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Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Happy 30th anniversary A Farewell to Kings!

Sat, Sep 1, 2007@2:40PM | comments removed/disabled

Sometime in the month of September back in 1977, Rush released their 5th studio album, A Farewell to Kings. The precise date of release is unknown exactly, but according to the Jon Collins Rush biography Chemistry it was released a few days after the tour kicked off on September 6th. The Rush calendar actually has it listed as being released on August 18th, but every other source I can find says September 1977. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and mixed at Advision Studios in London. It was also Rush's first album to go Gold in the US; about 2 months after its release on November 16th and was certified platinum on December 1st, 1993. It peaked at #33 on Billboard's top album charts. From the Allmusic.com review:

On 1977's A Farewell to Kings it quickly becomes apparent that Rush had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach. Synthesizers also mark their first prominent appearance on a Rush album, a direction the band would continue to pursue on future releases. With the popular hit single "Closer to the Heart," the trio showed that they could compose concise and traditionally structured songs, while the 11-minute "Xanadu" remains an outstanding accomplishment all these years later (superb musicianship merged with vivid lyrics help create one of Rush' s best all-time tracks). The album-opening title track begins with a tasty classical guitar/synth passage, before erupting into a powerful rocker. The underrated "Madrigal" proves to be a delicately beautiful composition, while "Cinderella Man" is one of Rush's few songs to include lyrics penned entirely by Geddy Lee. The ten-minute tale of a dangerous black hole, "Cygnus X-1," closes the album on an unpredictable note, slightly comparable to the two bizarre extended songs on 1975's Caress of Steel. A Farewell to Kings successfully built on the promise of their breakthrough 2112, and helped broaden their audience.

On a personal note, I count this album among my top 3 Rush albums - and Xanadu is probably my favorite Rush song outside of 2112. Happy birthday AFTK!!

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