Rush

A Farewell To Kings

The best of Rush, the worst of Rush

Review Score:

(4/10)
One of the great unsolved mysteries of rock: how can the same album contain a song as great as "Xanadu" and a song as bad as "Cygnus X-1?"

"Xanadu" is indeed a brilliant composition: classically constructed and confidently played, it's my choice for Rush's best epic song ever (even ahead of "2112"). Drummer Neil Peart's lyrics paint an exquisite portrait of Kubla Khan's pleasure palace (with significant borrowing from Samuel Taylor Coleridge); Geddy Lee manages to control his still-maturing voice enough to convincingly deliver the melody. The band segues seamlessly from one unforgettable riff to another, with dramatic synthesizer parts stragetically sprinkled throughout. It's 11 minutes of pure prog rock bliss; once it's over, you'll wonder where the time went.

The album contains another authentic Rush classic, "Closer to the Heart," a lovely 3-minute ballad that foreshadows the band's eventual trend towards shorter and more concise songwriting.

But the rest of this stuff! After repeated listenings, I still cannot determine why "A Farewell to Kings" is so revered by hardcore Rush fans. The longer tracks are as undisciplined and unfocused as "Xanadu" is tasteful and tight. The most egregious example is "Cygnus X-1," with shrill, screechly vocals by Lee and interminable, self-indulgent riffing by all three members. Rush fans are going to kill me for saying this, but this track actually sounds worse to me with each listen.

"A Farewell to Kings" captures an extremely talented and ambitious band in a transitional phase, still unable to channel their virtuosity for the length of an entire album. The record is definitely worth owning for "Xanadu" and "Closer to the Heart;" just watch out for the rest of the songs!

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