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Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage
andCygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres
Record Store Day 2017 Vinyl Release
Released: April 22nd, 2017
| Comments | --- | Tracks / Lyrics | --- | Liner Notes | --- | Artwork | --- | Back To Discography |
Liner Notes
Record Store Day Release Liner Notes
NEIL PEART
Drums, orchestra bells, tubular bells, temple blocks, cowbells, wind chimes, bell tree, triangle, vibra-slap, tympani, gong, crotales
GEDDY LEE
Bass guitar, twelve string guitar, Mini Moog, bass pedal synthesizer, Oberheim polyphonic, Taurus pedals, vocals
ALEX LIFESON
Six and twelve string electric guitars, six and twelve string acoustics guitars, classical guitar, bass pedal synthesizer, Roland guitar synthesizer, Taurus pedals
EP Produced by Jeff Fura and Andy Curran
Remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios
Art Direction and Design: Huge Syme
Marketing Manager: Tyler Tasson
UMe Production Manager: Michele Horie
Management - Ray Danniels at SRO Management Inc. Toronto, Canada
A very special thank you to: Pegi Cecconi, Robert Ott, Meghan Symsyk, Ivar Hamilton, everyone at Anthem, ole and UMe.
Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage Liner Notes
Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales, June 1977
Engineered by Pat Moran and Terry Brown (Broon)
Mixed at Advision Studios, London
Engineered by Terry Brown, Assisted by Declan (not Norman!) O'Doherty and Ken Thomas
Music by Lee, Lifeson, and Peart / Lyrics by Peart
All Lyrics ©1977 ole Core Music Publishing (SOCAN/SESAC) administered by ole.
Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Liner Notes
Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
Arrangements by Rush and Terry Brown
Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales, during June and July 1978
Engineered by Pat Moran
Vocals recorded at Advision Studios, London
Engineered by Declan O'Doherty
Mixed at Trident Studios, Soho, London, August 1978
Engineered by Terry Brown with invaluable assistance from John Brand
Tape Operators (Trident): Simon Hilliard, Mike Donegoni, and Reno Ruocco
Music by Lee, Lifeson, and Peart / Lyrics by Peart
All Lyrics ©1978 ole Core Music Publishing (SOCAN/SESAC) administered by ole.
Track Listing
Side 1.
Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage (10:27)
Side 2.
Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres (18:07)
Cygnus X-1: Book One: The Voyage
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson / Lyrics: Neil Peart
Prologue
In the constellation of Cygnus
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force
The Black Hole
Of Cygnus X-1
Six Stars of the Northern Cross
In mourning for their sister's loss
In a final flash of glory
Nevermore to grace the night...
1
Invisible
To telescopic eye
Infinity
The star that would not die
All who dare
To cross her course
Are swallowed by
A fearsome force
Through the void
To be destroyed
Or is there something more?
Atomized --- at the core
Or through the Astral Door ---
To soar...
2
I set a course just east of Lyra
And northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
On my ship, the 'Rocinante'
Wheeling through the galaxies,
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Headlong into mystery
The x-ray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the Black Hole ---
Gains control...
3
Spinning, whirling,
Still descending
Like a spiral sea,
Unending
Sound and fury
Drowns my heart
Every nerve
Is torn apart....
Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson / Lyrics: Neil Peart
I. Prelude
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of Love and Reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of Man
They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided,
Every soul a battlefield...
II. Apollo Bringer of Wisdom
'I bring truth and understanding,
I bring wit and wisdom fair,
Precious gifts beyond compare.
We can build a world of wonder,
I can make you all aware'
'I will find you food and shelter,
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm.
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform'
The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise
But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong
The wise men were consulted
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus
To find out what they had lost...
III. Dionysus Bringer of Love
'I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the Heart's eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only Love can steer you right'
'I bring laughter, I bring Music,
I bring joy and I bring Tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of Reason
And your prison disappears'
The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew Love could not be wrong
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the Gods watched from afar
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired...
IV. Armageddon The Battle of Heart and Mind
The Universe divided
As the Heart and Mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder into hollow hemispheres
Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided into blinded hemispheres
Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light
My Rocinante sailed by night
On her final flight
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course.
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place
V. Cygnus Bringer of Balance
I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the City of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold
I see the Gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside
Then all at once the chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sudden peace
The Warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified
Apollo was astonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad
Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered into
Sorry hemispheres.
They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
'We will call you Cygnus
The God of Balance you shall be'
VI. The Sphere A Kind of Dream
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim
Let the truth of Love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the Heart and Mind united
In a single perfect sphere
Artwork
Click to Enlarge Any Image
Front Cover
Back Cover
Album Sleeve
Vinyl Side 1
Vinyl Side 2