Rush

A Farewell To Kings

Take your mind on a musical journey.

Review Score:

(8/10)
Rush is a band more unique than any other. The music, the singing, everything. But more unique than anything are Rush's lyrics. It was at this point in their career that Rush started basing more and more of their songs on fantasy and mythology. Their songs make you think while rocking you. In my opinion, that is what makes a great band. Just rocking out to good music is fine, but when you finish listening and begin thinking about what you've heard, the real fun is experienced. I don't care what anyone says about Geedy Lee's voice, I personally love it. Anyway, A Farewell To Kings is one of Rush's finest moments. It starts out with "Farewell to Kings" which quickly goes from a folk-sounding acoustic piece to a hard rocking classic. This song is about bigotry and two-faced "leaders" full of hatred and greed. This song flows nicely into the epic "Xanadu", an eleven minute piece based on a poem about "Kubla Khan". This song features amazing guitar riffs, smooth time changes, and great use of the moog synthesizer. In my opinion, this is one of the best songs of Rush's entire career. Next comes "Closer to the Heart", the radio hit of the album. The song starts off quiet and slow, but turns into an pretty hard song somewhere in the middle. Alex Lifeson plays a rippin' guitar solo in this song. "Cinderella Man", the album's fourth song, is based on an old comedy called "Mr. Deeds Comes To Town". It tells of a Mandrake man's new-found wealth and his struggles along the way. Everything about this song is very good. The chorus, though the softest part, was probably the best. The next song, "Madrigal" is where the album seems to fall short. It's an okay song, but seems like filler compared to all the other songs on the album. Finally, the album ends with another epic, "Cygnus X-1 Book One- The Voyage". The song begins with what sounds like a spaceship and a creepy robot voice speaking of the black hole of Cygnus X-1. The vocals don't even start until five minutes into the song, which gives each member of the band time to do their thing. When the vocals do start, it's a full-out energetic rocker straight until the end. This song was to be continued on Rush's next album, Hemispheres.

I highly recommend this album to newcomers to Rush and big fans alike. It's worth the price alone just for "Farewell to Kings", "Xanadu, and "Cygnus X-1", but the other songs are great as well.

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