HEMISPHERES

I see the Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres album as, somewhat of a stage for Rush. They were just introduced to synthesizer instruments in there songs, and it really shows. This was also a very hard recording to make. Geddy had made the notes to sing, but the music was in a completely different key, so they had to redo almost all of the album (most notably in Circumstances and Hemispheres) and it really shows how much time they took on it to make a great album like this one. The title track is an epic, a continuation of Cygnus X-1 Book 1 The Voyage, but it really dosen't sound like it, by the lyrics. It really has its own feel, really mostly about Greek gods at battle, and the townspeople in fear. The rest of the album is above par, by a lot. I will rate each song on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the absolut best that there can be, and 1 being the absolut worst there can be.

Cygnus X-1 Book 2 Hemispheres- The side long track has to be one of the single best epics that any progressive rock band has ever made, and its much better (in my opinion, musically) much more fluent than 2112 or Fountain of Lamneth, but those are also very great. It features very high vocals from Geddy, showing his ability to sing very high on the scales, and it really sounds great on this record. Lyrically, its one of Neils strongest songs, showing that the Greek gods are at battle, making the townspeople leave the villages in fear, and one man, he is aparently imortal, and he sees the gods battle, and he resolves it, giving him the god title Cygnus. The music is really great, the guitar solos are a real highlight of the song, showcasing that underrated guitarist are usually the best kinds. 10/10

Circumstances- Circumstances was the most refretted, redone, and most remastered song of all in the album, it was very hard for the band to pull it together in this song, but the final release is actualy amazing, a very enjoyable listen. The song itself is about Neils time in England, much like the song Fly By Night (they are almost alike, lyrically, symbolizing what they mean). Geddy reaches very high notes on this song, almost irritating, but still in the limits. The bassline is a very over-looked part of the song, but its really a great riff. The drumming is very loud, as with the guitars. This is something that the album needed, an over-looked song, but still incredible. 9.5/10

The Trees- Many people might take this song in the wrong way, not what it really means. Its true meaning is the division of Canada and America, but some people might think of it as a racist song, dealing with African American people, and American people. Either way, it somewhat symbolizes each other in the manor that each way is the same. The music is incredible, with guitar riffs and basslines that are really amazing, they will blow your ears. 10/10

La Villa Strangiato- This is a great instrumental, a little underrated by critics and whatnot, but its really a great, long, and very thrilling instrumental that the band decided to pull out of their sleves. Most of the song was written on a dream that Alex had, and it somehow turned into an amazing song, or an instrumental, if you will. The riffs that are played by Alex are really creative, as with the amazing, fast, and interesting basslines and bass solos that are played by Geddy in the song. The drumming is very, jazzy at the Monsters section of the song, and its very interesting. The drumming for the rest of the song is very fast, up-tempo and near perfection. Another mention is that there are no drum solos in this instrumental, which is very odd for Rush, but still an amazing song. 10/10

This album has very few flaws, and its an excellent progressive album that should not be missed.