Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Recording Week 25
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • As It Was preset
  • Don't Give Up
  • Ron Wood's drum secret
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Rush in 1986
Artists “I never realised how difficult it was for Alex”: When Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson had to battle to get heard
2013 Inductees Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush perform onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
Bands “I realised how hard it was to play these songs”: Alex Lifeson makes a surprise admission
Rush in the '70s
Artists “The high priests of conceptual rock!” Every Rush studio album ranked – from worst to best
Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel of Genesis in 1975
Bands “Some people might say we went too far”: Genesis dissect their bonkers but brilliant prog swan song
Rush
Gigs & Festivals Geddy Lee confirms that Rush are going back on the road with Anika Nilles joining them on drums
Neil Peart performing with Rush in 2012
Artists “To those I inspired to start drumming, I apologise to your parents!”: A rare interview with Rush legend Neil Peart
pink floyd on stage
Artists "Pink Floyd plays slower than any other mainstream rock band": A music professor breaks down Wish You Were Here
Ritchie Blackmore with Rainbow
Artists “I think every serious fan of hard rock music would love Stargazer”: How Ritchie Blackmore created his magnum opus
David Byrne in a red suit and shirt on a blue background
Recording “One of the executives said, ‘David, you are your own Yoko Ono’”: David Byrne on alienating his audience
Don Felder on stage with the Eagles in 1979
Artists “I wrote it so that Joe and I could play even harder than on Hotel California”: Don Felder's heavy 'lost' Eagles song
 John Fogerty (C) performs at The O2 Arena on May 29, 2023 in London, England.
Recording “I’m just an adventurer coming back to the homeland”: John Fogerty on the long struggle to own his songs again
Mark Knopfler
Artists Mark Knopfler on the Dire Straits song he's come to accept that he has to start in the same way every time
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Artists “The record company said, ‘It’s too long.’ But we said, ‘We don’t care!’”: How Lynyrd Skynyrd created a legendary epic
REM in 1987
Bands Revealed! (Some of) the lyrics to REM's It’s The End Of The World As We Know It
The cover of Bohemian Rhapsody reissue
Singles And Albums “You actually had to be good at your instrument”: Roger Taylor and Brian May remember Bohemian Rhapsody
  1. Artists
  2. Singles And Albums

Geddy Lee talks Rush's 2112 track-by-track

News
By Amit Sharma published 15 February 2016

Frontman on the band's classic album, 40 years on

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

For an album set in a far-distant, dystopian future yet also celebrating its 40th anniversary later this April, there’s a small sense of irony in feeling the years have been kind to 2112.

The fourth studio album from Rush sounds just as inventive and thrilling today as it did the day of its release – perhaps even more so when considering the long list of musicians that have drawn inspiration from the Canadian progressive rock master’s greatest opus.

“Our fanbase is intense in their curiosity over what we’re about,” says singer/bassist Geddy Lee. “Maybe it’s something they sense in us, the fact that we are who we are. Nobody’s pretending to be something; we’re generally trying to play as hard as we can and make it as interesting as possible. And maybe that engenders a response to the authenticity of our work… it’s an honest statement of where we are musically and lyrically.”

Our fanbase is intense in their curiosity over what we’re about

With their future remaining shrouded in mystery, Lee telling us that they’re “not sure how many tours, if any, are left in us” back in December, now feels like a good a time as any to look at what they have achieved in 48 years as a band.

And even twenty albums in, 2112 remains a firm fan-favourite for its brain-tickling ambitiousness and meticulously crafted sonic majesty. Lee walks us through the various chapters of its conceptual sublimity… “if I can remember what they all are, that is!”

Don't Miss

Rush's Geddy Lee talks R40 Live and future prospects: "Our touring life might be over"

Geddy Lee's 5 favourite bassists of all time

Geddy Lee talks Rush's Clockwork Angels, track-by-track

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
I. Overture

I. Overture

“It begins with the Overture, which – despite being the first thing you hear – was the last piece to be written, much like with any classical overture.

“We wanted to take the most important musical threads from each of the subsequent parts to create a ‘new’ piece of music that would represent the album as a whole. So that’s where it all starts...”

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
II. The Temples Of Syrinx

II. The Temples Of Syrinx

“And then The Temples Of Syrinx sets the scene, because 2112 is about a totalitarian society that controls everything about your life, including the music that you hear.

“It manufactures it all, so that’s what we wanted to say with this track. It sets up the hierarchy in this futuristic world that we’ve arrived in.”

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
III. Discovery

III. Discovery

“Discovery is where the hero of the story finds a device in a cave. It’s a guitar, but he doesn’t know it because they don’t exist in his time period. So he picks it up and realises that it’s a device that can make music and create sounds.

“Previous to that point, everything he’d ever heard had been provided to him by the people that run his world.”

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
IV. Presentation

IV. Presentation

“The next part is about him taking this discovery to the Temples to show the overlords of his world. He’s basically saying, ‘Look at what I found! This is awesome, people can use this to create their own music, they don’t need to listen to what you guys are making any more.’

“And of course, they shut the man right down because it’s not allowed. It’s all about control. So he becomes desolate and runs away...”

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
V. Oracle: The Dream

V. Oracle: The Dream

“At this point, he’s feeling completely depressed and disillusioned with the world he lives in. He falls asleep and dreams of a better world. When he wakes up, there’s an apocalyptic battle.

“The listener is left with the decision over whether his society has been liberated by another society that have come and assumed control…”

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
VI. Soliloquy

VI. Soliloquy

“…Or if you’re a pessimist, you are free to believe that the overlords have shut down the invasion and reacquired control. We left it up in the air, so the interpreter can use their own sense of life to decide what happens in the end.

“That’s what the libretto means… musically, it’s a soundtrack to that story.”

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
VII. Grand Finale

VII. Grand Finale

“This is the end of that story. We made it so you’d flip the record over and then you’ve got five individual songs that are stand-alone. Back in the day of vinyl, it was very normal to have a different experience on side two.

“It wasn’t the first time we did that; we did it on our previous album [1975's Caress Of Steel]. So, 2112 is like a 20-minute song of seven parts and then these tracks were included to add variety to the album, so the listening experience felt like more than one thing.”

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
8. A Passage To Bangkok

8. A Passage To Bangkok

“This is basically a song about smoking pot! It’s a travelogue for all the places in the world that grow the best weed. It’s sort of comic relief in that sense… All kinds of places get mentioned – the first stop is in Bogota in Colombia then you’re in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Did it win the contest? I don’t know… but at the time, Thai sticks were very popular, ha ha!”

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
9. The Twilight Zone

9. The Twilight Zone

“We wrote The Twilight Zone spontaneously in the studio when thinking, ‘Let’s put one more song on this album!’ We wrote this because we were big fans of the 60s TV show; it always had bizarre circumstances and a moral to each story. Be careful for what you wish for, that kind of thing.

“So this was a nod to that and the creativity of the person who used to write that show.”

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
10. Lessons

10. Lessons

“Though Neil writes the majority of our lyrics, me and Alex both wrote lyrics for one single song on 2112. So, Lessons is the one that Alex [Lifeson, guitarist] wrote all of the music and lyrics for, which is quite unusual for us.

“It’s a straight-up acoustic/electric rock song. I think your job as an artist is to absorb as much as you can from as many diverse sources as possible and then apply it to your own inner instinct. That’s what makes your own art: your instinct times a hundred other influences!”

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
11. Tears

11. Tears

“This song marked the first time we used a Mellotron. The gentleman that does all our album covers is called Hugh Syme, and it’s actually him playing Mellotron here.

“Tears is a romantic ballad to give the album even more variety and depth. Mellotrons are very unique-sounding; they sound sorta electric, but also kinda stringy, they have this real resin-y sound to them, which is very cool and unique to that period.”

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
12. Something For Nothing

12. Something For Nothing

“This is our balls-to-the-wall rocker, and is a song about freewill and decision-making. So, I guess it’s different to the rest of side two because it’s a song that does relate to the first side, and very much so, actually. It’s the last song on the album so we wanted to do that.

“I think concepts like this are kinda limitless. There are no real reference points, you can write your own ticket and get away with anything. It’s not reality… because the unreal is whatever you want to make it, and that’s why it’s so useful as a story-telling tool and soundtrack for whatever weird music you wanna come up with!”

Don't Miss

Rush's Geddy Lee talks R40 Live and future prospects: "Our touring life might be over"

Geddy Lee's 5 favourite bassists of all time

Geddy Lee talks Rush's Clockwork Angels, track-by-track

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).

Read more
Rush in 1986
“I never realised how difficult it was for Alex”: When Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson had to battle to get heard
 
 
2013 Inductees Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush perform onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
“I realised how hard it was to play these songs”: Alex Lifeson makes a surprise admission
 
 
Rush in the '70s
“The high priests of conceptual rock!” Every Rush studio album ranked – from worst to best
 
 
Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel of Genesis in 1975
“Some people might say we went too far”: Genesis dissect their bonkers but brilliant prog swan song
 
 
Rush
Geddy Lee confirms that Rush are going back on the road with Anika Nilles joining them on drums
 
 
Neil Peart performing with Rush in 2012
“To those I inspired to start drumming, I apologise to your parents!”: A rare interview with Rush legend Neil Peart
 
 
Latest in Singles And Albums
Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones accept the award for Album Of The Year: Public Vote for their album 'Blue & Lonesome'
“He tried it when he came in and he said ‘I can’t do it as good as you, Ronnie. You get back on the drums.’”: When Charlie Watts ceded the drums to Ronnie Wood on a Stones track
 
 
Zach Bryan performs at MetLife Stadium on July 20, 2025
“We all say things that are misconstrued sometimes": Zach Bryan attempts to calm furore over Bad News
 
 
John Lennon performing live in his last public performance on the ABC tv special 'Salute to Sir Lew - The Master Showman' at the Grand Hilton Hotel
John Lennon originally wanted to “just throw away” Walls And Bridges and had to be persuaded to release it
 
 
PinkPantheress posing in front of her shadow
Kylie, Zara Larsson, Kaytranada and Sugababes all lined up for Pink Pantheress’s remix album, Fancy Some More?
 
 
Stone Roses single and cover
“Sounds like four lads trying to get out of Manchester”: The Stone Roses’ debut single to be reissued for charity
 
 
Richard Branson, 28 year old mastermind behind Virgin Music company. Seen here in his recording studio, The Townhouse in West London. In this set of 21 pictures , Richard is seen relaxing on his houseboat, going to work, in his recording studio The Townhouse in West London, and in the brand new Virgin Mega Store with some of the 3,000,000 worth of records and tapes in the background. Picture by Bill Rowntree, picture taken 4th July 1979. (Photo by Bill Rowntree/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Richard Branson says he was in the studio when Phil Collins was recording a legendary drum solo
 
 
Latest in News
Charvel Limited Edition Sean Long Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH HT M: the While She Sleeps guitarists artist model is now officially available in Neon Pink by popular demand.
By popular demand, Sean Long of While She Sleeps’ Charvel signature model now comes in Neon Pink
 
 
Apple M5 MacBook Pro 14-inch
Apple announces its new M5 chip and puts it in the MacBook Pro 14-inch, iPad Pro and Vision Pro headset
 
 
modx m
Yamaha's MODX M synth squeezes the power of the Montage M into a more affordable package
 
 
brian eno
"It felt fitting to broadcast it into the unknown, into dark matter": Brian Eno to beam his new album into space tonight
 
 
DJ Seth Troxler performs on stage during the Primavera Sound Festival at Distrito Anhembi on November 5, 2022
“It’s just too emotional”: Seth Troxler is offering €10 an hour to anyone willing to help him clean up his vinyl
 
 
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 20: Musician D'Angelo plays a private concert at a media event announcing updates to the music streaming application Spotify on May 20, 2015 in New York City. The latest updates include the ability to stream video content, podcasts and radio programs as well as original songs for the application. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Beyoncé, Lauryn Hill, Jacob Collier, Flea and many more pay tribute to D'Angelo
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...