2112

To me this is the first Rush album that really showed what the band was able to. The album is made up of several short tracks and the epic title track, which is as you might expect, the most important track on the album.

The tiltle track "2112" is made up out of several different parts representing different chapters in the story the song tells. The story is about a man who finds a guitar in a distant future ruled by technology, I'm not going to tell the whole story, cause it's very enjoyable to listen to it by hearing the song. The first part is "Overture", which is my favorite part of the song. It's not as progressive as you might expect, it is in fact just a bunch of cheesy riffs thrown together with some excitement added...but the cheesy riffs all are fantastic! so is the pretty short guitar solo, a very great opener. Second is "The Temples Of Syrinx", which is in the same style as "Overture", but contains great vocals and some different riffs. Though being a good and enjoyable part, it is nothing special actually. "Discovery" is next. This is a pretty soft part, rain can be heard on the background and Alex supports Geddy Lee's singing with some clean guitar playing. "Presentation" starts out with a gentle and funky section, that returns several more times. The funky riff sometimes makes places for a distorted riff. Both different styles are used as a dialogue between the hero and the priest of the temples of Syrinx. Suddenly a powerful guitar solo comes in, very haunting. "Oracle: The Dream" is a heavier part in the style of "Temples Of Syrinx", it's more diverse than "Temples..." and better I think. "Soliloquy" is a very soft and sad part, it isn't very special, but tells the story excellent. "The Grand Finale" is the final part, and it really is a grand finale. "2112" ends in the style of "Overture", the reffs are different and the part is overall more bombastic. An excellent prog-outro I think. "2112" is not as good or progressive as some of Rush's latter epic's, like Xanadu and Hemispheres, but it is a great track, sometimes a little bit cheesy and not always very proggy. This song is a essential track for anybody who is into Rush.

The rest of the album is much weaker than the title track, "A Passage To Bangkok" has some nice riffs, but really lacks the spirit, not one of my Rush favorites at all.

"The Twilight Zone" is the best of the short tracks, not one of Rush's bests, but a very decent one. The song starts out with a catchy intro and changes into different styles. The funky and mystical verses both are very good and Alex pulls out a nice solo.

"Lessons" is very uninteresting, it's a poppy song with some heavy riffing in it. That's a pretty strange combination and the song could have been pretty good if the happy acoustic verses were replaced by something heavier, cause the heavy riffs are pretty nice.

"Tears" is a ballad, it's a gentle, sad song. Tears is not my favorite Rush ballad, but it is a nice song, not enjoyable in every different mood of course, as it is a ballad.

"Something For Nothing" is a decent track, very much in the style of "Lessons", but it's less poppy and much more powerful. The song has some nice riffs, great vocals from Geddy Lee and two nice guitar solo's, one fading out and closing the album.

"2112" is not one of Rush's best albums I think. The title track is excellent, but the shorter tracks are all only decent or even bad, so I have mixed feelings about this album. I will rate the album three stars, because of the amazing title track, the others leaves me uninterested.