Your favourite Rush song is going to change at least another 3 times buddy!! 👍🏼

I am convinced that no band has ever rocked harder than Rush does @9:19-10:05

All roads led to this point... This album was in my opinion when RUSH became RUSH... No compromises no apologies no holding back... This... Is what they were capable of and l remember dropping the needle in '78 as a 17 year old and wow.... Just wow... Tim if you felt this was your favourite to date, hold on buddy Book II is going to blow you away.... Great reaction as always

Wait until you get a load of Book 2: Hemispheres. Your life will change.

Lyrically, Cygnus X-1, Book One and Book Two are JUST Timeless. Storywise, Some of Neil's BEST writing!! "With the Heart and Mind United, in a Single Perfect Sphere"!!

My first reaction? Pick jaw up. Then listen to it again, and again. I can't wait for you to get to part II.

Rush changed my life ..with every album. I must have looked crazy air drumming and guitar at the same time🤣.

That sound at the very end is his body being pulled apart as he goes through the black hole. He'll end up with memory and awareness but with no shape or form. Dead and yet unborn

Cygnus-X1 "That time when Rush accidentally invented death metal." This was the 1st album I heard from Rush, I was 9. They've been my favorite band ever since.

I dug that look on your face when the song ended... like "what the f**k did I just listen to?" Priceless, man... The spaceship Rush were riding in to Cygnus X-1, the "Rocinante," was the name of Don Quixote's horse, from Cervantes' legendary novel published in 1605.

Two comments. 1) It’s easy to get lost in the structure of this song and over look how much Peart is going nuts on this track. 2) That fade out C# chord is so hauntingly beautiful. Leaves you wanting more.

Do you know this song has a hometown feel for me? (A Torontonian) Now, I suppose that this is kinda nerdy trivia but, Cygnus X-1 was/is the first black hole ever identified. Before that black holes only existed in astrophysical mathematics. It just so happened that Cygnus X-1 was discovered by an astronomer working out of the University of Toronto. It was big news at the time and it appeared to have inspired a song by a Torontonian band, which you have just listened to.

Listen to this song again, and again. There are SO many musical themes from this song that are in Book II that so many people miss.

This is my favorite Rush track. Epic in every sense of the word. Headphones are mandatory.🔥🤘🏻👍🎧

Just wait til you get to Book Ii - oh boy! Different album but even more phenomenal!

I was blown away too when I heard this song for the first time… I think I was 12 or 13 (1982 or 83)… masterpiece!

An album with Xanadu, Cygnus X-1, Closer to the Heart & A Farewell to Kings all on it. Masterpiece!

One of my favourite Rush albums but the best is yet to come, Hemispheres is my top Rush album and I think you will have changed your mind about the best Rush track once you hear it.

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 galaxy 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 Takes Control

I love the generosity and humility of these three musicians. This is another song where the bass and drums carry the melody from the beginning.

MAN I have been waiting for you to get here! CX1 is definitely in my top 3 along with 2112 and Red Barchetta, not only because of the music, but the storytelling, and the visuals the music evokes. CX1 tells the story of a traveler on a ship, the Rocinante, named after Don Quixoté's horse. Don Quixoté is a literary character who, famously, was barking mad, and tilted (jousted) at windmills on his horse, thinking they were monsters. He is the symbol of foolish quests and delusions of grandeur. The Rocinante is on a voyage into the center of a back hole. "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" completes the journey and the story.

A masterpiece! And thus ended my first 'new' Rush album, after first hearing them shortly after ATWAS was released. Rushed home, after queuing for AFTK, straight on the record player... and wow! Great days. Its lovely to see someone else get a similar thrill, but I think the experience is possibly slightly dampened, for today's new listeners. You've got to try to imagine that we were getting this in 1977, without hearing everything that's been produced, since then. It must be difficult to imagine, or recreate.

No band can take a concept of being consumed by a black hole and make you feel like you were experiencing it for yourself like Rush can. There were never any constraints or concepts that they were never willing to explore. as you were being mesmerized by the music you had to remind yourself that this was only 3 people creating this soundscape . Truly a masterpiece!

What other band would dare to fly you through a black hole musically.

I headbanged to this,I should have been in traction!!The good natured joy on your face was brilliant.. 1977...what a year!!Many thank's for doing this classic!!

Listening to Cygnus is like getting punched in the brain, but in a god way, lol. You don't listen to it so much as strap it on and hang on for the ride. Thanks for sharing!

First heard this over 30 years ago and remember it blowing me away. They were really trying to take you on a trip through outer space to it’s a horrible ending of being helplessly sucked into the clutches of Cygnus X-1! Geddy’s bloodcurdling screams, the chaotic bass and guitar lines. The spacey intro, the galloping section when wheeling through the galaxy, the break right before the swirling descent into....? Well just you wait! I’ve been really looking forward to the next one!!

Great precursor, but the real treat is Hemisphere's Cygnus X-1 Book II

“Mesmerizing” is a good word for this song.

Each song by Rush I listen to is my favourite at that moment. Farewell to Kings and Caress of Steel need to be shown the love they deserve. Well done.

I was 14 when I got this album......It was a different feeling back then , I must admit....Hard to describe when your listening to the sounds at that time and you are reading about them in your history books, no bullshit....RUSH, ANN MURRAY , GORDON LIGHTFOOT AND GINO VINALI....were in the music part of my Canadian history book in 1977....Who would have knew they were going to be progressive metal pioneers...a mere few years later I'm at Cobo Hall and Joe louis Arena in Detroit seeing the Permanent Waves tour and Moving Pictures tour !!!....Memoriessss!!!

I used to listen to this right before going to sleep 💤 with headphones 🎧 in 1983 when I was 17. The very first time I heard this song in 1978, it scared 😨 the living daylights out of me.

So glad you got to this one, Tim!! We told ya.. we told ya!! LMAO! See you in part II!!!!

In my top 3 RUSH songs.

Best reaction to this song ever! You totally get it! Totally!

Definitely one of their best! Features the most head-banging section of any Rush song...love it!

I've listened to that since it first came out, and there was always something about it that made me think it was probably the oddest Rush song since it doesn't follow the conventions for songs (even Rush songs). I just now realized now that it's because it's not a full song, it's a prologue, setting the stage for the next album. Man, I love that album. I'm gonna pull out my 40th anniversary vinyl and put it on the turntable right now!

From 2112 to permanent waves …. They went from ( aside from us hard core) something cool to superstars .. then everyone found Rush, caress of steel, fly by night .. to see how the magical evolution came to be

Hey Tim, Buzz is back!! I was blown away by this track after listening through this whole album, this was the topper and an epic cliffhanger. Xanadu was my favorite until I heard this one, the intensity of it. Like back in the day I can not wait for Book II. Please don't make me wait a year!! Great reaction, Tim.

Only Rush could use the open e string as effectively as they did in so much of their music. It's just one note and it sounds so damn good. The opening guitar sequence in this song and Xanadu come to mind.

Sooo grew up on Rush back in the 70s. Especially loved that they are also Canadian. Saw them twice which was definitely not enough. Obviously one of my favourite all time bands

The books (and Amazon tv series) The Expanse (it is AMAZING), has a spaceship called "The Rocinante" - no prizes to guess where they got that name from. ;) Of course, Rush got the name from the horse of fictional character Don Quixote. Glad to see you react this way to one of my alltime favorite Rush songs (and I think underrated). Great lyrics as well. Sometimes I wonder if Stephen Hawking would listen to this epic song about a black hole. XD

Yes, I really liked this one growing up. And I loved your reaction to it. I heard something interesting a few years back. Cygnus X-1 is the last song on Farewell to Kings. It ends violently with Alex on a powerful C minor chord ( indicating fear, danger, and doom) that fades into oblivion as the Rocinante disappears into the black hole. The next album is Hemispheres, and the first event is a build up and then Alex suddenly explodes with a different chord, this time a major chord (indicating courage, renewal and hope), the idea being that the ship has burst forth into the alternate universe "on the other side" of the black hole. It's an F sharp major with a flat 7th, a bizarre chord that no one uses. I think it's cool they put that continuity in there from one album to the next, kind of trying to answer the question "What happened to him?!" At least to offer one possible explanation. Alex really seemed to love fringe chords. They do sound quite cool. You can just play one in your room and listen to it fade away slowly. Ah well, some people jump out of airplanes for fun. Playing weird chords doesn't cost anything, though...

Thankyou for your reaction. The same reaction I had in 1976, enjoy.

One of my absolute favorites. The riffs are heavy and dirty. I might be talking trash here, but some of the guitar bits sound like black metal riffs. It just sets up this whole atmosphere and it feels as if you're travelling through the galaxy and then being swallowed by a black hole. The immersion in this is out of this world. Perfect. This song sounds a lot different from the whole Rush's catalogue and that's what makes it so special in my opinion.

Thanks Tim…. For sharing…. And for hanging tough on KZfaq. Don’t you ever leave man! BTW, you should post more of your own playing. I love your stuff man. Rush rules. End of discussion.

The only problem with calling it your favorite Rush song ever is that you’ll be saying that all over again in a few weeks when you listen to La Villa Strangiato. Then you’ll be saying it again a few weeks after that when you hear Digital Man, then a few weeks later….

Saw this while I was tripping it sent us over the edge all those good old days

I love watching someone hear a great song like this. your reactions as the song played are the same as i still have. I saw Rush for the first time on the Farewell To Kings tour in 1977 at the Ag building at the fairgrounds in Garden City, Kansas. Max Webster and UFO opened for them. what a show! I've commented before that they did all of 2112(they flashed a set of bright white lights on each side of Neil right at the end of the Overture, i felt myself being shoved back by the sound and light. but this song. believe me, they flat out rocked it. I got busted for some weed on the way home and spent the rest of the night in the local jail with this song banging away in my head all night. 😎

I first heard this song at age 13 back in 1992, and I listened to it over and over for about a month. It's not possible to wear out a CD, but I wore out my Farewell to Kings CD.

Have been waiting for you to get here for sooo long - and it was worth it. I couldn’t help grinning ear to ear watching you grinning ear to ear!

This is the song that turned me into an absolute Rush fan !

You should have seen the video of this in concert....WOW!

Still sounds as good as it did when I was first listening to it after it came out.

Your priorities are in order, man...golf before damn near everything! Really enjoy your reactions 😊

Easily one of their best out of a catalog of brilliance.

I cut my Rush teeth on this album around 1980 and I haven't been the same since

Cygnus (the swan) X-1 is a black hole in that constellation. I still have an X-Ray pic from newspaper of it somewhere.

The first time I heard this song, I saw all of eternity in front of my eyes…

The camera eye! Mind blowing!

A favorite for sure. 1st heard this in the early 80s. Intrigued by the lyrics I went to the school library and looked up Cygnus X-1, and my journey into amature Astronomy began. Took me about 2 years of paper route and cutting grass to get an 8" Couter Optics Dobsonian telecope. Quite the scope in it's day. My buddy and I searched in vein for the object we could never find.. I now have a 12" dob and still enjoy exploring the regions of Cygus in the summer Milkyway under a Bortle 1 sky. I know know the exact location of the black hole (I set a course just east of Lyra, And northwest of Pegasus, Flew into the light of Deneb; rather accurate directions) and occasionally check the area out knowing what is there, but can not see. I play a "sound track" of Astronomy songs during outreach on a speaker I have tucked in the dob base, and there are quite a few Rush songs in there......And it all started thanks to this song.

The part where the music starts.... Bars of 6, 7 , 6 , 8 . So cool

Hands held high, speechless and mind blown 🤯 RUSH will do this to You!!!

This is one band where each member is what I can best describe as a craftsman on their instruments. As a vocalist Geddy Lee may have one of the highest male voices in rock music but he clearly communicates the lyrics and that adds to each and every Rush song because they are about the lyrics and the music and this song is a prime example of how they really put emotion into the song. You can really feel like you are on the journey and in the ship spiraling down into the depths of a black hole.

My first reaction to that song the day of release was unreal

you know if hear only instrumental after 5 or 6 minutes....you know the song is going to be epic.

Many hard metal bands wish they were this good

The look on you face...priceless!!!!

Nice reaction. I’ve said it before and say it again my favorite Rush album. Which makes it my favorite album…period!

Simply phenomenal from Rush ❤️☝️💫 thanks for the reaction guy ❤️☝️

Watching your reaction supplements the memory of my first time dropping the needle, I'm from thier hometown so the memory of the experience is far between the sharing I spread and it is nice to see someone GET IT. Looking Forward to the battle of your hemispheres.

As Butthead said... "I I didn't think anything could kick this much ass."

I remember seeing them at Radio city music hall, 6th row. My best friend turned me on to Rush when I was 15. Back then they were not that popular and many people hated Geddys voice. After seeing that show I was hooked! Wasn’t a huge fan of some of their later stuff. I am also a guitar player. They started getting deep into synth and cutting the guitar solos.their sound evolved but not in a better way to me. But I have seen them 6 times!

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.

Tried to do this in my cover band last week. JK lol. These guys together were other worldly.

ok, hey dude, if yer parents havent told you, RUSH put out a LIVE album every four albums. Go listen to All The World's A Stage(from 1976 2112 Tour, the opened for KISS during this era and blew em off the stage) you'll here songs from their first four albums. The way they perform their songs live is another total mind-blower onna whole nother level. Back in the day with no internet, every Rush album totally like fricken christmas, just couldn't wait to buy and bring home and play the new record and enjoy the ride with multiple listens just absorb it all, yeah fricken mind blowing bruh, every one, and their live shows holy crap amazing, enjoy!!

Hearing RUSH is one thing but to see them live gives you the ULTIMATE RUSH. Everyone seeing them for the first time will always say ...HOW CAN ONLY THREE MUSICIANS BE MAKING ALL THAT SOUND????

Just like with the Mighty Led Zeppelin, it's impossible to pick a favorite Rush song. IMPOSSIBLE

Wait until you hear Cygnus X1 book 2 on Hemispheres!!!!!

Geddy's Ric tone is fantastic

Not only is this song amazing, but it's also funny. After all the mayhem of the traveler plummeting into the black hole, and all the crazy instrumental sounds and high vocals, it's mysterious and funny how the song just ends with the guitar playing a few notes that drift away, along with all the empty, dark space that is Cygnus... {to be continued.........}

More Brilliance from RUSH. As expected. 🎼🎶🎵🇨🇦🇨🇦

In space there is no sound. RUSH gave space it’s own soundtrack, and convincingly so. As with most of RUSH’s songs, both the lyrics and the music create the story: the lyrics narrate the story, and the music paints the mood, backdrop, and often the sense of action. I had heard some RUSH in my early youth (2112, Closer to the Heart) but became a true diehard fan when Moving Pictures came out (first album bought), the Permanent Waves and Exit…Stage Left (2nd and 3rd bought). It was all downhill from there. I snatched up every album prior, and couldn’t wait for new releases. I was 14/15. 40 years later I find myself checking out KZfaq reactions to Rush daily. Your reactions are by far the best I’ve seen. Welcome aboard, Tim

Pretty much sums up my first reaction to this song

A trip into Xanadu

It certainly is mind-blowing, isn't it?

You gotta get to Book 2 now man! You thought your mind was blown here? Just wait, it gets even better if you can believe that

My homeboys. This is as Canadian as it gets.

Did you happen to catch the name of our intrepid astronaut's spaceship? It has the same name as Don Quixote's long-suffering horse.

my first reaction i cant remember that far back

From Fly By Night to this in 3 years only

If I lived out there I'd probably play golf every day too. Especially if you're in the mountains.

don't know if you caught the reference there "on my ship the Rocinante" I understand this name found it's way into "The Expanse" as the moniker of Holden's ship. This is probably a double reference to Don Quixote's horse. :)

I give up. They rule. Flat out amazing track

4:00 this is the point in a Rush concert when the air drummers have their moment.

"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." This is the moral of the story

I can never here enough of Rush and I like it all, but my favorite era is the 70's

Awesome! Bring on Hemispheres!

Love it lol. Its like im experiencing it for the first time all over again. Im sure im not the only one who watches these video remembering their first time hearing these songs. Its like reliving one of my favorite memories all over again. Cant wait to hear your reaction to Book 2 Hemispheres. When i was a teen (in the 90's) i had hemispheres in my CD player for 9 months strait. Didnt listen to any other album during that time. Put it on repeat when i went to bed and woke up to it still playing.

Thumbs up for being honest! I respect that, unlike some others...