Rush - A Farewell To Kings [Ultradisc One Step LP]

1. A Farewell To Kings
2. Xanadu
3. Closer To The Heart
4. Cinderella Man
5. Madrigal
6. Cygnus X-1

“A Farewell To Kings” is a multi-part epic that transports the listener into outer space, a composition inspired by a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and an enduring radio favourite – all created by a band devoted to art without boundaries: Rush! The Canadian trio skilfully takes advantage of the studio environment to explore exciting new directions, further integrate electronic instruments into its work and expand its musical vocabulary. “A Farewell To Kings”, Rush’s fifth album, is a milestone! Incredibly, the album took only three weeks to record. Engineer Pat Moran already knew this when, at Rockfield Studios, he witnessed Rush perform “Xanadu” perfectly in a single take. The fantasy opus, loosely based on Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” as well as “Citizen Kane”, contains one of the most famous call-and-response passages in Rush’s entire catalogue. “Closer To The Heart”, the only song Rush brought to Rockfield in fully completed form, reached the UK Top 40 and remained a concert staple for decades.

Throughout, “A Farewell To Kings” bursts with nuances that enrich both the atmosphere and the arrangements. Experiments with unusual time signatures and highly complex passages take centre stage. Whether it was the bass pedals that gave Alex Lifeson the freedom to add a second guitar to “Xanadu”, or the spacious surroundings that encouraged Geddy Lee to make use of the Minimoog, every detail contributed to the album’s distinctive character. Drummer Neil Peart’s contributions are equally remarkable: on “A Farewell To Kings”, his palette expanded to include orchestral bells, tubular bells, temple blocks, wind chimes, a glockenspiel and much more. Not to be outdone in terms of instrumentation, Lee added a 12-string guitar and the now-characteristic double-neck models to his setup. Lifeson likewise used both acoustic and electric 12-string guitars, as well as a classical guitar and his own bass-pedal synthesizer. Having gained a temporary break from the “album-tour-album-tour” cycle with the release of the live album “All The World’s A Stage”, Lee, Lifeson and Peart refined their command of their instruments with virtuosic intensity. For the first time, they travelled to a studio outside their home base of Toronto, enjoyed the idyllic seclusion of the Welsh countryside and mixed “A Farewell To Kings” at Advision in London in just two weeks.

Mobile Fidelity’s numbered double LP, strictly limited to 5,000 copies, was remastered especially for this release at the MoFi studio in California and pressed by Fidelity Record Pressing on 180-gram vinyl at 45 RPM using the sonically superior UltraDisc One-Step process. The tapes were stored in boxes whose labels were marked both “Master” and “Safety Copy”. The luxurious slipcase features faithfully reproduced graphics and Hugh Syme’s iconic cover artwork. Inside are the two records, housed in foil-stamped jackets and original MFSL Master Sleeves. An expansive soundstage, pinpoint detail reproduction, an inky-black background and the full dynamic range across the entire frequency spectrum distinguish the MoFi UltraDisc One-Step edition of “A Farewell To Kings”.