AOTW #22 - 2112

it was inevitable. I am a huge Rush fan, and so at some point one of their albums would show up in this feature. I discovered Rush back in high school, as we used to listen to music in the band room after school. For me, it was like a great revelation. I can’t put properly into words what makes me such a fan of their work other than to say I like melodically complex music and science fiction.

The album 2112 was released in 1976 as their fourth studio album, and was their first to be certified Gold. As an LP, the whole first side is dominated by the title track, a 20 twenty minute long suite subdivided into seven sections. It’s also important to note that it is not a concept album. Side one is one suite, and side two is a collection of unrelated songs.

2112

The basic plot of “2112” is that in the year 2112, the Solar Federation, a collectivist union that suppresses human expression, controls the solar system. One day, a man finds a guitar and discovers he can make his own music. The priests destroy the guitar because they see it as a threat to their order. The man retreats to the cave where he found the guitar and has a vision in a dream of the “Elder Race” the former rulers deposed by the priests. Upon waking up, the man falls into despair and takes his own life. Just as he does so, a battle for control of the solar system begins. Basically, the story very much parallels that of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart acknowledges this in the liner notes.

Musically, each section has its own style, mostly centered on the style of blues-influenced hard rock that Rush developed in as well as Geddy Lee’s signature high-pitched singing. The Overture also features a section inspired by the overture from Tchaikovsky’s 1812. Unlike most very long rock recordings, it does not feature any extended solos or improvisational sections. Each section moves the plot forward, giving a vivid picture of the events depicted, thus it never feels like it drags because each section on average is about two and a half minutes in length which fits into average pop song parameters.

Side two starts out with “Passage to Bangkok,” a song that features a distinctive guitar riff that drives the song forward. It’s also notable for being one of the few obvious references to drug use in Rush’s catalogue. The common interpretation of the song is that of a wine tour for marijuana, touring the world to sample the best strains. It’s a rollicking light song, a sharp contrast from the sci-fi seriousness of side one.  

Neil Peart is a huge fan of the Twilight Zone, and the song of the same name on this album takes its lyrics from two episodes of the show, “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” and “Stopover in a Quiet Town.” Intended as a tribute to the show, it features a solid backbeat throughout the verses (which describe the episodes) and a brooding chorus. Also, I think Rod Serling’s closing from the second episode is worth sharing:

The moral of what you've just seen is clear: if you drink, don't drive. And if your wife has had a couple, she shouldn't drive, either. You might both just wake up with a whale of a headache, in a deserted village, in the Twilight Zone.

An excellent reason not to DUI.

The next two songs feature writing credits by the other two members of the power trio: guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee. In fact, “Lessons” is the only lyric work Lifeson has ever done on a Rush album. It’s a fun song, but both “Lessons” and “Tears” show why Peart has been Rush’s lyricist almost exclusively for over 30 years.

“Something for Nothing” is a typical Rush song of the era, and actually is indicative of where their style was headed in their next album. It’s a driving rock song pounding forward under Peart’s lyrics. As for the lyrical inspiration, Peart states, “All those paeans to American restlessness and the American road carried a tinge of wistfulness, an acknowledgment of the hardships of the vagrant life, the notion that wanderlust could be involuntary, exile as much as freedom, and indeed, the understanding that freedom wasn't free.”

The strength of the album is really all in the title track, though I also love “Passage for Bangkok.” It really is quite an achievement, and it is really the high point of Rush as progressive rock. They would attempt the same format of side-length song on 1978’s Hemispheres to lesser success, and this would give way to the more mainstream sounding Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures of 1980 and ’81. 

[iTunes] 
[Amazon mp3]

Album of the Week appears every Wednesday at Knowhere. Each week Ryan discusses an album in context of influence, artistic merit, and whatever else seems slightly relevant

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[Ryan S.]

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