HEMISPHERES

I was introduced to RUSH when the brother of a friend invited me to his room and let me hear his harder-edged musical taste, from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to .. "All the world's a stage", the live 2 LP from Rush. I was stunned by the great skills of these 'hardrockers', especially the biting, often wah-wah drenched guitarsoli from Alex Lifeson and the long and alternating piece "2112". A few months later I read a review about the just released new Rush album "A farewell to kings", this couldn' t be true: acoustic guitars, synthesizers, shifting moods, lots of soli, splendid interplay, .. etc., etc.! Well, it was true and a year later I was on the annual Dutch Pinkpop Festival in Geleen to watch the first appearance from Rush in Europe because of the new "Hemispheres" album. I was a bit disappointed about this album because at some times my attention faded away during the long titletrack and the song "Circumstances" sounded a bit uninspired to me. But "The trees" is pivotal 'heavy progressive rock' and "La villa strangiato" belongs to their finest work, it's perhaps the best example of the 'mid-Rush sound' and their incredible skills and ideas. "La villa strangiato" starts with exciting flamenco guitar and lush Moog sounds, followed by a great build up with twanging electric guitar, drums and bass guitar, culminating in a very propulsive rhythm with magnificent interplay between the fiery electric guitar (with repetetive quick and catchy runs) and a powerful and adventurous rhythm-section. Then the music slows down and a howling guitar (with frequent use of a volume pedal) enters as a prelude to a long and splendid build up guitar solo, from sensitve to biting. The accompaniment of soft keyboards and a slowly heavier, very propulsive rhythm-section lift this part to an almost orgasmic feeling! Soft synthesizer sounds and catchy guitar runs are a forerunner of a mindblowing final part with again sensational interplay between the guitar, (Rickenbacker) bass and drums. The 'Canadian powerhouse' pushes themselves to their limits, what a captivating blend of energy and skills. "La villa strangiato" ends with a short, phaser-drenched bass run. In my opinion this stunning composition is the bridge to their masterpiece "Moving pictures". THE POWERSYMPHONIC ROCK HAS BORN!!