2112 [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Rush

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001ESF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (305 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,336 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Only Rush could have pulled this off, and only in the '70s. 2112--the title suite of the band's 1976 breakthrough album--is a comically pretentious, futuristic rock opera written by a nerdy drummer and sung by a whiny-voiced geek. It also happens to be a great piece of rock & roll that lifts the listener through a variety of moods and textures from genteel acoustic ("Oracle") to thrilling metal ("The Temples of Syrinx"). Perhaps realizing that they had taken conceptualism about as far as it could go, even these guys backed off on the epic hero stuff for later releases. 2112 still stands as one of the great signposts of the prog-rock era. --Michael Ruby

Product Description

Japanese only paper sleeve SHM pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Warner. 2009. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

205 of 209 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Condescending Review from Amazon not quite accurate., March 24, 2007

By	Joe "Joe" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

I'm no die-hard Rush fan, but I know my rock history & Amazon's review(of an Amazon essential recording no less, now in the R&R HoF Definitive 200 albums list [#198])by Michael Ruby doesn't quite do justice to either the band or the album. The band has been around now for more than 35 years, but critics still harp on the same things: poor vocals, pretentious lyrics, & nerdy drummers, failing to take the band's progression into account & trivializing their early works.

Further, if someone only reads the Amazon editorial review, he(or she) would get the impression that after this record, Rush stopped making prog-rock records. I know for a fact that they didn't stop making songs under 10 minutes until 1982's "Signals". It's not as if they suddenly woke up and said, "hey, those rock critics are right, we ARE bombastic & pretentious".

The review also fails to mention that all three members of the band are respected BY THEIR PEERS & have each won awards for their musical skills. In the end, that's the problem with rock critics: they always have their reputations at stake, which is why the professional Amazon reviewer can't come out and say that he likes it without dousing his words in irony & campiness. It's uncool for rock critics worth their salt to actually admit that they like Rush; if it were cool, Rush would be in the R&R hall of Fame. So, dear reader, do me a favor & click YES if you agree the reviewer Michael Ruby hasn't done justice to the band or record in his review.

By the way, the live version of "2112" on "Different Stages" is an excellent example of how 1) Geddy Lee's vocals have mellowed over time & 2) Rush's musicianship has further improved since 1976.

100 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Listen to my music and hear what it can do . . .', August 13, 2004

By	John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This album is the one that brought me to the Rush party. It's still one of the finest rock albums there is.

Before 1976, Rush had released a competent but undistinguished Self-Titled Debut, with bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee (Gary Lee Weinrib), guitarist Alex Lifeson (Alex Zivojinovich, of which 'life-son' is a literal translation), and drummer John Rutsey doing a passable imitation of Led Zeppelin. Following Rutsey's amicable departure, Lee and Lifeson were joined by mad percussionist and thoughtful lyricist Neil Peart, whose influence was evident over the next two LPs (_Fly By Night_ and _Caress of Steel_). But although there was lots of good music on them, the band hadn't quite found its voice yet.

Then came _2112_ -- without which quite a few of us would never have _heard_ of their first three albums. This one got lots of people's attention, including mine; I was introduced to it by a junior-high buddy who was as blown away by it as I was. As of this release, Rush had _arrived_.

The title piece, as you surely know, is a twenty-minute science fiction 'rock opera' inspired largely by Ayn Rand's _Anthem_. Don't let that put you off; you don't have to have a high opinion of Rand's work in order to appreciate _2112_. (I don't think much of her as a philosopher myself, although I've enjoyed some of her non-ATLAS SHRUGGED fiction.) Peart is nobody's follower, and when it comes to Rand he knew which bits to keep and which to reject.

Here (as in his other Rand-inspired material) he seizes on the right stuff: individualism, iconoclasm, reason, intellectual self-reliance, respect for human competence and achievement, and a deep commitment to political and social liberty. He and the band also have some things Rand didn't: the desire to rock out, and the ability to do it extremely well. (All these of guys were, and are, consummate craftsman who have consistently earned the respect of other musicians of all types. Unfortunately they didn't know, in 1976, what Rand actually thought of rock music.)

The result is an absolutely blistering first track (originally an 'album side') and as clear-sighted a hymn to individual freedom and nonconformity as rock has ever seen. Pretty good work for three guys in their early twenties -- particularly in heavy metal, a genre not ordinarily noted for elevated philosophical discourse.

The rest of it ('side two') is decent enough too. The best of it, arguably, is the TANSTAAFL sermon 'Something for Nothing', but I also enjoy 'A Passage to Bangkok' (devoted, incidentally, to another subject Rand wouldn't have approved) and the lugubrious 'Tears' (lyrics by Geddy Lee). The other two tracks -- 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Lessons' (lyrics on the latter by Lifeson) -- are okay but they aren't Rush's best work.

Now, as much as I love _2112_, I can't say I think it's Rush's best release ever; they followed it up with a string of magnificent albums, pushing further and further into what turned out retroactively to have been 'prog rock', opening our ears and our minds as they went. (And they're not done yet.) I have my opinions about which albums are their best, and other Rush listeners have theirs.

But this one has a special place in history -- both Rush's history and mine. I still play it, and I still enjoy it as much as I did twenty-eight years ago. Thanks, guys -- from me and all the other geeks.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They only stop for the best, February 15, 2007

By	WillieB - See all my reviews

Amid the laughable radio offerings of the late 70's (disco, soft rock, and bad new wave groups) Rush stood out. "2112" is a great album by an innovative power trio slamming out great tunes.

Alex, Geddy and Neil have a chemistry that you can feel during the galloping riff of the rocking title track. They know what to play and when to play it, perfectly complementing each other. This twenty-minute song changes from blazing rips to mellow guitar work, with waterfall sound effects in the background, and it never loses steam. The awesome rhythm and lead guitar work, heavy growling bass lines, and otherworld drumming makes this one of my favorite Rush tunes. "A Passage To Bangkok" is another rocking tune with goofy lyrics about weed, which seemed a lot cooler back in the day. "The Twilight Zone" is a sort of commercial sounding happy tune, but the guitar picking during the chorus is eerie - nice contrast. "Lessons" is another upbeat tune similar to something heard on "Caress of Steel", another great disc by the way. The ballad "Tears" (keyboards played by graphic designer, Hugh Syme) is a bit weak but not a bad. However, "Something for Nothing" closes out the disc in grand fashion.

The only possible negative about Rush is many people don't like the nasal whiny vocals of Geddy Lee. I never noticed this since I was too focused on the musicianship, but his singing seems to have improved with age. I doubt people will listen to this in 2112 and find it as exciting as it seemed in 1976, but musicians (if they still exist) will surely acknowledge the incredible talents of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart.