Retro reviews: Rush: A Farewell To Kings

   I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums.

Rush - A Farewell To Kings (1977)

****1/4

Producers: Rush, Terry Brown

Musicians: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, Terry Brown

Songs: A Farewell To Kings, Xanadu, Closer To The Heart, Cinderella Man, Madrigal, Cygnus X-1: Book 1 - Prologue, and parts 1,2 and 3

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    *sigh* Man, it must be a drag for music fans to deal with my critical peers who are so dismissive of the Canadian band Rush, and I don’t really get the hostility. All three of these players are exceptional, Neil Peart is on par with Bonham, Baker, Moon, or Tony Williams, and Geddy as a player is on par with Chris Squire, John Entwistle, or John Paul Jones. Alex waves his magic as a guitar player and already seems like he could be overlooked. While Geddy as a vocalist may be an acquired taste for some, he does the exact job of what a lead singer is supposed to do, he translates the lyrics and effectively expresses the correct emotion, regardless of his timber of his voice, he does the job.

    While their first two albums traded in on a heavy blues rock sensibility and idiom with the eponymous album and Fly By Night, the third, Caress of Steel was a significant calculated gamble that didn’t always pay off, but it showed real growth. Last years 2112 put the band back on track with a fascinating group of songs. The follow up just validates the faith of several music fans. While they are following in the tradition of their progressive rock peers, Rush is also on par with some fusion rock players. 

    Alex’s classical nylon guitar opens the first statement of “A Farewell To Kings”, before the full band comes in, the bulk of the song is a scathing lament of rulers who seek power for its own sake and not to serve the needs of their people. Alex’s influences can be felt all over the album. “Xanadu” has an opening section that nods to Steve Hackett, or the up coming Allan Holdsworth. The track moves through a number of memorable sections before the main body of music sits in, the use of orchestra and tubular bells by Neil give the material an orchestral scope, another song that comments on the pursuit of power and the futility of immortality. The orchestral aspect of Rush is really no different than King Crimson. 

    The perennial single “Closer To The Heart” has a nice opening statement by Alex before the full band arrives, there’s some nice accessible harmonized leads by Alex, a plea for artist or leaders to be responsible. “Cinderella Man” is a solid number that stays true to the theme of the album. The use of synths and keyboard by Geddy has added new colors as demonstrated by “Madrigal”, this is a simpler, and unpretentious piece. The closer “Cygnus X-1, Book1” is a more science fiction themed track similar in tone to 2112. The bass eases in after an atmospheric introduction. This is about a ship on a doomed expedition to a dangerous star, a probably metaphor about self-destruction, another element of the pursuit of power with a cryptic end. Alex offers up a jagged Wah guitar solo. Neil is a direct and yet incisive lyric writer, and while he may not have Dylan’s eloquence and skills, few do, he does make the listener think. These aren’t just superfluous affair of the heart songs. The bulk of the album works very well; my only complaint is that I just wish the album was longer. Recommendation.