A FAREWELL TO KINGS

One of my favorite albums of all time, and possibly my favorite Rush album, A Farewell To Kings sees Rush's fascination with bands such as Yes and Genesis come to full fruition. This is where it all came together for the trio, in my opinion. It takes the great, intricate arrangements of 2112 and Caress Of Steel and enhances them by throwing an array of new instruments and sounds into the mix. In particular, Neil Peart's exotic percussions such as chimes and tubular bells and Geddy Lee's use of the mini-Moog add all sorts of new flavors. The title track begins the album with a lovely classical guitar intro, enhanced with some highly melodic synth work. Then the main electric guitar riff kicks in and we're off on one of Rush's most under-appreciated and complex pieces. Angular distorted guitar madness gives way to jazz fusion a la Rush in the middle section, with Neil doing his best Bill Bruford impression and Geddy and Alex Lifeson playing ultra-tightly while still being all over the place. "Xanadu" comes next and is one of the album's classic songs, with a beautiful, extended intro that is part "Close To The Edge" and part "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Alex shines here with his ghostly volume swells, as does Neil's fancy percussion embellishment. The main riff is Rush at their progressive best, and if they are inspired by bands like Yes on this album, then it is somewhat ironic that Yes would almost-plagiarize this riff a few years later on the song "Tempus Fugit". "Closer To The Heart" is next, and to be honest, I have never enjoyed this song much, and not just because it is popular (I happen to love "Tom Sawyer" and "New World Man"). Despite having some of Neil's most philosophical and brilliant lyrics, it seems musically out of place on this album. Not bad at all, though! "Cinderella Man" is better, and fulfills much the same role as "Circumstances" on the following album: a short, concise, uptempo rocker in between the long epics. It is also one of Rush's hardest guitar riffs to play (to this guitar player at least; my right hand just doesn't move that fluidly). "Madrigal" is very similar to "Tears" from the previous LP, but I enjoy it infinitely more, and it's richer with more instrumentation, and better lyrics. Now to the last track: reading through the reviews here, I am surprised so many people rate "Cygnus X-1" so lowly, or at least don't rate it as one of Rush's best. It has always been one of my favorite 2 or 3 Rush songs, and is for just about every Rush fan I know. Oh well, to each his own. I feel it is an essential song for anyone, especially fans of Rush: great atmospheric, eery intro; killer, angular riff, and some of the most flat-out scary interplay between three musicians I have ever heard. A killer for sure, and definitely a precursor to bands such as Dream Theater. And the storytelling aspect is brilliant as well, leaving the listener to wonder what the heck happened to the Rocinante. A great, classic Rush album and the first of many five-star releases, in my opinion.