which even came to question the continuity of the group.

Rush would wait until 1996 to put out their next album, Test for Echo. The title track opens the album, and it's not very good. I give Lifeson credit for trying something a little different in his playing style. He utilized harmonics and some ugly, metallic chords, but he couldn't quite pull it off. The production isn't too great, either. It sounds far too airy and thin during the clean sections.

"Driven" is the best song on the album by a wide margin. The chorus melody is strong, even if the lyrics aren't, and Lee's bass playing is especially on-point. "Resist" is unremarkable in the incarnation heard on the album, but it would later be reworked as a much stronger acoustic piece for live performances.

Most of Test for Echo sounds almost like an updated Presto. Rush draws a lot from the more boring tropes of mid-'90s alt rock, and the production is inconsistent. Clean parts are light and echoey, and distorted parts are muddy and unclear. Many of the songs feel disjointed, as if they were just slapped together from loose parts.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/04/27/deep-dive-rush/