Today is an anniversary twofer! First is Rush's A Farewell to Kings.
Released this day in 1977, A Farewell to Kings sees Rush continuing to thumb their noses at expectations and go all in on progressive rock at the height of punk. A month before the recording of the album commenced the band played at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee where they debuted a new song, "Xanadu" which would become one of the most beloved songs on A Farewell to Kings. This musical adaptation of Coleridge would remain in setlists more or less until the very end.
This is the earliest known live recording of it from 10 May 1977 in Milwaukee.
A slightly more recent anniversary - a mere 27 years - is Calling All Stations by Genesis.
While I find the album to be mediocre overall, it does have some great moments. For instance, I really adore "Shipwrecked". My understanding is that it is mainly a Mike Rutherford song but, for me, Tony Banks' keys really elevate it to greatness. They add drama to the chorus and give the song a tender feel. OK, there's also some really nice guitar work towards the end that adds emotional intensity and fills in the the musical landscape quite well. I wish these parts were more forward in the mix but what can you do? This is their latter day "Follow You, Follow Me", in my humble opinion.
There was no U.S. tour in support of the album but the European shows are well-documented. At least 2 concerts were recorded by local TV outlets (I think) including the one on 2 February 1998 in Prague which is where this performance comes from.
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