Hemispheres

Their most aggressively progressive slab of solidified maple syrup, the cover of Rush’s sixth album features a naked man standing on a brain and pointing at a British gentleman. It almost feels like them calling out their British prog forebears. “Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres,” a continuation of the closing track of A Farewell to Kings, takes up the entirety of side one, and it would be their most Spinal Tap moment if they didn’t nail the reentry from the black hole. But they did. While not as emotionally engaging as the title track from 2112, it’s still an impressive piece. The back half contains a song about Canadian politics disguised as a song about arboreal politics and an instrumental piece so complex even these dynamos couldn’t pull it off in one take. It’s also pretty great.