Album of the Week #24: Rush - A Farewell to Kings
This is Album of the Week #24 ~ This week's album is Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Year of Release: 1977
Genre(s): Progressive Rock
Country: United States
Length: 37 minutes
RYM | Listen!
Excerpt from PopMatters:
A Farewell to Kings is an important album in the trajectory of Rush’s career. Having just released the ambitious 2112 a year earlier, the trio didn’t settle with their power guitar-bass-drum hard rock formula, but decided to get even more experimental. Peart started playing with new types of percussion: tubular bells, orchestral bells, temple blocks, etc. At the same time, Lee delved into the Mini Moog and the signature bass pedal synthesizer, while Alex Lifeson experimented with different guitars and effects, most notably the wide, encompassing chorus effects that would fill out Rush’s sound for many albums to come. In many ways, the sound and instrumental experimentation on Kings set the tone and expectations for everything that would come after it.
Discussion points:
Have you heard this artist/album before? Is this your first time hearing?
Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
Was there a standout track for you?
How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?
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Have you heard this artist/album before?
I'm a big fan of Rush, but haven't listened to many of their albums individually. I've listened to (and love) 2112 and Fly By Night. But looking at the track list, I'm familiar with all of these songs anyway. Just never in album order.
Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
I do! Maybe not the Rush album I'd have chosen if I were starting a Rush discussion, but still a fantastic album worthy of discussion!
Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
I didn't realize this was the follow-up to 2112 until I read the excerpt, but it makes a lot of sense. Definitely has a lot of similarities with 2112 in terms of sound.
What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
I enjoy everything after "Closer To The Heart" substantially less than everything before that point, but it's still good music.
Was there a standout track for you?
Xanadu. It kind of feels like it's a misplaced section from the first track on 2112 in a lot of ways. It's very mystical and heavy feeling in a way that 2112's first track is.
How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?
I realize the question is more album-focused, but as I said I haven't listened to their stuff "by album" much. It's mostly just shuffling EVERYTHING. So instead I'll answer the question about Rush itself. My dad had the "Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits (1974-1987)" CD in his car when I was a teenager and I just kind of fell in love with their music when he put it on. Their music just scratched an itch for me. I don't know anything about playing an instrument, but even I could tell that a lot of it was very technical and while it sounded chaotic sometimes, there was an order to it. And it's just amazing. Still some of the most air-drum-able music out there, even if I'm left feeling like I need a few extra set of arms to do it.
It wasn't until way later that I started understanding the lyrics and realized how they were just a bunch of nerds like me. So many songs just full of scifi and fantasy references. So when I eventually got my first job after HS, I would drive my dad's car to/from work and I listened to that CD a lot. After a long day's work I'd roll down the windows in his Trailblazer and crank it up to max volume and sing my heart out to Spirit of Radio. That really cemented my love for them. Saw them live a year or so after their R30 tour with my dad and it was amazing. And to this day I make sure to listen to "Rivendell" on the drive over to my friend's house when we play D&D to help set the mood for myself.
"For I have dined on honeydew / and drunk the milk of paradise"
As a late Gen-Xer I didn't become aware of Rush until the mid-90s, and that was only because a lot of the prog metal bands I was getting turned onto listed Rush as an influence. So my first focused foray into the Rush discography was their heavy prog era, from Caress of Steel thru Hemispheres. I can't remember exactly but I think that A Farewell to Kings was either my second or third purchased Rush album, with 2112 and Moving Pictures being the others added to my collection early.
What I've always liked about Rush is that they can take complex themes, whether lyrical or musical, and make them accessible. And yet the nuanced details were still there to discover for the interested listener.
I've found the highlights on this album to be the two longer songs: Xanadu and Cygnus X-1. While Closer to the Heart was a live staple and the title track was a good song in its own right, setting the theme for the album, they just didn't have the same lasting power and pull. As for the other two songs, Cinderella Man is okay for album filler and honestly I can't remember how Madrigal goes despite listening to this album dozens of times.
Ultimately I'd put this in the middle tier of Rush albums: it's better than their self-titled, Hold Your Fire, and Presto; but not as good as 2112, Power Windows, or Clockwork Angels, to name a few.