Rush Retrospective: Album 06- Hemispheres

 

Album:  Hemispheres

Year Released:   1978

Lineup:  

• Geddy Lee – bass guitar, Minimoog synthesizer, Oberheim polyphonic synthesizer, Moog Taurus bass pedals, vocals
• Alex Lifeson – 6- and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, classical guitar, Roland guitar synthesizer, Moog Taurus pedals
• Neil Peart – drums, orchestra bells, bell tree, tympani, gong, cowbells, temple blocks, wind chimes, crotales

Overall Thoughts:

Rush's sixth studio album has only four songs on the album.  Two are epic in length, two are epic in the band's history, but only one song overlaps both.

Hemispheres starts out with the second half of the Cyngus X-1 series of songs, which started on the previous album.  Part two is over eighteen minutes, and has an epic storyline about the astronaut from Book 1 becoming the God of Balance.  The song lacks the hooks- either musically or lyrically- of Rush's better songs.  The song is not memorable the way that 2112 is- and for a series that takes up nearly a half hour in length, the payoff is not worth the commitment.

It's followed up by "Circumstances", a short song that feels like the backdrop to an epic moment in the song that never comes.  It's short (under 4 minutes) but forgettable.

Out of four songs, the album's first two are missing something.  But in the second half, the band delivers.

"The Trees" is a powerful allegory about how misunderstanding and envy can destroy.  The music is catchy and the lyrics are memorable.  

The album finishes with "La Villa Strantiago"- a nine minute epic instrumental that goes musically all over the place from Flamenco Guitar at the start to a hard rock.  The guitars and drums are all over the place- and it works.  The individual components fit seamlessly in a way few instrumentals seem to do.

Ranking of Rush Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. 2112
2. Fly By Night
3. Rush
4. A Farewell to Kings
5. Hemispheres
6. Caress of Steel

Top 10 Rush Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Working Man", Rush
2. "Closer to the Heart", A Farewell to Kings
3. "La Villa Strangiago", Hemispheres
4. "2112", 2112
5. "Fly By Night", Fly By Night
6. "Making Memories", Fly By Night
7. "The Trees", Hemispheres
8. "A Passage to Bangkok", 2112
9. "A Farewell to Kings", A Farewell to Kings
10. "Here Again", Rush