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05 - Best Song From A Farewell To Kings


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What do you think is the best song from this album?  

1251 members have voted

  1. 1. What do you think is the best song from this album?

    • A Farewell To Kings
      110
    • Xanadu
      685
    • Closer to the Heart
      154
    • Cinderella Man
      41
    • Madrigal
      9
    • Cygnux X-1: Book One - The Voyage
      258


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Xanadu is a masterpiece.

 

Agreed. Gotta be Zanny as one of their masterpieces, it has it all.

 

The song gives me the chills each and every time I listen to it. If I ever saw them do the complete song in concert, I would surely think I had died and gone to heaven, and would want the moment to last forever and forever. :)

 

Do you have the video of Exit Stage Left? Xanadu on that is very cool.

 

Yes. ESL is, for that fact, my favorite live concert DVD. Xanadu, and Alex and his little red shoes.

 

I'm always impressed by how quickly Alex hits the toggle switch on that double-neck guitar and switches from the twelve string to the six string.

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They played Xanadu to death in the early days but it's still my favorite song off of the album. Second is Cygnus X-1.
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Xanadu is a masterpiece.

 

Agreed. Gotta be Zanny as one of their masterpieces, it has it all.

 

The song gives me the chills each and every time I listen to it. If I ever saw them do the complete song in concert, I would surely think I had died and gone to heaven, and would want the moment to last forever and forever. :)

 

Do you have the video of Exit Stage Left? Xanadu on that is very cool.

 

Yes. ESL is, for that fact, my favorite live concert DVD. Xanadu, and Alex and his little red shoes.

 

I'm always impressed by how quickly Alex hits the toggle switch on that double-neck guitar and switches from the twelve string to the six string.

 

His hands moved a lot faster back then. That double-neck is heavy. I often wonder if either Alex or Geddy have neck or shoulder problems from decades of playing.

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I wouldn't doubt it—pretty heavy solid chunks of wood!. The only reason Geddy used to use the double neck was to play the rhythm chords during Alex's solo near the end of the song, and then the tinkly little melody just before the very end. But I think the last time they played Xanadu, they didn't play it to the very end, so Geddy could use his regular bass.

 

I can imagine the visit to the chiropractor: "Ah. Been playing Xanadu again, have you?"

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That tinkly little melody is a bass? Give me the time in the song so I know what you are talking about. I can give a listen and see if we are talking about the same thing.

 

No, it's twelve string guitar. Alex is playing a repeating riff and Geddy is playing a melody line over it. Right near the end. Starts at about 10:35.

 

And you probably know this already, but Geddy's double neck has a bass and a twelve string guitar.

 

Oh, and you can see Geddy playing the tail end of it on the video.

Edited by toymaker
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That tinkly little melody is a bass? Give me the time in the song so I know what you are talking about. I can give a listen and see if we are talking about the same thing.

 

No, it's twelve string guitar. Alex is playing a repeating riff and Geddy is playing a melody line over it. Right near the end. Starts at about 10:35.

 

And you probably know this already, but Geddy's double neck has a bass and a twelve string guitar.

 

No, I never knew that. I know nothing about musical instruments. I thought Geddy's double bass was two bass guitars.

 

I could listen to Alex play the chords in Xanadu all day long. I have a bootleg that is from Alex's scanner and one of the songs is Xanadu. You should hear it. It is incredible.

 

Yes, that is the part I was thinking of - I would never have guessed it was a guitar. I thought it was one of Neil's little cymbals or bells. Thanks for telling me. :)

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That tinkly little melody is a bass? Give me the time in the song so I know what you are talking about. I can give a listen and see if we are talking about the same thing.

 

No, it's twelve string guitar. Alex is playing a repeating riff and Geddy is playing a melody line over it. Right near the end. Starts at about 10:35.

 

And you probably know this already, but Geddy's double neck has a bass and a twelve string guitar.

 

No, I never knew that. I know nothing about musical instruments. I thought Geddy's double bass was two bass guitars.

 

I could listen to Alex play the chords in Xanadu all day long. I have a bootleg that is from Alex's scanner and one of the songs is Xanadu. You should hear it. It is incredible.

 

Yes, that is the part I was thinking of - I would never have guessed it was a guitar. I thought it was one of Neil's little cymbals or bells. Thanks for telling me. :)

 

Yeah, I'd love to hear that, actually. As for the other thing, I think Neil is playing the same melody on his little xylophone thing.

 

There are probably lots of us on the forum who can tell you anything you'd like to know about guitars or bass or drums, if there's anything you're wondering about.

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I need to play Xanadu again.

 

Actually, I need to play AFTK again!

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Favourite song?

XAANNNNAAAAADUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

Tied with the title track...and all of side B.

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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

 

There is no such thing as too much love for one of the greatest songs ever written by any band anywhere at any time.

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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

 

There is no such thing as too much love for one of the greatest songs ever written by any band anywhere at any time.

 

So why is it that you give Closer To The Heart NO LOVE AT ALL??

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Changed my vote from Xanadu to the title track.

 

I practically worship that intro...

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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

 

There is no such thing as too much love for one of the greatest songs ever written by any band anywhere at any time.

 

So why is it that you give Closer To The Heart NO LOVE AT ALL??

 

It doesn't even belong on the album because it doesn't fit in with the other songs.

 

Back in the seventies when AFTK came out, the only song ever played on the radio was CTTH. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. It was just a song and there was nothing unique or impressive about it. It is on account of that song that I never bought the album and didn't think much of Rush.

Edited by Lorraine
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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

 

There is no such thing as too much love for one of the greatest songs ever written by any band anywhere at any time.

 

So why is it that you give Closer To The Heart NO LOVE AT ALL??

 

It doesn't even belong on the album because it doesn't fit in with the other songs.

 

Back in the seventies when AFTK came out, the only song ever played on the radio was CTTH. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. It was just a song and there was nothing unique or impressive about it. It is on account of that song that I never bought the album and didn't think much of Rush.

 

Seems to fit really well into the album for me. Acoustic folky intro, simple synth lines, high-fantasy lyrical references, odd percussion, high pitched Geddy. Heck, it fits more than Madrigal. But I love that song, it basically introduced me to Rush, so I may be biased. :P

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Changed my vote from Xanadu to the title track.

 

I practically worship that intro...

do you listen to much classical guitar? Just asking because as classical performances go, the AFTK intro is pretty pedestrian.
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I posted a while back and chose Cygnus, but even though Cygnus will always be my favorite, I think Xanadu is really the better song.

...but I'm not changing my vote, too much love for Xanadu already :P

 

There is no such thing as too much love for one of the greatest songs ever written by any band anywhere at any time.

 

So why is it that you give Closer To The Heart NO LOVE AT ALL??

 

It doesn't even belong on the album because it doesn't fit in with the other songs.

 

Back in the seventies when AFTK came out, the only song ever played on the radio was CTTH. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. It was just a song and there was nothing unique or impressive about it. It is on account of that song that I never bought the album and didn't think much of Rush.

 

Seems to fit really well into the album for me. Acoustic folky intro, simple synth lines, high-fantasy lyrical references, odd percussion, high pitched Geddy. Heck, it fits more than Madrigal. But I love that song, it basically introduced me to Rush, so I may be biased. :P

Closer to the Heart is a concert staple for a reason. It's a well - crafted song with great melody. Around here it is in vogue to bash it and Tom Sawyer, but their popularity is well-deserved.
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Changed my vote from Xanadu to the title track.

 

I practically worship that intro...

do you listen to much classical guitar? Just asking because as classical performances go, the AFTK intro is pretty pedestrian.

 

But it works for the song just fine!

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