51 here. It's never too late to become a glad "old man". I say this as someone who has lived with depression most of his adult life and is currently going through tough times. There will be better times ahead. How soon, for me, depends of the outcomes of a few things.
Alex is the man. That he so deftly plays this in concert just goes to show he is all about the structure of the song. He doesn’t want to be a “rock god.” He was wants to make the best music possible with his mates, and does.
In my opinion the best Rush song, on their best album, made at their best moment. Everything is fine, the voice, the instruments and the composition. There is no time I listen to The Sphere and not shed a tear. After this disc they leave the conceptual works. I love Rush, one of the best bands in history, without a doubt.
In concert, back in '78, when Rush did Hemispheres live, when the song gets to the part where our traveler is reintroduced, they played 'Cygnus X-1' (Book I) in it's entirety, then resumed with the rest of Hemispheres. It was a solid 30 minutes of music. Sorry, you missed the 70's. I graduated high school in '77. Oh, what good times we had then!
'79 here, old man. I was dicked out a ticket to this show by some "friends." Sucked beyond measure and is unforgivable. You they're reading this: "Bite me."
@@Jekylnhyde55 At was at the P/G tour pressed into the front barrier and some ahole elbowed me in the throat and I almost went down and "Trampled Under Feet." I was some festival seating show where people were yelling "Cincinnati Style." They smashed a security guard right into the edges of two doors, like a spinectomy. He was nice and was apologizing for the delays, etc. Venues in that town paid me to stay home. People were nice when I saw Jon Anderson's "Animation" tour.
Hey, Doug, there's a reason why Geddy Lee's bass playing sounds similar to Chris Squire, at times. He was inspired to take up the bass and play when he heard Chris play the bass on Yes's first album. He is such a fan of Yes that he and Alex Lifeson inducted Yes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Geddy played the late Chris's bass part on "Roundabout" for the performance section of the ceremony. You should react to that live performance, it's terrific!
Yep, Squire was Lee's inspiration. Great comment. Liked it. Though, it actually was their second album, Time And A Word, and the opening song, No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed, that was the song Geddy was talking about.
Hemispheres album has always been my favorite Rush album. This side was awesome, then you turn to Circumstances, The Trees, La Villa. Always beautiful in my estimation.
nothing tops it. i’ve been djing 28 years and have seen and heard countless funky things. amazing grooves and dance floors that didn’t stop for days. i never repeat tracks in my dj sets. none of those songs are ever in my head. it is the music of rush i can’t stop playing over and over. the gods are apparent. i still listen to hemispheres weekly to take a break from my constant curating of 15 electronic genres. nothing in the world of music compares to this.
Neal was obviously a great rock drummer, but his lyrics were wonderfully profound and often sublime! The Sphere is the most beautiful and touching song they ever wrote imo, and always moves me to tears! He was a great drummer, but even better writer and just a wonderful human! RIP NP.
Oddly, Hemispheres wasn't highly regarded at the time. As it was seen then, Rush had taken three albums to develop their signature sound before the statement album 2112. Farewell To Kings was a pinnacle of that development so they needed to move on. Hemispheres was seen as tidying up loose ends while they worked out where to go next, whether or not they'd taken notice of the changes in music (New Wave, Electronica Reggae, etc, though they certainly took the last two on board later). Hemispheres is very much a 70s album while Permanent Waves is definitely an 80s album. Everyone hears things differently, but if I unsheathe Hemispheres I'll only play La Villa Strangiato. Maybe I should play side 1 again.
I couldn't agree more with your final words. I have a love of many Rush songs, but Cygnus X-1 Book 2 has touched my heart and mind more than any other. I think it was the song that turned me from someone who enjoyed Rush, to someone who loves Rush.
About that chord that Alex is playing at the beginning of Hemisphere, here is an exert from an articular Guitar Player: A few years back, John Petrucci went out for a drive with the folks from Cosmo Music. In the resulting Rockstars in Cars video, the Dream Theater guitarist talked about his favorite solo to play live, his mix of technical and emotional guitar playing, and more. Best question in the video: “Desert island chord: You got one chord you can play forever. What is it?” “It’s the opening chord from Hemispheres by Rush,” Petrucci replies. “It’s the F sharp major with the added 4th and the flat 7. That should really be named ‘the Alex Lifeson Chord,’ because he invented that.”
Your comment enhances an inside joke my brother and I have had since the eighties. Until my brother started playing drums and didn't care about theory and I started playing guitar and did we've always called what Alex does Alex likes and cords.. At least for me until I started learning the names of a lot of the stuff he was doing anyway.
What’s so funny is that Alex uses that exact chord shape all around his guitar. It’s like a bar chord except the top 3 strings are always open. Not even a difficult chord to learn, yet completely brilliant
@@hpatss4966 so many rock and roll masterpieces are easy to learn but extremely difficult to come up with and be creative with. That's why there are so many incredibly talented musicians you can see on any weekend in a major city but they our talented players but don't have someone to write compelling music.
Doesn’t matter how many times I listen to it, the intro to Cygnus X-1 Book 1 gives me goosebumps from head to toe… gosh it’s brilliant and haunting. Not to mention, the virtuosity of the playing damn. The ending also gives me goosebumps with that lyric “every nerve is pulled apart.” That said, Book I and Book II together as a complete story is one of my all time favorite moments in Rush discography. Book II is so incredibly good!!
Like many, I'm also in my 60's growing up with Rush. Living in upstate New York,in the 70's and 80's Rush had concerts here yearly,lost count of how many I attended. A live performance was as crisp and tight as listening to an album. The best is watching Doug go from first hearing Rush to now seeing him be a strong fan. It's so enjoyable to watch someone discover and love Rush as we do.
Guitarists will have to correct me, but I believe the chord that Alex uses at the intro into Book 2 is now called the "Alex Lifeson chord." He comes back to it again on their 2007 album "Snakes and Arrows", as well. :) Yes, the last section of Book 2 makes me cry, every time. Not only is it profound and timeless, but the lyrics are put to a beautiful melody. It's incredibly mature for these guys who were in their 20s, at the time they wrote this. It's oddly reminiscent, to me of "Soon" by Yes. Not melodically, but in its hope and "vibe." Thx for doing these compositions.
It's an F# with an added 4th and minor 7th, which is basically just the F# shape with strings B and E lose. He turns that shape into to the whole harmony of the Xanadu verses, adding those B and E notes also A and B major chords.
Small production note that you might have missed: When Geddy is first singing about how the heart and mind were divided into hollow hemispheres they pan his voice slowly from the center to the left and right simulating the division of left and right hemispheres 29:09. Then at the end he talks about the two hemispheres uniting and the two stereo voices merge back into one straight up the middle 37:10 . :)
Many reactions to these songs also miss when they hook into the last song on the previous album at 31:18. That's how the previous album ends. And the short snippets of music are memories Rosignantes pilot experiences from when he was alive and had a physical form. Those are also from the previous album :)
Great call! Rush had many “Easter Eggs” in their music, some were more subliminal such as the panning of the vocals as you pointed out, and others required a bit more thought like in 2112 where the last two verses Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation had 21 words and We have assumed control has 12 words.
@@rwfrench66GenX _like in 2112 where the last two verses Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation had 21 words and We have assumed control has 12 words_ Yeah, but....who saying those phrases...the Solar Federation or the people rebelling? It's debated, but Neil has hinted to who it is that says it ....:)
"We can walk our road together If our goals are all the same We can run alone and free If we pursue a different aim Let the truth of love be lighted Let the love of truth shine clear Sensibility armed with sense and liberty With the heart and mind united in a single perfect sphere." Neil has just written the most poignant and relevant lyrics in the history of music. I would love a reaction to the song Losing It or Mission, two of my favorite Rush songs in terms of lyrics
"If their lives were exotic and strange They would likely have gladly exchanged them For something a little more plain Maybe something a little more sane We each pay a fabulous price For.our visions of paradise But a spirit with a vision is a dream With a mission!"
“Losing It” was oddly prophetic, as age took its toll on Neil’s body and he found it harder and harder to play at the same level, to the point where after they retired he gave up playing drums altogether. Those lyrics still come as a gut punch every time I listen to it.
I know this is coincidence but thanks for posting this today. Rush was my dad's favorite band and this made me tear up, it being the anniversary of his passing.
There are very few things in this world that can bring a tear to my eye; Rush is one of those things. Watching Doug run through Hemispheres and see all the realizations hit him makes me emotional for whatever reason.
Living in Toronto and with Rush being hometown boys (well for the most part - Neil was from a smaller city 50 miles away), we were privileged to be the first to hear the premiere of these great albums from Rush's heyday. What a treat it was to hear Alex and Geddy with announcer Rick Ringer on 104.5 CHUM-FM ( back when they were a REAL radio station) introducing the songs and giving a bit of backstory on them. 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, Signals, G/P. I used to record these premiere's and listen to them until I had the chance to go buy the albums. Probably still have the C90 tapes somewhere with those recordings.
yes!...i remember those album premieres, loved them and waiting to buy it and see the concerts!!....remember 104.5 fm when they would play 3 tracks from every artist...yeah they were cool back then
I first heard about Rush in college in the early 90s, having been raised in a family that saw rock music as something from the Devil. I played some songs for a friend and said that this is what Bach would be composing were he alive today. It was gratifying to learn that rock was more than just the simplistic "love" songs that played on commercial radio.
I think this is your best reaction video... Thank you so much. I'm 57 years old and have been a fan of Rush since the early days. I played quite a bit of bass guitar myself but still an amateur - never a pro. Geddy is the best and multi-talented not many could ever compare. I saw a few of your other videos and I saw this one hit you pretty good - the emotions were evident!!
Would love for Doug to cover all four parts of Rush’s “Fear” series. Amazing four songs that cover a time span of 21 years and start with Part Three on Moving Pictures. From the amazing mind of Neil!
@@julien2231 Ah,thx for your reply,@julien !..I wondered if anyone would pick this up.This was another of Neil's little jokes.The original 3 songs (Witch Hunt [pt3] from Moving Pictures, The Weapon[pt2] from Signals and then The Enemy Within[pt1] from Grace Under Pressure were released on consecutive albums and became The Fear Trilogy. 18 years,and many albums, later Freeze[pt4] appeared on Vapor Trails. When asked about this on their rare group interview with Stephen Colbert, Neil replied ' Yeh, there are four songs in The Fear Trilogy.Why not?' and laughed.
Doug, I think you missed the part where the chords that fade out in Book 1 come in at the exact moment Cygnus shows up in the battle of Book 2 (somewhere around 31:30 of your video). That gives me chills every time. This whole two part story is a masterpiece that gets pretty much no attention when people talk about Rush. Thanks for doing the two parts together. It just shows the sheer genius of Neil. There will never be a musical piece ever done like this again.
As a 40+ year Rush fan, I welcome you to the fold, and I must tell you that you have learned well, young grasshopper. I have been impressed by your reaction videos to some of Rush's greatest music. To see you moved so profoundly by music I cherish among all others, that to me is the joy of discovery and re-discovery. I sadly haven't got a performing musical bone in my body, but I can sing. As you have noticed, Neil's gifts as a storyteller are almost like wisdom from the mountain, and it was a real shock to learn many years ago that he gave much of the credit to a rhyming dictionary. No musical style label fits Rush; they were on a true level of their own. RIP Professor (we know God only loaned you to us), and RUSH FOREVER!
Highly highly highly recommend "The Garden". It is the last track on their last album, "Clockwork Angels", in 2012. Such a beautiful song that chokes me up every time I listen to it.
My favorite Rush album! Thanks Doug, your first experience with this Song helped me relive my fist experience with it, and the emotion and thought provoking experience that came with the discovery!
The end of this song is like a prayer to me. But when I recite them I absolutely mean them. These men are only musicians. But something flowed through them which is very profound.
Fun to watch you experience that. Cygnus X-1, especially book 2, is my personal favorite of all Rush songs. And it is a total blast to learn to play on guitar, and a frustrating mess trying to be a precise as Alex Lifeson.
For posterity, that section is all in 7/8 but the way Neil is accenting makes it feel shifty, like it really really wants to be 4/4 but they're just cutting off the last beat, rather than a more "standard" 2+2+3 it's 2+2+2+1 basically. These two songs collectively are probably my favourite Rush tracks. I've listened to both easily over 300 times each in my life, and I *never* get tired of them. There's thousands of little nuances to discover, and Doug you even showed me a new one - I had never noticed that the various chords are making up diminished chords themselves. I always knew something was different about those lines compared to literally anything else I had ever heard, but you just put it into the musical terms I had never thought about before!
A Farewell To Kings is still one of my all time favorite rock albums. Made a huge influence on me to start playing guitar. Before this I listened to Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, ect. Then I found Rush, Yes, Kansas and to a degree Styx and my musical standards changed.
@@auralfixxation6702 great song too but they didn’t play it. They did Carry On, Miracles Out of Nowhere and The Wall off of Leftoverture. One of my favorite albums! Going to see Styx and REO in September 😃
One of my very favorite aspects of this song is that Cygnus X-1 is now essentially confirmed to be a black hole, but when Neil wrote these lyrics, it existed in the astrophysics world as the first formal candidate for an astronomical object with characteristics that were were predicted to be intrinsic to a black hole, and the events narrated by the protagonist are pretty consistent with what physicists predict would happen to an observer who crossed the black hole's event horizon. I even like to imagine that those ring-modulator sounds at the beginning connote the gravitational waves emitted from the violent collapse of the star or the spinning black hole's event horizon. The more I learn about black holes over the years, the more prescient I realize Neil's lyrics were. He must have read a fantastic book or Scientific American article! Also, this is essentially half the plot of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar!"
What I love about Rush is, they felt as if it was all live in the studio by the changes in tempo, keys, ect. Something that can only be felt by looking at each other, not by a metronome.
Back in the day I lived in a house I shared with three of the four guys in a band that played originals and copy tunes. They were very talented guys and their music was well rehearsed and played. I ended up getting married and moving out. They lost their singer and gigs were sparse but they marched on and got tighter. Shortly after this Rush album came out I was hanging out with them at the house while they worked on Cyngus X. It was truly impressive to watch talented musicians attack the tune.
Dear Doug, you might be late to the party, but brilliance and outstanding musicianship never goes out of fashion. Both Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres were recorded in Rockwell Studios in Wales (the Bohemian Rhapsody piano also recorded there) and Xanadu and the Cygnus suite are just the pinnacle of the classic prog period. Though more brilliant albums followed, these two from Rockwell will always remain the high water mark for me. Enjoy your continued listenings!
Now you have to listen to them and concentrate on each instrument. The bass lines in these songs are astounding. The guitar work is also impeccable. And while Neils' work is really good. He takes the back seat in these two songs (in my opinion) and lets the lyrics "shine through".
I love how you called out the key changes starting around 30:28 in your video. Also, you lifted an eyebrow when they finally come all the way back around at the end, but listen again and check out how they set up the leading tone back to that F#7+11 (the "rush chord,") right when Geddy sings, "the god of balance you shall be." It's probably my favorite musical moment in any song, ever.
I've listened to this stuff a million times. I bought the records when they first came out. But I am a drummer and I was always listening for the drumming and timing. (I had to play Rush cover tunes in my first band) Those two things were influential as I grew as a rock drummer. This is the first time I actually paid attention to the lyrics. I don't know a "minor third" from a major turd, so that analysis doesn't help me. The analysis of the lyrics in Book 2 gave me a completely new understanding and appreciation for this song. I'll never hear it the same old way again. Thank you, sir.
Book 2 played over and over on my turntable. I had a badass Technics sound system back in my junior high days that my paper route paid for. Good stuff!
The ending lyrics to this song are beautiful and profound. Actually, every lyric written by Neil has a great message and meaning. Has anyone noticed everything kind of went to shit when he passed away.
Remember seeing this back in October 78 back then it was pure raw energy in concerts and on the LP's back then we all had to wait no internet to get any clues to part 2 ! Miss those days what a sound track for our generation back in the late 1970'S !
I remember it well. Farewell to Kings was my best friend's favorite album, and Cygnus X-1 his favorite track. It was a long year until Hemispheres was released, and we finally got the rest of the story.
Seeing these two companion songs played in 1980, live, back-to-back, is one of the concert highlights of my life. Unbelievable how three fellas brought these off so perfectly live. Dig the unresolved chord progression at the end of Book I. Which sets up Book II perfectly with the chord that has been since known as the "Lifeson Chord." What a great shimmering, expansive, chorus-y sound Alex Lifeson achieved on Hemispheres! It is essentially a twist on the fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper!
Dude! I have listened to this album for 30 years and am still fascinated by it. Thank you for your classical training and understanding of cord progressions. Being a drummer I’ve focused on the time signatures and fills as they drive the composition along. Had tears at the end as you did knowing how Neil’s words are so poignant to this day. Thank you.
Dude!!!! Did you even catch the samples of Cygnus X-1 from the previous album mixed into the synth transition of the birth of the God of Balance?!? I heard this back in 81 as a 13 year old and figured it out. That’s one of the many reasons I love this band. Rest in Power Professor ❤
Wow, I just had to wipe away a tear, listening to that, and your description of Neil’s brilliance. Always a Rush fan, but I think I was missing the poetry in the lyrics a little. Thanks Doug.
1978 first time I saw the boys warm up for BOC & the beginning of my RUSH fandom. Next year 4th row in front of Geddy for Hemispheres. Still the loudest concert I have ever seen. And yes I've seen them so many times I lost count. RIP Neil my mentor.
This brings me great joy, can't wait for it to be premiered... Now you are just missing "The Fountain of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer" both from the "Caress of Steel" album. Amazing tracks amazingly underrated, even if the critics said things like "one of Rush's more unfocused albums"
The Necromancer hit me like a ton of bricks when I was a kid! It was the first time I realized there were worse things than death. The thing is my grandfather died about a year earlier and we were close so at that time I really thought death was the worse thing. I chose to let Neil’s words guide me into adulthood from that point on!
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for finally premiering Hemispheres Book II to your listeners. This is the single most emotional, inspirational and beautiful piece of music, in my opinion, created by ANY band ever. I'm so glad you found it as lovely as we did. Now listen again more!!
Hemispheres was their last hurrah for their 70's prog phase, and talk about ending it on a high note (sorta pun intended). It still blows me away how well crafted the title track is. That album took its toll on Geddy, not just his vocals, but mentally as he was trying to balance his band career with raising a family. The music got pretty demanding. Still though, glad they were able to complete that album though. Total masterpiece.
i remember when Hemispheres came out in '78,i was 11 and like you said a beautifully crafted masterpiece ,which i loved and trying to let my middle school classmates aware of it but they didnt get it...they'd rather listen to the Bee Gees or Olivia Newton John...those of us who got IT knew how special this band was....cheers
Yeah, Alex and Geddy said "never again" WRT the amount of studio time and production. I think of "Natural Science" as the last hurrah of epic Rush. Basically near the end of the Terry Brown era.
Geddy never got enough credit for his melodies, the way he would go up and down and change stuff around... Nobody else could've sung that stuff like him
I absolutely agree with your assessment of the song. Other Rush fans frequently cite 2112 as their magnum opus, and while there is plenty of justification for that opinion, I've always considered it to be Cygnus X-1. Neil was an amazing songwriter.
Yes, I was one of those who, at the end of Book 1, shouted, “Arrrrgh! I have to wait a whole year for the next album!” Great reaction video, Doug. Thanks for sharing!
I've loved Rush since I was a teenager; in fact, "A Farewell to Kings" was my first concert; however, I have never experienced the music as I did today. Sure, I heard the lyrics; however, it did not occur to me to examine them more closely in search of a deeper meaning. You helped me do that today and I appreciate it more than you can know. Great insights and analysis. Always appreciated. Unexpectedly, I was actually moved to tears at the end. I don't believe that has ever happened before. Understanding will set you free. Wow!! Just wow!!
I've been a RUSH fan since 1977 listening to All the World's a Stage for the first time and it changed my life completely. However...A Farewell to Kings and then especially Hemispheres, took it to a whole new level for me and are my two favorite albums by RUSH! Great video!
Doug, I’m so delighted to see you bring these two great songs together into a single, perfect sphere… so to speak! They were two of my favorite songs to play on drums. Although I wasn’t technically perfect, I was pretty damn close, That was 40 years ago. Being 60 years old, I grew up on Rush, and seeing a younger person with classical music expertise digging on Rush is so gratifying. My love of Rush was a direct result of my dad exposing me to the three Bs from my birth. He loved classical music, and now I love it too. Rush was one of only two rock groups (the other being Yes) that my dad was impressed with. He was also pretty impressed when I learned the drum parts for these two songs. Rush is a classical musicians rock band! The odd time signatures, the inventive chord progressions, the lyrical themes are just the most obvious examples of the beautiful, inimitable music of Rush. I’m so happy you discovered Rush!!! Now, I’m going to watch this video again. Bravo, Doug! 🤙
Hardcore! I thought only Rush fans could get through both in one sitting. Well played, sir! You really need to listen to this on an original record to really bring out the depth of the sound. I had this album as a kid and I played it on my sister's stereo with large Bose headsets. It was an out of body experience.
Hey Doug- Great episode! I see that you are touched by Neils profound lyrics; there are many other songs that would move you more emotionally than this one; the one that comes to mind about the passion for music and the obsession of pursuing it, is called “Mission”; An excellent piece of music, with absolutely superb positive lyrics. This would be an excellent follow up albeit lyrically to Hemispheres. I’m talking about the song “Mission” from the album “Hold Your Fire”.
IMO Hemispheres is their best album because there's not a single weak track. Every other Rush album there's at least one song I skip, but Hemispheres is just 4 bangers, no more no less.
That end bit on Part II always brings me to tears. Second favorite piece of music, right after the lament movement in “To Live is to Die” by Metallica. Thanks for the breakdown, Doug. Rush is life.
I'm a heretic. I've listened to Hemispheres since release after waiting since Kings..., and I've always thought it too "sledgehammer" in delivering a message which should have been gotten from the previous. It's definitely "Tell don't Show." Which they are actually against by singing "Show Don't Tell." The same thing was done at the end of "Natural Science." As in all music, everything is always, IMO, and all opinions are welcome.
Man, you've nailed on first listen things that took me many listens to pick up on. Absolutely perfect analysis and reaction. I get teary eyed re-experiencing these classics.
Cygnus X-1 is one of my top 5 all-time Rush songs. Seeing that coupled with ALL of Book II live on the Hemispheres tour was the most epic moment I have ever seen/heard live in my life!!!! Geddy's bass sound is MASSIVE!!!!!! Great ears...CHRIS SQUIRE IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY!! Geddy would be very proud!!!!
Hemispheres was my first introduction to the music of Rush and from there I worked backwards. After listening to A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres, I quickly realized the genius, both musically and lyrically, of what has been my favorite band for the past 40 years. Thanks Doug👍👍
In 1980 i saw the Hemispheres tour and the video playing at the start of Cygnus X-1 was the space shuttle floating into the black hole. It truly was an amazing concert even starting off with April Wine opening for them.
Actually I believe they were way more Rush influenced after Portnoy left than ever before. You can hear it as clear as day! I'm curious how their sound will be now that Portnoy is back!
I'm glad to hear that this affected you so emotionally. I grew up in the 70s and 80s listening to Rush, and Hemispheres has always been my favorite. I'm a fan of a lot of their stuff, but I think Hemispheres often gets overlooked by the more commercially successful and radio-friendly stuff they put out later. I had expected you to pick up on the fact that some of the music in Book 2 was a repeat of some in Book 1. You may have noticed it, but I didn't hear you mention it.
Thank you for this reaction. I have been listening to Rush since 1980 and I have been blown away by their performances ever since. Your experienced perspective brings a whole new depth to what I already knew was deep. Thanks for explaining the different levels of depth that I didn't catch. I hope you catch the other levels of depth that the rest of us have known for years. Thanks again.
FWIW, Cygnus X-1 isn't merely a black hole. It was the first X-ray source to be identified as a possible black hole. Back in 1977, it was not certain that the X-ray sources that astronomers had only recently started discovering were actually black holes or if they were something else. IIRC, X-ray astronomy had only begun in 1973 (the Earth's atmosphere absorbs X-rays arriving from space, so we can't observe them from the ground).
Can you imagine that you are 17 years old and you read a review about this album and then decide to buy it of the money from your part-time job? If only I were 17 years old again, to put the needle on the vinyl for the first time. Almost brings tears to my eyes...
The dancing around the diminished chords seems very mathematically minded to me, which fits the Astronomical motif of the song, The symmetry and math of space, chaos included. I subscribe to the belief that it's all intentional, and that they really are this deep. What I notice in many of their epics is that whenever there is actual conflict, the music get's a sort of Dark Carnival feeling to it. Armageddon in this song, La Villa Strangiato during Monsters, presentation from 2112, Didacts and Narpets from Fountain of Lamneth (one you might consider covering). at 31:51 we hear in the background under the spacey music the same riff from 7:46 from the travelers origin story. He went into a black hole at the end of that origin and here he is reappearing with these snippets from his origin.
Rush is one of the greatest bands of all time... I was born too late to be able to enjoy these albums as they were released, but got into them later & the music is absolutely incredible IMO. Glad you're enjoying them. Jacob's Ladder is another obscure but excellent one.
Neil Peart is a world treasure. He was talented with words, turning stories and events, everyday life into great songs and he had the power to be the greatest drummer or this time in history. This is true in my heart and mind together in a single perfect sphere. #MISSING-NEIL-PEART
Hey Doug; Just came across this episode and really dig the analysis. I was there in 1977 (high school) and at the end of "Farewell" it felt like they had fallen into the event horizon. Bourn out by Neil's awesome lyrics, and the wild music. That summer I went to the Adler Planetarium and have my mind completely blow when we were taken on a trip through the galaxy. Guess what soundtrack was playing in my head . . . Yeah baby Cignus Book I. It was epic!
Your summation of that song is brilliant and matches my own feelings exactly. This song for me and the album itself is one of the greatest works of music ever commited to vinyl. One of the soundtracks of my life.
As to Book 2, given that you are a composer, in addition to the glorious music, the profound lyrics, and the continuing resonances ("History may not repeat, but it certainly echoes"), the thing that I am surprised you did not comment on was the STRUCTURE of Book 2. It is much more like an opera than anything else. The first movement introduces the musical themes that will be employed throughout, and sets up the conflict in the second and third movements, which are resolved in the fourth, with the morale of the story shared in the closing number. I had played classical piano and symphonic percussion as a teenager, and studied philosophy in college. Due to my involvement with classical music I was late to discover rock in earnest, and was very late to first truly listen to Rush (1981). I first heard "Hemispheres" several years after it came out - in 1983 - and it was nothing short of a revelation for me. It appealed directly and unmistakably to my classical sensibilities, to my love of percussion, and to my interest in philosophy; here was a piece of serious music performed by serious musicians, with a profound point to make, using science and philosophy to say something important about humanity and human nature. It sounds like you've now experienced what I did when I first became a life-long fan of these three great, humble and intelligent creators; it might go a small way to explaining why I and so many others still so deeply feel the loss of Neil Peart. His soul is so much missed even as his contributions live on.
I can't believe I'm only the second person to like this amazing, insightful comment. What a trio Rush were and will forever be. A farewell to kings, indeed.
I'm a sad old man in his mid-60s and that bit at the end always brings tears to my eyes.. it's so beautiful.
RIP Neil Peart, he was so talented. His words are inspirational
It is beautiful, I'm 55 and never get tired of Hemispheres (since late teens)
About to turn 50 here, this stuff has been with me most of that time. Yep, it all makes me cry too.
51 here. It's never too late to become a glad "old man". I say this as someone who has lived with depression most of his adult life and is currently going through tough times. There will be better times ahead. How soon, for me, depends of the outcomes of a few things.
Gives me frickin chills every time. It’s absolutely perfect! “With the Heart and Mind united. In a single perfect sphere.
Alex is the man. That he so deftly plays this in concert just goes to show he is all about the structure of the song. He doesn’t want to be a “rock god.” He was wants to make the best music possible with his mates, and does.
And in the process, ends up being a guitar god....
@@GoblinGuy333 100% agree
In my opinion the best Rush song, on their best album, made at their best moment. Everything is fine, the voice, the instruments and the composition. There is no time I listen to The Sphere and not shed a tear. After this disc they leave the conceptual works.
I love Rush, one of the best bands in history, without a doubt.
that would be XANADU it is truly the greatest piece of music RUSH has ever created
"We will call you Cygnus, the God of Balance you shall be!" gives me chills every time I hear it!
... every soul a battlefield, every soul a battlefield!!! 😉
Book II is my all time favorite Rush song! Those are 20 glorious minutes that never seem as long as it is.
It is my favorite song of all time!
In concert, back in '78, when Rush did Hemispheres live, when the song gets to the part where our traveler is reintroduced, they played 'Cygnus X-1' (Book I) in it's entirety, then resumed with the rest of Hemispheres. It was a solid 30 minutes of music. Sorry, you missed the 70's. I graduated high school in '77. Oh, what good times we had then!
awesome!...yes i was there too!..those were great times indeed....growing up in T.O. they were our gods.
'79 here, old man. I was dicked out a ticket to this show by some "friends." Sucked beyond measure and is unforgivable.
You they're reading this: "Bite me."
I saw the same tour in Charlotte, NC and was leaning on the front of the stage. Oh! The days of "festival" seating... ❤
@@Jekylnhyde55 At was at the P/G tour pressed into the front barrier and some ahole elbowed me in the throat and I almost went down and "Trampled Under Feet."
I was some festival seating show where people were yelling "Cincinnati Style." They smashed a security guard right into the edges of two doors, like a spinectomy. He was nice and was apologizing for the delays, etc.
Venues in that town paid me to stay home.
People were nice when I saw Jon Anderson's "Animation" tour.
Ich bin neidisch my first Concert was Moving Pictures in Frankfurt
Hey, Doug, there's a reason why Geddy Lee's bass playing sounds similar to Chris Squire, at times. He was inspired to take up the bass and play when he heard Chris play the bass on Yes's first album. He is such a fan of Yes that he and Alex Lifeson inducted Yes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Geddy played the late Chris's bass part on "Roundabout" for the performance section of the ceremony. You should react to that live performance, it's terrific!
Doesn't Squire play bass with a pick though?
Yep, Squire was Lee's inspiration. Great comment. Liked it. Though, it actually was their second album, Time And A Word, and the opening song, No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed, that was the song Geddy was talking about.
@@johnandrews3568 Yes, indeed. I'd like an explanation from the pupil that surpassed its master, one day... Honest opinion, here...
Yes Squire used a pick
In addition, they're using the same bass, a Rickenbacker 4001. Geddy, Chris Squire, and Mike Rutherford of Genesis all use this amazing bass.
I'd love to hear Doug breakdown "Natural Science" and "Jacob's Ladder".
two more masterpieces
@@kevinz8930 oh yeah Natural Science is my favorite from that album and I love Jacob’s Ladder
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
PW is my favorite.
❤
Hemispheres album has always been my favorite Rush album. This side was awesome, then you turn to Circumstances, The Trees, La Villa. Always beautiful in my estimation.
nothing tops it. i’ve been djing 28 years and have seen and heard countless funky things. amazing grooves and dance floors that didn’t stop for days. i never repeat tracks in my dj sets. none of those songs are ever in my head. it is the music of rush i can’t stop playing over and over. the gods are apparent. i still listen to hemispheres weekly to take a break from my constant curating of 15 electronic genres. nothing in the world of music compares to this.
"I'm trying to catch the meter" By the time you've got it it's probably already changed, welcome to Rush
Alex's guitar work on this album is just simply outstanding. The chord progressions, open string chords and arpeggios are just inspiring!
Neal was obviously a great rock drummer, but his lyrics were wonderfully profound and often sublime! The Sphere is the most beautiful and touching song they ever wrote imo, and always moves me to tears! He was a great drummer, but even better writer and just a wonderful human! RIP NP.
I can't wait to listen to it again. Words spoken by millions of RUSH fans.... me included!
and the best part is that WE COULD... because it wasn't spoiled by overplay on classic rock radio!!
For me Hemispheres is Rush's platinum crowned diamond. The flow is just delightful. I'm a bass player and have always enjoyed jamming this.
Their pinnacle for me 👍
Oddly, Hemispheres wasn't highly regarded at the time. As it was seen then, Rush had taken three albums to develop their signature sound before the statement album 2112. Farewell To Kings was a pinnacle of that development so they needed to move on. Hemispheres was seen as tidying up loose ends while they worked out where to go next, whether or not they'd taken notice of the changes in music (New Wave, Electronica Reggae, etc, though they certainly took the last two on board later). Hemispheres is very much a 70s album while Permanent Waves is definitely an 80s album. Everyone hears things differently, but if I unsheathe Hemispheres I'll only play La Villa Strangiato. Maybe I should play side 1 again.
@@patrickneylanYou should! Please do! 🙂
For me too! One of the best albums ever! And great sounding as well.
I couldn't agree more with your final words. I have a love of many Rush songs, but Cygnus X-1 Book 2 has touched my heart and mind more than any other. I think it was the song that turned me from someone who enjoyed Rush, to someone who loves Rush.
About that chord that Alex is playing at the beginning of Hemisphere, here is an exert from an articular Guitar Player:
A few years back, John Petrucci went out for a drive with the folks from Cosmo Music. In the resulting Rockstars in Cars video, the Dream Theater guitarist talked about his favorite solo to play live, his mix of technical and emotional guitar playing, and more.
Best question in the video: “Desert island chord: You got one chord you can play forever. What is it?”
“It’s the opening chord from Hemispheres by Rush,” Petrucci replies. “It’s the F sharp major with the added 4th and the flat 7. That should really be named ‘the Alex Lifeson Chord,’ because he invented that.”
Your comment enhances an inside joke my brother and I have had since the eighties. Until my brother started playing drums and didn't care about theory and I started playing guitar and did we've always called what Alex does Alex likes and cords.. At least for me until I started learning the names of a lot of the stuff he was doing anyway.
What’s so funny is that Alex uses that exact chord shape all around his guitar. It’s like a bar chord except the top 3 strings are always open. Not even a difficult chord to learn, yet completely brilliant
And he came back with it to open "Far Cry" on the Snakes & Arrows album.
@@RickNBacker that’s a different chord
@@hpatss4966 so many rock and roll masterpieces are easy to learn but extremely difficult to come up with and be creative with. That's why there are so many incredibly talented musicians you can see on any weekend in a major city but they our talented players but don't have someone to write compelling music.
Doesn’t matter how many times I listen to it, the intro to Cygnus X-1 Book 1 gives me goosebumps from head to toe… gosh it’s brilliant and haunting. Not to mention, the virtuosity of the playing damn. The ending also gives me goosebumps with that lyric “every nerve is pulled apart.”
That said, Book I and Book II together as a complete story is one of my all time favorite moments in Rush discography. Book II is so incredibly good!!
Like many, I'm also in my 60's growing up with Rush. Living in upstate New York,in the 70's and 80's Rush had concerts here yearly,lost count of how many I attended. A live performance was as crisp and tight as listening to an album. The best is watching Doug go from first hearing Rush to now seeing him be a strong fan. It's so enjoyable to watch someone discover and love Rush as we do.
Right on man
Guitarists will have to correct me, but I believe the chord that Alex uses at the intro into Book 2 is now called the "Alex Lifeson chord." He comes back to it again on their 2007 album "Snakes and Arrows", as well. :) Yes, the last section of Book 2 makes me cry, every time. Not only is it profound and timeless, but the lyrics are put to a beautiful melody. It's incredibly mature for these guys who were in their 20s, at the time they wrote this. It's oddly reminiscent, to me of "Soon" by Yes. Not melodically, but in its hope and "vibe." Thx for doing these compositions.
Soon is one of Jon Anderson's best vocal works. That whole song is beautiful. Then I heard Lady of Dreams, and it was a SMH moment.
I think he uses the same chord on Digital Man in their Signals record... Alex in an underappreciated genius!!
@@IloveBROCOLIS Oh gosh, yeah, I forgot about Digital Man...! :)
@@IloveBROCOLIS Also the beginning of the verses in Subdivisions
It's an F# with an added 4th and minor 7th, which is basically just the F# shape with strings B and E lose. He turns that shape into to the whole harmony of the Xanadu verses, adding those B and E notes also A and B major chords.
Small production note that you might have missed: When Geddy is first singing about how the heart and mind were divided into hollow hemispheres they pan his voice slowly from the center to the left and right simulating the division of left and right hemispheres 29:09. Then at the end he talks about the two hemispheres uniting and the two stereo voices merge back into one straight up the middle 37:10 . :)
Brilliant production move there!
Which follows with the theme they set with the album title.
Many reactions to these songs also miss when they hook into the last song on the previous album at 31:18. That's how the previous album ends. And the short snippets of music are memories Rosignantes pilot experiences from when he was alive and had a physical form. Those are also from the previous album :)
Great call! Rush had many “Easter Eggs” in their music, some were more subliminal such as the panning of the vocals as you pointed out, and others required a bit more thought like in 2112 where the last two verses Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation had 21 words and We have assumed control has 12 words.
@@rwfrench66GenX _like in 2112 where the last two verses Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation had 21 words and We have assumed control has 12 words_ Yeah, but....who saying those phrases...the Solar Federation or the people rebelling? It's debated, but Neil has hinted to who it is that says it ....:)
Neil definitely gets his accolades for being one of the best drummers to ever live, but I think he's very underrated as a lyricist.
"We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim
Let the truth of love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility armed with sense and liberty
With the heart and mind united in a single perfect sphere."
Neil has just written the most poignant and relevant lyrics in the history of music.
I would love a reaction to the song Losing It or Mission, two of my favorite Rush songs in terms of lyrics
who’s chopping onions?! 😭
Mission! ♥️
"If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane
We each pay a fabulous price
For.our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission!"
@@javiervelasco3921 Absolutely amazing, I get chills everytime
“Losing It” was oddly prophetic, as age took its toll on Neil’s body and he found it harder and harder to play at the same level, to the point where after they retired he gave up playing drums altogether. Those lyrics still come as a gut punch every time I listen to it.
I know this is coincidence but thanks for posting this today. Rush was my dad's favorite band and this made me tear up, it being the anniversary of his passing.
There are very few things in this world that can bring a tear to my eye; Rush is one of those things. Watching Doug run through Hemispheres and see all the realizations hit him makes me emotional for whatever reason.
likewise.
Only Rush could come up with a song/story/epic that starts in the future and ends in Ancient Greece and yet somehow comes together perfectly.🔥🤘🏻🎧
Absolutely!
Very Battlestar Galactica.
Amen Brother
Awesome observation.
Rush = Genius
One of my favorite songs in their entire catalogue. Love the analysis... keep it up!
Living in Toronto and with Rush being hometown boys (well for the most part - Neil was from a smaller city 50 miles away), we were privileged to be the first to hear the premiere of these great albums from Rush's heyday. What a treat it was to hear Alex and Geddy with announcer Rick Ringer on 104.5 CHUM-FM ( back when they were a REAL radio station) introducing the songs and giving a bit of backstory on them. 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, Signals, G/P. I used to record these premiere's and listen to them until I had the chance to go buy the albums. Probably still have the C90 tapes somewhere with those recordings.
yes!...i remember those album premieres, loved them and waiting to buy it and see the concerts!!....remember 104.5 fm when they would play 3 tracks from every artist...yeah they were cool back then
I first heard about Rush in college in the early 90s, having been raised in a family that saw rock music as something from the Devil. I played some songs for a friend and said that this is what Bach would be composing were he alive today.
It was gratifying to learn that rock was more than just the simplistic "love" songs that played on commercial radio.
I think this is your best reaction video... Thank you so much.
I'm 57 years old and have been a fan of Rush since the early days. I played quite a bit
of bass guitar myself but still an amateur - never a pro. Geddy is the best and multi-talented
not many could ever compare. I saw a few of your other videos and I saw this one hit you
pretty good - the emotions were evident!!
Would love for Doug to cover all four parts of Rush’s “Fear” series. Amazing four songs that cover a time span of 21 years and start with Part Three on Moving Pictures. From the amazing mind of Neil!
Great suggestion!
lol...yeh ..all four parts of 'The Fear Trilogy' :)......good shout
Sign me up!
@@kengregory6026 its not a trilogy, there are 4 songs.
@@julien2231 Ah,thx for your reply,@julien !..I wondered if anyone would pick this up.This was another of Neil's little jokes.The original 3 songs (Witch Hunt [pt3] from Moving Pictures, The Weapon[pt2] from Signals and then The Enemy Within[pt1] from Grace Under Pressure were released on consecutive albums and became The Fear Trilogy. 18 years,and many albums, later Freeze[pt4] appeared on Vapor Trails. When asked about this on their rare group interview with Stephen Colbert, Neil replied ' Yeh, there are four songs in The Fear Trilogy.Why not?' and laughed.
Doug, I think you missed the part where the chords that fade out in Book 1 come in at the exact moment Cygnus shows up in the battle of Book 2 (somewhere around 31:30 of your video). That gives me chills every time. This whole two part story is a masterpiece that gets pretty much no attention when people talk about Rush. Thanks for doing the two parts together. It just shows the sheer genius of Neil. There will never be a musical piece ever done like this again.
As a 40+ year Rush fan, I welcome you to the fold, and I must tell you that you have learned well, young grasshopper. I have been impressed by your reaction videos to some of Rush's greatest music. To see you moved so profoundly by music I cherish among all others, that to me is the joy of discovery and re-discovery. I sadly haven't got a performing musical bone in my body, but I can sing. As you have noticed, Neil's gifts as a storyteller are almost like wisdom from the mountain, and it was a real shock to learn many years ago that he gave much of the credit to a rhyming dictionary. No musical style label fits Rush; they were on a true level of their own. RIP Professor (we know God only loaned you to us), and RUSH FOREVER!
Thanks, Brother. My favorite Rush epic song. What a masterpiece! Moves me to tears still after all these years. RIP Neil Peart.
Highly highly highly recommend "The Garden". It is the last track on their last album, "Clockwork Angels", in 2012. Such a beautiful song that chokes me up every time I listen to it.
My favorite Rush album! Thanks Doug, your first experience with this Song helped me relive my fist experience with it, and the emotion and thought provoking experience that came with the discovery!
The end of this song is like a prayer to me. But when I recite them I absolutely mean them. These men are only musicians. But something flowed through them which is very profound.
Fun to watch you experience that. Cygnus X-1, especially book 2, is my personal favorite of all Rush songs. And it is a total blast to learn to play on guitar, and a frustrating mess trying to be a precise as Alex Lifeson.
"Trying to figure out the meter..."
Said every amateur drummer ever while listening to Rush.
Hahahaha!
For posterity, that section is all in 7/8 but the way Neil is accenting makes it feel shifty, like it really really wants to be 4/4 but they're just cutting off the last beat, rather than a more "standard" 2+2+3 it's 2+2+2+1 basically.
These two songs collectively are probably my favourite Rush tracks. I've listened to both easily over 300 times each in my life, and I *never* get tired of them. There's thousands of little nuances to discover, and Doug you even showed me a new one - I had never noticed that the various chords are making up diminished chords themselves. I always knew something was different about those lines compared to literally anything else I had ever heard, but you just put it into the musical terms I had never thought about before!
@@joshuaboniface i was diving into my favorite rush songs and ur mom was there too it was crazy
Doug, Geddy would find the Squire reference a compliment. He idolized him when forming Rush.
A Farewell To Kings is still one of my all time favorite rock albums. Made a huge influence on me to start playing guitar. Before this I listened to Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, ect. Then I found Rush, Yes, Kansas and to a degree Styx and my musical standards changed.
I saw Kansas live a week ago. They are still incredible! The concert blew me away! 🤘
Ditto That!!!!!
@@michellewhaley3489 To me, the song MAGNUM OPUS influenced many new progressive rock bands.
@@auralfixxation6702 great song too but they didn’t play it. They did Carry On, Miracles Out of Nowhere and The Wall off of Leftoverture. One of my favorite albums! Going to see Styx and REO in September 😃
Same-ish, except it began with "All the World's a Stage" and was up hill from there, until is wasn't :-(
I love how Geddy changes his voice at 35:13... "We will call you Cygnus, the god of balance you shall be." So badass!
One of my very favorite aspects of this song is that Cygnus X-1 is now essentially confirmed to be a black hole, but when Neil wrote these lyrics, it existed in the astrophysics world as the first formal candidate for an astronomical object with characteristics that were were predicted to be intrinsic to a black hole, and the events narrated by the protagonist are pretty consistent with what physicists predict would happen to an observer who crossed the black hole's event horizon. I even like to imagine that those ring-modulator sounds at the beginning connote the gravitational waves emitted from the violent collapse of the star or the spinning black hole's event horizon. The more I learn about black holes over the years, the more prescient I realize Neil's lyrics were. He must have read a fantastic book or Scientific American article!
Also, this is essentially half the plot of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar!"
What I love about Rush is, they felt as if it was all live in the studio by the changes in tempo, keys, ect. Something that can only be felt by looking at each other, not by a metronome.
Back in the day I lived in a house I shared with three of the four guys in a band that played originals and copy tunes. They were very talented guys and their music was well rehearsed and played. I ended up getting married and moving out. They lost their singer and gigs were sparse but they marched on and got tighter. Shortly after this Rush album came out I was hanging out with them at the house while they worked on Cyngus X. It was truly impressive to watch talented musicians attack the tune.
Dear Doug, you might be late to the party, but brilliance and outstanding musicianship never goes out of fashion. Both Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres were recorded in Rockwell Studios in Wales (the Bohemian Rhapsody piano also recorded there) and Xanadu and the Cygnus suite are just the pinnacle of the classic prog period. Though more brilliant albums followed, these two from Rockwell will always remain the high water mark for me. Enjoy your continued listenings!
Rockfield Studios
Now you have to listen to them and concentrate on each instrument. The bass lines in these songs are astounding. The guitar work is also impeccable. And while Neils' work is really good. He takes the back seat in these two songs (in my opinion) and lets the lyrics "shine through".
I love how you called out the key changes starting around 30:28 in your video. Also, you lifted an eyebrow when they finally come all the way back around at the end, but listen again and check out how they set up the leading tone back to that F#7+11 (the "rush chord,") right when Geddy sings, "the god of balance you shall be." It's probably my favorite musical moment in any song, ever.
I've listened to this stuff a million times. I bought the records when they first came out. But I am a drummer and I was always listening for the drumming and timing. (I had to play Rush cover tunes in my first band) Those two things were influential as I grew as a rock drummer. This is the first time I actually paid attention to the lyrics. I don't know a "minor third" from a major turd, so that analysis doesn't help me. The analysis of the lyrics in Book 2 gave me a completely new understanding and appreciation for this song. I'll never hear it the same old way again. Thank you, sir.
Now I need a “Doug special” breakdown of The Fountain Of Lamneth. These long epics are perfect for your reactions!
Hemispheres is the most adventurous yet melodic storytelling album ever created
ABSOLUTELY!! 👍
Book 2 played over and over on my turntable. I had a badass Technics sound system back in my junior high days that my paper route paid for. Good stuff!
That's why Rush is in my top ten favorite bands!
The ending lyrics to this song are beautiful and profound. Actually, every lyric written by Neil has a great message and meaning. Has anyone noticed everything kind of went to shit when he passed away.
Remember seeing this back in October 78 back then it was pure raw energy in concerts and on the LP's back then we all had to wait no internet to get any clues to part 2 !
Miss those days what a sound track for our generation back in the late 1970'S !
I remember it well. Farewell to Kings was my best friend's favorite album, and Cygnus X-1 his favorite track. It was a long year until Hemispheres was released, and we finally got the rest of the story.
Seeing these two companion songs played in 1980, live, back-to-back, is one of the concert highlights of my life. Unbelievable how three fellas brought these off so perfectly live. Dig the unresolved chord progression at the end of Book I. Which sets up Book II perfectly with the chord that has been since known as the "Lifeson Chord." What a great shimmering, expansive, chorus-y sound Alex Lifeson achieved on Hemispheres! It is essentially a twist on the fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper!
Saw them do the entire saga on the Hemispheres tour! UNFORGETTABLE!!
When I first heard Cygus X-1 as a child, it scared the crap out of me...
Dude! I have listened to this album for 30 years and am still fascinated by it. Thank you for your classical training and understanding of cord progressions. Being a drummer I’ve focused on the time signatures and fills as they drive the composition along. Had tears at the end as you did knowing how Neil’s words are so poignant to this day. Thank you.
Dude!!!! Did you even catch the samples of Cygnus X-1 from the previous album mixed into the synth transition of the birth of the God of Balance?!? I heard this back in 81 as a 13 year old and figured it out. That’s one of the many reasons I love this band.
Rest in Power Professor ❤
Wow, I just had to wipe away a tear, listening to that, and your description of Neil’s brilliance. Always a Rush fan, but I think I was missing the poetry in the lyrics a little. Thanks Doug.
Same here. Unbelievable lyrics and performance.
1978 first time I saw the boys warm up for BOC & the beginning of my RUSH fandom. Next year 4th row in front of Geddy for Hemispheres. Still the loudest concert I have ever seen. And yes I've seen them so many times I lost count. RIP Neil my mentor.
This brings me great joy, can't wait for it to be premiered... Now you are just missing "The Fountain of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer" both from the "Caress of Steel" album. Amazing tracks amazingly underrated, even if the critics said things like "one of Rush's more unfocused albums"
Wrong album
@@Efferri You are right, fixed!
The Necromancer hit me like a ton of bricks when I was a kid! It was the first time I realized there were worse things than death. The thing is my grandfather died about a year earlier and we were close so at that time I really thought death was the worse thing. I chose to let Neil’s words guide me into adulthood from that point on!
@@Efferri
Wtf are you talking about? You’re wrong.
@@flapjackson6077 LOL chill buddy. He had it as "Grace Under Pressure".
15:17 I still don't understand how Geddy was able to still sing after hitting this note. Truly something unique.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for finally premiering Hemispheres Book II to your listeners. This is the single most emotional, inspirational and beautiful piece of music, in my opinion, created by ANY band ever. I'm so glad you found it as lovely as we did. Now listen again more!!
Hemispheres was their last hurrah for their 70's prog phase, and talk about ending it on a high note (sorta pun intended).
It still blows me away how well crafted the title track is. That album took its toll on Geddy, not just his vocals, but mentally as he was trying to balance his band career with raising a family. The music got pretty demanding.
Still though, glad they were able to complete that album though. Total masterpiece.
i remember when Hemispheres came out in '78,i was 11 and like you said a beautifully crafted masterpiece ,which i loved and trying to let my middle school classmates aware of it but they didnt get it...they'd rather listen to the Bee Gees or Olivia Newton John...those of us who got IT knew how special this band was....cheers
Yeah, Alex and Geddy said "never again" WRT the amount of studio time and production. I think of "Natural Science" as the last hurrah of epic Rush. Basically near the end of the Terry Brown era.
Geddy never got enough credit for his melodies, the way he would go up and down and change stuff around... Nobody else could've sung that stuff like him
I absolutely agree with your assessment of the song. Other Rush fans frequently cite 2112 as their magnum opus, and while there is plenty of justification for that opinion, I've always considered it to be Cygnus X-1. Neil was an amazing songwriter.
Yes, I was one of those who, at the end of Book 1, shouted, “Arrrrgh! I have to wait a whole year for the next album!” Great reaction video, Doug. Thanks for sharing!
I've loved Rush since I was a teenager; in fact, "A Farewell to Kings" was my first concert; however, I have never experienced the music as I did today. Sure, I heard the lyrics; however, it did not occur to me to examine them more closely in search of a deeper meaning. You helped me do that today and I appreciate it more than you can know. Great insights and analysis. Always appreciated.
Unexpectedly, I was actually moved to tears at the end. I don't believe that has ever happened before. Understanding will set you free. Wow!! Just wow!!
The opening groove in Book I is one of the best jams Rush ever fucking had.
God damn, so fucking good.
My two favorite Rush albums... and yeah, it was tough waiting for the conclusion to the story to come out with Hemispheres!
I've been a RUSH fan since 1977 listening to All the World's a Stage for the first time and it changed my life completely. However...A Farewell to Kings and then especially Hemispheres, took it to a whole new level for me and are my two favorite albums by RUSH! Great video!
me too pal, exactly what you said!
Doug, I’m so delighted to see you bring these two great songs together into a single, perfect sphere… so to speak! They were two of my favorite songs to play on drums. Although I wasn’t technically perfect, I was pretty damn close, That was 40 years ago.
Being 60 years old, I grew up on Rush, and seeing a younger person with classical music expertise digging on Rush is so gratifying. My love of Rush was a direct result of my dad exposing me to the three Bs from my birth. He loved classical music, and now I love it too.
Rush was one of only two rock groups (the other being Yes) that my dad was impressed with. He was also pretty impressed when I learned the drum parts for these two songs.
Rush is a classical musicians rock band!
The odd time signatures, the inventive chord progressions, the lyrical themes are just the most obvious examples of the beautiful, inimitable music of Rush.
I’m so happy you discovered Rush!!!
Now, I’m going to watch this video again.
Bravo, Doug! 🤙
Hardcore! I thought only Rush fans could get through both in one sitting. Well played, sir! You really need to listen to this on an original record to really bring out the depth of the sound. I had this album as a kid and I played it on my sister's stereo with large Bose headsets. It was an out of body experience.
Hey Doug- Great episode! I see that you are touched by Neils profound lyrics; there are many other songs that would move you more emotionally than this one; the one that comes to mind about the passion for music and the obsession of pursuing it, is called “Mission”; An excellent piece of music, with absolutely superb positive lyrics. This would be an excellent follow up albeit lyrically to Hemispheres.
I’m talking about the song “Mission” from the album “Hold Your Fire”.
Sphere - A Kind of Dream, Mission, Losing It and The Garden all hit the emotions, HARD!
Hemispheres is arguably Rush's Magnum Opus. In my mind, A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres, are one complete double album. Is not ending Perfect?!?
IMO Hemispheres is their best album because there's not a single weak track. Every other Rush album there's at least one song I skip, but Hemispheres is just 4 bangers, no more no less.
@@jonathansefcik473 It says a lot about an album if the "worst" song is either The Trees or Circumstances lol
@@jonathansefcik473Absolutely!!!
That end bit on Part II always brings me to tears. Second favorite piece of music, right after the lament movement in “To Live is to Die” by Metallica. Thanks for the breakdown, Doug. Rush is life.
I love the Sphere. Often end my live streams with it. Fun to see your reaction to all of this.
It’s funny because as soon as Sphere started playing, I started thinking about how you are the only person I have seen cover it.
I'm a heretic. I've listened to Hemispheres since release after waiting since Kings..., and I've always thought it too "sledgehammer" in delivering a message which should have been gotten from the previous. It's definitely "Tell don't Show." Which they are actually against by singing "Show Don't Tell."
The same thing was done at the end of "Natural Science."
As in all music, everything is always, IMO, and all opinions are welcome.
great timing with the new pictures of our galaxy's black hole.
Man, you've nailed on first listen things that took me many listens to pick up on. Absolutely perfect analysis and reaction. I get teary eyed re-experiencing these classics.
Great reaction!! You understand lol! I love how they bring back a little bit of book one in the background at 31:51 and 32:05 and the panning!
At the end of this song, only by your face expression, I knew you were conquered. Great reaction Dr Doug.
Cygnus X-1 is one of my top 5 all-time Rush songs. Seeing that coupled with ALL of Book II live on the Hemispheres tour was the most epic moment I have ever seen/heard live in my life!!!! Geddy's bass sound is MASSIVE!!!!!! Great ears...CHRIS SQUIRE IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY!! Geddy would be very proud!!!!
Hemispheres was my first introduction to the music of Rush and from there I worked backwards. After listening to A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres, I quickly realized the genius, both musically and lyrically, of what has been my favorite band for the past 40 years. Thanks Doug👍👍
In 1980 i saw the Hemispheres tour and the video playing at the start of Cygnus X-1 was the space shuttle floating into the black hole. It truly was an amazing concert even starting off with April Wine opening for them.
Amazing how much Dream Theater was influenced by Rush. You can hear it clearly even in their most recent music.
Actually I believe they were way more Rush influenced after Portnoy left than ever before. You can hear it as clear as day! I'm curious how their sound will be now that Portnoy is back!
I'm glad to hear that this affected you so emotionally. I grew up in the 70s and 80s listening to Rush, and Hemispheres has always been my favorite. I'm a fan of a lot of their stuff, but I think Hemispheres often gets overlooked by the more commercially successful and radio-friendly stuff they put out later. I had expected you to pick up on the fact that some of the music in Book 2 was a repeat of some in Book 1. You may have noticed it, but I didn't hear you mention it.
Thank you for this reaction. I have been listening to Rush since 1980 and I have been blown away by their performances ever since. Your experienced perspective brings a whole new depth to what I already knew was deep. Thanks for explaining the different levels of depth that I didn't catch. I hope you catch the other levels of depth that the rest of us have known for years. Thanks again.
FWIW, Cygnus X-1 isn't merely a black hole.
It was the first X-ray source to be identified as a possible black hole. Back in 1977, it was not certain that the X-ray sources that astronomers had only recently started discovering were actually black holes or if they were something else.
IIRC, X-ray astronomy had only begun in 1973 (the Earth's atmosphere absorbs X-rays arriving from space, so we can't observe them from the ground).
Can you imagine that you are 17 years old and you read a review about this album and then decide to buy it of the money from your part-time job? If only I were 17 years old again, to put the needle on the vinyl for the first time. Almost brings tears to my eyes...
The dancing around the diminished chords seems very mathematically minded to me, which fits the Astronomical motif of the song, The symmetry and math of space, chaos included. I subscribe to the belief that it's all intentional, and that they really are this deep. What I notice in many of their epics is that whenever there is actual conflict, the music get's a sort of Dark Carnival feeling to it. Armageddon in this song, La Villa Strangiato during Monsters, presentation from 2112, Didacts and Narpets from Fountain of Lamneth (one you might consider covering). at 31:51 we hear in the background under the spacey music the same riff from 7:46 from the travelers origin story. He went into a black hole at the end of that origin and here he is reappearing with these snippets from his origin.
Rush is one of the greatest bands of all time... I was born too late to be able to enjoy these albums as they were released, but got into them later & the music is absolutely incredible IMO. Glad you're enjoying them. Jacob's Ladder is another obscure but excellent one.
Neil Peart is a world treasure. He was talented with words, turning stories and events, everyday life into great songs and he had the power to be the greatest drummer or this time in history. This is true in my heart and mind together in a single perfect sphere. #MISSING-NEIL-PEART
When he said the bill tolls for thee... I immediately leapt to Signals and Losing It. Well played Maestro!
Same! I said "Hold on Doug...you're getting ahead of yourself!" LOLOL
Hey Doug; Just came across this episode and really dig the analysis. I was there in 1977 (high school) and at the end of "Farewell" it felt like they had fallen into the event horizon. Bourn out by Neil's awesome lyrics, and the wild music. That summer I went to the Adler Planetarium and have my mind completely blow when we were taken on a trip through the galaxy. Guess what soundtrack was playing in my head . . . Yeah baby Cignus Book I. It was epic!
Love these. To have a musician listen to the best (Rush was my favorite band growing up and at 60 are still yet) is just awesome!
Your summation of that song is brilliant and matches my own feelings exactly. This song for me and the album itself is one of the greatest works of music ever commited to vinyl. One of the soundtracks of my life.
Profound lyrics across decades. I don't think any other band has come anywhere near.
As to Book 2, given that you are a composer, in addition to the glorious music, the profound lyrics, and the continuing resonances ("History may not repeat, but it certainly echoes"), the thing that I am surprised you did not comment on was the STRUCTURE of Book 2. It is much more like an opera than anything else. The first movement introduces the musical themes that will be employed throughout, and sets up the conflict in the second and third movements, which are resolved in the fourth, with the morale of the story shared in the closing number. I had played classical piano and symphonic percussion as a teenager, and studied philosophy in college. Due to my involvement with classical music I was late to discover rock in earnest, and was very late to first truly listen to Rush (1981). I first heard "Hemispheres" several years after it came out - in 1983 - and it was nothing short of a revelation for me. It appealed directly and unmistakably to my classical sensibilities, to my love of percussion, and to my interest in philosophy; here was a piece of serious music performed by serious musicians, with a profound point to make, using science and philosophy to say something important about humanity and human nature. It sounds like you've now experienced what I did when I first became a life-long fan of these three great, humble and intelligent creators; it might go a small way to explaining why I and so many others still so deeply feel the loss of Neil Peart. His soul is so much missed even as his contributions live on.
I can't believe I'm only the second person to like this amazing, insightful comment. What a trio Rush were and will forever be. A farewell to kings, indeed.