April 1, 1976 - 2112

Just one day has passed since my last release, and another short 7 months since their last album "Caress Of Steel", Rush released their fourth album "2112" on April 1, 1976. I thought that their previous album was quite good, but contemporary reviews were not favourable and album sales were not good. Rush's record label told them they had one last chance and were to make some more commercial music. Thankfully, these three guys disregarded that nonsense and wrote "2112" which like their last album further develops their progressive music. They once again wrote a 20-minute progressive epic that takes up the whole first side of this album while the second side has more standard-length rock songs. I loved the prog-rock from their last album and am glad to see that they are still pursuing it. Let's check it out!

The first side is taken up entirely by the title track "2112" at just under 21 minutes long. It's separated into seven parts, beginning with the instrumental "Overture". It has a space-y opening that leads into an epic guitar riff. Peart plays some fantastic drums as it builds into a full hard rock riff. All three members are playing some slow, epic stuff and Lifeson plays a pretty sweet solo, then it's off to a faster riff with some great guitar and bass. Some explosions segue into the second part as Geddy welcomes us with "and the meek shall inherit the earth". "The Temples Of Syrinx" begins with Lifeson playing a wonderful guitar riff and Peart's drumming is superb, so many fantastic drum fills and none of them are the same. Geddy yells in his usual very high voice and I think he sounds awesome! It's a really good part that lasts just over 2 minutes and the lyrics set the stage for a futuristic world that has banished all music, creativity and individuality. Lifeson plays a quiet little guitar lick that takes us to the third section, "Discovery". We hear the sound of a stream flowing and sounds like a guitar being tuned. This part tells the story of someone in this future world discovering a guitar. They pluck the strings and find they can make a melody in this cool soft section where Lifeson plays some great sounding stuff. He speeds it up a bit and it sounds really nice with Geddy singing along about how excited the character is to show everyone what he's found. This moves straight into the fourth part, "Presentation" as the guitars get a bit heavier and Geddy and Neil rejoin the mix. There's more wonderful drum fills from Peart as this heavy riff sounds pretty great. It gets soft for the verse with some great bass by Lee as he also sings softly along to this new cool beat. The lyrics tell us that after presenting the guitar to the priests they admit that they know what it is and they banished it for a reason. Geddy yells for the priests lyrics as they return to the heavy riff, and they play the soft riff once again once our main character is shocked to learn this. Peart's drums are other-worldly in the heavy part as he plays some amazing stuff and this moves into a guitar solo for Lifeson. He absolutely shreds it in this solo and it sounds freaking phenomenal! With great bass and drums backing as well this bit is just pure musical genius! At the end of this amazing solo it gets quiet once again as the fifth section "Oracle: The Dream" begins. Lifeson plays a cool space-y guitar riff as Geddy sings nicely along. It builds into a new heavy stop-and-start riff with great contributions from everyone. This part also sounds pretty cool and this part is over pretty quickly at just 2 minutes. It segues nicely into the sixth part, "Soliloquy" as Lifeson plays some more epic, space-y guitar and Geddy sings softly at first but it moves into another great hard rock part. He can really belt it out as he hits some high notes and sings everything really great as he yells once again and Lifeson takes off for another tremendous guitar solo. It's short but really freaking good as they move beautifully into the seventh and final section, aptly titled "Grand Finale". Another wonderful riff with guitar, bass and drums all sounding greatkicks this off and Lifeson goes crazy again playing some more face-melting awesomeness and they bring it together for a rock and roll flourish ending that is truly great. All three members just go insane on their instruments as it blares "ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION: WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL". What an amazing ending to this wonderful, fantastic song!

Side two begins with "A Passage To Bangkok", a song that is a tribute to the places in the world that grow the best marijuana. Lifeson kicks it off with a cool guitar riff as Geddy sings highly (aha!) along. Peart plays some pretty good drums in the chorus as both it and the verse sound pretty solid. After the second chorus they move to a heavy new beat with Lifeson soloing overtop. Geddy keeps the pace while Alex delivers some more great guitar work in this solo! They jam out a couple more choruses to finish off this cool stoner anthem. Next up is "The Twilight Zone", a much slower song with a darker feel to it inspired by the hit T.V. show of the same name. Peart plays some nice drums in the opening as they settle into a quiet bass-led main riff. Lifeson plays some epic acoustic guitar that fits the mood really well and once again I just love Geddy's singing! His lower voice sounds good and he hits those high notes with such ease. Lifeson goes electric for another brief solo but everything he plays sounds like pure gold as he takes us to the end of another cool song. Track 4 is "Lessons" and Lifeson wrote this song himself, lyrics included, as he opens it with a catchy guitar riff. Lee and Peart join in to form a light rock riff as Geddy sings some more great high vocals. Geddy turns it up on bass once the chorus hits and we hear some great drum fills as well as they move nicely into a heavy riff where Lifeson fires off a short but sweet solo. Back to light rock for the verse as these guys blend the lighter and heavier parts quite well. Lifeson extends his second solo into the light rock part as he plays some pretty great stuff overtop. This solo slowly fades out to end this one as Rush are showing they can play great songs no matter what the length! The next song is called "Tears" and Geddy wrote this whole song, lyrics included as Lifeson sets the stage with some very soft guitar. Lee sings nicely in this sad song that is certainly a tempo shift from the rest of the album. Although this isn't what I'd prefer Rush be playing, they do a nice job on this as well as Lifeson plays some cool guitar and we also hear some Mellotron played by album artist Hugh Syme! The Mellotron sounds pretty neat in this riff and Lee plays some solid bass as well in what is surely their sappiest song they've recorded yet. The album comes to an end with "Something For Nothing" as Lifeson plays another great guitar riff; he is just full of great ideas! Lee's bass is pretty good as well and Peart's drumming is perfect as always. I love that we're back to Geddy's yelling vocals as I think he is a wonderful singer despite what some might say. Lifeson unsurprisingly plays a pretty wicked guitar solo and that leads into another wonderful heavy verse. They bring it back seamlessly for more choruses and Lifeson is just going insane! All three guys are jamming out until the end of the album, but Lifeson in particular plays some amazing guitar, here and throughout this whole record!

That is the end of "2112" and I thought it was another wonderful album by the Canadian trio. The title track was a wild ride and I think it's probably the best song they've written so far! The second side was also very solid: not extremely amazing like the first, but still a nice collection of songs. This album would finally be their commercial breakthrough and provide Rush with the funds needed to continue making great music! But how does it compare to their other albums? Led by the amazing title track, I think "2112" was better than both "Fly By Night" and "Rush". Despite what critics thought, I thought "Caress Of Steel" was excellent with a 20-minute track not quite as good as this new one, but still very good as well as another great 10-plus minute progressive track. It's very close, but I put "2112" at #2 in Rush's ranks. All 4 are great though and I'm sure the next one will be too!