T4E holds a special place for me too in that it was my first Rush record bought as a fan. But, right away and even more with the passage of time, it became clear there wasn't going to be much of a competition with Counterparts. Like I said before, Counterparts is top 3 Rush for me, and it sounds like a band firing on all cylinders - which is kind of interesting coming off Roll the Bones, which (as much as I enjoy it) sounded more like "comfortable" Rush.
T4E on the other hand is a very good album, with some nice peaks, but more than a few "just ok" songs. Nothing I dislike (I even enjoy Dog Years!), but some stuff doesn't quite go past "pleasant" (e.g. Half the World, The Color of Right).
Speaking of latter-day Rush, how would you rank the post (and including)-Counterparts albums? I was thinking 90s onward first, but then I'd still consider Roll the Bones as cut from the same cloth as Presto, and really still having that late 80s sound (even with less keyboard)
For me - ranking from CP on:
1. Counterparts (quite obviously, at this point
)
2. Clockwork Angels
3. Test for Echo
4. Vapor Trails
5. Snakes and Arrows
I'm actually not 100% sure about Clockwork Angels vs. Test for Echo. I think, overall, I go back to T4E more often, but CA is a pretty nice final (as it turns out) statement from a band that's been around so long. Vapor Trails has songs that I love (e.g. Ceiling Unlimited, Ghost Rider, Vapor Trail, Earthshine...) and I listened to it a TON when it came out. So glad that they found the motivation to get back together. But I find it overlong and a little fatigue-inducing (I'm sure the sound doesn't help). Plus whatever Geddy started doing with background vocals...not a huge fan...
Snakes and Arrows I always found pleasant - but not much more than that. Some very good moments, and I guess you can tell the guys had a happy time making it, but not many "wow" Rush moments.