LP of the Week 02/13/22-02/19/22 – (PART 2)

Hemispheres is the sixth studio album from Rush coming 1 year after “A Farewell To Kings”.

Side 1 is dedicated to the continuation and conclusion of the Cygnus X-1 story in six epic parts (think of it like a broadway play – this is Lin-Manuel Miranda quality story telling). If you did your homework and listened to their 1977 release, “A Farewell To Kings”, last night, then tonight you will hear some of the very same themes (and even a brief sample panned in the background) from the last track on that album, “Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage.

My favorite thing about Hemispheres, frankly, is the pacing. Today, this type of thing is lost as most new music is being put out in single format versus the LP but Rush were the masters of putting a cohesive body of work out with each album they released.

There is this kind of push and pull I feel every time I listen and it really makes the entire thing feel like one long trip. You even get you obligatory LOtR’s reference with song, “The Trees”. If you have read the books, this only makes the song that much more vibrant.

Now if you are lame and only want to listen to 1 song on this entire album, I say the track to listen to is, “La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise In Self-Indulgence)”. This is the exclamation point of the whole journey and the cherry on top as it nicely rounds out the album. It coincidentally also has my favorite guitar solo of all-time.

It’s solid front to back in all aspects (really the epitome of Rush if you ask me). There is once again this ever present ebb and flow that is kind of hypnotic but the first half of the song is really dedicated to building up what will eventually be the climax and release with Lifeson’s solo. From that moment, the entire song just takes off and has a complete life of its own that you definitely were not expecting.

It’s safe to say that this album ranks in my top 5 (as far as Rush albums are concerned) as it has some of my favorite guitar and bass playing of any classic rock album EVER.

Hopefully this has opened some eyes to Rush songs that aren’t YYZ or Tom Sawyer and should only help you appreciate those later songs/albums even more. I would recommend giving this one a listen at full volume for an optimal experience and maybe mix in an indica for good measure.

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The universe divided
As the heart and mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder into hollow
Hemispheres

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Rush – Hemispheres (1978)

Tracklist

A1	Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres	18:07
I	Prelude
II	Apollo (Bringer Of Wisdom)
III	Dionysus (Bringer Of Love)
IV	Armageddon (The Battle Of Heart And Mind)
V	Cygnus (Bringer Of Balance)
VI	The Sphere (A Kind Of Dream)
B1	Circumstances	3:42
B2	The Trees	4:46
B3	La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise In Self-Indulgence)	9:36
I	Buenos Nochas, Mein Froinds!
II	To Sleep, Perchance To Dream …
III	Strangiato Theme
IV	A Lerxst In Wonderland
V	Monsters!
VI	The Ghost Of The Aragon
VII	Danforth And Pape
VIII	The Waltz Of The Shreves
IX	Never Turn Your Back On A Monster!
X	Monsters! (Reprise)
XI	Strangiato Theme (Reprise)
XII	A Farewell To Things

Accompanying Material

This is listed as the official music video of this song but what I like about it is that you can really get an idea for how fucking talented these 3 were. To be able to write something like this and record it is one thing but to then go and perform that live and pull it off (if not exceed what you did on the recording) is pretty remarkable.

I don’t want to be that guy or sound like i’m 80 years old but we will likely never see 3 people playing in the same band that can accomplish this type of feat with instruments.

Rush was lightning in a bottle and i’m really glad I got to see them back in 2012 with the guy who got me so deeply invested in music, my old man. Also, have this photo from the Rock ‘n’ Roll HOF…

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