Rush Song Of The Day - Cygnus X1Book II: Hemispheres

Rush, who recently released the R40 box set grace the cover of the latest issue of Prog, and in the same issue we called upon 40 famous Rush fans to reveal their favourite Rush songs…

Over the next few weeks we’ll be bringing you some of those choices. Today it’s the choice of 1987 mens Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, a major rock fan whose record collection we delved into back in issue 41 and who chipped in with a real die-hard fan’s choice of Cygnus X1: Book II.

“For whatever reason unknown to me, Hemispheres is not regarded as a classic Rush album by many. But I can’t disagree more. For me, it’s the ultimate Rush album, and the first real prog rock record I ever got into. Sure, I knew about Pink Floyd and Genesis, but Rush were almost unknown in Australia, and that was kinda cool. /o:p

“Cygnus-X1 Book II: Hemispheres, the first side of the album, is quite extraordinary. It really has everything a prog rock album should have. It’s all about mystery of the gods. What ultimately blew me away was the huge sound for a three-piece band. Geddy Lee’s voice, of course, is something very unusual. The first side is officially one song swerving back and forth with changes and atmosphere. The first 12 minutes, with its twists and turns, leads to a spooky three minutes before they stomp back again into what is my favourite piece of Rush music, bar none. /o:p

“It made a huge impact on me as a teenager, and to this day still does. The song finishes with beautifully sweet lyrics showing all the sides of Rush that we love. Neil Peart really is a poet, and has the talent of making lyrics timeless. They seem as poignant now as they would have been when the gods were creating the universe.”/o:p

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