Album A Day: Rush – 2112

Artist: Rush
Album: 2112
Released: April 1976 (date unknown)

This isn’t my first time listening to 2112, but its the first time I’ve really paid it the attention it’s truly due. My first listen to it came on my birthday last October while my friends Justin, Zack and Peter (three of the biggest music geeks I know) were playing 1000 Blank White Cards, a game we hold close to our hearts. During the game I played 2112 which led several cards to be made cracking jokes about Neil Peart being a hack at Ayn Rand’s expense. Didn’t get it at first until I looked up the history of the album and saw that its 20-minute epic suite and title track drew inspiration from Rand’s Anthem. After looking into that story I listened to the track again and followed the story of the Priests of Syrinx and the Solar Federation. Suffice it to say…wow. The fact that it’s originality is in question aside, 2112, both the song and the album, are simply brilliant. It’s imaginitive, it’s musically unparalleled, and as far-reaching as the stories it tells.

As a general rule, I’m not a fan of prog rock as a genre. I feel as though a song should get to its point fairly quickly and not try to impress me with 15-minute guitar solos and 5 minute instrumental intros. But when the fundamentals of the genre come together and result in something as creatively sound as 2112, the ends justify the means. I’m not saying that 2112 and Rush have magically uprooted folks like The Who in my book, but they’ve certainly earned a place in the conversation.

Rush – Passage to Bangkok [iTunes] (YSI)

==TJ==