5. 2112
Blah blah blah. Obviously this song had to come out soon enough. This song was the perfect transition from their more simple hard rock era to their truly progressive era. This song connected them with the masses. This song gained them worldwide fame. Of course, you can't forget about the shorter songs on 2112 as an album, but this was obviously the main part of the album.
Overture sets the stage for the rest of the song with its great synth-laden intro, awesome guitar solo, and of course, the part starting at 3:30. When played live, everyone would fist pump all the while shouting "Hey!" in time with the music. Still, even in studio, this part is epic. There is a short, soft break before going into The Temples of Syrinx, and that just makes it even heavier. The guitar riff and drums are certainly strong, but Geddy's vocals shine here. They are some of the highest he's ever done, and it's for almost 2 minutes straight. Rush was forced to tune the song down in recent years because he just couldn't sing that for every night of the tour.
Discovery is a good break from the heaviness of The Temples of Syrinx. The part starts with the peaceful sounds of a waterfall and Alex tuning his guitar. Geddy's voice is very nice here. I don't know why they chose to omit this part when playing it live in the 70's. The section progressively gets faster and louder before going into another rocked out tune: Presentation. Presentation is the turning part of the album. It shows Geddy as the main character of the album, with his softer voice, as well as the priests, with his high screamed vocals. At the end of the part, Alex plays a good fast-paced solo.
Oracle is another part that was unfortunately left out when performed live. It's short, but I like it a lot. Neil does some really cool stuff on the drums. Soliloquy is the darkest part of the song. The narrator ends up killing himself, and the solo right before it is sorrowful and almost signifies this. Grand Finale is the best part, easily. The guitar riff is just amazing, especially when backed by the bass and the solo as well. The drums are crazy good as always. "Attention all planets of the solar federation. We have assumed control. We have assumed control. We have assumed control."
4. Hemispheres
The other side-long epic. Hemispheres is basically everything 2112 was and better. It refined what few flaws 2112 had. It continued the story on from A Farewell to Kings. This also signified the end of an era, as they couldn't really expand anymore into the prog side of Rush, so they just went another - just as good, mind you - direction. Still, if you were to pick a song that showed Rush's progginess, this would be one to consider.
Prelude sets the stage of the song, much like Overture did for 2112, showcasing many riffs and other things found later on in the song. Geddy's vocals are the highlight of this part: "Every Soul a Battlefield!" There is silence after this part, separating it from the next part: Apollo. Apollo and Dionysus battle back and forth for control over the people. They are basically the same part, just with different lyrics. The song immediately launches into Armageddon, which ties for my favorite part. I love that it is mostly in 15/8, split up into 7/8 and 8/8. The solo is really cool, as it switches back and forth through each channel. The people from Cygnus X-1 return at the end of the song.
The guitar chords at the end of the Cygnus X-1 are played at the beginning of Cygnus. You can also hear slight bits of audio from Cygnus X-1 during the soft keyboard part. This part is really nice, as it is only keyboards and Geddy singing. Then, suddenly, the full band comes back in, taking you completely off guard. This part shows the narrator from Cygnus X-1 becoming Cygnus, the God of Balance. Fitting, huh? The song supposedly ends on the free-form ending and the gong, but there is one more short part. The Sphere is tied as my favorite part with Armageddon. It is just acoustic guitar with very peaceful singing by Geddy. It concludes the epic, and in my opinion, should have closed the album. I can also see it as Rush saying that they're done with the prog era, and moving onto something new.
Hoped you enjoyed these long write-ups. I was basically just typing what I felt while I listened to both songs. You guys are doing pretty well with the guessing, but there is one more song that's a major curveball. I'll likely unveil it tonight, and finish the last two songs tomorrow morning.
Topic: Rush Top 50 (Read 6557 times)
