HEMISPHERES

Probablyt the pinnacle of the progressive rock period of Rush. This is definately their boldest step towards artisticness the power trio got too, and it came out looking very good. With a more clean and structured sound than a Farewell to kings, and a less mainstream edge than permanent waves, this album is a huge standout in Rush history. At first I didnt know what to expect from the album, my dads friend and I were talking about music one day, and I said I was a big fan of Rush, he tells me that he's seen them 15 times and has every album! So a week later he lets me borrow A farewell to kings, Permanent waves, counterparts, and Hemispheres. Whwn I popped in the latter I was shocked how clean and toned Alex' guitar sounded on the first chord on the first song, which was a major advancement from the first electric riff on A farewell to kings. Anyways, let me proceed with the songs...

If yuu are in anyway a prog fan, than you are innitially excited to see a big twenty minuete song like this one come up, and for good reason. Hemispherers is such a huge improvement from the other twenty minueter 2112, with an actual structur and and flow, not a bunch of songs put together to make one big long one. Anyways Geddy is the one who really stands out to me for this song, excellent basslines, and good clean vocals easily make him stand out far more than the sloppy Alex and the overdone Peart. The lyrics to this song are very innovative, with Greek mythology and talk of the space time continuum. It's about a learderless world that is being fought over by the Gods, but at the end when the world is in utter choas, a lonely immortal, Cygnus, silentl cries for it to stop... so it does. The rest of the songs are all great, except circumstances, and the instrumental is epic in everyway. The bad song circumstances reminds me of freewill, limelight, orcinderella man, boring, poppy, and sounds like something you would hear in a disney showtune. The singal of the album, the tree's is excellent, easily Rush's most artistic radio song with some great all around bandhood and fun lyrics. La villa strangiato is great, one of Lifesons most shining moments in hai otherwise overated style of guitar playing (pentatonic), but whats so great about this piece is that the group works together so effetiantly and precisely they make the sudden changes and awkward tiem changes seem really easy.

I will admit that the music is not Rush's best, Peart is a bit more conserved this time, and I feel that his drums did not stand out in the mix like it should have. I also feel that Geddy did not stretch to the limits of his voice like how he did in cygnus one. I am however impressed with Alex' guitar work, which is a lot less pompous than in previous albums, and his solo during the first part of the opener is one of his best next to natural science. I believe Peart could have done a better job with the lyrics on circumstances COMPLETELY! Overall...

4****