2112

2112 achieved a triple feat: 1) it saved Rush's career (which was threatened by the commercial failure of Caress of Steel), 2) it showed artistic integrity (after all it is a record that "doubles the bet" of its predecessor, incorporating even more elements of progressive rock) and 3) it was a major contribution to a subgenre (that is, prog rock) that seemed to be in decline after reaching its peak in 1974. The title track is worthy of the progressive rock's tradition of 20-minute epic songs, whose greatest exponents are "Lizard" (King Crimson), "Tarkus" (ELP), "Supper's Ready" (Genesis) and "Close to the Edge" (Yes). The inspiration could not be more unusual: Ayn Rand's libertarian philosophy, which serves as the basis for a critique of collectivism, incarnated in this song by institutional religion (and, indirectly, the State), for its repression of individual freedom and self-expression. There are certain verses of the second section ("The Temples of Syrinx"), however, that also resemble The Great Inquisitor (Dostoevsky): "We've taken care of everything / The words you hear, the songs you sing / The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes (...) / Never need to wonder how or why". The musicianship of Neil Peart (drums), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Geddy Lee (bass) in each of the seven sections is amazing; they move easily through various styles and time signatures. Initially, Geddy's high pitched vocals irritated me, but with time I got used to it - even because I understood that they are performances (for example, to represent the anger of the priests of the Temples of Syrinx). The B-side of the LP (or tracks 2-6 of the CD) has five shorter songs, but they shouldn't be considered minor tracks compared to "2112"; actually two of them are very good: the hard rock "Something For Nothing", which also has libertarian lyrics - "Oh, you don't get something for nothing / You don't get freedom for free"; and the funny "A Passage to Bangkok", which tells the adventures of the character to find good-quality weed during the tours around the world: "We'll hit the stops along the way / We only stop for the best". In its combination of Rush's hard rock origins with the complex musical structures of progressive rock (Yes seems to be a particularly strong influence), 2112 served as a template for Rush's next two records (A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres), but its experimental impulse - in a move that could have been a commercial suicide, but ended up being their breakthrough album - persisted for rest of the band's career.