Wow, what an album.  Based on its own merits alone, it would already be amazing, but what must also be considered is the time period that it was produced in.  By 1977, progressive rock was more or less toast.  ELP had long been dead, King Crimson was on hiatus, and Genesis and Gentle Giant had converted over to pop.  The spirit of prog would then be carried on by a group of bands, some familiar some new, and one of these would be Rush.

Anyway, beginning with the previous album, 2112, Rush released a string of classic albums that perfectly showcased their superb musicianship and song and lyric writing skills.  While 2112 consisted of a classic 20-minute side-long epic and some "filler" songs on Side 2, A Farewell To Kings is more consistent, and the trio is tighter in terms of musicianship this time around.

The album begins with the self-titled track, and a few seconds into it, any prog fan will notice something dramatically different that was not on any of the previous albums.  The synthesizer!  A Farewell To Kings marks the first wide usage for Rush of synthesizers, most notably, the minimoog, and it is used to wonderful effect on this album.  The influence of Genesis's Steve Hackett on guitarist Alex Lifeson is most evident here, in the acoustic intro.  After the introduction goes through, the trio finally kicks it up, and gets into the song, which lyrically I believe is about the modern society's departure of the old Monarchial and Feudalistic governing system, as implied by the title, but not really changing anything in the process even though the tyrants have been overthrown.  Great opening track.

The album then moves on to what is definitely one of the best Rush songs penned in their entire career, Xanadu, an 11-minute epic based off an old drug-induced poem called Kubla Kahn.  I don't really know how to describe this track other than that it is just absolutely incredible.  The combination of the minimoog, chimes, and Lifeson's soaring guitar make this a mood masterpiece, and it is not to be missed.  The 11 minutes will be over so fast that you won't even know it.

Next comes Closer To The Heart.  Historically, this song was important because it was Rush's first "hit" single.  It wouldn't make them rise to superstardom, but it was the track on this album that was played on radio the most, and would become a concert staple.  Personally, though, I've always thought it to be a bit overrated.  It's a nice track, and is a perfect definition of a power ballad, and really showcases the abilities of the band.  However, it doesn't have any of the complexity of the previous two tracks, so it's really just inserted here to complete Side 1.  Still a classic, though.

Side 2 begins with Cinderella Man, which is a really underrated track.  Most people don't like it, but I personally find it to be pretty inspiring.  Lifeson absolutely shines on this one, and the lyrics are written well enough, based off of the movie Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, being about a man who gets shunned because of his sense of values and morals.

Then comes Madrigal, which I personally would say is the worst track on the album.  It's not a bad song, by any means, but it isn't anywhere near as interesting as the other tracks on here.  It's a nice little acoustic ballad about seeking friends to relieve yourself of stress.  Really, it's a preparation for the next showstopper of a track.

Which is Cygnus X-1, another epic track.  It describes the journey of a man on a spaceship Rocinante(which is also the same name as Don Quijote's horse) as he flies into a black hole in the constellation of Cygnus, getting sucked into it in the end.  Like Xanadu, this is a mood masterpiece, as the journey in space is enhanced by the repetition of the bass guitar riff, followed by the guitar riff, to emulate the emptiness of space, and especially in the final section, where the band just totally lets it rip when the spaceship is sucked in.  An absolute classic and required listening for any Rush fan.

So in conclusion, A Farewell To Kings is one of the best albums of 1977(along with Kansas' Point of Know Return and Styx's The Grand Illusion), and is pretty much required listening for any prog or Rush fan.