2112

Following the disappointing sales of Caress of Steel, Rush's label wanted the band to go in a safer, more commercial direction. Instead, they recorded an album with an even longer song. 2112, released in April 1976, was the band's popular breakthrough. The seven-part, 20-minute title track is considered by many fans to be one of the crowning achievements of progressive rock, and it's clear to see why. Lifeson's riffs are inventive and fresh, and his soloing is masterful; Geddy's bass cuts through to the fore; and Neil's drumming is technical while having raw power behind it, to say nothing of his dystopian, sci-fi lyrics. In an improvement over "The Fountain of Lamneth", "2112" feels like a cohesive, multi-parted suite that flows naturally.

I can't be quite as effusively worshipful of the rest of the album, though. "A Passage to Bangkok" is enjoyable and reminiscent of songs off Fly by Night, but the rest of side 2 fails to make much of an impression. "The Twilight Zone" meanders torpidly in a way the big, sharp main riff can't offset, and "Tears" suffers from a similar problem. Rush were never a band for ballads. Meanwhile, "Something for Nothing" and "Lessons" feel like weaker renditions of "A Passage to Bangkok" or "Fly by Night"?to-the-point, melodic hard rock, but lacking the memorable qualities of the latter two songs.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/04/27/deep-dive-rush/