Yesterday I received two CD:s in the mail and when I looked closer I realised they were both by Canadian rock bands.
The first CD was the remastered version of Saga’s first album which I have been meaning to get for a long time. This was one of the first records I ever got on vinyl when I was young. I remember listening to it in my parents living room while looking at the cover and insert. I still like this album a lot and there are many great tracks on it.
This album was originally released in 1978 and I still have not heard a band sounding like Saga. They definitely had there own sound during the first four or five studio albums but then unfortunately started to steer towards a more commercial sound. They recently celebrated their 30th anniversary and in later days have moved more towards the sound from the beginning of their career.
The second album was Hemispheres by Rush from 1978 and I have to admit I have not listened that much to them. A friend of mine borrowed me a couple of albums from their so called “The synthesizer period (1982–1989)” in my teens and kind of liked them. I thought they were OK but not so much that I wanted to check out more of their music. Now in retrospect I kind of regret that because some of the earlier”albums are really good. But on the other hand it feels good to have more of Rush to listen to for the first time.
The track La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise in Self-Indulgence) is one of my favourite Rush tracks and from what I have read it is Rush’ first instrumental track on an album. That might explain why I like it so much, I always have had a slight problem with Geddy Lee’s vocals. Back in the vinyl days I was never sure if I put the records on the right speed as he tends to sing a little high…
There is a really powerful version of La Villa Strangiato on the live album and DVD “Rush in Rio” and Neil Peart is one impressive drummer. He really plays the crap out of that song!
Now Hemispheres is standing up front in my collection. What Rush album should I get next? Feel free to send me any suggestions.
A Farewell to Kings innehåller Xanadu, den svettigatste öppningslåten någonsin. varmt rekommenderad! 2112 också.