A FAREWELL TO KINGS

Following the tour for 2112, Rush set about recording A Farewell to Kings, which was released in late 1977. During the recording process, the band members challenged themselves to incorporate more instruments and more complex song structures. As a result, Alex Lifeson made extensive use of acoustic guitars, Geddy Lee began including more synthesizer, as well as synth bass pedals, and Neil Peart's drumkit swelled with the addition of bells, chimes, triangles, tympani, and a panoply of other percussion.

The title track opens this album demonstrating by these changes. The intro features Spanish guitar with synthesizer and chime flourishes. The first part of the guitar solo is done in a bizarre, jerky rhythm in an odd time signature. The melody is as strong as ever, and Neil's lyrics once more elevate the music.

Following this is the 11-minute "Xanadu", the first of two suites on this album. This is also, without a doubt, my personal favorite Rush song. The gentle opening, consisting of chimes, soft guitar and synth lines, woodblock, and birds chirping, explodes into a powerful guitar arpeggio augmented by powerful bass and drum fills before transitioning to an energetic series of riffs where Geddy's newfound love of synthesizers first shines through. After five minutes of instrumental showmanship, the lyrics?inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Kubla Khan?come in, and the verses alternate between pastoral and bursting with energy. Geddy's bass plays the role of a lead instrument throughout the song, the synth flourishes are all perfect, and the three members' interplay is sublime. I cannot praise this song enough.

Side 2 then opens with one of the few Rush songs to clock in under three minutes, but it's also one of their best, irrespective of length. "Closer to the Heart" superbly blends catchiness with progressive instrumentation, and it's clear how this became one of their best-known songs. "Cinderella Man" and "Madrigal" are relative weak points, but they're both great songs in absolute terms. The other four songs here just overshadow them by a huge amount. (Well, that may be a little generous to "Madrigal", but it's still enjoyable.)

A Farewell to Kings closes with its second suite: "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage". A song about black holes, it opens with weird bell tones and heavily-affected vocals before transitioning to yet another brilliant, odd-time riff. As the song's protagonist plunges headlong toward the black hole, the music builds in energy as a galloping, syncopated riff. The odd riff from earlier comes back in menacing, metallic fashion as the protagonist is shredded by the black hole's gravity.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/04/27/deep-dive-rush/