Breaking The Camel's Back: Hemispheres

Hello again everyone, Nick here. Sorry for the wait, but I finally have another album to speak on for "Breaking the Camel's Back". Happily, it's on another Rock classic.

In 1978, Canadian Power Trio/Hard Rock/Progressive Rock band Rush released which I believe to be their most heavily progressive and ambitious album: Hemispheres. Though there are only four tracks on the album, it sets a high mark on the band's musical talents, thematically and musically, as every song’s composition shows an intense and sophisticated edge. To an unprepared lover of music and/or musician, the songs are a NIGHTMARE. So many different instruments, time changes, moods, tempos, themes, radically shift evenly within their own paces. Even with their shorter length, "The Trees" and "Circumstances" have their own unique functions.

The instrumental "La Villa Strangiato" is overly long but flexes its might clocking in at a little over 18 minutes. "Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres," is staggering and profound. Love Rush or not, both songs set new standards in Hard Rock and Progressive Rock styles during the 70s.

“Hemispheres” reached number 47 on the Billboards, going gold and later platinum in the 1990s. It became another classic to listen and own for any Rush fan. However, the strains of working on songs that were so complex, long, and difficult (with instrumentals done in one take), and with Cygnus having so many layers of musicianship. It became too much for the band. Alongside a massive tour schedule, they were burning out and decided to take a new route in music. Getting rid of the overly time consuming songs, changing the lyrical approaches from mythical to modern and social, shortening song lengths, and adding new musical influences (Electronic, Reggae, and New Wave). This was a wise and innovative choice for Rush, as it gave them more classic albums in the beginning of the 80s, such as Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals.

Here is the first track of Hemispheres. This track, length-wise, may be a bit much for casual music-lovers, but through the whole song, Rush keep proving their worth in the world of Rock.

Breaking the Camel's Back: Queen 2

In a lot of band's careers, there tend to be powerful albums that (while extremely sophisticated, ambitious, and varied) run the risk of burning out their bands and causing them to alienate their fan base. With overwhelming in intensity, the material would be impossible to play on stage. Thus, a significant and vital change is made in order to keep the progress fresh and relevant. None of these albums are lackluster failures, but brave and risk-taking ventures. I call this section of my blog, "Albums that break the Camel's back."
Queen, "Queen 2."
Released; 1974
During the early years of Queen, they struggled to gain recognition for their pioneering sound, style, and individuality. After releasing their debut album in 1973 to dismal early sales and no real chart success, they went back into the studio, undaunted, with a more honed sound, increased song-writing craft, and the same energy and enthusiasm as before. Plus, in contrast with their previous album, healthier recording times. While their debut showed a lot of promise, Queen 2 showed the beginnings of their trademark sound: elaborate, heavily constructed, and (in my opinion) un-pompous compositions. Father to Son, Ogre Battle, Funny How Love is, and the predecessor to their biggest world-wide hit Bohemian Rhapsody, "March of the Black Queen." March is very heavy and progressive, produced with high amounts of vocals, instrumentation, and different time-changes and moods. Added with the concept of having a "White" side of the album with material mostly composed by guitarist Brian May, and the "Black" side by vocalist Freddie Mercury, this album was definitely designed to be epic.
Luckily, the album gave them their first notable chart success. In the U.K., it managed to reach Gold selling over 100 thousand copies, reach the Top 5 in the U.K, and produce their first hit: the top ten single "Seven Seas of Rhye," written by Freddie Mercury. The Song even enjoyed some underground success in the Top 50 stateside. Critically, while mixed at the time, has later been praised by musicians Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, and Axel Rose of Guns and Roses.
True to the band, they never stick to one style for a long time and choose to experiment with different musical styles. They constantly showed their growth in songwriting. Building on their earlier work with intense structure which can be seen as a move to avoid alienating their fans and leading to continued success.
Here is the video for "March of the Black Queen." This is indeed the father of Bohemian Rhapsody .
-Nick