A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in September 1977 by Anthem Records. After touring their previous album 2112 (1976), which saw the group reach a new critical and commercial peak, they started work on a follow-up. They decided to record at Rockfield Studios in Wales, the first time Rush recorded an album outside of Toronto. The band expanded their sound with each member playing new instruments that they had not previously used, and recorded a mix of concise and long songs.
A Farewell to Kings reached No. 11 in Canada and helped the group to continue to expand its audience internationally, reaching inside the top-40 in the UK and the US for the first time. "Closer to the Heart" was released as the album's first single, which reached No. 36 in the UK. Rush toured in support of the album from August 1977 to May 1978. The tour saw the band headline major venues across Canada and play in the UK.
Background and recording
In June 1977 Rush ended their sixteen-month tour in support of their previous album, 2112 (1976). They decided not to take a break and started on a follow-up straight away. Later that month, they retreated to Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire in Wales to record. This marked the first time that Rush recorded an album outside of Toronto, and Neil Peart recalled the decision to pick a studio suitable enough as "extremely difficult". After longtime Rush producer Terry Brown did some research, he became excited about working in Rockfield and the group chose it. Peart later wrote that the seclusion and the "mellow" atmosphere at the studio created a productive environment for the group to work in, which gave them the opportunity to record outdoors.
The album was recorded in three weeks, followed by two weeks of mixing at Advision Studios in London. Peart said that 2112 made the band sound confined in their sound, so for A Farewell to Kings, the group decided to write material that featured instruments they could play naturally as well as new ones, thus allowing them to play multiple instruments when performing on stage. As a result, A Farewell to Kings features Peart playing orchestra bells, tubular bells, chimes, and other percussion; Geddy Lee playing double neck bass (a Rickenbacker 4080) and Minimoog; and Alex Lifeson on new guitars and for the first time, a Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer (used by both Lee and Lifeson). Prior to recording, Rush completed a short British tour in June 1977 which saw the group perform "Xanadu". Apart from early ideas for "Closer to the Heart", the majority of the album was developed in the studio.
In 2017, Lee considered the album as a particularly important one in regard to his musical development. "I learned a lot; I was learning a lot. I was always challenged and I was very stimulated and the end result was A Farewell to Kings, so I guess it was a pivotal record in that regard." A Farewell to Kings was the first Rush album where synthesizers were an integral part of their sound.
Songs
Side one
"A Farewell to Kings" features birds chirping that were recorded outside the studio. The title originated from an idea Peart had a year before Rush started work on the album; he recalled Lee and Rush manager Ray Danniels pushing him to work it into a song and make it the album's title. The track became one of the band's favourites because, as Peart wrote, "it seems to encapsulate everything that we want Rush to represent."
"Xanadu" opens with birdsong that was also featured on the opening track. It is a fantasy-inspired song that Peart described as "the most complex and multi-textured piece we have ever attempted" at the time of recording. The opening line is taken from the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Initially, Peart had an idea based on Citizen Kane before he found Coleridge's poem, the lines of which "etched like a burning image in my head." On the day of recording the song, Rush initially played a run-through of the track to gauge the balance and tone that the microphones were picking up. They performed it a second time once the equipment was set up, and the take was used for the album.
Side two
"Closer to the Heart" was the first song Rush developed for A Farewell to Kings and for a time, was the album's early title. In a lyrical sense, Peart noted that as "A Farewell to Kings" deals with the idea of problems, "Closer to the Heart" addresses solutions. It is based on a verse by Peter Talbot, a friend of the group from Seattle who, in addition to being a writer, worked in the media.