2112

2112 is considered by many a fan as one of the finest hours (or half an hour) of Rush. The titular epic certainly holds true to that claim. The instrumental opening encapsulates the sheer volume of the group as well as their complex ambitions, giving the listener a prelude for what's to come later. Every riff later in the epic that is derived from the opener has an ''off'' kind of sound that made it different than what you heard before, a sign of clever composing. But the real treat of the epic is the ''Grand Finale'', where Rush instrumentally explodes giving the listener a reward for sticking around for the whole twenty minutes.

The remainder of the album doesn't quite live up to the heights of the opening epic. Only ''Something for Nothing'' and ''Lessons'' have some progressive intrigue, but none of the five songs are of the essential prog listening. ''A Passage to Bangkok'' is more of a fan favourite, but it's compositionally empty and gets tired only after a few listens.