On December 1, Anthem/ole label group/UMe continues the Rush 40th anniversary album celebrations with lavish new expanded editions of the band’s landmark album A Farewell To Kings.
A Farewell to Kings, Rush’s fifth studio album, was originally released in 1977 and played a major role in establishing Rush as an internationally popular and respected band. A Farewell to Kings also introduced the trio’s first successful radio hit “Closer To The Heart,” album tracks “A Farewell To Kings,” “Madrigal,” “Cinderella Man,” as well as enduring fan favorites with “Xanadu” and “Cygnus X-1.”
This incredible offering comes in four formats, encompassing the Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 remastered edition of the album for the first time on CD; a complete Rush concert recorded in February 1978 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, newly mixed by longtime Rush engineer and original A Farewell to Kings producer Terry Brown from the multi-track live tapes; and an instrumental studio outtake of the spacey sound effects the band has creatively titled “Cygnus X-2 performances including a complete “2112” suite, “Lakeside Park,” a drum solo and “Closer To The Heart.” The Blu-ray Audio disc contains a brand new 5.1 surround mix of the album by four-time GRAMMY nominated surround sound producer Steven Wilson, along with three original 1977 promo videos from a newly found 2-inch quad video master significantly improving the video quality for “Closer To The Heart.” An elaborate new 40th anniversary cover treatment was created by longtime Rush creative director Hugh Syme, as well as a new piece of artwork created for each of the album’s six songs, and an extensive 12,000-word liner notes by GRAMMY®-winning rock historian Rob Bowman.
The 40th anniversary release also includes four newly-recorded cover versions of songs from the original album:
1. Xanadu by Dream Theater
2. Closer to the Heart by Big Wreck
3. Cinderella Man by The Trews
4. Madrigal by Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Chris Cornell etc.)
The four distinct configurations of A Farewell to Kings – 40th Anniversary will be available in formats of (1) Super Deluxe Edition, (2) three-CD Deluxe Edition, (3) four-LP Deluxe Edition and (4) the Deluxe Digital Edition.
Further information about all configurations is available here and the full track listing available here.
Additionally, on November 24, Anthem/ole label group/UMe will release a 7″ vinyl single for Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event, featuring the beloved A Farewell to Kings hits “Closer to the Heart” and “Madrigal” with a custom large-hole adapter and new artwork by Hugh Syme.
The incredible new rendition of “Closer to the Heart” covered by Big Wreck will be serviced to Canadian rock radio in support of the Record Store Day 7 inch and 40th anniversary releases.
In his liner notes, Bowman describes A Farewell to Kings as “the beginning of Chapter Two” for Rush. “No longer was the majority of the record dominated by the sound of a power trio. A more mature Rush now embraced a wider sound palette using synthesizers, Taurus bass pedals, classical guitar, tubular bells, temple blocks and orchestral bells to create greater contrast and color within their compositions. Yet, when desired, Rush continued to deploy the intensity, ferocity and power that they were justifiably known for.”
Rush – bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart – has won a large and passionate worldwide fan base for its unique, adventurous approach, which combines sterling musicianship, complex compositions and distinctive lyrical flights drawing upon science-fiction motifs and esoteric philosophical concepts. The band has sold more than 25 million albums in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales estimated at 45 million, and has been awarded 24 Gold, 14 Platinum, and three multi-platinum albums. Rush has received seven GRAMMY nominations, won 9 JUNO Awards and were honoured with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award in 2015. The Canadian rock icons were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
