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 - A very good mid-70s hard rock recordThe album opens miraculously. Cheesy sci-fi sound effects give way to a staccato guitar attack. There are really too many cool riffs in the Overture to count and it is one of Rush's best hard-rocking instrumentals. "Temples of Syrinx" - with Geddy Lee's vocals heading to the rafters - is just as good, if not better. This is easily the most resounding 7 minutes of music Rush would produce in the 70s. After that there are a few lulls ("Discovery" especially), but they don't bother me too much. One does get the sense that Rush has bitten off a bit more than they can chew. The story is fairly melodramatic, and if anything, the songwriting here isn't pompous or bombastic enough. Queen was always better at melodrama and one can only imagine what Freddy Mercury might have done with "Presentation" and "Soliloquy." These are only minor complaints, however. As a solid chunk of hard rock, the 2112 Suite works quite well and, on its own, it would merit 4 stars. The main problem I have with the album is that the second half doesn't come close to living up to the first half. "Something for Nothing" is the only track that really stands out here (but the version on ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE is better). The rest of the songs rate OK at best. Despite the fact that I am not in love with this album as a whole, I still recommend it for anyone who is just starting to explore Rush's back catalog. (I know, I'm going WAY out on a limb there.) I MEAN IT'S 2112 DAGGONIT! Rating:  - Memories of innocenceI was driving home from a friends house and listened to this CD that I had stuck in my console. I remember purchasing 2112 on a whim, as an LP, in 1977( freshman year in high school). I played this over and over and made a cassette recording to play in the under dash player I had mounted in my dad's car. It brought back ALOT of memories of fun times and innocence, a time when there were no cell phones, internet, computers,CD's, high def. etc. Going to second base in the back seat of your dad's car was exciting and dangerous, hiding beers in the woods and lying about whose house you were sleepng at. This was truly played over and over and over, whether it was at a friends house on the turn-table singing along and trying to match Geddy's high notes or copied to a cassette recording handed from one friend to another. If you enjoyed this album in the past... its well worth breaking out again.. :) Thank you Geddy, Alex and Neil for GREAT music !! Rating: - Good but not great3 1/2 A very decently ambitious classic progressive rock album in my opinion, but largely overrated as one of the flagpoints in the genre. Probably unnecessarily elevated for it's conceptual arch and epic introduction suite, 2112 is still a worthwhile investment for those dabbling in prog via classic rock. The emphasis however does not lie in complex melodic manipulations and challenging time signatures but in fluid, unpretentious rock and roll with a slightly nerdier angle, undoubtedly "enhanced" with these acquired high pitched, in tune shrieks. Rating: - Outstanding!I can't believe anyone would give this a 1 star review!! They must be tone deaf!! "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation. We have assumed control!" Rating:  - I like disagreeing with the massesThis album, if I may be blunt about it, is a complete and utter flying dog turd. The big hype is the "epic" 20-and-a-half minute self-titled track. I wanted to take it safe and just hear it on Youtube before I considered buying. WOOOOOOOOW am I glad I didn't waste my money on this garbage! Nothing stuck out at all, except for the whiny, annoyingly high-pitched vocals, and that I was completely wasting my time. Everyone I know on Yahoo! Answers seems to rave Neil Peart's "superior drumming." Where the hell is it? I don't hear nuthin' superior from ANY of the instruments. I didn't even bother to listen to the lyrics, knowing I'd have to try and interpret what the horrendous singer was saying, and I didn't feel like listening. Apparently, it's a buncha cheesy sci-fi crap anyway. I REALLY don't see the inspiration for other prog-rock bands in Rush (except maybe James LaBrie's ear-piercing vocals for Dream Theater). Symphony X and the aforementioned Dream Theater blows these twats out of the water in terms of lyric writing, instrumental talent, and making good, interesting, and enjoyable 20-minute+ compositions.
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