Crafting progressive rock anthems isn’t a task to be rushed — ironic, given the name of the band in question. Canadian prog-rock legends Rush were notorious for taking their time to create intricate, thought-provoking music, often at great personal cost. Their 1978 album Hemispheres exemplifies this dedication, marking a pivotal moment in the band’s career.
In a 2020 interview with Classic Rock, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson recalled the painstaking process behind the record. Isolated in a remote farmhouse studio in Wales, the band found themselves losing touch with reality. “We were like these monks,” Lee shared. “At one point during that album, we stopped shaving. We sort of turned into these [grotesque] prog creatures in this farmhouse, working all night, sleeping all day.”
Despite containing only four tracks, Hemispheres proved a monumental challenge to complete. “Hemispheres was the record that wouldn’t end,” Lee admitted. “Everything about making that record was exceedingly difficult.” Lifeson echoed this sentiment, describing the toll of months spent secluded at the farm, where the trio rarely ventured outside. “I don’t remember more than three moments where we actually left the farm in over three months,” Lee reflected.
Though satisfied with the final product, the band felt they had sacrificed a part of themselves in the process: “We were very happy with the record, but it felt like we lost a chunk of ourselves in it.”
Their sacrifices, however, resulted in an album that elevated Rush to a new artistic plane. The opening track, “Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres,” is an 18-minute epic tackling existential themes like God, the soul, love, and reason. The composition’s sprawling structure and profound lyricism showcased the band’s emergence as heavy metal philosophers.
The album’s closing track, “La Villa Strangiato,” further cemented its legacy. A 12-part instrumental masterpiece, the song serves as both a triumphant finale to Hemispheres and a swan song for Rush‘s progressive rock era. The sheer complexity of the piece initially made it a daunting addition to their live performances. Speaking to The Guardian in 2018, Lee admitted, “The song’s ideas exceeded [our] ability to play them. We thought: ‘We’re going to write this long piece and then we’ll just record it live off the floor and boom!’ But it was really difficult. It was beyond us.”
Still, fans embraced the band’s ambitious endeavors. Lee acknowledged their audience’s appreciation for moments of creative indulgence, noting, “[The fans] just love it when we go into that crazy mode. Yes, it is an indulgence, but it seemed to be a pivotal moment for us in creating a fanbase that wanted us to be that way.”
Source: metalinjection.net
