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Rush > 2112 > Reviews > InfinityX
Rush - 2112

My Musical Genesis - 98%

InfinityX, October 19th, 2012

Well, as I eagerly await seeing Rush live again (by the time this review is accepted I most likely will have already seen them), I feel it is time I formally review this record. IT is undoubtedly the most important piece of music to me, as I was completely ignorant of what music could do until hearing this. When I was a freshman in high school, I was driven to buy this album with my birthday money by some unknown force. Before then, I had zero, and I mean NO interest in music at all. Everything I heard on radio and what not did nothing but annoy me. but something about the spacey sci-fi cover intrigued me. So, there I was with the CD in my stereo....

And it, frankly changed my life. The crazy Overture I can play in my head from memory at anytime at will. It is just THAT memorable. Then the softly but perfectly uttered 'and the meek shall inherit the Earth'. Simply chilling. That segment is actually what I chose to play on my graduation slideshow for my class when my picture came by. There were no other songs I even considered. Anyway, The epic title track continues with the viral Temples of Syrinx, another segment that will never leave the memory of any mortal man, with its shrieked cries of control and power over the Solar Federation.

At this point, little me was already blown away. He wasn't on this planet anymore. He was daydreaming. He saw the towering cities of other worlds, as a new realm of existence opened up to him. In less pretentious terms, I discovered my passion: music. But the song continues with a brilliant guitar piece by criminally underrated god, Alex Lifeson. Discovery is composed to sound like a person discovering the guitar, but in such a way that it is still awesome to listen to. The beautiful vocals of Geddy Lee really come through on this segment, though my favourite vocal lines come a bit later in Oracle: The Dream.

Presentation forwards the story with the priests rejecting music, as I had. With the very high shrieks of the priests contrasting the soft spoken protagonist, this section is vital. But Oracle has to be my favourite part of the song. The build up of the guitars and vocals is just amazing. Soliloquy is the depressing part of the song, which comes with very sorrowful riffs and atmosphere which all culminates to the very heavy for its time Grand Finale.

It goes without saying that the entire song is stuffed with virtuoso drumming courtesy of God of Gods Neil Peart, with equally intelligent and rapturing guitars and bass. But the story itself makes it one of the best rock songs ever. It still holds up to this day as one of the best, and no prog epic has ever met it in the slightest. This song is truly amazing, and I could have gone on forever, but that wouldn't be convenient as time reading this review could be spent listening to this album.

It's side 2 that doesn't hold up as well now that I am older and a little more mature. If I wrote this then, this site would've been hacked, and this album would be the only album on it. But now I can look at it with much less bias (maybe still a little). Don't get me wrong, none of these songs are bad, hell none of these songs are bad at all, but I still can't give it the perfect score.

A Passage to Bangkok is a classic, and is one of my favourites on side 2, with its bluesy sounding licks and its very atypical of Rush lyrics. Twilight Zone is second weakest track in my mind, but its chilling atmosphere keeps it memorable, especially the part about the giant boy making you his new toy. That always makes me smile.

Lessons stands as one of my favourite all time Rush songs. It's acoustic chords never cease to make me feel... happy. Very happy. The lyrics always make me think of the many happy memories I have, and that makes this song very special to me. Tears is the weak link here. It is a bit too soft for this album I feel. And even Geddy Lee sounds a bit bored in his vocal delivery on this one. Something for Nothing ends the album on a higher note, and its hard rock riffing is pretty memorable but not perfect.

In the end, (ha, Rush song!) this song is a near perfect masterpiece that everyone should own, but side 2 cannot live up to the epic. And no set of songs could. But I still can't give it a perfect score. So, though I owe this album a lot, and it is insanely good, Tears, the Twilight Zone and Something for Nothing don't stay with me. Still, a 98 out of 100 or a 5 out of 5.
Highlights:
2112
A Passage to Bangkok
Lessons
Something for Nothing