While such albums as 1980's Permanent Waves and 1981's Moving Pictures are usually considered Rush's masterpieces (and with good reason), 1978's Hemispheres is easily as deserving and acts as a hinge piece between the early hard rock material and the more progressive later offerings. The album consists of four compositions (half are lengthy). The 18-minute-long "Cygnus X-1, Book II Hemispheres" is arguably the band's finest extended track, and a sequel to "Cygnus X-1" from the previous year's A Farewell to Kings. While the ...
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While such albums as 1980's Permanent Waves and 1981's Moving Pictures are usually considered Rush's masterpieces (and with good reason), 1978's Hemispheres is easily as deserving and acts as a hinge piece between the early hard rock material and the more progressive later offerings. The album consists of four compositions (half are lengthy). The 18-minute-long "Cygnus X-1, Book II Hemispheres" is arguably the band's finest extended track, and a sequel to "Cygnus X-1" from the previous year's A Farewell to Kings. While the track's labyrinthine storyline isn't as comprehensible as "2112" was, it's much more consistent musically, twisting and turning through five different sections which contrast heavy rock sections against more sedate pieces. Neil Peart had become one of rock's most accomplished lyricists by this point, as evidenced by "The Trees," which deals with racism and inequality in a unique way (set in a forest!). And as always, the trio prove to be experts at their instruments, this time on the complex instrumental "La Villa Strangiato." Geddy Lee's shrieking vocals on the otherwise solid "Circumstances" may border on irritating for some, but Hemispheres remains one of Rush's greatest releases. [As part of the band's 40th Anniversary celebration, Hemispheres was remastered and reissued in various configurations. The Super Deluxe Edition contains two compact discs, an exclusive Blu-ray disc, and three 180-gram vinyl LPs. The set encompasses the 2015 Abbey Road Studios remastered edition of the album and adds previously unreleased and newly restored bonus content consisting of the band's masterful June 1979 Pinkpop Festival performance in the Netherlands. Since the recording engineer failed to capture the first several minutes of "2112" at that gig, a high quality, unreleased performance of the song from the Tucson date of the Hemispheres tour in November 1978 is substituted. The Blu-ray contains the album audio in newly mixed 5.1 surround from original multitracks and there are four bonus videos: three 1978 promo vids, and one of "La Villa Strangiato," from Pinkpop. Also included is a 40-page hardcover book with unreleased photos and new artwork by album designer Hugh Syme; an extensive, 11,000-plus-word essay by Rob Bowman; a replica of Rush's 1979 tour program, The Words & The Pictures; a 24x24-inch poster of the Syme art; a Pinkpop Festival replica ticket, and replica cloth VIP sticky pass. The final bonus is a replica 1978 Hemispheres iron-on patch.] ~ Greg Prato & Thom Jurek, Rovi
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Add this copy of Hemispheres [40th Anniversary] [2 Cd] to cart. $25.39, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Mercury.
Add this copy of Hemispheres [40th Anniversary][2 Cd] to cart. $27.84, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Mercury.
Add this copy of Hemispheres to cart. $27.93, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by UMC-Mercury.
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