A FAREWELL TO KINGS

I'm not a big fan of Rush, but this album is truly remarkable. Of all the band's albums this is perhaps the work closer to the classical canons of progressive rock, especially for the complexity of songs such as Cygnus X-1 and Xanadu, and also for the use of the synth by Geddy Lee.

Of course Xanadu is the song that stands out most, in my opinion the masterpiece of the entire career of the band and one of my favorite songs of progressive rock. Closer To The Heart is a short but exciting song, with a dreaming atmosphere. A Farewell To Kings, another piece of good standard, has a remarkable rhythmic variation in the middle section. Cygnus X-1 is the hardest song of the album and, despite some excess, is full of memorable moments (in particular great rhythmic variations and changes of atmosphere). Cinderella Man and Madrigal are still good, but not at the level of the other songs.

The members of the group appear in great form. The voice of Geddy Lee is a true primordial rattle. Neil Peart is an out category drummer. Alex Lifeson contributes with hard guitar riff (in particular the one at the end of the silent intro of Xanadu is really memorable).

A "Farewell To Kings" is probably the best album to start listening to the music of Rush, especially if, like me, you do not like particularly heavy-prog music.

Now the stars ... four or five ... what a dilemma! I'll go with four, but is really ... four and a half!

My final rating is 8/10.

Best song: Xanadu

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