TEST FOR ECHO

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.