Breakthrough albums - Progressive Rock Music Forum

verslibre wrote:

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

I'm not sure what you mean by polish but whatever. For the most part I do agree with you about 2112 but I still wouldn't say it was a big commercial success for them (at least not right after it came out- it peaked at number 61 which isn't bad but not exactly boy band level popularity either). That album was mostly successful due to reputation and word of mouth. It wasn't played much on the radio at all when it first came out. That was addressed in the Rush biography book I read by them (the old red book).

Rush: Visions by Bill Banasiewicz? That was alright for its time, but I think it's considered less than essential now.

Any which way you cut it, 2112 was the turning point in the band's career. I consider it their breakthrough album. Whether you agree with her or not, she makes valid points:

The exploration of dynamics, atmospherics and program music was a huge creative breakthrough for Rush, and the ambition and synthesis of styles would help the album appeal to a wider audience, one that could appreciate both the technical chops and the pop hooks. "I love that Rush combines total prog-nerd w**kery with music that's actually catchy," writes Amanda Falke, a musician and software engineer based in Portland, Ore. "Rush may sound nerdy, but at heart they're pop musicians. There is a warmth and presence to their music that very few bands have."

"When it comes to space-age nerdy prog rock with massive compositions, Rush did it first, and they did it best on 2112," Falke writes. But she insists there's something more to Rush than technical innovation and sci-fi concepts: "Rush also has something most heavy bands today lack: vulnerability. The ending of '2112' (the song) is incredibly triumphant, and you only get that with the dynamics that result from total vulnerability in your music. That's so inspiring."

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2016/04/30/476268876/all-the-gifts-of-life-40-years-of-rushs-2112

Who is the "she?" Ayn Rand? Wink

Or maybe Donna Halper. Smile

Anyway, yes that was the book. Apparently Bill B (I won't try to spell his last name) had a falling out with the band and Rush distanced themselves from him. I don't remember the particulars but I know it was something they didn't forgive him for (and possibly rightly so but again I don't remember the details).

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - 9 hours 51 minutes ago at 19:52