A FAREWELL TO KINGS

Rush

Heavy Prog

4.34 | 2495 ratings

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jgbludworth

A Farewell to Kings was my gateway to Prog as a Teenager. I had the album and I saw them live (with UFO).

The album was recorded outdoors. You can hear the birds chirp during the intro of Xanadu.

The first track, A Farewell to Kings", still resonates with me to this day. Built around an excellent Lifeson riff, they build one of their best crafted songs ever. A rocker with prog overtones.

They follow with Xanadu, is pure prog. Wonderful. It has a wonderful quiet intro that builds into a lovely guitar part.

Closer to the heart was Rush's first attempt at a real single. It succeed for me, if not for the charts. It is a well crafted pop song. My first version of this album was on cassette. How many of you had the cassette that cut the song in half. In the middle of the guitar solo, there was a fade out. When you flipped the tape, you heard the rest of the solo. Yes: I am old.

Cygnus X-1 is also a classic prog song, that is to be continued on Hemispheres.

I have so many fond memories of this album, yet I still enjoy it to this day. Essential.

jgbludworth | 5/5 | 2010-6-15

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