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2112 is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush released in 1976 (see 1976 in music). During the 1976 Canadian tour for the album, a live recording was made which resulted in the release of All The World's a Stage in September 1976.
2112 includes the title track, a seven-part suite with lyrics written by Neil Peart about a man living in a dystopian society who finds a guitar in a remote cave behind a waterfall. Uncertain if the modern world (the album is set in the year 2112) and the powers that be will accept his new musical discovery, he brings the guitar before the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx. However, they dismiss the instrument and destroy it, saying it is just " another toy that helped destroy the Elder Race" of mankind. The protaganist returns home, discouraged. That night, he has a dream where an oracle takes him on a journey to see what the world was like when the Elder Race lived and thrived (it is implied that something caused them to flee the earth at some point, resulting in the current society). He is amazed by its wonder and beauty, and the way in which the people were free to do and create what they please. He then awakens, and is distraught by the fact that such a world, so perfect for him, will never exist. In the cave where he first discovered the guitar, he kills himself, unable to bear the thought of a life without the wonders he knows are possible of the human race. In the final part of the song, it seems that Elder Race returns to take back the earth from the oppressive Priests, shouting "Attention All Planets of the Solar Federation: We Have Assumed Control", although just who in the story is speaking those words is an often debated topic among fans.
The band, pressured by their record company not to write another concept piece (after the previous album, Caress of Steel, containing two such songs, failed commercially), stuck to their guns and created what is hailed as their first masterpiece, and it garnered them their first platinum selling album.
The other songs on the album stand alone from the title track, with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson writing lyrics for one song each ("Tears" and "Lessons", respectively). All other lyrics were penned by Peart.
In the liner notes, the title song is annotated With acknowledgement to the genius of Ayn Rand, as it is heavily influenced by her novelette Anthem.
In 1999, in the same spirit that discovered "The Dark Side of the Rainbow" (playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" while watching "The Wizard Of Oz"), it was a similar strain of serendipity that uncovered "Willy Wonka's 2112" - playing the "2112" CD, beginning at a point near the entrance into the factory. Specific instructions and instances of synchronicity can be found online at http://home.i1.net/~bytor/willywonka2112.html
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Track listing
Regular version
- "2112" - 20:34
- "I: Overture" - 4:32
- "II: The Temples Of Syrinx" - 2:13
- "III: Discovery" - 3:29
- "IV: Presentation" - 3:42
- "V: Oracle: The Dream" - 2:00
- "VI: Soliloquy" - 2:21
- "VII: Grand Finale" - 2:14
- "A Passage To Bangkok" - 3:34
- "The Twilight Zone" - 3:17
- "Lessons" - 3:51
- "Tears" - 3:31
- "Something For Nothing" - 3:59
Personnel
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year
| Chart
| Position
|
| 1976
| Pop Albums
| 61
|
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year
| Single
| Chart
| Position
|
| 1989
| "2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx"
| Mainstream Rock Tracks
| 1
|
|
