Category: Blu-Ray Audio

Title: Rush: A Farewell to Kings
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock, Prog Rock, Art Rock, Hard Rock
Artist: Geddy Lee (vocals, bass and twelve-string guitar, Mini Moog, bass pedal synthesizers), Alex Lifeson (electric and acoustic six- and twelve-string guitars, classical guitar, bass pedal synthesizers), Neil Peart (drums, orchestra bells, wind chimes, bell tree, vibraslap, triangle, tubular bells, temple blocks), With Terry Brown (spoken intro on “Cygnus X-1”)

Issued: United States | Universal Music
Duration: 00:37:21
Size: 11.06 GB

In 2014 UMe/Mercury reissued Rush’s self-titled debut on heavy-weight vinyl in celebration of the album’s 40th anniversary. Now in 2015, let the Rush 40 celebration continue with “12 Months of Rush” reissues – in chronological order – starting with Fly By Night on both LP and Blu-Ray Audio.
During the “12 Months of Rush” all 14 Mercury albums will be remastered on 200-gram heavy-weight vinyl at legendary Abbey Road, all from original analogue masters. All LPs will include a digital download code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped digital audio album download. Of the 14 albums, Fly By Night, A Farewell to Kings and Signals will also be reissued on Blu-Ray Pure Audio.
This 1977 release, the band’s fifth studio album, was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and mixed in London’s Advision Studios. It became the band’s first U.S. gold-selling album within two months of release, and went platinum. The singles included “Closer to the Heart” and “Cinderella Man,” while the album peaked at #33 on the Billboard 200 and #22 on the U.K. album charts.
Universal has gone back to the original master tapes to deliver fully uncompressed, high-resolution versions of many of your favorite albums on Blu-ray Pure Audio Disc. Mastered at 24bit/96kHz, Blu-ray Pure Audio Discs deliver the sound the artists originally heard in the studio when these classic albums were recorded. These discs provide all the recorded musical information. While convenient due to their small file size, today’s heavily compressed music files do not represent the true fidelity of the original album.
•     Recordings are transferred from the original master tapes and delivered in high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz audio
•     No compression is utilized, and the sound quality is vastly superior to MP3 or standard CD
•     Three separate choices of audio file format for playback: PCM 2.0, Dolby True HD, or DTS-HD Master Audio (5.1 available where noted)
•     Your preferred audio format is chosen either by pressing the “Audio” button on your Blu-ray remote or via your onscreen menu display
On 1977’s A Farewell to Kings it quickly becomes apparent that Rush had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach. Synthesizers also mark their first prominent appearance on a Rush album, a direction the band would continue to pursue on future releases. With the popular hit single “Closer to the Heart,” the trio showed that they could compose concise and traditionally structured songs, while the 11-minute “Xanadu” remains an outstanding accomplishment all these years later (superb musicianship merged with vivid lyrics help create one of Rush’s best all-time tracks). The album-opening title track begins with a tasty classical guitar/synth passage, before erupting into a powerful rocker. The underrated “Madrigal” proves to be a delicately beautiful composition, while “Cinderella Man” is one of Rush’s few songs to include lyrics penned entirely by Geddy Lee. The ten-minute tale of a dangerous black hole, “Cygnus X-1,” closes the album on an unpredictable note, slightly comparable to the two bizarre extended songs on 1975’s Caress of Steel. A Farewell to Kings successfully built on the promise of their breakthrough 2112, and helped broaden their audience. –Greg Prato
Recorded: June 1977 at Rockfield Studios in South Wales, UK.

Title: Rush – A Farewell To Kings – 40th Anniversary
Release Date: 2017
Genre: Rock
Artist: Geddy Lee (vocals, bass and twelve-string guitar, Mini Moog, bass pedal synthesizers), Alex Lifeson (electric and acoustic six- and twelve-string guitars, classical guitar, bass pedal synthesizers), Neil Peart (drums, orchestra bells, wind chimes, bell tree, vibraslap, triangle, tubular bells, temple blocks), With Terry Brown (spoken intro on “Cygnus X-1”)

Production/Label: Burning Shed
Duration: 01:09:16
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: LPCM, DTS-HD MA, Dolby True-HD
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 7974 kbps / 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 96 kHz / 6498 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#3: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / 96 kHz / 6410 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / 24-bit)
Size: 14.54 GB

A 40th Anniversary super deluxe edition of Rush’s enduring Progressive classic A Farewell To Kings.
Contains three CDs, one Blu-ray Audio disc and four 180g LPs.
The CDs and LPs feature a 2015 Abbey Road remaster of the album, a complete concert recorded in February 1978 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon (mixed by original AFTK producer Terry Brown from multi-track live tapes), four cover versions of songs from the original album (by Dream Theater, Big Wreck, The Trews and Alain Johannes), and an instrumental studio outtake of spacey sound effects called Cygnus X-2 Eh.
The Blu-ray disc contains a 2017 5.1 surround mix of the album by Steven Wilson, along with three 1977 promo videos.
The Super Deluxe package features an elaborate 40th anniversary cover treatment by longtime Rush creative director Hugh Syme, who has created a new artwork for each of the album’s six songs, and an extensive 12,000-word essay by Rock historian Rob Bowman. Also included are several exclusive items: a unique King’s Ring (with custom velvet pouch and neck chain); two lithographs with original artwork by Hugh Syme; a special 12-inch turntable mat (with distinctive artwork by Hugh Syme); a reproduction of the 1978 A Farewell To Kings tour programme.