2112

The track 2112 is a mind blowing experience. I remember listening to it after already hearing Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures not really knowing what to expect so it really took me by surprise. The band managed to fuse the musical and lyrical themes into one continuous and very coherent story arc which is something that only highly experienced artists can pull off. I would like to note that I never considered Rush to be a progressive band, instead they fit in the same sub-category of as such great artists like The Beatles and David Bowie. The band took in the influences of times and added them into the mix by broadening the scope of their music direction. Unlike other artists who only took a quick stab at different genres only to create a series of poorly composed releases, these chameleon type of bands and artists managed to put their newly acquired sound direction to good use by creating a massive following of their particular take on this sound of the times.

The second part of this album falls in the same disappointing category as ELP's Tarkus for me. These shorter 3-4 minute compositions don't leave much of a lasting impression but luckily, since there aren't any truly terrible tunes here, they maintain the album afloat all throughout its duration. A Passage To Bangkok and Something For Nothing are generally considered to be the better compositions out of the bunch but to me they just sound like poor versions of the great short tracks from the band's previous albums. Incidentally, is there a possible connection between succeeding in one songwriting category while automatically failing miserably in the other, especially one that you already assumed to be a master of? For me Geddy Lee's Tears is easily the highlight since it offers a nice melody combined with some really sentimental lyrics.

This album might not be an all around excellent release but the title track still keeps 2112 an important album to fans of classic epic songwriting. This one is definitely a keeper!

***** star songs: 2112 (20:37)

**** star songs: Tears (3:31)

*** star songs: A Passage To Bangkok (3:34) The Twilight Zone (3:17) Lessons (3:51) Something For Nothing (3:59)

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