From Rush to R30 - A listening retrospective: 2112

I'm embarassed that over a month has gone by in my listening retrospective, but the next album in our trip is quite a monster of an album. What can be said about 2112 that hasn't already been said? Qite simply, this album is Rush's Stonehenge. It's a rare treat to have the entire 2112 song played live in its entirety (the band usually opts to play Overature and Temples of Syrinx, cutting then to another song). Part of the reason is it's a long song (clocking in at 20+ minutes), but I think the other reason is it's a bit depressing. The story is loosely based on Ayn Rand's story "Anthem", and is set in a distant science-fiction world where man is on the brink of destruction, and is ruled by the priests of the Temples of Syrinx. They control everything with computers, and have created a society of constant-working slaves, fearing that anything less will cause man to be destroyed. One man discoversa musical instrument (a guitar). Excited with his discovery, he races to the temple to tell the priests of his findings. They dismiss him as foolish, and destroy the guitar. He flees and goes into hiding, where he dreams of the elder race of man, and their beautiful artistic works. Depressed, he commits suicide just as the Solar Federation collapses by some unseen attackers in a great war. The rest of the tracks on this album aren't quite as epic, but are still very good. A Passage to Bangkok is probably the second well known track on this album. The Twighlight Zone is a tad cheezy, but forgivable. The next two tracks, Lessons and Tears, feature lyrics from Geddy and Alex respectively, and are solid trcaks. Something for Nothing end the disc on a more rocking note with a stark reminder that Freedom isn't Free. Overall, a little disjointed of an album, but an excellent album nonetheless.


links

social