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Rate A Farewell To Kings


Gompers
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How do you rate A Farewell to Kings?  

149 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate A Farewell to Kings?

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    • 10
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When I was in high school, my very good friend discovered that I was quickly becoming a huge Rush fan and learning all their stuff. We'd hang out and listen to music after school, usually his favorite band Kansas, but one day he played Xanadu for me, without me knowing it was Rush and of course it was yet another Rush tune that was incredible. He ended up giving me the album (he put it on cassette for himself).

 

AFTK, to me was much more musically Progressive than 2112 because it ventured into more complex time signatures. This era of Rush music is that one that captivated me most.

 

The Great

-A Farewell to Kings

-Xanadu

-Closer to the Heart

-Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage

-Madrigal

 

The Good

-Cinderella Man

 

I rate this 9.5 (rounded up to 10).

Edited by Gompers
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I give AFTK a total score of eleventy billion. tongue.gif tongue.gif Rounded down to "10" for this poll. smile.gif smile.gif

 

 

Xanadu is progressive epic rock perfection. Those terms are overused in reference to other songs. Xanadu, however, defines progressive epic rock.

 

The crunching yet ethereal bass and guitar, the time switches from sultry to urgent, the incorporation of naturalistic elements with the birdsong and temple blocks.

 

All tieing together a storyline covering 1,000 years in the life of a single man from youthful driven adventurer to pathetic prisoner.

 

Do you still remember the first time you finally got the real horror of what the protagonist was experiencing in this story? "Stars stopped in the sky"?

 

Oh yeah, the other songs don't take away anything from the album.

 

 

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Gave it an 8 (more like 8.5).

 

The Good

A Farewell To Kings

Xanadu

Closer To The Heart

Cygnus X-1

 

The OK

Cinderella Man

 

The "Meh..."

Madrigal

Edited by ALifeson85
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7.

 

AFTK is good.

Xanadu is great.

CTTH is good bordering on great.

Cygnus X-1 is great. Maybe good++.

 

Madrigal is boring.

Cinderella Man is bloody awful. Just terrible.

 

Good + great + really good + really really good + boring + one of the worst songs they've ever recorded = 7/10.

 

(Seriously, I put Cinderella Man down at the bottom along with dreck like Dog Years, Virtuality and I Think I'm Going Bald.)

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10 . Masterpiece
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growing up I liked this album alot but didn't love it. It has grown on me tremendously, probably more than any Rush album has. For years I was so sick of hearing "Closer To The Heart" that I kinda tuned out this whole album. I still wouldn't give it a 10 but closer to 9.5. I voted 9, but it is an incredile 9.

 

When I think about this era for Rush, it makes me smile and think about how awesome they were in this period.

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QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 30 2012, 08:30 AM)
7.

AFTK is good.
Xanadu is great.
CTTH is good bordering on great.
Cygnus X-1 is great. Maybe good++.

Madrigal is boring.
Cinderella Man is bloody awful. Just terrible.

Good + great + really good + really really good + boring + one of the worst songs they've ever recorded = 7/10.

(Seriously, I put Cinderella Man down at the bottom along with dreck like Dog Years, Virtuality and I Think I'm Going Bald.)

Wow, you pretty much read my mind! new_thumbsupsmileyanim.gif 7 for me as well.

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Here goes:

 

The Great

 

Xanadu (a top 10 Rush song for me)

Closer To The Heart (overplayed but it still great)

Cygnus X-1 (Some of Geddy's wailing at the very end of the song hurts it - still great)

 

The Good

 

A Farewell to Kings

Cinderella Man

Madrigal

 

This album is a sold 9+. Much better than Hemispheres. Not enough of a + to push it to a 10 so it gets a 9. Don't take me wrong - I really like Rush's music. I am just a hard reviewer. Tough to get a 10 from me. But one album will.

 

Basically every album from AFTK through Presto gets a 9 from me. Originally I gave Presto a very strong 8 but just over the last week or 2 I have reconsidered and would bump it up to a 9. Actually it would be an 8+ with the + being enough to push it past 8.5 and hence rounded to a 9.

 

Anyway, a 9 it is for AFTK.

 

 

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9

 

Love the medieval flavor of this album. Cinderella Man and Madrigal aren't as strong as the other songs, but the album feels cohesive and strong and rates higher than the sum of it's parts. I enjoy listening to this more than Hemispheres (which I also rated a 9).

 

I also like the back cover more than the front:

 

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/images/albums/afarewelltokings-back.jpg

Edited by savagegrace26
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9 for me, only because there are albums I like even more. AFTK has the distinction of being the only Rush album where I like all the songs equally, though. Every other album, I have favorites. This one, all six are my favorites heart.gif
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I remember thinking of the title track as a so-so rocker with a fantastic acoustical intro. I've since wisened up to the appeal of the heavier segments and now view the tune as being almost as incredible as the mega-excellent Xanadu. I also like Closer to the Heart very much, though I wish the band hadn't gone out of their way to make everyone sick of it by including it on about eight million different live releases. Madrigal is nice. Cinderella Man and Cygnus X-1 are where things get a little shaky for me; each tune has some guitar work and vocal bits that I dig, but they're hardly essential on the whole. As good as the good stuff is here, I can't give the album higher than a 7 since a full third of it fails to do much for me.
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QUOTE (Captain Avatar @ Apr 30 2012, 06:49 PM)
Just reading the responses, I know I'm in the minority (if not the only one unsure.gif ), but I gave it a 5.

I absolutely love Xanadu, but none of the rest.

I actually don't listen to this one very much at all.

ph34r.gif

Xanadu's music is absolute perfetion. The story...well, I'll take the poem anyday.

 

The middle jam sections of the title track and Cinderella Man are great, but the songs as a whole seem forced. The keys on the title track sound like a 7-year old is playing them. Same with Madrigal.

 

Musically, Cygnus X-1 rocks. Again, the theme and the lyrics are a problem for me. Space stories are better read than sung.

 

I love Closer to the Heart. It's a great anthem, with a fabulous arpeggio and positive message.

 

Album is a 6 for me.

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