HEMISPHERES

Lately I began to appreciate Moving Waves, so I thought I should give Hemispheres a try. This record is well advised by the prog community, so maybe It may reveal the superhero status it has been given. My first thought about it was that is sounded pretty much like the follow-up Moving Waves. After some listens however I concluded that it was less good.

I was never fond of the sound of Rush's guitarwork, but on a sidelong track this worked out even for worse. The riffs on this this "Hemisphere" stay completely the same and there is no evolving within these 18 minutes. There is no clear theme or building up. The more silent passages are the worst part, because here it is most clear that Rush was not able to come even close to the early 70's prog acts.

The second half of the record is the better part, but even here I've got the idea that the songwriting was quiet random. By this I don't mean I got surprised quiet often, but that also on these tracks there is no clear pathway and makes me think that Rush almost had no vision about what to achieve.

The few guitarsolo's don't impress me as much as on the Moving Waves record. The bassguitar is doing the best job here, but will not save this work. Random development without moments of brilliance lead to a mediocre record. And with one of the least attractive album covers in progressive music I've decided that I will not put this record to my collection. 2,75 stars.