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A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by the Canadian band Rush, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and mixed at Advision Studios in London.
A Farewell to Kings would become Rush's first US Gold selling album going Gold in almost two months of its release and eventually Platinum.
The lyrics for the epic "Xanadu" were inspired by the 56-line poem Kubla Khan, written about 1797 by British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Lee, Lifeson and Peart all work overtime in this track, each utilizing a number of instruments to affect the performance. "Xanadu" also marks a rare occurrence of Geddy Lee on rhythm guitar. Other tracks with Lee on guitar include "A Passage to Bangkok" and "Resist" (live).
"Closer To The Heart" is one of Rush's most popular songs, seeing a fair bit of radio airplay during a time when the band was in the middle of its 'epic song' days. The song has also been part of the set list on nearly every tour since 1977. The band dropped "Closer To The Heart" for the bulk of their recent tours in support of Vapor Trails and their 30th Anniversary because, according to Peart, "we got sick of it."
The lyrics of "Cinderella Man" are based on the Frank Capra film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
"Madrigal" is perhaps one of the band's softest songs of this time period.
The final track is another epic about a fictional space voyage to "Cygnus X-1". Inspiration for the story within the song was found in the observation of an X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus. Considered to be one of the most likely black hole candidates in the universe, Cygnus X-1 was discovered in the early 1970s by Canadian scientist Tom Bolton, using the facilities of the David Dunlap Observatory at the University of Toronto. The theme of the track would be continued in "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres", the lead and title track of Rush's next album, Hemispheres.
Track listing
- "A Farewell To Kings" - 5:51
- "Xanadu" - 11:08
- "Closer To The Heart" - 2:53
- "Cinderella Man" - 4:21
- "Madrigal" - 2:35
- "Cygnus X-1" - 10:25
All music and lyrics by Lee, Lifeson and Peart except "Closer To The Heart" where the lyrics were co-written with Peter Talbot.
Personnel
- Geddy Lee - bass guitar, twelve string guitar, Mini-Moog and bass pedal synthesizers, vocals
- Alex Lifeson - electric, acoustic and classical guitars, bass pedal synthesizer
- Neil Peart - drums, cowbells, orchestra bells, wind chimes, triangle, bell tree, vibra-slap, tubular bells, temple blocks
- Terry Brown - engineer
- Pat Moran - engineer
- Hugh Syme - art direction and graphics
- Yosh Inouye - cover photography
- Roger Stowell - sleeve photograph
- Fin Costello - liner photographs
- George Graves - mastering on original album
- Bob Ludwig - remastering
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Billboard's Pop Albums | 33 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Closer to the Heart | Pop Singles | 76 |
Remaster Details
A remaster was issued in 1997.
- The tray has a picture of star with man painting with THE RUSH REMASTERS printed in all caps just to the left. All remasters from Rush through to Permanent Waves are like this. This is just like the cover art of Retrospective I.
- The remaster has all of the original vinyl packaging including the back cover(all black with puppet strings) and inner sleeve photos of the band on stage and star with man logo reinstated(which were missing on the original CD issue).
Rush albums | 1977 albums | Mercury Records albums
A Farewell to Kings | A Farewell to Kings | A Farewell to Kings | A Farewell to Kings
"A Farewell to Kings"