October 29, 1978 - Hemispheres

Three weeks after my last release and a year after "A Farewell To Kings", Rush released their sixth studio album "Hemispheres" on October 29, 1978. Their last album was quite excellent and it was also Rush's U.K. breakthrough as they had just finished a tour there and had success with the single "Closer To The Heart". They recorded in the same studio as last album in Wales and continue their progressive rock push, writing their second track that takes up a whole record side. These guys seem to keep getting better and better, let's see if that trend continues!

The first song "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" takes up the whole first side of the album and is a continuation of the track that ended their last album. This near 19-minute epic is broken up into six sections, starting with the "Prelude". The music comes thundering in as Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson sync up to make a heavy riff. They break away from each other as Lee and Neil Peart form a solid backing beat as Lifeson plays some cool lead guitar. Geddy adds some epic synths to the background as well as they come out in full force to start this record! In the next part Lifeson's guitar seems to take the backing role as Geddy and Neil are both playing some awesome stuff. Peart's drums are fantastic and just so spot-on all the time and Geddy's bass sounds amazing leading the way. Lifeson's guitar sounds great as well and once again these three guys combine to make some incredible rock beats. Geddy finally starts to sing around three minutes and his vocals sound as epic and awesome as ever as you can hear the passion in his voice. This verse sounds pretty great I think and afterwards they slow it down to what seems like it could be the end of the song, but it's only the end of this first section. The second part is named after "Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom" and after a few seconds of silence they resume this cool main riff. All three members continue to play some awesome music and Geddy's vocals fit this fantasy-like riff really well. Peart's drums in particular are freaking great but everything sounds pretty great! After a couple more verses Lifeson goes off for his first guitar solo and unsurprisingly it sounds pretty great. Again, all three guys are playing cool music but the guitar solo is pretty good. They resume the main verse and start the third section, "Dionysus: Bringer of Love". It's pretty much the same great main riff but it does seem to have a bit more bounce to it as Peart plays a really great fast drum beat. Some epic synths bring this part to a close as they move into the next part, "Armageddon: the Battle of Heart and Mind". It's driven by a new rock riff that somehow also seamlessly leads back into the main riff! Geddy plays some awesome bass to lead the riff as Lifeson plays some epic guitar. Geddy sings a new verse that sounds pretty epic and they are tying all these parts together really nicely. After a couple solid verses we hear some more epic synths played by Geddy's feet and Peart plays some nice drum fills that might seem to end the song again, but it's on to the next part, "Cygnus: Bringer of Balance". Lifeson plays the same guitars that closed out Book I last album and we hear clips of Book I in the background of this new space-y part. Geddy takes over with some more synthesizers and starts an epic new verse. He sings softly but it sounds very fitting as he leads this epic speech. We hear some more trippy, space-y stuff as well as some explosions of some sort before Geddy delivers another epic speech. He switches to his normal singing voice and they spin this right into another epic rock riff! Peart's drums sound fantastic and Lee plays some sweet bass as well. Lifeson gets a chance for a nice guitar solo but it's a short one as they bring it all the way back to the opening riff again. They jam right into another solid rock riff with Geddy leading the way with some more superb bass playing. Peart gets in a few more epic drum fills and they play a rock and roll flourish with Peart hitting a gong that would seem to finally signify the end. But the final section, "The Sphere: A Kind of Dream" takes up the last minute. Lifeson plays a nice slow guitar riff and Geddy sings in a really nice voice in this closing part that unites this epic adventure and brings it to a beautiful ending. Wow, what a great song and great first side!

Side two starts with "Circumstances" the only song on this album to not be very progressive and just hard rock. Lifeson leads the way with a nice guitar riff as they settle into the main riff. Geddy plays some fantastic bass and also sings quite well in this verse. Lifeson plays a nice bit that connects to the chorus and I love Geddy's louder almost yelling vocals. It's a pretty solid foundation as they move to another cool verse. After another chorus things quiet down and we hear Peart playing some cool xylophone in the background. Geddy takes the lead with a synthesizer solo, and while this is normally not Rush's thing, it does sound pretty good. After the solo they play another short part that has some great drumming by Peart before bringing it back for a final chorus that brings the song to a finish. Track 3 is called "The Trees" and Peart (who writes almost all of Rush's lyrics) has written a really cool idea into this song. Lifeson plays a light but nice guitar riff as Geddy sings and tells us that the maple trees in the forest are tired of the oak trees stealing all the sunlight. After this opening bit things kick into a more Rush-like gear as Peart and Lee join the mix and form another great rock riff. All three guys play some cool music as Geddy sings more about the quarrel between oaks and maples. They move nicely into a new heavy riff that sounds pretty good but soon after the mood changes as Geddy switches to synths. He plays some epic stuff and Lifeson plays some cool guitar in the background but it's Peart's drums that are in the spotlight. He plays his own uniquely designed drum kit with wood blocks and chimes and other percussion and it sounds pretty awesome! All three guys are not only playing great music themselves, but together it sounds truly amazing. Lifeson's guitar continues in the background as Geddy and Neil provide arguably the best rhythm section you could ask for. Geddy returns to bass and sets the stage nicely for a Lifeson guitar solo that sounds pretty great. What comes after the solo is even better though as they do a wonderful stop-and-start bit that sounds awesome! Peart's drums are off the charts and everything sounds really great! They move into the final verse as we hear the conclusion to this tale. Geddy lets us know that the maples formed a union and "they passed a noble law. And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe and saw!" A fun twist ending to this weird tale and a great way to end this uniquely awesome song. The album's final song is the near ten minute "La Villa Strangiato" and what is, I believe, my favourite Rush song. It's entirely instrumental as Lifeson starts things off slow with some epic guitar. He speeds up very quickly and shreds an awesome short bit before things settle down again and the main riff begins to form. Lifeson plays a solid backing guitar riff as Geddy plays some epic synths and Peart starts a fast drum beat that sounds pretty wicked. All three guys are playing some spectacular stuff and words do not do justice as I could say that for the entirety of this song. This main riff sounds pretty incredible and when Geddy's synths signal a shift down Peart sets the stage with a nice drum beat and Lifeson takes off for one incredible guitar solo. He plays slow and fast, perfectly matching the mood of this riff and when he speeds up things sound amazing! After his solo they play a short bridge which leads into a brand new part that also sounds pretty awesome! Lifeson and Lee sync up for a heavy riff that sounds sweet and then Geddy breaks off for a wicked little bass part! This leads directly into a showcase for Peart as he plays some of the best drums you'll hear! An amazing fill culminates in yet another Lifeson guitar solo and holy shit, this is the stuff of dreams! So fucking good! They play the same wicked riff that started this whole part off and then seamlessly connect back to the main riff from earlier. There are no dull moments in this fantastic song as these three show that they are masters of progressive music! They bring it all to a wonderful finish and after some final cool bass by Geddy, end it with a final strum of the guitar.

That is the end of "Hemispheres" and I thought it was one of the best albums I've ever listened to! When "Circumstances" is by and far the worst song on your album, that's a pretty high bar! The other three songs were all absolutely fantastic, especially "La Villa Strangiato" which might be one of the best songs ever! This all adds up to one hell of an album as Rush continue their meteoric rise. Their last album "A Farewell To Kings" was pretty great as well, but I think this new record is easily their best one yet. I'm not sure if it will be possible for Rush to top this album, but these guys are hitting their peaks it seems and I'm sure the excellent music will continue to flow!