Rush - Hemispheres

[Slim]

This fabulous, inspirational recording is the greatest Rush album of them all, a supernova in a constellation of bright stars.

It caught me quite by surprise, in the autumn of 1978 - I had been nervously awaiting its release when, following an evening of moderate post-adolescent alcohol-related activity at a local hostelry, my drinking companion and I called in at the house of an acquaintance. His dad had just returned from the States, or the Far East - I forget which - where Hemispheres had already been released, and had brought him back a copy. It was already on his turntable when we called in. I listened intently for a few minutes. My jaw dropped, and I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, for I was witnessing a triumphant, spectacular return to form. It was simply fabulous. The dark cloud cast over my life by the bitter disappointment of A Farewell To Kings was lifting at last. This was atmospheric, enigmatic, unmistakably brilliant music.

I hardly know how to begin to describe this album (but I'll give it a shot). The 2112-style, side-length epic which kicks off proceedings is, I suppose, really what this album is all about. Like 2112, it's dramatic and atmospheric - but much more stylised, harmonically ambitious and distinctive. And where its predecessor, A Farewell To Kings, was awkward, flat and ill-conceived, Hemispheres is statuesque, graceful, majestic, spellbinding - utterly convincing.

Peart provides a purposeful, powerful yet subtle (and very nearly jazzy in parts) backbeat while Lee and Lifeson weave a melodic tapestry of sonic splendour. Guitar and bass intertwine enticingly across a luscious, panoramic soundscape in a beautifully choreographed ballet of harmonic majesty. There's so much light and shade - Lifeson's guitar slashes like a maniac's razor one moment, soothes like a lover's touch the next - (witness the intense yet delicate, heartbreakingly poignant guitar refrain which makes its first appearance at 1:20 or so, and which in many ways is the signature of the title piece) - this is electrifying, breathtaking stuff, rock music's equivalent of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Lyrically speaking, Hemispheres' title piece is Peart's very last episode in the grandiose, sci-fi and sorcery style which had been his preferred modus operandi up to this point. However, unlike former works in the same style, (and in particular, Cygnus X-1, to which formally speaking, Hemispheres is a sequel) it's allegorical, not intended to be taken purely at face value. It's really about the balance between the rational and the emotional, not a battle between Gods on Mount Olympus.

So that's alright then.

The three shorter tunes which (used to) form side two are only slightly less accomplished in their own right. Circumstances is a deceptively simple but eccentric and inventive piece and The Trees, of course, is a classic - with an engagingly plucked acoustic intro, a catchy, powerful, thrilling chorus and some delightfully quirky, staccato guitar work from Lifeson. Again, it's a surprisingly simple tune on careful listening, but like Circumstances, wonderfully distinctive and original.

La Villa Strangiato, deservedly a highlight of live performances for many years to come, is an intoxicating cocktail of diverse styles and influences. Their first entirely instrumental piece, it's a patchwork of several quite different short pieces which complement each other superbly and segue together into something even greater than the sum of its parts. Mesmeric stuff, this, and performed with consummate skill. Some absolutely captivating, dramatic guitar work here too, yet it's as lighthearted as it is assured (and more generally, I feel that Hemispheres is the album where an offbeat sense of humour and lighthearted take on life started to be reflected in Lifeson's music - not just here, but in Circumstances and The Trees too - the guitar part seems somehow to be wearing a confident, wry smile in places).

Hemispheres is the new start for chapter two that Rush were groping for, but which eluded their grasp, in the conception and execution of A Farewell To Kings. Yet in a sense, with the benefit of hindsight - and in the context of their whole career, I think it's instructive to consider it the conclusion of chapter one. This was as far as they could possibly come within the progressive rock paradigm whose waters they had charted in the early phase of their career, and they must have known it. For their next album, they would reinvent themselves with a highly-charged, more straightforward sound - but, that's a story for another day.

Marks out of ten? Like Nigel Tufnell's custom-built Marshall amplification, I have no option but to go to eleven. This magnificent record just may be the absolute peak of human artistic achievement in the last millenium.

[David L]

Whilst, musically, I don't consider it their best work (side one disappoints); I do think it's the zenith in terms of the packaging.
The artwork is so striking and it has to be my favourite Rush font. I spent hours perfecting that one on my school books and it was the font of choice when we delinquently raided my dad's paint stock from under the garage bench in order to graffiti the local underpass (it looked quite striking in letters five feet tall...but not sure the sandy brown colour did it full justice  )
Yes the gatefold, the poster, the sombre nature of the portraits, the gravitas of the title, it all came together........I just wish Neil had chosen some different shoes

[Matt2112]

I wouldn't go that far about the first and second tracks, for all their undoubted qualities. But I would about The Trees and LVS, which are faultless, top-tier Rush.

The instrumental section in The Trees is stunning.  I adore the way it sort of builds in layers, starting with one of Al's signature moves - a characteristically enchanting arpeggio - which cedes its front seat to Ged's syncopated-yet-groovy bass, which in turn allows the (superb) guitar solo to jump on top. And it's a superb example, amongst many, of Rush somehow making sections of music in odd time signatures seem so perfectly intuitive and so graceful and so natural.

Then that stop-start, call and response type section, and an incredible segue into another more rocking section, providing a fantastic release from the previous tension, all going up to make a sort of mini mid-song rhapsody that only these three guys could do.

If all that dynamism and invention is at a stratospheric level in The Trees, then it is somewhat miraculously blasted beyond the exosphere with LVS, an utterly, eternally staggering masterpiece of an instrumental.

Which brings me to what strikes me as the most astounding aspect of this album: the guys who made it where not that far into their twenties. And that just leaves me speechless.

[pdw1]

It's so good I think I will have a listen right now

[Slim]

It's always a bit strange to see people downplay the importance of the title piece. Like 2112 it's the essential point of the record, and that's why it's on Side One. Excellent as the other tunes are, especially La Villa - in the context of this album, they're really bonus tracks.

[David L]

It's always a bit strange to see people downplay the importance of the title piece. Like 2112 it's the essential point of the record, and that's why it's on Side One. Excellent as the other tunes are, especially La Villa - in the context of this album, they're really bonus tracks.

I really like Prelude but Apollo, Dionysus and Armageddon not so.
However, I think the real weakness for me is probably not musical as much as lyrical, especially the re-introduction of Cygnus which has always struck me as clumsy. The Sphere is pleasant enough musically but by that point, the plot has lost credibility.
I've always paid a lot of attention to lyrics, Neil's especially so. I desperately wanted the continuation of the Cygnus story to work but I think he struggled a bit here.

[Slim]

In all honesty I try not to think of it as a sequel to Cygnus; for me it's a case of the single best thing they ever did following one of the crudest and clumsiest things they'd done at that point.

[David L]

In all honesty I try not to think of it as a sequel to Cygnus;

They should have abandoned the pretence that it was, Neil would have had more freedom to make sense

[Matt2112]

The main problem for me is that track 1 is just too darn long for its own good. It could have several minutes cut from it with no detriment to its (considerable) impact, imo.

The only non-Rush song to which I can compare it off the top of my head is Close To The Edge, which, several years before Hemispheres, set the benchmark for side-long prog epics, and arguably on that score has never been surpassed.

[pxr5]

It's good, but not as good as A Farewell to Kings, in my very humble opinion. Side 2 is a monster and LVS lifts the whole album to a place it maybe doesn't deserve.

[Jonners]

Title track has imprved for me over time, but I cant say I listen out of choice. I like how snippets have turned up on some of the live re-releases though

Side 2 works for me though, it really is very special

[David L]

Title track has imprved for me over time, but I cant say I listen out of choice. I like how snippets have turned up on some of the live re-releases though

Side 2 works for me though, it really is very special

Pretty much my thoughts too