2112

The album that either makes you a Rush fan for life, or makes you hate everything about them (but usually just Geddy's shrieking). "2112" really is a hallmark of the genre and is a great example of how rock can be elevated to new artistic heights. The band's playing is tight and their sound gigantic... and epics were never so sing-alongable. I particularly enjoy Geddy's non-Syrinx vocals and Alex's solo on "Soliloquy".

The rest of the album is not as good (admit it), and falls somewhere between "Fly by Night" and "Caress of Steel". "Passage to Bangkok" is about as good as side B gets, with "Something for Nothing", "Lessons" and "Twilight Zone" sounding awfully close to filler. All of these three songs don't bring much new to the table, which is unfortunate. "Tears" is remains the bands only real ballad (and it's actually pretty good), but when mixed together they are simply dwarfed by the red-star of "2112".

Essential for everyone who even half-way likes Rush for "2112" alone, with the other songs fun for an occasional listen.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 3