COUNTERPARTS

The thing about Counterparts is that to listen to it (along with any of the post- "golden age" albums) one has to lose the 70's-prog-epic mindset and get a feel for the simpler, heavier rock 'n' roll featured here. Only "Animate", the opener, reaches the 6 minute mark. Several songs may get repetitive after a while, and throughout the album the vocals follow a similar pattern. But the good news is that the album doesn't have to be heard as a whole; the songs do well enough by themselves, which works to the album's benefit. Once one gets the feel for it, some good material can be found here. There's the rocking openers "Animate" and "Stick It Out", the rock-ballad "Nobody's Hero", the slower- tempo "The Speed of Love". Of course, my favorites are "Alien Shore", "Cold Fire", and the instrumental "Leave That Thing Alone", which in my opinion falls just short of "YYZ" greatness. Overall, despite some repetitive elements here and there, Counterparts is a solid release from the band that proves they could still rock, shifting their sound with the times but still sounding like Rush.