September 1, 1977 - A Farewell To Kings

A month and a half since my last release, and just under a year and a half since "2112" Rush released their fifth album "A Farewell To Kings" on September 1, 1977. After the breakthrough success of their last album, Rush aimed to make another epic album that had both long, progressive works as well as some catchy, shorter songs. For the first time they recorded outside of Toronto, recording this album in Rockfield, Wales and the quiet, mellow atmosphere had a positive effect on the three band members. Let's dive right into some brand new Rush!

The title track "A Farewell To Kings" kicks off the album as we hear a cool guitar riff by Alex Lifeson starting it off. Geddy Lee adds some cool keyboards and Neil Peart plays some nice chimes that fit this slow opening well. It moves nicely into a heavier rock riff with Geddy on bass now as all three guys play some good stuff. Geddy's singing sounds great as usual as he delivers his high voice really well. I could continue to say that all three members play some great music, which is true, but it doesn't fully account for how well these three seem to know their instruments and each other. Guitar, bass and drums all find little moments to show off while they also perfectly back Geddy's singing. After a couple really good verses and chorus' Geddy plays an epic bass riff that sets the stage for a Lifeson guitar solo. As you'd expect, he does a fantastic job, playing some very fast notes and making things sound awesome. They quiet down for what seems like the end of the solo, but Lifeson has a few more sweet bars to play for us before they seamlessly return to the main riff. After another solid verse/chorus they slowly bring this riff to an end and Lifeson tops it all off with some final slow guitar notes. A great way to kick off the record I thought, but this side is ending already with the next track, the 11 minute "Xanadu". Lifeson and Lee both use pedals to add some drone-y, synth-like effects to their instruments: Lee's bass just drones in the background while Lifeson plays the epic lead riff that really does sound like a keyboard! Peart has all kinds of percussion ready for this prog epic as well as we hear wood blocks, wind chimes and some other cool noises that complete this near two minute opening. Lifeson starts a pretty sweet guitar riff that starts quiet but eventually gets very loud as the mood shifts to a more hard rock style. Geddy plays some solid bass overtop the guitar riff and Peart plays some fantastic drum fills in this part. One of them perfectly leads into the next riff of the song and this new drum beat filled with so many cymbal hits sounds awesome! Lee and Lifeson are playing some great stuff as well as these three are just sound so damn good together! Lifeson starts a new riff that segues into a new part very nicely and we hear some more excellent drumming by Peart on what sounds like a whole separate drum kit with just wood blocks! I think it sounds great and Geddy briefly adds some epic synths before returning to his wonderful bass playing. The riff slows down and we hear Geddy playing bass, but also playing synthesizer with his feet! That is pretty amazing and I imagine very difficult since he is playing two instruments and singing all at the same time! It's over five minutes before we hear any vocals, but Geddy's voice fits the mood really well as he sings about a mythical sort of paradise. The epic synths add another dimension to this already great rock band and all three guys once again are contributing to an above average verse. They return to the cool riff that started this whole part off and tie it right back into another epic verse! This riff never gets old as they continue to spice things up every time, it really does sound amazing. Some more epic synths cue a Lifeson guitar solo that sounds pretty awesome as he plays slow and fast in another great bit. The epic rock riff finally comes to a close and they do a wonderful ending that gets slower and slower until it stops, before finishing it off with one final epic guitar riff. Wow, I thought that was a pretty awesome song, and an excellent first side!

Side two opens with "Closer To The Heart", a single which would become one of Rush's best-known songs. Lifeson leads the way with a great guitar riff that sounds very smooth and Geddy sings triumphantly in his high voice. He joins in on bass and Peart plays drums to complete the riff as we hear some epic keyboards as well. After another well-done verse we hear a guitar solo by Lifeson that isn't too flashy, but hits all the right notes and sounds pretty great. They move nicely back to the main riff and after one final verse they jam out the chorus until the end with Peart getting some nice drum fills in and Geddy again hitting some pretty high notes as the song fades. Track 4 is "Cinderella Man" and Lifeson leads the way again with a nice guitar riff. The bass and drums are pretty great as well as these three guys combine wonderfully to form another cool rock riff. The chorus alternates between slow, soft bits and faster, harder rock parts as Rush play both styles well and switch seamlessly back and forth. Everything sounds pretty good as they play a second verse, but instead of another chorus Geddy's bass sets the stage for another Lifeson guitar solo. The guitar sounds pretty great, but I like Lee's bass playing a lot in this part as well. Now we hear the chorus again before they rock out to end the song. Up next is the shortest song on the record, "Madrigal". Lifeson strums some cool acoustic guitar as Lee plays a high-pitched synth that opens this slow song. He switches to some soothing bass as he sings nicely overtop of this soft riff. Peart joins in eventually but nothing in this song is particularly amazing. It's not meant to be though as it perfectly fits the bill of a cool kind of interlude. The album ends with another 10-plus minute progressive song called "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage". It has a very trippy opening that sounds almost like you're drifting through space. There are some weird noises made by synths and percussion and we hear a creepy, robotic voice that is actually Rush's producer Terry Brown's voice distorted. The first minute sounds very crazy and weird indeed as Rush indulge in more sci-fi ideas akin to 2112.  We hear Lee's bass in the background at first but it grows louder as he plays a kind of heavy stop-and-start riff along with the space noises. Peart's drums follow along and Lifeson's guitar does eventually as well as they complete this cool rock riff. They shift into a new direction as Peart plays some excellent drums and his amazing drumming continues into the next riff. Lee and Lifeson sync up for an epic, heavy riff and Geddy even adds some more keyboards that sound pretty awesome. Geddy sings for the first time over halfway through the song and he sounds great as always. This rock verse is pretty good, but it's also pretty short as Geddy's voice trails off and they shift to a different rock verse. Bass and guitar both sound pretty great as Geddy sings with full force. The epic bass and guitar continue as they both sound pretty fantastic. This part also trails off and we're left with Lifeson playing a quick, repetitive guitar riff. Geddy's epic bass returns and things become heavy once again as they return to the verse. Geddy really shrieks high and we're off on another epic rock riff. The epicness comes to an end and the end of this song sounds very ominous as Lifeson slowly strums his guitar by himself. It's a bit of an odd way to end what was otherwise an excellent prog-epic and a fantastic way to close out this record.

That is the end of "A Farewell To Kings" and I thought that it was a fantastic album! The two longer songs were my favourites, especially "Xanadu", but other than the soft "Madrigal" every song on this album was quite good. There is not let-up of excellent musicianship and these guys seem to be maturing and getting better and better. I think that this was easily a more complete album than their last one and I believe it was even better than "Caress Of Steel", making this their best album yet. While most bands seem to be toning things down towards the end of the decade, Rush is turning it up! Keep it up guys!