HEMISPHERES

The opener is a classic. This contains all the Rushisms that you need to know. Still one of the most amazing long compositions in prog rock history. It deserves analysis at many levels in its amazing arrangement. It hints at the progresssive nature of Moving Pictures, it gives us a vision of what is to come. A rather mystical journey and a pretentious one but simply the best the band ever did. Whenever I listen to this it still gets me. The amazing bass playing and ridiculous lyrical conceits. A true prog rock classic that needs to be put in perspective. They never wrote another tune like this. It was the end of this style for Rush. Perhaps the defining moment for the band. As always they caught up with the times and moved on. While the rest of the album is also brilliant, it seems a irrelevancy to the main event.

The Trees seems somehow laboured under its idealism and La Villa is well La Villa.

The reason this album is a classic is the first side. It demands multiple listens. It is the ultimate Rush journey into their true soul. The first opening minutes for me define Rush. They wrote their epic and moved on. Brilliant that they have the intelligence to let go.