Rush

A Farewell To Kings

70's prog. at its best.

Review Score:

(10/10)
Rush was undoubtedly the greatest progressive band of the 70's. They made music that was technical, but at the same time fun. "A Farewell to Kings" was one of the many great albums Rush made in this time period, and it's one of their best.

The album starts off with the title track, a hard-rocking song with an awesome acoustic intro and outro. Next up is the classic "Xanadu", a sprawling 11-minute epic, including an awesome 5-minute intro, varying tempos, excellent vocals, and very cool lyrics. Just an all-around great song. To balance out the epicness, this song is followed by 3 shorter ones, "Closer to the Heart", "Cinderella Man", and "Madrigal", all of which are fantastic. "Closer to the Heart" is the most popular song of the album. It's great, but too short. I heard a live version somewhere in which Geddy Lee added in a really cool bass solo. Why didn't they just record it like that? Oh well. Anyway, the album closes with what I think is my favorite of the bunch, "Cygnus X-1". Yet another epic, with some pretty cool sound effects, and great lyrics about getting sucked into a black hole. Very strong album closer.

The musicians all put on a spectacular performance. Alex Lifeson plays a lot more acoustic here than on other releases, making his already dynamic guitar work that much more interesting. Neil Peart is a human drum machine, cranking out some very fast and complex beats (there's even some double bass in there). And, Geddy Lee. What can I say? Great bassist, great singer. He's just plain great.

If you love progressive music, "Farewell to Kings" is a must. Its only flaw is that it's over much too fast.

More Reviews: