A FAREWELL TO KINGS demonstrated Rush's dexterity with both songs and suites. But like any rock band, Rush was having to juggle touring, recording and coming up with new material, and by HEMISPHERES it was clear that Rush needed a break. At the time HEMISPHERES was being made, punk was blowing hard rock bands away with their take-no-bull, back-to-basics approach, so for a band like Rush to put out an album like HEMISPHERES was like putting raw meat in front of a vicious dog. The 18-minute title suite continues the story that was begun by "Cygnus X-1" on A FAREWELL TO KINGS, but the result is more like the ill-fated "Fountain of Lamneth" on CARESS OF STEEL than their magnum opus "2112". Progressive rock wasn't the stuff you could come up with in a hurry, and "Hemispheres" definitely needed some more preparation time put into it. What's worse, is that the real songs on HEMISPHERES aren't up to snuff either, and only two of them at that. "Circumstances" is pretty much a 3-minute explanation of that old French saying "Plus que chose, plus que les memes chose": The more things change, the more things stay the same. Not much more to it than that. "The Trees" probably ranks as the most laughable work in Rush's history. This song takes an ANIMAL FARM-like approach to the age old discussion of law and order from the point of view of...what else, trees? I don't think this is what George Orwell had in mind, though. Perhaps realizing that their brand of progressive rock was running out of freshness, Rush closes out this stumbler called HEMISPHERES with probably their most self-indulgent work ever, "La Villa Strangiato: An Exercise In Self-Indulgence". The most accurate title in history, if you ask me. Instrumental songs are good for mood or background music, but not as close listening, and 9 minutes of musical conversation is a bit much for most listeners to take. What only makes this album all the more haphazard-like is that it was written for the most part as it was being recorded in the studio. Even Geddy Lee has said Rush was nearing the end of its progressive rock stage with HEMISPHERES, and they were closing it out with a whimper more than a bang. So it's no surprise that Rush would welcome the '80s a la Genesis by streamlining their progressive rock sound to make it fit in more with the times. But while Genesis would almost totally neglect their prog rock past, Rush would still manage to maintain some of it in their '80s work. Not before a changing their method of songwriting (songs vs. suites) first.
A FAREWELL TO KINGS demonstrated Rush's dexterity with both songs and suites. But like any rock band, Rush was having to juggle touring, recording and coming up with new material, and by HEMISPHERES it was clear that Rush needed a break. At the time HEMISPHERES was being made, punk was blowing hard rock bands away with their take-no-bull, back-to-basics approach, so for a band like Rush to put out an album like HEMISPHERES was like putting raw meat in front of a vicious dog. The 18-minute title suite continues the story that was begun by "Cygnus X-1" on A FAREWELL TO KINGS, but the result is more like the ill-fated "Fountain of Lamneth" on CARESS OF STEEL than their magnum opus "2112". Progressive rock wasn't the stuff you could come up with in a hurry, and "Hemispheres" definitely needed some more preparation time put into it. What's worse, is that the real songs on HEMISPHERES aren't up to snuff either, and only two of them at that. "Circumstances" is pretty much a 3-minute explanation of that old French saying "Plus que chose, plus que les memes chose": The more things change, the more things stay the same. Not much more to it than that. "The Trees" probably ranks as the most laughable work in Rush's history. This song takes an ANIMAL FARM-like approach to the age old discussion of law and order from the point of view of... what else, trees? I don't think this is what George Orwell had in mind, though. Perhaps realizing that their brand of progressive rock was running out of freshness, Rush closes out this stumbler called HEMISPHERES with probably their most self-indulgent work ever, "La Villa Strangiato: An Exercise In Self-Indulgence". The most accurate title in history, if you ask me. Instrumental songs are good for mood or background music, but not as close listening, and 9 minutes of musical conversation is a bit much for most listeners to take. What only makes this album all the more haphazard-like is that it was written for the most part as it was being recorded in the studio. Even Geddy Lee has said Rush was nearing the end of its progressive rock stage with HEMISPHERES, and they were closing it out with a whimper more than a bang. So it's no surprise that Rush would welcome the '80s a la Genesis by streamlining their progressive rock sound to make it fit in more with the times. But while Genesis would almost totally neglect their prog rock past, Rush would still manage to maintain some of it in their '80s work. Not before a changing their method of songwriting (songs vs. suites) first.