Hemispheres

It is difficult to define Rush - they are a rock band with a very sophisticated sound. This is not “heavy metal” and the lyrics are always amazing (thank you drummer Neil Peart!). Rush have created some 20++ albums over the years but for me the high point was the 5 albums series of 2112 (pronounced twenty-one twelve), A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Everything before then was still good.....but ascending, and since then also good but descending. Those 5 albums were Rush at their unbelievably greatest. Hemispheres was the third of the five. It’s hard to describe the genre - as I said before - it IS rock music, but rock with wondrous storylines, intricate build ups, atmospheric presence and soaring guitar breaks. Rush never really did singles - no singles on this album....the first track is 18 minutes long.....a story of the battle of the God of the Heart and the God of the Mind......the struggle of human practicality (food, warmth, shelter) over human passion and emotion (love, art, song, poetry, dance)..... two distinct Hemispheres.....that eventually learn to live together, in a “single, perfect, sphere”.........terrific stuff.....you won’t be disappointed in this purchase.

Review of DMM LP Version Still sounds amazing so many decades later ... especially on this high quality vinyl. While this was not the first album by Rush I owned back in the day, it was their first perfect record. By cutting out the filler songs, Rush essentially succeeded in crafting the first of three flawless releases in a row. Side A contains the epic sequel to the "Cygnus X-1" and marks the conclusion of the mythology/fantasy based songs by Peart. The sounds and ideas of the previous release resonate fresh and heavy in "Cygnus X-1 Book II" - the march-like rhythms timeless. What was especially masterful and gutsy was the transfer of a musical theme and the continuation of a song from one album to another. No one else had ever really done that so successfully as Rush did between Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres. Furthermore, Hemispheres was an apt title for this paradoxical record as Side B would change directions completely and deliver two concise, witty and melodic songs followed then by the most self-indulgent song in the history of the band with "La Villa Strangianto." Not only was Side B a drastic departure from what had gone before, it perfectly forecasted what was to come with the next two releases. It is just fantastic to have this back in such a high quality vinyl. The double gate-fold layout with lyrics printed on the inside of the cover and the pull out 3-panel iconic poster (which adorned the wall of my childhood bedroom for years) from the original LP release really ramps up the nostalgic value.

I recently had a bunch of my original Rush albums stolen along with many others. I have been replacing them with the remasters. This sounds great on my Dolby atmos system. If you’re a Rush fan, buy this recording and if you’re not, you will be after hearing this one.

Great album, and my favorite Rush album of all time, which for me is like picking my favorite child. The vinyl edition sounds good, though I no longer have my original to compare it to. But the download offered from the UMG site is not so good. In fact, it sucks. I did a better job ripping it from my CD. And to top it all off, there is a skip at the 2 minutes mark on La Villa Strangiato. Yes, a skip. On a digital file. A SKIP. Very sloppy and very disappointing that they did such a horrible job on this. Shameful, in fact. So, 5 stars for the album in terms of song quality etc. etc. But TWO STARS for this re-issue, because a skip in a downloaded digital file makes me want to scream like Cygnus / Geddy Lee does in Part V. Cygnus - Bringer of Balance (okay, a little poetic license here, as Cygnus issued forth a "silent scream," but you get the idea).

I'm not going to comment on the music, I think anyone buying the vinyl already knows it's a great album, and one of Rush's best. I did want to comment on the new 2015 vinyl release. Generally speaking, the sound is very good, with lots of dynamic range (especially when compared to the "Rush Remasters" CD). I don't have the original vinyl, but I used to. I think this album sounds as good, but perhaps slightly different. Specifically, Geddy's bass sounds a bit better defined than I remember. His voice also pierces my head more than it used to, but I suspect that's due to aging ears, and not a flaw with this album's sound. :-) There is a (mildly) annoying short silent gap on side 1, between I. Prelude and II. Apollo. Mercury must have been in a rush (no pun intended) to get this thing out. Count on the music industry to be this sloppy and careless. I don't find it that annoying (and certainly not a deal breaker). But they should have caught the error, and fixed it. The packaging is good, and looks just like the original. It even includes the poster, and they did a nice job. The spine can "pinch" the record sleeve, which is only mildly annoying. Gluing the spine "closed" must be a lost art from the "real" days of vinyl. Finally, the .m4a download sounds good, except for software skips (at least in La Villa Strangiato, I didn't bother listening to the other .m4a tracks). More sloppiness. In conclusion, this is a good alternative to trying to track down a clean original release.

Amazing!

This review is for the vinyl re-issue. The high quality of these pressings continues. 200 gram and absolutely quiet. It also includes the poster that came with the original release back in 1978. This LP is basically Rush coming to the end of a certain direction in their music before beginning a new one which would appear with their next release, Permanent Waves. Very enjoyable to listen to, especially on vinyl.

Haven’t heard this in years. Great album great musicians.