hemispheres (rush)

I had to really think back about this record ,i brought right after the A FAREWELL TO KINGS came out my mom gave me that album at Christmas as with many others in Ontario Canada became an instant fan.So after Neil peart death (r.i.p) i dug out the cd HEMISPHERES and gave it a listen ,now i remember ,when i owned the album which featured red vinyl complete with a tour poster ,which i hung up immediately i only had a mono rca record player at the time then gave it a spin ,now i must be honest expected a lot of guitar and drums on the first track but was startled by the side 1 CYGNUS X-1 BOOK TWO HEMISPHERES which basically a lyrical masterpiece involving Apollo and Dionysus having a big battle over heart and mind till Cygnus shows up ,anyways it takes a few times to listen to grasp the concept of the story at least it did for me.The other 3 tracks are more easier for guys like myself to understand CIRCUMSTANCES got played a lot on Canadian rock radio good song killer riff.THE TREES my favorite song about a war between trees oaks and maple with kinda neat ending result.LA VILLA STRANIGATO i find a bit too long but good but not YYZ,overall a fine record and i am glad all this social media wasn,t around back then to dissect every nuance and meaning of the songs .This is of one of the greatest bands to come out of CANADA thanks for reading this post GRANT

I think first Rush to me was "Exit...Stage Left"-VHS. Anyway "The Trees" was one of the songs in it that I really liked! Then I borrowed from my brothers schoolmate "Hemispheres" as recorded cassette. It took some while to hit, but when it happened it hits really hard!! It become my first Rush-vinyl (my brother already had "a Farewell to Kings" as Christmas present).

La Villa Strangiato may be one of my favorite Rush tracks of all time - when they wrote it , it was at the very edge of what they could manage with their musicianship at the time. They tried to record it in one take and ended up having to do it in three parts I think. 

La Villa Strangiato is my least favorite (it´s almost Gentle Giant), but I like it anyway. I think it´s just great thing in Cygnys (like in other prog entities) that it goes back to the kind of main themes, to me it make it much more solid than some other entities where are all the time something new. I think specially some new prog entities haven´t got any "scheme".

Edited by Mortte - January 20 2020 at 02:15

I love this album.

Side 2 is slightly better than side 1 IMO. The Hemispheres epic has some moments of excellence, but does lack the excitement of 2112 and the mystery of Fountain of Lamneth.

The other three tracks are however faultless, with La Villa still being my all time favourite Rush instrumental. This album was Rush at their prog best IMO, before they progressed onto another excellent chapter. Of all the bands that moved on from prog rock around this time, Rush did so with the most integrity and finesse.

This probably belongs in the "Prog In Unexpected Places" thread or whatever it was called, but while visiting a Ford dealership in Cerritos, Calif. last week, The Trees was being played in the showroom. That blew me away, as I've never even heard it over the local rock station. The receptionist there told me the tune was courtesy of Pandora. Still, it was exciting to hear it in this unlikely place (good speakers, too).