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All rights reserved.A Farewell to Kings - Rush (CD 1997)
The Best Rush Album!Review created: 08/02/02
by: fartzarellah -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
One of Rush's most consistent albums, first two tracks are outstanding, my favorite Rush.
One of Rush's most consistent albums, first two tracks are outstanding, my favorite Rush.
Cons:
Track 6 makes me laugh (probably wasn't the intended effect)
Track 6 makes me laugh (probably wasn't the intended effect)
--------------------------RUSH AND ME----------------------------
I have listened to Rush since I was a youngster, and this has always been my favorite of their albums. However, with the exception of the great Fly by Night (1975), every one of their recordings, up to and including Moving Pictures (1981), are about half excellent tracks and I just can't get into the other half. For instance, Hemispheres (1978) has both the amazing "La Villa Strangiato" and the pointless, 18 minute adventure song of side one. 2112 (1976) has the stellar tracks "Temples of Syrinx" and "Soliloquy" on side one, and nothing but lackluster boredom on side two. When they were at their best, nobody could touch them, but Rush were only there part of the time. Farewell to Kings(1977) nearly breaks that pattern: tracks 1-2 are amazing, 3-5 are fairly good, and only the last song leaves me running for the door.
------------------------JUST THE RUSH MEN-----------------------
Geddy Lee: vocals, bass, keys
Geddy Lee is one of the best rock bassists ever. Beyond merely playing complex lines, he is also melodic and doesn't mind doin' the funk. If you have ever seen Rush in concert, you will be even more amazed: he plays all this stuff and sings at the same time! No small task, I assure you.
As far as his singing goes, you either like it or you don't. Used to be one of the highest rock tenors around, has lost some of that range today. He is in tune most of the time (just one spot in "Farewell to Kings" that he misses by a hair) and is truly remarkable in terms of sheer pitch height. The only thing that makes me laugh is this weird vibrato he adds when he gets up there: makes him sound kind of like the old woman that took care of tweety bird.
Sometimes he wrote good melodies, but many of them just do not sound "natural". It is as if Geddy devised them using a complex scientific equation (of course, he did have Peart's lyrics to contend with, discussed below). Tracks 1-2 and 5 all have great melodies though, as do most of 3 and 4, and Lee was a very emotional singer at this point in time. Probably some of his most singable material on this album.
He doesn't try to do much on the keys, just single note lines, and pulls them off fine. Sometimes, as is bound to happen whenever you use the day's latest technology, the synthesizer sounds he uses are dated (in my opinion, this does some damage to the song "Madrigal") Usually the keyboard lines work though, and this album is more about Lifeson's guitar work than the keys, which just add splashes of color.
Neil Peart: drums
The superman of drummers. Incredibly precise and accurate, navigating the most complex time signature changes with ease. Once again, if you see him in concert, you'll be floored by his sheer ability. Some call his drumming "cold" but I think those people are just jealous. Really. It is true that he rarely plays a funky groove (I don't think there are any on this album), but you can't do everything. Nobody would criticize Robert Johnson, one of the greatest blues guitarists ever, for not playing classical guitar, would they?
His lyrics are hit or miss. Peart shares the strengths and weaknesses of one of his favorite authors, Ayn Rand, and, now that I think of it, my reviews ; ) The philosophy is interesting, showing an intelligent mind, and there are times both writers are wonderfully descriptive: Here are some examples from "Farewell to Kings" and "Xanadu":
"We turned our gaze from the castles in the distance / Eyes cast down on the path of least resistance."
"A thousand years have come and gone but time has passed me by / Stars stopped in the sky / Frozen in an everlasting view" (Alex Lifeson adds an appropriate, echoing, frozen in time guitar bend at this point)
At other times, the metaphors they use are too precise, making their writing come off sounding stodgy:
Closer to the Heart
"You will be the captain and I will draw the chart, sailing into destiny, closer to the heart"
And, to quote a later Rush song,I sometimes feel like saying "Show me, don't tell me"
Cinderella Man
"They tried to fight him, just couldn't beat him, a manic depressive who walks in the rain"
"Manic depressive" is too straight-forward and scientific. I'd like to see something with a little more imagination, like "a Flying Apprentice who barks at the rain". I know, that's too goofy, but hopefully you get my drift.
In the end, at least you'll never hear a Rush song that says "C'mon babeee, gimmeee what I neeed!"
Alex Lifeson: guitars
I consider Lifeson to be the best all around musician of the band (if you've never heard his solo album Victor, go out and buy it today!) He is extremely versatile, switching from the authentic sounding renaissance guitar intro of "Farewell to Kings" to the bizarre rock solo of "Cinderella Man". Usually doesn't wow you technically but is more than capable of it (the ending of the middle solo to "Farewell to Kings" is astonishing), always gives you interesting tones, is imaginative, and rips out some fine melodies and riffs. One of my favorite guitarists.
-----------------------JUST RUSH--------------------------
Should I eat them with a spoon or a fork? Very hard to classify. I would say prog rock, but Rush rock out better than any progressive band. Also, their harmonic structures are more like huge slabs of granite spinning about in intricate patterns than the finely braided, almost classical harmonies of bands like Genesis and Yes. I would say metal but the precision and complexity paired with the greater diversity than you find in metal disqualifies them. A style all their own, that's for sure.
As the theme of their album Hemispheres is about finding a balance between the left and right hemispheres of the brain (reason vs. emotion), their best music finds that balance while the worst tends to lean to the left (too complex). In all fairness to Rush, their epic songs must have taken a good deal of practice time to master, leaving less time to really think about their other songs properly, thus the uneven albums.
--------------------THE TWO BEST TRACKS---------------------
As always, in a bit of detail.
Farewell to Kings
As I stated above, has an authentic sounding renaissance guitar intro (sounds like John Dowland) that adds an appropriate xylophone(?) line, evoking images of Elizabethean England. Then a "Fly by Night" type of guitar riff (just more stately) kicks off the body of the song, most of it in 7/4. The verse and bridge are pure, heavy 4/4 rock, fast and furious, while the chorus switches the key to major and triumphant, making an odd juxtaposition with the negative lyrics that somehow works ("Cities full of hatred fear and lies / Withered hearts and cruel tormented eyes / Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise") The instrumental break is one of the most complex, but listenable and amazing, pieces of music I've ever heard consisting of an interesting pattern of 3s and 2s [3+3+2+2+3+2+2]for a 17/16 time signature, but it still sounds like rock and DOES rock, and Lifeson chooses to amaze you here. When this part ends and they go to sustained chords, the release is magnificent: It's like being at an outdoor concert, dancing away like a mad-man, then the quiet part comes an you feel the breeze and everyone screams "wooooo!" and you all mean it). One of my all time favorite songs.
"Xanadu"
I forget who wrote the original poem about "Xanadu", but know it was some opium inspired utopian vision. Peart writes a sequel to that poem for the lyrics, where the protagonist becomes immortal, and this is viewed both from positive and negative angles. The best adventure song Rush ever put together: all the parts are awe-inspiring and well put together. And there are about 8 different parts, all in different time signatures, tempos, and dynamic levels. I won't go into all of it, just the beginning:
You are arising from a deep sleep in the caves of ice (keyboard drone), awoken by the sound of the stalagmites dripping water onto the floor of the cave (Peart's percussion), starting to melt as a result of a sunrise which hadn't come up in a thousand years (Lifeson's Aaron Copland-esque melody [Fanfare for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring], where he makes each note fade in and out using the volume knob on his guitar. Then a dazzling, dizzying melody in 7/4 as you step out of the cave and feel the wind, seeing the landscape lit up for the first time in eons. What do you do next? Go running through the fields of course! (happy, energetic riff with full ensemble). Simply breath taking.
------------------WHY I START LAUGHING----------------------
The song "Cygnus X-1" is about a black hole, which is fine, and all of the parts are great, but it lacks the narrative tension and flow that make "Xanadu" kick. And the beginning is embarassing to me: somebody narrates in this goofy electronic voice that makes me think: "I am Voltron, Leader of All Deceptagons, and I have Come to Destroy You!"
--------------------AND IN THE END--------------------------
I usually advise people to buy the Rush collection Chronicles (1990), because you don't get much of the material that misses there. However, Chronicles doesn't include "Xanadu" for some reason, one of Rush's best songs, heck! my favorite Rush song. "Xanadu" alone makes this album worth purchasing.
Tracks:
1.Farewell to Kings
2.Xanadu
3.Closer to the Heart
4.Cinderella Man
5.Madrigal
6.Cygnus X-1
I have listened to Rush since I was a youngster, and this has always been my favorite of their albums. However, with the exception of the great Fly by Night (1975), every one of their recordings, up to and including Moving Pictures (1981), are about half excellent tracks and I just can't get into the other half. For instance, Hemispheres (1978) has both the amazing "La Villa Strangiato" and the pointless, 18 minute adventure song of side one. 2112 (1976) has the stellar tracks "Temples of Syrinx" and "Soliloquy" on side one, and nothing but lackluster boredom on side two. When they were at their best, nobody could touch them, but Rush were only there part of the time. Farewell to Kings(1977) nearly breaks that pattern: tracks 1-2 are amazing, 3-5 are fairly good, and only the last song leaves me running for the door.
------------------------JUST THE RUSH MEN-----------------------
Geddy Lee: vocals, bass, keys
Geddy Lee is one of the best rock bassists ever. Beyond merely playing complex lines, he is also melodic and doesn't mind doin' the funk. If you have ever seen Rush in concert, you will be even more amazed: he plays all this stuff and sings at the same time! No small task, I assure you.
As far as his singing goes, you either like it or you don't. Used to be one of the highest rock tenors around, has lost some of that range today. He is in tune most of the time (just one spot in "Farewell to Kings" that he misses by a hair) and is truly remarkable in terms of sheer pitch height. The only thing that makes me laugh is this weird vibrato he adds when he gets up there: makes him sound kind of like the old woman that took care of tweety bird.
Sometimes he wrote good melodies, but many of them just do not sound "natural". It is as if Geddy devised them using a complex scientific equation (of course, he did have Peart's lyrics to contend with, discussed below). Tracks 1-2 and 5 all have great melodies though, as do most of 3 and 4, and Lee was a very emotional singer at this point in time. Probably some of his most singable material on this album.
He doesn't try to do much on the keys, just single note lines, and pulls them off fine. Sometimes, as is bound to happen whenever you use the day's latest technology, the synthesizer sounds he uses are dated (in my opinion, this does some damage to the song "Madrigal") Usually the keyboard lines work though, and this album is more about Lifeson's guitar work than the keys, which just add splashes of color.
Neil Peart: drums
The superman of drummers. Incredibly precise and accurate, navigating the most complex time signature changes with ease. Once again, if you see him in concert, you'll be floored by his sheer ability. Some call his drumming "cold" but I think those people are just jealous. Really. It is true that he rarely plays a funky groove (I don't think there are any on this album), but you can't do everything. Nobody would criticize Robert Johnson, one of the greatest blues guitarists ever, for not playing classical guitar, would they?
His lyrics are hit or miss. Peart shares the strengths and weaknesses of one of his favorite authors, Ayn Rand, and, now that I think of it, my reviews ; ) The philosophy is interesting, showing an intelligent mind, and there are times both writers are wonderfully descriptive: Here are some examples from "Farewell to Kings" and "Xanadu":
"We turned our gaze from the castles in the distance / Eyes cast down on the path of least resistance."
"A thousand years have come and gone but time has passed me by / Stars stopped in the sky / Frozen in an everlasting view" (Alex Lifeson adds an appropriate, echoing, frozen in time guitar bend at this point)
At other times, the metaphors they use are too precise, making their writing come off sounding stodgy:
Closer to the Heart
"You will be the captain and I will draw the chart, sailing into destiny, closer to the heart"
And, to quote a later Rush song,I sometimes feel like saying "Show me, don't tell me"
Cinderella Man
"They tried to fight him, just couldn't beat him, a manic depressive who walks in the rain"
"Manic depressive" is too straight-forward and scientific. I'd like to see something with a little more imagination, like "a Flying Apprentice who barks at the rain". I know, that's too goofy, but hopefully you get my drift.
In the end, at least you'll never hear a Rush song that says "C'mon babeee, gimmeee what I neeed!"
Alex Lifeson: guitars
I consider Lifeson to be the best all around musician of the band (if you've never heard his solo album Victor, go out and buy it today!) He is extremely versatile, switching from the authentic sounding renaissance guitar intro of "Farewell to Kings" to the bizarre rock solo of "Cinderella Man". Usually doesn't wow you technically but is more than capable of it (the ending of the middle solo to "Farewell to Kings" is astonishing), always gives you interesting tones, is imaginative, and rips out some fine melodies and riffs. One of my favorite guitarists.
-----------------------JUST RUSH--------------------------
Should I eat them with a spoon or a fork? Very hard to classify. I would say prog rock, but Rush rock out better than any progressive band. Also, their harmonic structures are more like huge slabs of granite spinning about in intricate patterns than the finely braided, almost classical harmonies of bands like Genesis and Yes. I would say metal but the precision and complexity paired with the greater diversity than you find in metal disqualifies them. A style all their own, that's for sure.
As the theme of their album Hemispheres is about finding a balance between the left and right hemispheres of the brain (reason vs. emotion), their best music finds that balance while the worst tends to lean to the left (too complex). In all fairness to Rush, their epic songs must have taken a good deal of practice time to master, leaving less time to really think about their other songs properly, thus the uneven albums.
--------------------THE TWO BEST TRACKS---------------------
As always, in a bit of detail.
Farewell to Kings
As I stated above, has an authentic sounding renaissance guitar intro (sounds like John Dowland) that adds an appropriate xylophone(?) line, evoking images of Elizabethean England. Then a "Fly by Night" type of guitar riff (just more stately) kicks off the body of the song, most of it in 7/4. The verse and bridge are pure, heavy 4/4 rock, fast and furious, while the chorus switches the key to major and triumphant, making an odd juxtaposition with the negative lyrics that somehow works ("Cities full of hatred fear and lies / Withered hearts and cruel tormented eyes / Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise") The instrumental break is one of the most complex, but listenable and amazing, pieces of music I've ever heard consisting of an interesting pattern of 3s and 2s [3+3+2+2+3+2+2]for a 17/16 time signature, but it still sounds like rock and DOES rock, and Lifeson chooses to amaze you here. When this part ends and they go to sustained chords, the release is magnificent: It's like being at an outdoor concert, dancing away like a mad-man, then the quiet part comes an you feel the breeze and everyone screams "wooooo!" and you all mean it). One of my all time favorite songs.
"Xanadu"
I forget who wrote the original poem about "Xanadu", but know it was some opium inspired utopian vision. Peart writes a sequel to that poem for the lyrics, where the protagonist becomes immortal, and this is viewed both from positive and negative angles. The best adventure song Rush ever put together: all the parts are awe-inspiring and well put together. And there are about 8 different parts, all in different time signatures, tempos, and dynamic levels. I won't go into all of it, just the beginning:
You are arising from a deep sleep in the caves of ice (keyboard drone), awoken by the sound of the stalagmites dripping water onto the floor of the cave (Peart's percussion), starting to melt as a result of a sunrise which hadn't come up in a thousand years (Lifeson's Aaron Copland-esque melody [Fanfare for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring], where he makes each note fade in and out using the volume knob on his guitar. Then a dazzling, dizzying melody in 7/4 as you step out of the cave and feel the wind, seeing the landscape lit up for the first time in eons. What do you do next? Go running through the fields of course! (happy, energetic riff with full ensemble). Simply breath taking.
------------------WHY I START LAUGHING----------------------
The song "Cygnus X-1" is about a black hole, which is fine, and all of the parts are great, but it lacks the narrative tension and flow that make "Xanadu" kick. And the beginning is embarassing to me: somebody narrates in this goofy electronic voice that makes me think: "I am Voltron, Leader of All Deceptagons, and I have Come to Destroy You!"
--------------------AND IN THE END--------------------------
I usually advise people to buy the Rush collection Chronicles (1990), because you don't get much of the material that misses there. However, Chronicles doesn't include "Xanadu" for some reason, one of Rush's best songs, heck! my favorite Rush song. "Xanadu" alone makes this album worth purchasing.
Tracks:
1.Farewell to Kings
2.Xanadu
3.Closer to the Heart
4.Cinderella Man
5.Madrigal
6.Cygnus X-1
Review ID: 10000000000232203
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