It's not their best album nor my favorite, but 2112 is the one that really set things in motion. I don't say it's not the best/my favorite as a slight either; they improved on this one quite magnificently over a few years after its initial release. And yet, it's their first truly great album.
Let's start with the album format. Like previously covered Caress of Steel, 2112 has one track that encompasses Side A. It is a seven-part masterwork whose first two parts ("Overture" and "The Temples of Syrinx") proved to be so undeniable that they were cut from the rest and turned into a single.
It's easy to see why such a decision would be made. Powerful guitars and bass are buoyed by one of Peart's finest performances. His driving beat as the "Overture" is just getting started is one of the best, a monster of tom rolls and snare hits that grabs the listener and smacks him/her around just a bit before backing off into phaser-enhanced chord structures.
And unlike future rock or metal bands that would write long and structured pieces, Rush was not baldly stating the themes that were to come in the "Overture". There's a nice nod to the 1812 Overture that comes just before the end of Part I. It leads to a crashing finale wherein the first vocals are heard: "And the meek shall inherit the earth".
Let it not be said they were irony-impaired.
If there's any one thing I can point to as to the success of "2112" as a whole, it's variation. The main riff of "The Temples of Syrinx" is basically a restatement of the "Overture"'s guitar intro. But how is it different? Well, instead of using staccato chords to cut the overall pattern into discrete phrases, Lifeson plays an insistent rhythm using the same chords, but ends with a held chord that rings. Lee's vocals are the usual shrieks that we find on the pre-Permanent Waves recordings, but we are thrown a slight curve here as well, once you get into "Discovery" and especially "Presentation".
The lyrics owe much to the "genius of Ayn Rand" (Peart's words, from the liner notes) and are an allegory wherein a man finds a guitar and decides to show it and the music he's written to the "leaders" in his world. It's quite different from "The Fountain of Lamneth", to be sure. And while the protagonist's role is a tragic one, salvation does eventually come in the end.
"Discovery" and "Presentation" are linked by the use of a recurring theme. While the beginning of Part III illustrates the protagonist's attempts to wrangle something musical out of his new instrument (via tuning and arpeggios that express uncertainty), the end shows him becoming quite confident with his playing. Lee's voice is softer and more soothing here, and it is this voice that is used to express the protagonist's point-of-view. In "Presentation", the protagonist shows his guitar to the Priests (of "The Temples of Syrinx"), Lee alternates between soft singing and shrieking, and then Lifeson pulls out the first of two thrilling solos.
To say that the "Presentation" goes poorly would be an understatement.
The protagonist is defeated momentarily, but not broken. "Oracle: The Dream" shows him a better world that is just beyond his reach. It also has one of my favorite riffs in the song, which first begins under the line "I stand atop a spiral stair". Alas, the dream he sees does not motivate him, but instead leads him to despair. Thus, "Soliloquy" imparts the protagonist's final words upon us, along with the second of Lifeson's thrilling solos. If there's a difference between the two, it's that the solo in "Soliloquy" is slightly more musical, more melodic, more emotional. The stakes are higher.
Part VII is the "Grand Finale". While I said above that the themes used in Part I are usually changed and given some variation when presented elsewhere in the song, "Grand Finale" takes one of the chord progressions from "Overture" pretty much as is and uses it as a springboard for an exciting and uplifting conclusion.
I don't know if I would call this song influential in terms of my own playing. I do consider myself an ambitious songwriter, but I think the inspiration necessary to produce something like this has eluded me thus far. Despite the length, it's incredibly fun to listen to as the band keep the song moving and the themes change quickly and don't get mired in drudgery. The solos are an obvious highlight for me.
Side B contains five short tracks. "Tears" is a ballad that I don't much care for, and although they retain the form in later albums, they improve on it substantially by removing the melodrama (mostly).
My favorite of these short tracks is "The Twilight Zone". Sure, the lyrics are silly and an obvious ode to what they were watching on TV at the time, but the music is fantastic, as is Lee's wordless vocal that begins the chorus. As with Side A, the highlight of the song is the outro guitar solo over the main arpeggiated lines. It is more of a slow-burner like the solo in "Soliloquy". People normally claim that Lifeson did his best work on "Limelight"; I disagree, and think that he established the form for his slower, more melodic, and emotionally tinged solos on tracks like this, "Soliloquy", and especially on "No One at the Bridge" from the previous album.
"The Twilight Zone" is also fun to play along with. It's not terribly difficult, certainly nothing as rough as the intro to "A Farewell to Kings", it's played at a slow tempo, and it's also a pleasant listen.
"Something for Nothing" closes the album on a powerful note. Its lyrics contain a sly reference to "Soliloquy": "You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dream might be". The first line of "Soliloquy"? "The sleep is still in my eyes/the dream is still in my head".
Clever!
The riff is deceptively simple. It's just open-Amaj and Dmaj chords, really. But it's the rhythm that makes it interesting, as usual. The solo is not as powerful or intricate as some other ones on the album, but it gets the job done. And as the song fades out, I'm usually left feeling satisfied.
***
Next time: the first (and best) live album.
