Album of Yesterday

A Farewell to Kings, by Rush (1977): With this album, Rush entered into their most overtly prog era. Longer songs, fantasy/sci-fi lyrics, and the debut of Geddy Lee as keyboard player. To round out the more diverse sonic palette, Neal Peart continues the expansion of his Borg-like drum kit, while Alex Lifeson brings in some nice 12-string and nylon-string acoustic guitars. It's interesting, then, that amongst the 11-minute "Xanadu" and 10-minute "Cygnus X-1" (which would be followed by the side-long title track on the next album, Hemispheres), is the band's first hit, the brief "Closer to the Heart." It's become the band's signature tune, to the point that when they first played Latin America a few years ago and tried to drop it from the set list, fan demand led to its return!