Test for Echo [Original recording remastered]

1. Test for Echo

2. Driven

3. Half the World

4. Color of Right

5. Time and Motion

6. Totem

7. Dog Years

8. Virtuality

9. Resist

10. Limbo

11. Carve Away the Stone

Test for Echo,Rush,Atlantic / Wea,Album Rock,Arena Rock,Canada,Hard Rock,Pop,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop

Test for Echo [Original recording remastered]

Average customer rating:

Did I get the right software?
Test For Echo Takes The Heaviness A Step Further
Test for sound quality
One of Several Underrated Albums in the Rush Catalog
Possibly the best of this period of the band's development

Test for Echo
Rush
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Counterparts
Roll the Bones
Presto
Vapor Trails
Hold Your Fire

ASIN: B0002NRQUW
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Tracks:

Test for Echo
Driven
Half the World
Color of Right
Time and Motion
Totem
Dog Years
Virtuality
Resist
Limbo
Carve Away the Stone

Customer Reviews:

Did I get the right software?.......2007-07-22

Not so sure not so sure, is this the software that tests and records the echoes that emit inside a structure? I know you can yodel all day long in a canyon like they show on tv but I thought this was the software that allowed you to test and record the echo itself. I did get some interesting feedback when I first used it but I was not sure because it is an English voice actually saying echo. I think this may be a Microsoft tool licensed to a third world company and resold here. Just not sure what to make of it but I will keep trying to use it and hope I can further my echo research!!!!

Test For Echo Takes The Heaviness A Step Further.......2007-07-11

After the wall of sound album that was Counterparts, Rush continued on in the same vein with Test For Echo. Driving guitars and thundersous bass lines and slamming drums. That is Test For Echo. The songwriting here is pretty much the same as the last two albums with most of the good stuff holed up on the front half of the disc. There are some superior songs here and some typical (filler) stuff. The songs are:

Test For Echo - Though Rush was pushing forward with their heavier sound, Test For Echo tones it back a bit with a more eerie sound. The riff Alex delivers is cool. The lyrics are tight. Overall, a pretty good song. I like it.

Driven - Probably one of my favorite songs on the album. Driven is exactly that, driven. This song rocks straight and fast and hard until it seeps into your sould. Geddy's vocals are smooth.

Half The World - Another cool song. Half The World is infectious. Listen to it half a dozen times and you'll like it. Drags just the tiniest bit.

The Color Of Right - Um. Lyrically not one of my favorites, but musically complex. This song tries harder than it should to be awesome. It's missing something.

Time And Motion - Is this Rush or Metallica. The opening is very nearly headbangers material. Dragging in its qualities, this song makes the effort that Between Sun & Moon did, but trips over its own ponderous structure.

Totem - I think that this song mostly reminds me of Home On The Strange on Geddy's solo album. It's definitely one of the shining moments on this entire album. The lyrics are very good.

Dog Years - Again. Is this Rush or Megadeth? The opening is crunching, churning, smashing slop. Metal? Then it goes on to sing about dogs and bitches and tourists from Galapagos. Never has Rush mismatched its lyrics with music ever this badly. This song makes very little sense in that aspect. Bad

Virtuality - Counterparts was heavy? Naw! This is heavy. This sounds too heavy. This song has kinda catchy lyrics, but the music drags you down into the darkness.

Resist - Great acoustic song. I love to watch Alex & Geddy perform this live. Very well done. One of the standouts here on Test For Echo.

Limbo - Geddy lays down the bass and Alex starts rocking out. This is a very promising tune from the get-go. Rush jamming is never a bad thing. Is it truly an instrumental. Yeah. They whine a little in the background, but it's a jam. Killer.

Carve Away The Stone - A good ender to a heavy album. Lighter than most of the other songs. Thius one is a gift for those of you who actually make it to the very last song on the album. Nothing grand and glorious. Just straight-forward Rush. C+ Rush.

Overall, this album takes the thunder created on Counterparts and makes it louder. You can tell that all those years where Alex was underscored are now gone. Guitar and Bass and Drums. That is Test For Echo. Some really great songs surrounded by some really bland tunes. Rush will take a long break before hitting the studio again.

Dig it!

Test for sound quality.......2007-06-22

I love this band. I have been a fan since the beginning of their amazing run. I am not in love with this release. I would definitely rank it as one of their worst in the modern era. The title song Test For Echo is very very good. Unfortunately it goes downhill from there. Not to mention the sound quality of this cd is not as good as weve come to expect from this exceptional band. Someone starting to listen to Rush, i would recommend getting Grace Under Pressure, Counterparts and Snakes and Arrows for "modern" Rush and of course Hemispheres,2112 and Farewell to Kings for older Rush for a good mix. Again, TFE is not one of their best.

One of Several Underrated Albums in the Rush Catalog.......2007-05-24

Underrated indeed; the other two that come to mind are Presto and Grace Under Pressure, but I will deal with those in separate reviews.

On to T4E...

This is quite possibly the best of Rush's work from the 1990's, and for the life of me, I just can't understand why there are not more people who would agree. It may not have the "outstanding" hit singles that other albums have, but unlike a hit and miss effort, T4E's material is consistently GOOD, if not OUTSTANDING, from beginning to end. Musically, there is an interesting mixture of various contemporary styles that get the "Rush treatment." "Driven," for example, has Geddy playing a grungy bass line not unlike Les Claypool of Primus; "Half the World" flirts with folk rock, including a Mandola solo by Alex, while "The Color of Right," has almost a hint of country and western crossover (I believe Alex is using Nashville tuning on this one). Overall, the album continues the guitar driven modern rock sound the band began on it's previous effort, Counterparts. Synths are still present, but are for the most part very subtle (as a matter of fact, this is the last Rush album to date that features synthesizers).

As stated before, the entire effort is good from beginning to end, but if I had to pick a handful of tracks to sample, I would recommend "Driven" (already discussed), "Time and Motion," w/ its heavy riffage, time changes and synth theme, and "Resist," a ballad and fan favorite that features a beautiful hammered dulcimer played by Neil.

Frankly speaking, there is no excuse for giving T4E such cruel ratings. It has everything we have come to expect w/ each Rush album: poetic and meaningful lyrics, superb musicianship and first rate production...not to mention a really cool album cover : )

Possibly the best of this period of the band's development.......2007-04-20

I have been a Rush fan since the time I saw them touring the album "Hemispheres", and "Test For Echo" was one of the only albums from them I was disappointed with upon release. It seemed bland, and the lyrics to the song "Dog Years" seemed goofy without being legitimately funny.

These many years later, my opinion of the CD has changed somewhat.

Rush had, just before this CD, released three CDs of fairly short guitar-oriented songs. They were getting back to their guitar-based roots basically. Looking back at these four CDs now (Presto, Roll The Bones, Counterparts, Test For Echo), I find this to be the least satisfying period of Rush's development. The band seemed to be going through the record-industry-approved motions somewhat: the songs were short, many of the lyrics seemed less than completely convincing but often sappy, and the band was safely staying away from the controversial keyboard excesses of the previous period of their development.

I'll say, with benefit of hindsight, that this is a very good CD. It may be the best of the four CDs in this period of the band's development. While the previous three releases each had some good songs and some mediocre songs, this CD has only 2 mediocre songs, and they are next to each other on the CD's later half, almost as if the band was trying to bury them (The songs I'm referring to are "Dog Years" and "Virtuality", which both have what another reviewer described as awkward lyrics). Besides those two songs the only real fault the CD has is that it doesn't have that one track that most Rush CDs have that could be described as being a strong and obvious single.

The playing is strong throughout and with the exception of the two lyrics mentioned above, lyrically satisfying. If you wrote Rush off after they began experimenting heavily with keyboards on "Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire", this might be up your alley.

Average customer rating:

Musical masterpiece, with some patchy lyrics
The best Rush album I've heard so far.
" Very Impressive", classic Rush!
this gets a bad rap, but it is very special
This album is a lot of fun!

Test for Echo
Rush
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Canada | North America | International | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Counterparts
Roll the Bones
Presto
Vapor Trails
Hold Your Fire

ASIN: B000002JAI
Release Date: 1996-09-10

Tracks:

Test For Echo
Driven
Half The World
The Color Of Right
Time And Motion
Totem
Dog Years
Virtuality
Resist
Limbo
Carve Away The Stone

Customer Reviews:

Musical masterpiece, with some patchy lyrics.......2006-07-06

If you're a Rush fan and you don't have this album, I'm sure you've heard all the whining about Dog Years and Virtuality and how bad they are. The songs themselves are actually very catchy and memorable, but the lyrics get a bit patchy... For instance, the chorus in Virtuality mentions "net-boys" and "net-girls", which I just laugh at because I imagine it sounded cool at the time... Like platform shoes in the 70's... Dog Years actually isn't that bad lyrically. It has some bad moments like "Dog years, for every sad son of a b----..." I imagine Geddy singing that line, then turning his head and laughing. There are a couple awkward phrases in the title track, but I think they were intentionally awkward because that's how the people described often are: "Tough-talking hoodboys in Pro-Team logo knock-offs"

Other than that, the lyrics aren't that bad. Half the World PERFECTLY describes how the world is today. Resist's lyrics are quite good. Now that's about all I have to say about lyrics.

If you liked Counterparts and Vapor Trails musically, you will like this. This is basically Vapor Trails, but with better production and guitar solos.

And come on... Buy it for the cover art!!! Isn't it the coolest?

That's all my time for now.

The best Rush album I've heard so far........2006-07-02

I heard more than one song from plenty of Rush's albums, but haven't listened to all of them from start to finish, and this is the best one I've heard so far. Highlights include the singles Test For Echo, Driven, and Half The World, plus Time And Motion, and Resist. Great album. Highly recommended!

" Very Impressive", classic Rush! .......2006-06-18

Being a lifelong Rush fan, and a drummer as well. "Test for Echo", although underrated, stands for the excellance in music that the group has maintained for over 30 years. Early on in the cd, the song, "test for echo" opens with Neils unmatched drum skills being highlighted,....then from "driven", to "carve away the stone",..to my favorite, "virtuality", featuring a fantanstic guitar solo by Alex, ..not even to mention Geddys vocals, and intricate bass lines, makes "Test for Echo" a "must have" for any Rush fan. You won't be dissapointed!!!
Bart Sweitzer, Roanoke, Virginia

this gets a bad rap, but it is very special.......2005-02-18

I can understand if people don't like some of the badly written songs on the album, like dog years and virtuality, but honestly listen to it. Those are the only 2 songs I don't like, but the rest of the album is very good and quite exceptional for Rush. I find it similar to moving pictures in its mood, and everything really came together on this album to make it their best one from the 90's. (counterparts was good, but there were honestly some bits of songs on there that made "dog years" sound like "stairway to heaven!" for instance, "we'd elect each other president" has got to be one of Neils worst lyrics! corniness cannot be forgiven!)

I have had my friends who don't really like rush at all listen to this disc, and they have all thought it was really good. This is why I think it is the best intro to Rush, if you are a teenager especially.
this was my introduction to Rush, and I liked it because it had a feel to it that I had never experienced on any other cd. this is good for a canadian winter in a log cabin with big windows, wool socks, and a wood stove. I think that Resist is one of their greatest ever songs, especially live! Just check it out, listen before you buy, etc. But don't overlook it just because others say it is bad. Also check out Neils video set "a work in progress" where he demonstrates the drums for all of the songs. It reaffirms his belief that this is his best drumming album, after he refined his technique just for this cd!

This album is a lot of fun!.......2004-11-28

It is so amazing to me. Rush has been in the game for 30 years now, and every album they make is outstanding. T4E continues the more straightforward rock that Counterparts started, but T4E is more progressive than Counterparts is. Some songs on here I like better than others, but not one song is bad. Highlights include:

Test For Echo: I love the vocals and the somber nature of this song. Being a drummer, I really like the drum part after Geddy says "Here we go...." Cool song with great musicality.

Driven: A very driven (no pun intended) rocker. Very progressive with weird time signatures and stuff. Cool lyrics.

Time And Motion: How can anyone not like this song? I love the synthesizer parts accenting between the 12/8 and 10/8 time, the lyrics are very well crafted, and there is a perfect balance between heavy and light.

Totem: Some say they don't like this song. Well, that's you and this is me. This song is awesome. Very catchy, and I love the background vocals in the chorus.

Virtuality: Ha. This is it right here. I can't help it, whenever I hear this song, I HAVE to crank it up. That guitar riff kicks so hard, and the bridge contains use of Neil's cowbells and his newly-practiced traditional grip for fast press rolls on the snare. I'm not all for the lyrics (they're sort of cheesy though true) but that music rocks very hard.

Resist: Immediately after the headbanging Virtuality is the tear-jerking Resist. This song is so beautifully crafted, so lyrically moving, and musically moving too. Seeing Alex and Geddy play this song acoustically on "Rush In Rio" was a real treat for me and was very appropriate for the song, but every time I hear it at all it moves me in so many ways.

Limbo: Back to the rocking. Very cool instrumental with some tribal-esque mumbo-jumbo mumble here and there. Gotta love it.

If you're a big Rush fan and haven't heard this yet, check it out! It's cool!