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Fond Farewell: Rush releasing expanded 40th anniversary reissues of “A Farewell to Kings”

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UMe/Anthem/oleRush will commemorate the recent 40th anniversary of its fifth studio album, A Farewell to Kings, by releasing various deluxe reissue packages on December 1. Among the anniversary releases will be a Super Deluxe Edition featuring three CDs and a Blu-ray disc.

Released in September 1977, A Farewell to Kings became Rush’s first album to break into the top 40 of the Billboard 200. Featuring the Canadian prog-rockers’ early radio hit “Closer to the Heart,” plus such fan favorites as “Xanadu” and “Cygnus X-1,” the record went on to sell more than 1 million copies in the U.S.

The Super Deluxe Edition reissue contains a CD featuring a remastered version of A Farewell to Kings done in 2015; two CDs boasting performances from a February 1978 concert at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, plus other extra tracks; and a Blu-ray featuring two high-resolution audio versions of the record and promotional videos for three songs.

Some of the Hammersmith Odeon performances on the bonus CDs are previously unreleased, while the extra tunes are newly recorded cover versions of four A Farewell to Kings songs by Dream Theater, Big Wreck, The Trews and Alain Johannes, plus an instrumental album outtake called “Cygnus X-2 Eh.” The package also offers revamped cover art, expansive new liner notes and such collectible goodies as a turntable mat, a “King’s Ring” that includes a neck chain and velvet pouch, two lithographs and a replica of Rush’s 1978 A Farewell to Kings Tour program.

A Deluxe Edition of the A Farewell to Kings reissue also will be available as a three-CD set, a four-LP 180-gram vinyl collection and a digital download.

Here is the track list for the Super Deluxe Edition:

CD 1: Original Album — Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
“A Farewell to Kings”
“Xanadu”
“Closer to the Heart”
“Cinderella Man”
“Madrigal”
“Cygnus X-1”

CD 2: Live at Hammersmith Odeon — February 20, 1978
“Bastille Day”
“Lakeside Park”*
“By-Tor & the Snowdog”
“Xanadu”
“A Farewell to Kings”
“Something for Nothing”
“Cygnus X-1”

CD 3: Live at Hammersmith Odeon — February 20, 1978
“Anthem”
“Closer to the Heart”*
“2112”*
“Working Man”
“Fly by Night”
“In the Mood”
Drum Solo*
“Cinderella Man”

Extras Tracks:
“Xanadu” — Dream Theater*
“Closer to the Heart” — Big Wreck*
“Cinderella Man” — The Trews*
“Madrigal” — Alain Johannes*
“Cygnus X-2 Eh”*

Disc 4 — Blu-ray
Audio:
A Farewell to Kings — 96khz 24-Bit 5.1 Surround Mix by Steven Wilson
A Farewell to Kings — 96khz 24-Bit Original Stereo Analog 2015 Remaster

1977 Promo Videos:
“A Farewell to Kings”
“Xanadu”
“Closer to the Heart”

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