description Rush - Hemispheres Overview
Hemispheres is Rush's 1978 album featuring the side-long suite "Cygnus X-1 Book II," which continues the spacefaring narrative begun on the preceding album A Farewell to Kings.
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What is the storyline of the "Cygnus X-1 Book II" suite on Rush's Hemispheres?
Taking up the entire first side of the 1978 vinyl record, this 18-minute suite concludes the spacefaring narrative begun in the song "Cygnus X-1" on their previous album, "A Farewell to Kings." It explores the Greek mythological struggle between Apollo (reason) and Dionysus (emotion), which is ultimately resolved by the character of Cygnus.
Is "La Villa Strangiato" on Hemispheres an instrumental track?
Yes, "La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise in Self-Indulgence)" is a highly complex, nine-part instrumental clocking in at over nine minutes. The band recorded it at Rockfield Studios in Wales, famously taking as long to record this one track as it took to record their entire previous album.
Did Rush ever perform the Hemispheres album live in its entirety?
While they toured heavily for the album in 1978 and 1979, they rarely played the entire "Cygnus X-1 Book II" suite live because it was too technically demanding. However, Rush did perform parts of the album during their 2010-2011 Time Machine Tour and the 2015 R40 Tour.
What musical awards or charts did Hemispheres achieve upon release?
Released in 1978 on Mercury Records, the album did not win major music awards but was a commercial success, reaching number 47 on the Billboard 200. It has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA and is widely considered a masterpiece of progressive rock.
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