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A Farewell To Kings vs Hemispheres


YYZumbi
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94 members have voted

  1. 1. Which one is the best album?



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Aren't we doing all this in the other threads? Why start more?

Maybe it's like the opinion polls before an election.

 

And now follows a party political broadcast on behalf of the Hemispheres party...

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Tough choice - this period is my favorite for the band ... I voted A Farewell To Kings, as Cygnus X1 stands out undisputed as my all-time favorite ...

 

Cygnus X1 is so good, that no matter what I would be doing, I would stop and listen - wake me up 3 hours into a deep sleep and play it full volume and I would love it

Edited by Lucas
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To me, I can't separate these albums. AFTK is like the beginning leading into a middle climax. Hemispheres takes up where AFTK leaves off, so middle to a very spectacular and satisfying end.
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Hemispheres. It is pretty easy to listen to all 4 tracks, when Madrigal, A Farewell to Kings and Cinderella Man are really difficult. The connection between the bother Cygnus X-1's is definetly genius, but thanks to La Villa Strangiato, it overtops Xanadu and Closer to the Heart, not by much, but it does.
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AFTK.

 

Hems is actually pretty close.

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As the official unofficial ambassador of the majesty that is A Farewell To Kings (see my sig), I think it's pretty obvious which album I believe to be the greatest of the two.

 

I actually had mixed feelings about Hemispheres the first few times I listened to it; it just seemed too too precise and clean and perfect (not in the sense one might normally use the term) to me, and I had to let it grow on me over time. Of course I do recognize its consistent brilliance, but let's just say "The Trees" has always been my favorite on the album as an indicator of the kind of seventies Rush sound I find to be the most awesome. In my opinion, "The Trees" has more AFTK sound in it than the rest of the record as it's not quite so serious and isn't quite so pristine and perfect as the rest of the album (well at least Hems and La Villa, Circumstances is cool but it's a little like side two of 2112). All in all Hemispheres is like a solid brick of super serious seventies Rush, whereas A Farewell To Kings is a musical journey with a greater variety of sound.

 

A Farewell to Kings is my absolute favorite Rush album of all time ever and shall never be dethroned (pun intended) from this position. I mean, the title track alone is Rush's most underrated opener, not to mention a heck of a powerhouse rocker with such a pretty, folky mix of acoustic guitar and mellotron to open the opener (making the electric guitar breakthrough all the more exciting and surprising, even more than that of Xanadu). And speaking of Xanadu, A Farewell To Kings is the album which contains Rush's best about ten minute epic (though actually not my personal favorite) which doubles as one of Neil's most awesome studio drum performances ever. Words cannot describe the majesty of Xanadu, which I'm sure you're all already aware of, so I'll skip ahead. Closer To The Heart is incredibly poetic, not to mention quite catchy and the song which sparked my initial curiosity for this "little" band called Rush (*Closer To The Heart plays as my dad's ringtone a few years back* "Hey, Dad, is that a girl singing?" "No, son, that's Geddy Lee." "Who's Geddy Lee?" and thus it begins...). Altogether short, sweet, simple (for Rush), and wonderful. Then comes Cinderella Man, possibly Geddy's best lyrics ever plus one of the best riffs they barely used to open it. As well as these two great factors, the music is highly underrated and sweet during the choruses. Moving on to Madrigal, yes it's not epic, it's not hard rocking, it's not really one of Rush's masterworks or anything to that extent, but this may be the best example of genius song placement in the entirety of Rush's catalogue. The song itself is kind of silly and short, but the mellotron is pretty and the lyrics, while also a little silly, are actually very nice as well. But the best part of Madrigal is the fact that it serves as the mystical quiet before the cosmic storm of Cygnus X-1, my absolute favorite Rush song of all time. The first part of the Cygnus duo is easily the superior part, journeying from the depths of space, down to earth, back into space, and into the heart of a black hole, seemingly never to return. It's got everything, some of Neil's best drumming and other percussion (he tears his kit up at the end in a way he wouldn't do again until Headlong Flight), one of Ged's best ever basslines (and the way it fades in, like he's walking slowly closer, so cool), awesome guitar soloing and riffage from Mr. Lifeson (speaks for itself), not to mention Ged's highest ever sung note right at the end in probably the most intense moment in their entire discography. I love this song to death, and the cliffhanger at the end is just so sci-fi in the most classic way. This album takes one on a musical journey with peaks of intensity and moments of more carefree fun. Nothing compares

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They're both fantastic but AFTK is my favorite album ever so..
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I can't choose, it's a tie. Side two of Hemispheres is excellent, but side one is horrendous. A Farewell to Kings has three great songs in Xanadu, CTTH and Cygnus X-1, but also clunkers like the title track and Madrigal. I'm not a huge fan of Cinderella Man, either.
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Hemispheres

I wasx waiting in anticipation for your vote......cause i know you love AFTK.

 

Way to go, lol

 

Mick

They should have put Xanadu on Hemispheres. Then the album would have defied every superlative known to mankind! :)

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