Rush - A Farewell to Kings

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, features a composition inspired by a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and includes an enduring radio favourite – all created by a band devoted to the art of music without boundaries: Rush! The Canadian trio skilfully took advantage of the studio environment to explore exciting new directions, further integrate electronic instruments into its work and expand its musical vocabulary. Rush’s fifth album, ‘A Farewell To Kings’, is a true milestone!

Incredibly, the album took only three weeks to record. Engineer Pat Moran already knew he was witnessing something special when he saw Rush perfectly capture ‘Xanadu’ in a single take at Rockfield Studios. Loosely based on Coleridge’s ‘Kubla Khan’ as well as ‘Citizen Kane’, this fantasy opus features one of the most famous call-and-response passages in Rush’s entire body of work. ‘Closer To The Heart’, the only song Rush brought to Rockfield in fully completed form, reached the UK Top 40 and remained a permanent fixture in the band’s concerts for decades.

Throughout, ‘A Farewell To Kings’ is bursting with nuances that enrich its atmosphere and arrangements. Experiments with unusual time signatures and highly complex passages take centre stage. These range from the bass pedals that gave Alex Lifeson the freedom to add a second guitar part to ‘Xanadu’, to the spacious arrangements that invited Geddy Lee to make use of the Minimoog.

Drummer Neil Peart’s contributions are equally impressive. On ‘A Farewell To Kings’, his instrumental 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 twelve-string guitar and the now-characteristic double-neck models to his setup. Lifeson also employed both acoustic and electric twelve-string guitars, along with a classical guitar and his own bass-pedal synthesiser.

Having given themselves a break from the relentless “album-tour-album-tour” cycle with the release of the live album ‘All The World’s A Stage’, Lee, Lifeson and Peart refined their abilities 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.

Lovingly remastered at MoFi’s California studio, this reissue of ‘A Farewell To Kings’ – sourced from tapes stored in boxes whose labels identified them as both ‘Master’ and ‘Safety Copy’ – now presents this classic as a numbered Special Edition Hybrid SACD, complete with Hugh Syme’s iconic cover artwork.

The expansive soundstage, pinpoint detail reproduction, pitch-black background and full dynamic range across the entire frequency spectrum transform this progressive-rock masterpiece into a genuine audiophile delight!