Listening to Rush: A Farewell To Kings, Side 1 

In a world of playlists just put an album on and listen all the way through. So sad younger generations miss out on this experience. Thanks as always Jim for keeping that experience alive.❤

Awesome editing ThereJim! Been meaning to mention how slick your content is! I grew up in Detroit, across the Detroit River from Canada. In the ‘70s, Rush’s label always released their albums in n Canada a week before the rest of the world. It was only a half hour drive to get over the river to the Windsor, Ontario record store. It was so great , as a huge Rush freak, to get the albums a week before everyone else in the country! Those were the teenage days of waiting two or three days in the snowy dead of winter in an effort to get tickets close to-the stage, as this was before the Ticketmaster:LiveNation monopoly, which is why my ticket price for that tour was only $12.50 for-main floor-seats.!

Greetings from Canada! A whole generation of us grew up waiting for the next LP to see where they would go!!!

Once rested from this listening, you *must* view (even if privately) Xanadu live 1981. To see them do this with no offstage triggering, no click tracks and all three playing multiple instruments. Truly one of Rock's & Prog's greatest performances by anyone, anytime, anywhere...which just happened to be my home town.

One more thing, I love that the audio is from vinyl with the cracks and pops. Takes me back to when I first listened as a teenager with a bong in the corner.

Great album i love all Rush before the 80s They lost me when the synth took over their sound

One of their best albums. Very much looking forward to this.

Xanadu was the first track I ever heard by Rush; it still sounds epic to this day.

My favorite RUSH album by a large margin!!!!! So good.

I saw them on this and Hemispheres tours both were incredible. Two great albums.

This was when Rush were the most influenced by progressive rock. Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, etc. were some of their musical heroes and they really went all out on the progressive side for the next three albums: _A Farewell to Kings_ (1977), _Hemispheres_ (1978), which were both recorded in the UK and _Permanent Waves_ (1980), recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, the same studio they recorded _Moving Pictures_ in 1981.

Rush's 🏜 desert island album for me overall. It's probably because I got it for Christmas 1977. I was 13.

I was 14 when I first heard Rush I'm coming up to my 57th birthday and never get tired of listening to this amazing band. I still have a 75 track playlist on my mp3 player. Fantastic review Jim Thank you 👌👍

This is where Rush really stepped it up. The next 6 or 7 albums are all incredibly great. Each one, a Rock masterpiece. Great reaction. Hope you dive deeper. Rush was the best!

Incredible band

I was in a similar situation, rarely buying albums and taping songs off the radio so missing out on deep cuts. Fortunately my younger sister was more prone to buy albums and her friends were a little more hard core in their music tastes. When Moving Pictures came out, she bought that and with my encouragement also got Hemispheres and Farewell to Kings. Rush was essentially my entry point into hard and progressive rock. Thanks Sis!

Fun fact: they recorded this album at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth in Wales. Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody there too. You can book a studio tour of Rockfield and I gather they tell some tales about various bands who’ve recorded there

This is far more deserving of attention than it gets. This is a great album from start to finish. And one more thing of note is, the title track lyrics are even more relevant currently.

this album is a high point for rush that lasted for several albums

The album that started me down the rabbit hole in 1991! Thanks Jim!

RUSH was the first concert I went to.I was 16 ,the album was moving pictures and I was trippin'on acid.I barely remember the concert but when I was watching MTV a RUSH video came on and I was like 'I remember that, they did that in the light show,WOW. Those were the times.🎉🎶🎶🎶🥁🥁🥁👍👍👍🤯😳🪰😲👀🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 In Kalamazoo Michigan.

Great I'll be listening... Can't go wrong with this era for me. :) I worked mowing lawns for spending money from the age 10 on. I was able to buy them when they came out. Waiting patiently in between releases. Of course listening many times...

This album has held its place as my fav at several times throughout the years, and Xanadu is still my top song. The amazing thing about going through their catalog is just charting the evolution. They absorbed everything around them - new music, technology, and literature - and put together something unique. They didn’t rely on past formulas that brought success. By the end, they were listening to bands that they had influenced. Cheers!

Geddy: “We were in the embryonic stage with the synths at that point. There’s definitely more Minimoog on …"Kings," but it’s mostly bass pedals, synths and some white noise... We did attempt a couple of things in some of those songs, but not much... The bass pedals opened up the possibility of a second guitar at times, which is what happened in "Xanadu" - there were definitely more colours going on and it opened up Alex to play single lines a bit more, melodic lines, because I could fill in the background with guitar or bass pedals. So that was a big sort of change in the way we thought and the way we approached our songs and the way we wrote." Neil: "Let's call that our experimental phase. After '2112,' we were guitar, bass and drums and ambitious, so we thought maybe we should add another musician. But then it was, no, let's expand our own arsenal, so the guys started getting into acoustic guitar, bass pedals were just coming out, and I started expanding my drums, which would give us a great orchestration ability. Those subsequent albums are us learning to use all that, having fun, experimenting, as genuine as can be. When I look back on that it's an indulgent smile. We would later do better but there was nothing wrong with it. I described it once as young, foolish and brave."

My first Rush album was Permanent Waves in 1980 when I was going on 13….I have been obsessed with them ever since.👍

I remember buying the album in WH Smiths in Edgware 😅 For me, from this album they hit a peak that kept going until Power Windows. I love how you can hear the footsteps and creak of the door opening during the intro to Xanadu. Lerxst's solo at the end reduces me to a quivering wreck every damn time.

A Farewell to Kings is phenomenal.

Awww, this takes me back…Closer to the Heart was on the pub jukebox and led to many an out of tune singalong…I wasn’t disappointed when I got the album….Xanadu still sounds good.

I was fourteen years old when this came out, but Rush were a still a couple of years in my future. As soon as I heard Xanadu it quickly became the greatest thing I'd ever heard. Even now it remains in my top 5 tracks of all time. In hindsight, this was really a huge step up in terms of ambition and execution from 2112. During this period Rush were not really considered a "progressive" band. They were a generation too late for the first wave of prog, so it was people who liked Thin Lizzy, UFO and AC/DC, and those who picked up on the band from the Friday Rock Show who were their audience. For all that it's celebrated now, 2112 saved Rush's career, but it was not a huge seller, and outside Canada I think it was the UK and The Netherlands where the band first became a headlining act. If you are an Alex fan, I think this album and the next are the pinnacle.

November 1977... I had front row loge, center stage seats for Rush at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia. Picture the cover of Rush's All The World's A Stage album, and that was my view point for the show. All these years later, it still ranks as one of my best concert experiences. For anyone who was a developing rock musician in those days, Rush were your tutors. Their skill sets grew from album to album and we'd grow with them. They were one of those pinnacles by which you'd be measured. Funny anecdote about the '77 show... a brand new artist that had their first single doing well on the radio opened the show. The audience received them well (which was no small achievement with a Rush crowd) and when the band completed their set, the crowd immediately started chanting, "Rush, Rush, Rush..." well, the opener comes running back on stage for an encore! The crowd went instantly silent, mid-phrase. The band played a song, marched off and the crowd waited a few minutes in silence before resuming the Rush chant. Who was that rookie band? None other than Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. At least they fared better than Blondie, who opened for Rush on the subsequent tour at the Spectrum. Their guitarist foolishly gave the unappreciative audience the finger, and all hell literally broke loose. Anyway... Farewell To Kings was a big moment and an important release that too often goes overlooked.

I saw Rush on this tour at Newcastle City Hall on 15 Feb 1978, and then again at the same venue on 23 Apr 1979 on the Hemispheres Tour. University days (or rather nights) extremely well spent !!! They only had 2 pantechnicon trucks outside but then only a 2,000 seat venue, nonetheless two of the very best concerts I have ever been to, and I still remember them 45 years later.

This is definitely their best album to me

Now you should watch them perform this live in 1981, the Exit...Stage Left show. The clip on stickhits channel is the best quality.

Hey Jim. I've heard alot of Rush and thanks to my Son, i own every cd through Vapor trails. But i really haven't listened past 2112. I voted 4 this to share the discovery and the experience. Love what U do ✌️

This is the album that got me into them. I accompanied my friends to a concert to see them and they were touring for this album. I fell in love with them immediately. This song (A Farewell To Kings) is still one of my absolute favorites. This album was such a departure from 2112. I think what I love most about the title song is that the lyrics are so well-written, it's like it's talking about today rather than over 40 years ago.

Yay, their best album, I bought it in 77.

if the intro to Xanadu doesn't give you chills there's something very wrong with you - what an album and side 2 is even better!! Thanks for sharing Jim, I love your shows.

Nice listening this with you. I heard about Rush being a big influence to a few bands I listen to, but I've never taken the time to sit down and check them out. So it was nice doing it with you! I have to admit, I know so little about them that I actually thought from listening to that first song with you it was a woman singing this until I opened up ye old Wikipedia. 😅 PS. I love the little cracks from the vinyl coming through, makes it so authentic.

The second Rush album that I purchased and still my favorite Rush album…Love geeking out over Rush..

Another classic video Jim! Definitely my favorite Rush album. I’m glad I still have my original copy on vinyl. It’s funny how people now view vinyl clicks and pops with nostalgia. I do as well but back in the day I hated it which is why CDs were a breath of fresh air during the 80s

My first 2 Rush LPs were Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, from there on I bought "backwards". I personally have a clear Rush ranking, which comes in 3-record-packages. Nr 1 is and will be forever Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals, with Moving Pictures being my absolute nr 1. The package on nr 2 is 2112-Farewell to kings-Hemispheres followed by Grace under pressure, Power windows and Hold your fire. Every thing else is high quality music, to which I also listened to many times but the newer stuff never got me as the late 70s, early 80s music. Xanadu and Closer to the heart are my favourite tracks on Farewell to kings. Fun fact : if you know about 90% of Mike Portnoy's catalogue (like I do) you only have to listen to Xanadu to hear, who was his biggest inspiration 🤘

As a Windsor resident in those days I think must have shared a terrific appreciation for Detroit Rock radio, WABX, WRIF, W4. I think we were very lucky! A fellow RUSH fan.

I rate this album behind 'Hemispheres', but it's still loaded with good stuff. The last track "Cygnus X-1" is insane. This was around the time Rush were becoming a pretty big deal in the UK. Jim will know better than me, although I often wondered if Rush got big in the UK around 1977 because they became an outlet for kids who were into groups like Yes to indulge in that kind of music under the cover of a band that had more cred. But I'm guessing Rush attracted the same crowd as those NWOBHM bands did -- Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc. -- and these same kids then went on to support neo-prog bands like Marillion in the 80's.

That is a fabulous album ,xanadu live is incredible.

🏆🏆🏆🏆!

Thanks for getting this overlooked classic on the channel. Love your video's Jim.

I did enjoy it! Thank you Jim. This is one of my favourite sides of an LP ever!

I'll have to give this a spin Jim... not listened to it in a little while. This and Hemispheres are up there among my favourites from this band. 🎵🎵😍🤘

They were awesome at Hammersmith in '79, supported by Canadian buddies Max Webster, another epic band from that country. The 70s was by far the best musical decade we've ever known.

So pumped for this one, thanks Jim!

hi jim been away and thanks for a belter to come back too great choice.

Hello Jim this is a timely reminder of the very odd dream I had just 3 nights ago. I dreamt of the time when George Michael was in Rush. (In the dream it was the Permanent Waves - Signals era.) I guess that’s what eating too much cheese before bedtime does to you.

Hi Jim, I was 16 when this came out. I already had bought the Fly by night album but for some reason I had stopped listening to Rush studio albums but I listened to the live albums instead. Therefore I don’t know this album. Surely I will recognize some songs played in live concerts. 1st song. The start reminds me of Jethro Tull. No, I don’t know this song but it’s a good one. 2nd song. Sorry, but Olivia Newton John immediately pops up into my mind. Of course I know this great song. I know it from the R30 live album. Cassettes, oh yeah. I had drawers full of them.

Classic!

Hey Jim! How are you my friend? Great seeing you on The Prog Corner Sunday! This RUSH album is SO good. Enjoy!!👍👑😎

Much enjoyed. Thanks.

love this album, don't forget part 2 :)

...excellent choice :)

Xanadu really elevates this album.

The first time I saw Rush they were relatively unknown in UK and their were only about 200 people in Sheffield City Hall. The second time I saw them at the same venue they were sold out! That#s how quickly their support had changed. Anyway, one of these concerts (I can't remember which I think it's the second) they introduced a new track which had not been released this was "Xanadu" which was terrific! Sadly, the studio version did not exemplify the magnificance of the live experience.

Oddly 80's RUSH is my favorite.

Nice one, Jim. Just finished with The Prog Corner Sunday stream so I've learned that you really need to listen to some more Italian prog (RPI) Can I suggest Banco's Darwin!, Museo Rosenbach's Zarathustra and Le Orme's Felona E Sorona for starters. Don't worry about the Italian vocals. Nearly everyone agrees that the Italian versions are better than any versions with English vocals. Meanwhile, this is Rush in their imperial phase. Moving Pictures is good but I don't think they beat 2112, a FtK or Hemispheres.

Jim, have you watched the music video RATATATA yet? If you haven't, go check it out. I'm curious what you'll think of it : )