2112 was the fourth studio album by Rush. Released on April 1, 1976, it features the seven-part title suite composed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, with lyrics written by Neil Peart telling a dystopian story set in the year 2112. It is sometimes described as a concept album although the songs on the second side are unrelated to the suite.
Track listing
1. “2112”
I. “Overture”
II. “The Temples of Syrinx”
III. “Discovery”
IV. “Presentation”
V. “Oracle: The Dream”
VI. “Soliloquy”
VII. “Grand Finale”
2. “A Passage to Bangkok”
3. “The Twilight Zone”
4. “Lessons”
5. “Tears”
6. “Something for Nothing”
Flip through the gallery to learn more about 2112 by Rush!
First Major Commercial Success Photo By: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Due to the relative commercial failure of their previous album, Caress of Steel, Mercury Records pressed the band not to do another album with "concept" songs. The band ignored this advice and stuck to their principles. 2112 would become their first major commercial success, and ultimately a signature record
2112 was released April 1, 1976 and peaked at #61 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, becoming their first album to reach the top 100. 2112 would eventually be certified gold on November 16, 1977
In 2062, a galaxy-wide war results in the union of all planets under the rule of the Red Star of the Solar Federation. By 2112, the world is controlled by the "Priests of the Temples of Syrinx," who control every facet of life. Neil Peart says the naked man is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality
Ayn Rand Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Neil Peart credits "the genius of Ayn Rand" in the liner notes of the album. Rand, a Russian-born, Jewish-American novelist and inventor of the philosophy of Objectivism, wrote a novella titled Anthem, the plot of which bears several similarities to 2112
Tears Photo By: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The other songs on 2112 stand apart from the title track. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson wrote lyrics for one song each ("Tears" and "Lessons," respectively), while Neil Peart wrote the rest. "Tears" would be the first Rush song to feature an outside musician, Hugh Syme, who would play keyboards on a number of Rush songs in the future
The Twilight Zone Photo By: PRPhotos.com
The track "The Twilight Zone" was written and recorded in one day, and is based on the show of the same name
A deluxe edition was released in 2012 as both a CD/DVD and a CD/Blu-ray. The CD featured the entire album remastered, as well as three live bonus tracks from their 1981 concert at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
A 40th Anniversary edition was released in 2016 as both a 2CD/DVD combo as well as a "super deluxe" edition with a 3LP 200-gram vinyl version. The set featured the entire album remastered at Abbey Road Studios, as well as previously unreleased live tracks and cover versions of the songs performed by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and more
