This is Rush's first successful stab at a concept album. Like many of Rush's albums during the '70s, this one deals with a futuristic scenario where an individual triumphs over an impersonalized high-tech society. * * * *

- Rick Clark, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

2112 houses the sidelong title suite. * * *

- Gary Graff, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Waving in the metaphysical Rush, side one of the only sci-fi opera put to vinyl is devoted to the title track, a blissfully overblown 25-minute opus, inspired by Ayn Rand's novels, in which great literature and great rock collide. Fueled by Geddy Lee's howls, this conceptual album takes you to other planets and into oblivion. It was thinking man's metal -- or so we thought in 1976. * * * *

- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.

The ambitious 2112 was a milestone in Rush's career, a make-or-break album for the Canadian power trio sometimes dubbed as "the biggest cult band in the world." With this release, the band drastically decided to go ahead with their own thing, no matter what.

Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: Rush Lyrics

Rush nearly folded after Fly By Night and Caress Of Steel (both 1975), which were poorly received. In the aftermath, drummer/lyricist Neal Peart became deeply affected by the libertarian writings of Ayn Rand. Her philosophy, which emphasizes that the individual should follow his own path, provided the story for the album's epic title track -- a 20-minute composition broken down in seven segments. This track tells the tale of a man who leads a revolution through music after rejecting the Priests of Syrinx, a story that mirrored the band's own frustration with the music business.

Rush's trademark sound -- prog-meets-heavy rock -- comes fully into its own on this record and the magnificent title track has stood the test of time well -- a meticulously assembled opus that utilizes classical compositional technique to great effect. Of the other tracks, hard rockers like "A Passage To Bangkok" and "Something For Nothing" are now established classics.

The album was well received by fans at the time, though critics dismissed it as overblown and pretentious. Not that the band cared: since 2112, they have singlemindedly followed their own path, amassing hordes of devoted fans and staying firmly -- and happily -- below the critical radar.

- Arnar Eggert Thoroddsen, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 2005.

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