A farewell to kings
| A farewell to kings | ||||
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| Studio album by Rush | ||||
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Publication |
September 1977 |
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| Label (s) | Mercury Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP |
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Title (number) |
6th |
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running time |
37:15 |
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| occupation |
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Terry Brown and Rush |
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A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush and was released in 1977 .
The album includes both complex and instrument-heavy pieces like "Xanadu" and "Cygnus X-1 (Book I - The Voyage)" as well as more straightforward pieces by the band like "Cinderella Man", the title track. "Closer to the Heart" and "Madrigal" round off the album as ballads. The use of synthesizers became more and more an integral part of Rush's music and complemented Alex Lifeson's guitar work. Together with the Rickenbacher bass and the congenial drumming by Neil Peart, the band had now found the sound for the next few years.
"Xanadu" is based on the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and means the legendary Xanadu castle of the Mongolian ruler. In the lyrics, the scenes and wondrous places are described as in the poem.
" Cygnus X-1 , Book I: The Voyager" is about a journey during which the protagonist arrives in his spaceship " Rosinante " through space and finally into a black hole . The sounds and melodies sound like a strange world, and the bassline at the beginning sounds like it is truly floating around the cosmos. On the following album, Hemispheres , the saga is continued in "Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres".
Track list
- A Farewell to Kings - 5:53
- Xanadu - 11:07
- Closer to the Heart - 2:55
- Cinderella Man - 4:22
- Madrigal - 2:36
- Cygnus X-1, Book I: The Voyage - 10:22
occupation
- Geddy Lee - bass, 12-string guitar, mini moog, bass pedal synthesizer, vocals
- Alex Lifeson - 6- and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, classical guitar, bass pedal synthesizer
- Neil Peart - drums, percussion