2112 (album)
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- For the year 2112, see 22nd Century.
The album 2112 features an eponymous seven-part suite with lyrics written by Neil Peart. The suite tells a dystopian story set in the year 2112. Since the album got its name from this suite, many fans think of it as a concept album. Technically it is not, as the songs on the second side are completely unrelated. Rush would repeat this arrangement in Hemispheres.
The 2112 suite
In the year 2062, a galaxy-wide war results in the union of all planets under the rule of the Red Star of the Solar Federation. The world is controlled by the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx, who determine all reading matter, songs, pictures . . . everything connected with life during the year 2112 ("The Temples of Syrinx").
In the midst of this assembly line living, a man discovers what was once known years before as a guitar ("Discovery"). The man begins to pluck the strings and turn the knobs, discovering that he can make his own music - a music very different from that of the Temples. He rushes to tell the priests of his discovery, ("Presentation") but to the man's dismay, the priests destroy the instrument, saying it doesn't fit the plan of the Solar Federation.
The man returns to the cave in which he found the guitar and, during a dream, is led by an oracle to a land of incredible beauty and serenity ("Oracle: A Dream"). Upon awakening, he can not believe it was a dream — the beauty was so real.
He remains in the cave for several days, becoming more and more depressed with each passing hour ("Soliloquy"). The man decides he can not go on as part of the Federation and takes his life to move on to a better one. As he dies, another planetary battle begins ("Grand Finale") resulting in the (perhaps deliberately) ambiguous ending "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control." (this spoken section was created by Geddy Lee and Alex lifeson reportedly "messing around with a tape recorder")
Overture
2112 commences with a lengthy instrumental section ("Overture") which concludes with the spoken phrase "And the meek shall inherit the Earth" (a reference to the Beatitudes of the New Testament.) The "2112 Overture" contains a guitar adaptation of a familiar part of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
The Priests
Section two, "The Temples of Syrinx", sets an immediate counterpoint to this line by introducing the arrogant villains of the story. The Priests of the Temples of Syrinx, characterized by an uncharacteristically high, even shrieking singing phased and processed voice by Geddy Lee, boast that "All the gifts of life are held within our walls." The Priests, who rule over the Earth, have united the surviving human colonies, after a long war, under "the red star of the Solar Federation", supposedly under the principles of equality and brotherhood. The "meek" mentioned in the opening line seem to be the contented people of the Solar Federation who have submitted to the rule of the Priests.
The Protagonist
The third section, "Discovery", introduces our main character (Geddy's voice left natural with no processing save some echo), who finds a guitar in a remote cave behind a waterfall. Alex Lifeson builds up from simple open string guitar playing into increasingly complex patterns and chords, showing us the man's progress as he teaches himself to play the guitar.
Confident that the Priests will be impressed with his discovery, he brings the guitar before them in part four, "Presentation". The dialogue between the man and the Priests alternates between the gentle guitar work and clear pitch of the man, and the hard-rocking guitars and shrieking pitch of the Priests. Ultimately, the Priests dismiss the instrument and destroy it, saying that it was just 'another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man'.
The protagonist returns home, discouraged. In part five, "Oracle: The Dream", he has a dream where an oracle takes him on a journey to see the Elder Race's "wondrous land" graced by "the works of gifted hands". He is amazed by its wonder and beauty, and the way in which the people were free to do and create what they please. In the dream he sees the Elder Race growing in power and preparing to return to destroy the temples.
He then awakens in part six, "Soliloquy", and is distraught by the fact that such a world, so perfect for him, will never exist. In the cave where he first discovered the guitar, he kills himself, unable to bear the thought of a life without the wonders he knows are possible of the human race.
Part seven, "The Grand Finale", is a grand instrumental concluding with the spoken words "Attention, all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control". Some fans interpret the Grand Finale as the victorious return of the Elder Race while others interpret it as the establishment of absolute power by the Priests who have finally destroyed the last dissident to their order.
The band, pressured by their record company not to write another concept piece (after the previous album, Caress of Steel, containing two such songs, failed commercially), stuck to their guns and created what is hailed as their first masterpiece. It garnered them their first US Top 100 album and would reach Gold status on November 16, 1977 (along with the band's then current release A Farewell to Kings and All The World's a Stage and Platinum on February 25, 1981 shortly after the release of Moving Pictures in 1981.
Remaining songs
The other songs on the album stand alone from the title track, with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson writing lyrics for one song each ("Tears" and "Lessons", respectively). All other lyrics were penned by Peart.
"Tears" would be the first Rush song to feature an outside musician. Hugh Syme, who plays keyboards on a number of Rush songs in the future (ie. Different Strings on "Permanant Waves" and Witch Hunt on "Moving Pictures") contributes a multi-tracked mellotron string part to the track. "A Passage to Bangkok" and "The Twilight Zone" are songs typical of this time period of Rush. "Something For Nothing" closes out the album.
Track listing
- "2112" - 20:34
- *"I: Overture" - 4:32
- *"II: The Temples of Syrinx" - 2:13
- *"III: Discovery" - 3:29
- *"IV: Presentation" - 3:42
- *"V: Oracle: The Dream" - 2:00
- *"VI: Soliloquy" - 2:21
- *"VII: Grand Finale" - 2:14
- "A Passage to Bangkok" - 3:34
- "The Twilight Zone" - 3:17
- "Lessons" - 3:51
- "Tears" - 3:31
- "Something for Nothing" - 3:59
Trivia
In the liner notes, the title song is annotated "With acknowledgement to the genus [sic] of Ayn Rand", as it contains many parallels to her novelette Anthem.
In 1999, in the same spirit that discovered "Dark Side of the Rainbow" (playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" while watching "The Wizard Of Oz"), it was a similar strain of serendipity that uncovered "Willy Wonka's 2112" - playing the "2112" CD, beginning at a point near the entrance into the factory. Specific instructions and instances of synchronicity can be found online at [The Willy Wonka & 2112 website].
In Chris Cornell's solo section during Audioslave's October 7, 2005 concert in Toronto, he performs an acoustic rendition of Soliloquy.
The band first performed the entire song "2112" live during its 1996/1997 Test for Echo tours, albeit in a different key.
Personnel
- Geddy Lee - bass, keyboards, vocals
- Alex Lifeson - guitar
- Neil Peart - drums, percussion
- Hugh Syme - mellotron on "Tears"
Charts
Album
Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Pop Albums | 61 |
Singles
Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
Remaster Details
A remaster was issued in 1997.- The tray has a picture of star with man painting with THE RUSH REMASTERS printed in all caps just to the left. All remasters from Rush through to Permanent Waves are like this. This is just like the cover art of Retrospective I.
- The remaster album art has all of the elements including the back cover, the story of 2112, lyrics and gatefold shots of the band and The star with man logo which were absent from the original CD.
External links
| Rush |
| Geddy Lee | Alex Lifeson | Neil Peart |
| John Rutsey |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Rush | Fly by Night | Caress of Steel | 2112 | A Farewell to Kings | Hemispheres | Permanent Waves | Moving Pictures | Signals | Grace Under Pressure | Power Windows | Hold Your Fire | Presto | Roll the Bones | Counterparts | Test for Echo | Vapor Trails |
| Live albums: All the World's a Stage | Exit...Stage Left | A Show of Hands | Different Stages | Rush in Rio | | Rush Replay X 3 |
| Compilations: Archives | Chronicles | Retrospective I | Retrospective II | | Gold |
| Other records: Not Fade Away (Single) | Feedback (Cover album) |
| Related articles |
| ' | ' | Victor | My Favorite Headache | A Work In Progress | Anatomy of A Drum Solo |
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