Album · Rush
A Farewell to Kings by Rush
A Farewell to Kings is an album by Rush, released in 1977. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 80 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Closer to the Heart”, on 74 lists with a best position of #51.
A Farewell to Kings, Rush's fifth album, came out on Anthem in 1977, and with 2112 having put them over the top, the Toronto power trio went looking for new scenery: for the first time they recorded away from home, at Rockfield Studios in Wales, right after their first tour of Europe. Terry Brown produced, and the sound blows wide open, with more synthesizers than ever and Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart each picking up extra instruments.
It swings from the 11-minute epic "Xanadu" to the under-3-minute "Closer to the Heart", and both became concert staples; "Closer to the Heart" also gave them a UK chart single. The album closes on "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage", a science-fiction cliffhanger that wouldn't resolve until Hemispheres. It was their first album to reach the UK top 40, and they took it on the biggest tour they'd ever mounted.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from A Farewell to Kings on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Closer to the Heart | 74 | #51 | – | 1990–2026 | |
| 2 | Xanadu | 6 | #54 | – | 1991–1999 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.