Whereas Rush's first two releases, their self-titled debut and Fly by Night, helped create a buzz among hard rock fans worldwide, the more progressive third release, Caress of Steel, confused many of their supporters.
Rush knew it was now or never with their fourth release, and they delivered just in time -- 1976's 2112 proved to be their much sought-after commercial breakthrough and remains one of their most popular albums.
Instead of choosing between prog rock and heavy rock, both styles are merged together to create an interesting and original approach.
The entire first side is comprised of the classic title track, which paints a chilling picture of a future world where technology is in control (Peart's lyrics for the piece being influenced by Ayn Rand).
Comprised of seven "sections," the track proved that the trio members were fast becoming rock's most accomplished instrumentalists.
The second side contains shorter selections, such as the Middle Eastern-flavored "A Passage to Bangkok" and the album-closing rocker "Something for Nothing." 2112 is widely considered by Rush fans as their first true "classic" album, the first in a string of similarly high-quality albums.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Passage to BangkokGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | The Twilight ZoneGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 3 | LessonsGeddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | TearsGeddy Lee, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Something for NothingGeddy Lee, Neil Peart | Rush | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | 2112 | Rush | Play | 20:33 | 47 MB | 129 MB |
| 38 mins | 88 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 247 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Brown | Arranger, Engineer, Producer |
| 2 | Gérard Gentil | Photography |
| 3 | George Graves | Mastering |
| 4 | Yosh Inouye | Photography |
| 5 | Brian Lee | Mastering |
| 6 | Geddy Lee | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lyricist, Vocals |
| 7 | Alex Lifeson | Composer, Guitar, Lyricist |
| 8 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 9 | Neil Peart | Composer, Drums, Lyricist, Percussion |
| 10 | Rush | Arranger, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 11 | Hugh Syme | Graphic Design, Keyboards |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |