834 Rush - A Farewell to Kings(1977)

834 Rush - A Farewell to Kings(1977)

Studio Album - Progressive Rock



About the Act:

Rush were a Canadian Hard Rock/Prog Rock band who existed from 1968-2018. I wonder when they first started if they ever imagined they would be rocking for 50 years. For much of their existence they were a threesome, Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums). They also all contributed synth work. 

Their defining features were combining Heavy Rock, verging on Heavy Metal, of the style of Led Zeppelin and others, with more progressive elements— long songs, complex structures and rhythms, and sci-fi and fantasy content. The other defining feature was that they were very musically “tight” - a term which means not only playing very closely in time, but also very much complementary to each other - almost indefinably playing as a unit rather than as separate musicians. They managed to become more progressive towards the end of the 70s and into the 80s, unlike British Prog bands at the time.


About the Album:

This was their 5th studio album. This was at the height of their Progness, at a time when Prog was faltering in the UK, it seemed to be gaining ground in Canada. Spurred on by the success of their previous album (2112), Rush produced this.


My History with this Album:

It's not an album that I know well, but I listened to it and reviewed it for my book Prog Gnostic. I have listened to it again and this is an edited and expanded version of that review.


Review:

As I listen I can tell instantly that it is Rush. When Geddy Lee sings it can't be anybody else, he rivals even Jon Anderson for the high pitch of his voice. 

Actually that's not the ultimate sign that this is Rush, that would be the guitar sound. There is a particular tone and style that in un-mistake-able. Rush always made excellent use of their limited number of members (3) and generally seemed to record in ways that would be mostly reproducible live - i.e. without lots of overdubs. This gives all three of them space to make a lot of noise, and they do so. It also means it's really tight and focused. 

Having said all that, this album is more varied in style than some Rush albums. There are a couple of epic, long songs, and some shorter ones. There is some fantasy here, but not all, and quite a bit of storytelling. They are definitely experimenting with different sounds, and synths are creeping in at times. It still sounds like Rush though. It's not all as iconic and memorable as some other tracks on other albums.

In case that is not helpful, I could describe them as fairly heavy rock, often quite biting and immediate, but musically complex, and this is definitely starting to be more inspired by Genesis than by Led Zeppelin for example. As I re-lisen to this for the 1000 best albums review, I realise I am not as taken with it as I could be. I do like a bit of Rush, but maybe I like this bit of Rush less. I think it struggles to reach the epic cheese of 2112, but also doesn't match the iconic anthemness of stuff that was still to come. 


7.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/18i33u5FvfvgHjZMulpyO2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaVHibd49QFLDcS_C6GbUYzhZyfivilNG

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Kings




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots ...
Read more

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop ...
Read more

843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967)

Image
 843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967) Studio Album - Psychedelic Soul About the Act: The Chambers Brothers are an American Psychedelic Soul band from LA, who were formed in 1954 and are still going. They were at heart four brothers, but I think they have now all left the band.  About the Album: This was their debut album (12 years on from forming as a band), and it spawned their most successful single Time Has Come Today. My History with this Album: None. I had never heard of the Chambers Brothers before this list. Review: I am not an American, nor a Social Historian, but I think I can accurately claim that in 1960s America there was a certain separation between the Black community and other communities. As a result of this, and for marketing reasons, the idea of music that was created with a Black audience in mind was an actual thing. I'm not sure if today we would be quite so sure about what constitutes "Black Music", but then, I think, they were generally q...
Read more