Can you count that high? ... Yeah, me too. 2112 1/2 Overall Album Score: 7.4 out of 10 It's amazing how this is this fourth Rush album is their most famous. It's even more amazing that I don't find the album's most famed track, the 20-minute prog-rock suite "2112 Medley" musically memorable. But it is true that I'll never forget this song. It's a pretentious 20-minute prog-rock suite that I forced myself to sit through and listen to four times. Geez, I spent an hour and 20 minutes of my life listening to that song. That's about how long the Borat movie was. Anyway, this album seems to be a complete reversal for the group. In Caress of Steel, the best moment was the sprawling 12-minute prog-rock song "Necromancer" and the 3 and 5 minute songs were the bad ones. This time, the best songs are the 3 and 5 minute ones, and the 20-minute prog-rock suite is the worst. I'm probably not going to gain any friends from Rush fans, but I honestly don't see what the heck is so special about "2112 Medley." It's so tedious to sit through! It easily could have been reduced to 10 minutes. Trust me. The lyrics are about a boy from the year 2112 who finds an old electric guitar and jams out on it only to face persecution. Yeah ... I don't care about the lyrics. In light of my opinions, I want to let Rush fans know one thing: Lynching is illegal! So what about the rest of the album? They include five shorter songs. Unlike the three short songs in Caress of Steel, these actually constitute the best of the album. The gorgeous song "Tears" seems to come out of nowhere, which even features the use of the Mellotron in not only a constructive way but also a beautiful way! "Lessons" is a near-hit although I do wish Geddy would take voice lessons or something ... seriously. Or he should at least resort back to his singing in Fly By Night, which was more or less a constructive use of his crazy screeching vocals. All in all, this isn't a bad album. It's mediocre and not too fun to actually sit through. One major reason I can think of why Rush fans consider this the group's best is that it is easily their best produced album. The production was still OK in their previous works, but they're trying a few things in the studio that they haven't before. The Mellotron was a previously stated example. Also the beginning of "2112 Medley" employs some well-used whooshing synths that are meant to take us to the future! ... Well, it worked. It's a shame their melodic and musical ideas for the future were so boring! Overall Album Score: 7.4 out of 10 (This is weak compared to its reputation! The 20 minute prog suite is a big hunk of mediocrity, in my humble opinion. Just know that the majority of Rush fans disagree with me venomously on that point!) Average Song Score: 7.6 (This is the exact same song score the third time in a row. There's something weird about the universe.) Album Tilt: 7.0 (The 20-minute prog epic is the low-point this time. They did a total 180.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (Pretentiousness, yes. But they're trying, and they're not douches.) Track Reviews 2112 Medley 13/20 (Warning: Please take a deep breath.) In "2112 Medley", Rush chooses to open this 20-minute prog-rock suite with a series of space-age noises for almost a minute until finally some extremely choppy guitar chords start playing. I have a feeling that I'm going to die not knowing why Rush enjoyed the use of choppy guitar chords. They're certainly one of the band's signature (along with the helium-sucking lead singer), but it's not that appealing! Things start really rocking after awhile, picking up the mood. Even though this is supposed to be prog-rock, they're not using too many chords. (Oh, I dare you to compare this to early Genesis, who uses more chords than you thought existed!) Anyway, Alex Lifeson chimes in with an electric guitar solo at around the three minute mark giving me something nice, although I can't say it's one of his better works. The pace is picked up shortly thereafter, although they're still playing a three-chord song. Some thunder noises strike and the song threatens to turn into a folk song. But that's short lived as the thundering chords pipe up, and Geddy Lee starts singing like somebody is electrocuting his testicles. This section provides the 'bulk' of the song but I can't say that I completely enjoy listening to this. Where's the melody? Is it merely three chords and Geddy singing like a lunatic? Sadly, yes. At around the six and a half minute mark, everything stops as they engage in some sort of ambient section with a river stream noises and Lifeson playing ponderously with his guitar. I'm pondering how I'm going to keep my attention from wandering away from this song! He slowly gets around to playing some real chords as Geddy starts singing a gentle folk song. This section is a little better than the hard rock section that preceded it. Unfortunately, this section drags on a bit too long, and they ought to have cut it in half. It isn't until the 10 minute mark when some electric guitar chords and Neil Peart starts drumming again. At this point the song turns into a pop-rock song with an OK melody, but nothing memorable. Finally, by 13 minutes, Alex Lifeson chimes in with one of his trademark, "universe shredding" electric guitar solos. It only lasts a minute, but this is the best part of the song. After that point, everything slows down again as they start playing extremely quiet and uninspried synth-pad notes. Geddy sings a very boring melody. The choppy chords pipe up again at the 15 minute point and again make me wonder why this band likes doing that. This is the section where drummers start drooling over Peart, because he does a few impressive things with his drums without resorting to drum soloing. Everything stops again (a bit too suddenly) at precisely the 16-minute mark and yet another folk song pipes up. Yawn!!!! This wouldn't have been so bad if Geddy were singing a melody a little more catchy or memorable. Then, as expected, heavy guitar chords come Rushing in as somebody reconnected Geddy's gonads to the electrecution prods. At about 17 minutes and 15 seconds, Lifeson gives another electric guitar performance but it's not as good as the one he previously did. They adopt a more pop rock feel and guitar-crunch heavy tone in the song's last two minutes. It starts off sounding happy, but it grows more chaotic until the end. They at least had a great conclusion to the song, but it's a shame the middle of it couldn't have extended far beyond mediocrity. A Passage to Bangkok 7.5/10 This is a thankful return to 3-minute Rush songs. Fortunately, this is a decent song and a tad more thoughtful than the pop songs that appeared in Caress of Steel. The song features a Black Sabbath type tone to it with a pretty decent and utterly simple riff. They kind of ruin this song by peppering in the cliche Asian music chord sequence. (Basically the exact same thing featured at the beginning of The Vapors' "Turning Japanese.") Unfortunately, the song can't make it above a B- because of the lack of melody. So sad! Little redemption can be found in the guitar solo, even. The Twilight Zone 7.5/10 Actually not too bad this time, although it runs a severe risk of getting boring! I listen to "The Twilight Zone" and think to myself: "This is going to get boring any minute." But it never does really. It teeters on that edge throughout its three minute running length. The melody is passable this time. I'm not too sure I like how the song is structured. It starts out poppy and bouncy but after 45 seconds, it turns into a "Stairway to Heaven" like folk song. The end has some nice ponderous notes from our favorite electric guitar player. The elements of this song are pretty good separately; I just don't think the thing works so well as a unit. Lessons 8.5/10 This is one of the better songs on the album only because it actually works together as a functional unit FOR ONCE. There's a bizarre moment in this song where Geddy is singing along with some screetches of the electric guitar. Maybe he was trying to prove that he sounded like an electric guitar? Well, it was annoying; that's for sure! Anyway, apart from that annoying vocal performance, this is an altogether solid hard rock song. There's some good guitar crunches, and I like the melody. Lifeson closes the track out with a good guitar solo. What more could you possibly want? Tears 9.5/10 Oh geez, I don't know what happened here. A blatant attempt to emulate Genesis, but it actually works 100 percent here. Bravo for "Tears!" For the love of Pete, I've never been so happy to hear the sound of the Mellotron. This is a light ballad but, unlike anything else Rush produced so far in this album, it has a melody that's heavenly. Oh, it's a simple melody and the chord progressions aren't much, but this is a very pretty song! A mighty excellent ballad ... for once. Something for Nothing 7/10 This is a bit of nonsense! Again, Rush goes nuts with their broken chords. The song ends better though more chaotic. If they were trying to be artistic, it really didn't work. If they were trying to make an enjoyable hard rock song ... Well, that didn't work, either. Meh!!! Please send your comments here. I'll read them. Really I will. davidandino@msn.com (david andino) received March 9, 2007 again, i know you are tired but i'm not here to stalk you i must have thought that songs in the key of life is a beautiful record so is going for the one. okay. skip tales from topography and listen to going for the one. turn of the century is one if not one of the most ethereal tunes on the record. it comes close to making me cry but i do not cry like a wuss. hear it. you will love it. songs in the key of life must have killed your body and fingers and you hate mae, barry white, madonna, kiss, styx and rush but you love the beatles, david bowie, kate bush, cream, eric clapton and the byrds. why no zz top??? i love to hear you explain or trash the albums that had been remixed in the box set six pack! anyhoo do you have a wife, a girlfriend or are you just alone messing around? why you don't like spirited away? i love anime. anyway i know you do not care but i own ghost in the shell and cowboy bebop. call me a geek but i love it! do you have an xbox 360 so i can co! me into your house and play dead or alive? it has the most bodacious babes!!!! unless you wanna make out with guys like that chump master chief! ha ha ha ha ha! i rambled long enough and why aern't you posting my stuff is it i am pedro or am i a retard? anyway i am not pedro i am his brother he ran out of ideas i am taking over so good luck and kill cyndi lauper for me.

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He was the 5,674th scientist to discover oxygen.