•
Rating: The Rush announce their most experimental breakthrough after a predominantly hard rock beginning with this album.
"2112" while still very much tied to the Led Zeppelin-style influences of the early albums, presents a definitely much more experimental attitude compared to its predecessors, so much so that many identify it as the beginning of the band's progressive era; an experimentation not yet at its peak, a level that will be reached with subsequent albums, but these almost 40 minutes of music we are presented with, I can assure you, will excite all rock lovers. Six songs, one very long, the other five short, which alternate captivating hard rock melodies and pure Pink Floyd-like psychedelia.
The first track is precisely the long suite that gives the album its name: 20 minutes of true prog-rock, a very experimental start with strange sound effects, then a continuous alternation of hard rock parts and complex guitar weavings with sounds of waterfalls; all designed to leave you speechless. And after twenty minutes of attentive and never distracted listening, here comes a very peculiar "A Passage To Bangkok", certainly influenced by hard rock but with heavy ethnic cadences. Then, the exciting notes of "The Twilight Zone" based essentially on psychedelia thanks to delicate acoustic arpeggios. "Lessons", halfway between acoustic and electric, has a slight country flavor. The track worth glorifying is "Tears", an acoustic and above all atmospheric ballad thanks also to the keyboard background. And it ends beautifully with a gritty and energetic "Something For Nothing" which once again demonstrates their love for hard rock without sacrificing psychedelia.
Overall, an album of great depth, perhaps a step below those that will follow (the real masterpieces), but still with the merit of opening a cycle.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 2112: I. Overture / II. The Temples of Syrinx / III. Discovery / IV. Presentation / V. Oracle: The Dream / VI. Soliloquy / VII. Grand Finale (20:33)
02 A Passage to Bangkok (03:34)
A Passage To Bangkok
Our first stop is in Bogota
To check Colombian fields
The natives smile and pass along
A sample of their yield
Sweet Jamaican pipe dreams
Golden Acapulco nights
Then Morocco, and the East,
Fly by morning light
We're on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We'll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best
Wreathed in smoke in Lebanon
We burn the midnight oil
The fragrance of Afghanistan
Rewards a long day's toil
Pulling into Katmandu
Smoke rings fill the air
Perfumed by a Nepal night
The Express gets you there
We're on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We'll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best
03 The Twilight Zone (03:19)
A pleasant faced man steps up to greet you
he smiles and says he's pleased to meet you
Beneath his hat the strangeness lies
Take it off he's got three eyes
Truth is false and logic lost
Now the fourth dimension is crossed
You have entered the twilight zone
Beyond this world strange things are known
Use the key, unlock the door
See what your fate might have in store
Come explore your dreams' creation
Enter this world of imagination
You wake up lost in an empty town
Wondering why no-one else is around
Look up to see a giant boy
You've just become his brand new toy
No escape no place to hide
Here where time and space collide
You have entered the twilight zone
Beyond this world strange things are known
Use the key, unlock the door
See what your fate might have in store
Come explore your dreams' creation
Enter this world of imagination
04 Lessons (03:52)
Sweet memories
Flashing very quickly by
Reminding me
And giving me a reason why
I know that
My goal is more than a thought
I'll be there
When I teach what I've been taught
And I've been taught...
You know we've told you before
But you didn't hear us then
So you still question why
No! You didn't listen again!
You didn't listen again!
Sweet memories
I never thought it would be like this
Reminding me
Just how close I came to missing
I know that
This is the way for me to go
You'll be there
When you know what I know
And I know...
You know we've told you before
But you didn't hear us then
So you still question why
No! You didn't listen again!
You didn't listen again!
05 Tears (03:34)
All of the seasons
And all of the days
All of the reasons
Why I've felt this way
So long
So long
Then lost in that feeling
I looked in your eyes
I noticed emotion
And that you had cried
For me
I can see
What would touch me deeper
Tears that fall from eyes
That only cry?
Would it touch you deeper
Than tears that fall from eyes
That know why?
A lifetime of questions
Tears on your cheek
I tasted the answers
And my body was weak
For you
The truth
06 Something for Nothing (03:57)
Waiting for the winds of change
to sweep the clouds away
Waiting for the rainbows end
To cast it's gold your way
Countless ways, You pass the days
Waiting for someone to call
and turn your world around
Looking for an answer
to the questions you have found
Looking for, an open door
You don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free
You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eye's
No matter what your dream might be
What you own is your own kingdom
What you do is your own glory
What you love is your own power
What you live is your own story
In your heart is the answer
Let it guide you along
Let your heart be the anchor
and the beat of you song
You don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By mayhem
Rush create a new musical world, apart, I would say almost dreamlike, rich in ideas, spiced with the wise use of effects and extremely original riffs.
What you own is your own kingdom / What you do is your own glory / What you love is your own power / What you live is your own story.
By vellutogrigio
"2112 appears, even today, futuristic, beyond trends and time."
‘‘Something For Nothing’’ is the band’s manifesto and, in my opinion, Rush’s masterpiece in short tracks.
