Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
You’ve probably heard of 11:11, where if you look at a clock and you see it says 11:11, you make a wish. While not quite the same thing, Rush fans love the number 2112. I personally use the 24-hour clock and it seems like I’ll look at the clock and it says 21:12 and inside I smile. It’s a great song and a great album.
I first listened to 2112 when I was in undergrad. I attended York University in Toronto, the city where Rush are from and I’d often play their music as well as other prog rock bands. What’s really special about prog rock to me is the skill of the musicians and how complex and layered the songs are, you notice something new on every listen and prog rock epics don’t get old for that reason, great playing and storytelling that fuels your imagination. Prog rock also dispels the myth that rock and roll is unintelligent. Rush are easily one of the nerdiest, most bookish hard rock bands around thanks to The Professor, Neil Peart. They’re part of that Nerdy Hard Rock Holy Trinity with Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden.
Lately rock operas have been on my mind and when I got the opportunity to review a book that looks back at the classic Rush album, I had to check it out. I’ve previously reviewed Bukszpan’s previous book about Rush, Rush at 50, and I really enjoyed it.
2112 is a relevant rock opera for this day and age because of its dystopian theme. Sounds familiar in a time where people are being attacked for supporting equal rights, the creative fields are being devalued in favour of AI, and the algorithm is the gatekeeper and filter. Rush may have released their last studio album in 2012 (100 years before 2112, coincidence?), but this book is being released at a great time because in June, the Rush Fifty Something Tour kicks off in Los Angeles, travelling across North America. Geddy and Alex are joined by drummer Anika Nilles, a drummer from Germany who comes from a family of drummers and has made a name for herself on YouTube, playing prog rock and jazz fusion.
The 2020s are the decade where we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of bands that debuted and albums that came out in the 70s, a reminder that time doesn’t stop, it flies by. Fifty years is also more than enough time that we are far removed from the album and we can analyse it and evaluate its impact on the history of rock music.
2112 is Rush’s breakthrough album both commercially and artistically. Early on they showed promise and gained a following with with their Led Zeppelin inspired self-titled debut, made a foray into rock operas with “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” and “The Fountain of Lamneth”, and showed their nerdy side with the historical themed “Bastille Day”. If you want an explanation of the plot of “2112”, I think the best one is a comic book version of “2112” that Rush uploaded on their YouTube channel a decade ago.
That said, you wouldn’t have expected it. As fans, we see the highlight reels: the fanfare, the praise from critics, and the standing ovations at concerts, but we don’t see the challenges, doubts, and reluctance that go on behind the scenes. If you’ve ever watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’ll know about the lipsync for your life that happens at the end of each episode, where the two weakest performing contestants compete in a lipsync battle and the winner stays and the loser leaves. If you look at the pop music charts, you’ll notice there’s not a lot of hard rock or prog rock on there, but rather pop and disco music. Prog rock epics and concept albums aren’t exactly radio friendly, so that’s no surprise. At best, you might get played on a university or community radio station where there are fewer restrictions. The catch with having a hit pop crossover single is if it’s wildly different from the rest of your catalogue, fans are gonna be disappointed when they buy the album or go to a concert.
If you’ve released a few albums and haven’t had a platinum album or top 10 hit yet, your record label is going to give you the ultimatum because they want returns on their investment and that can come with micromanagement. Rush needed to come into their own, differentiate themselves, and not be a Zeppelin clone, and they needed space to be themselves and develop the songs so they kept a lot of the process a secret from stakeholders. Led Zeppelin were into Lord of the Rings, and in that similar nerdy vein, Neil Peart came up with the story of 2112, inspired by science fiction books he’d been reading by authors like Isaac Asimov and Ayn Rand. Rush dedicated the album to Rand and they regretted it, with Peart later clarifying that his politics were not like hers. The reason he dedicated the album to Ayn Rand was to give credit to her as inspiration for the plot to avoid accusations of plagiarism. What didn’t help the “Rush are fascists” slander is the media being sensationalistic and taking quotes from interviews out of context. No wonder a lot of musicians are sceptical of journalists.
Overall this is a well written, well designed book with plenty of Rush’s personality in the aesthetic. I like how Bukszpan incorporates humour in the writing. The book is divided into three sections, called Sectors (fitting because Rush released box sets titled Sector 1, 2, and 3) and it works because of the rule of three in writing. The first part is about the creation of the album, the second part is a track by track analysis, and the third part is about how it was received and its impact. If you’re a Rush fan and don’t already have a book about Rush’s album 2112, this would make a great addition to your collection. The book comes out on 10 March 2026, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of 2112.
You can follow Daniel Bukszpan on his website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Top 11 Takeaways From Rush & 2112: 50 Years:
Normally I do top 10 takeaways for books, but this album for me is one of those top tier classic rock albums, so it’s an 11/10 for me. Cue the Spinal Tap reference.
1. Geddy Lee did not set out to be a bassist, but he made bass guitar really cool.
Geddy’s story is similar to that of Pete Quaife of The Kinks, who became the bassist because he had drawn the shortest straw. He took inspiration from Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, and Chris Squire. As a lead vocalist, his influences are Steve Marriott and Jon Anderson. In Geddy’s words:
“Back in my day nobody chose to be the bass player… you were always a guitarist, and somebody said, ‘Well, we need a bass player,’ So they had a vote and you became the bass player.”
2. Alex Lifeson’s family ended up in Canada by accident.
Two-thirds of Rush were products of post-WWII immigration from Eastern Europe. Geddy Lee’s parents were Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors who moved to Canada after the war and Alex Lifeson’s parents were Serbians who wanted better opportunities for themselves and their children and so they went to the US, but because of the quota on Eastern European and Mediterranean immigration, they were denied entry to the US and were sent to Canada instead. Had they moved to the US, Rush would not have formed. Both Geddy and Alex met as teenagers and bonded over their love of rock and roll. Both dropped out of secondary school to pursue careers as rock musicians, disappointing their families at first. Alex got him into smoking pot and years later they’d have a pot-themed song on 2112, “A Passage to Bangkok”.
3. Neil Peart’s inspirations as a drummer are quite similar to that of his influence Keith Moon.
Both were initially into R&B and jazz and cited Gene Krupa as one of their biggest influences. The first step for Rush taking things to the next level was getting a virtuoso drummer. Their original drummer John Rutsey wasn’t working out because of musical differences and his diabetes not being conducive to life on the road, which was crucial to a band who prided themselves on their live act and didn’t make poppy music, so needed a following that you’d get by touring. Not only was Peart a legendary drummer, he eschewed the typical rock and roll songwriting, no love songs here, just nerdy, bookish songs. Album cover illustrator Hugh Syme described him as “big brain, big drums, big heart”.
4. Producer Terry Brown played an important role in Rush history by producing their first nine studio albums.
Every band has an honourary member, often a producer who helped bring out the best in the band or a frequent collaborator. Some people say Terry Brown could be like a fourth member of Rush.
Not only that, he was important in Canadian rock history because he moved from London, where he was working with Jimi Hendrix and Procol Harum, to Toronto to establish Toronto Sound, the first 16-track recording studio in Canada. He loved Toronto because it was a vibrant city with potential, a good music scene could benefit from having state of the art recording studios to take things to the next level. Even after parting ways with Rush after Signals, he said that working with Rush on 2112 was one of his fondest experiences, a joy from start to finish.
5. Paying your dues as a musician is often not glamorous.
We all know this to be true. Early days of playing gigs as a rock band mean low attendance, low energy, confused audiences, travelling in a cramped van, eating cheap slop for food, and sometimes playing gigs in weird places. Rush were no exception to this.
One of Rush’s early bizarre gigs was playing at a mental hospital on 999 Queen Street, all thanks to the Musicians Union doling out gigs, sometimes you get unlucky and get a gig that isn’t very glamorous. Early on they had to incorporate covers in their setlist because bars didn’t want bands that performed originals that no one could sing along to. Same reason why cover bands and tribute acts do quite well for themselves, people want to hear music that’s familiar, not something fresh and unknown that they can’t sing along to.
6. Much of 2112 had been written while on tour promoting Caress of Steel.
One of the things that always blows my mind is how prolific classic rock era bands are, releasing albums every year and sometimes releasing two albums in a year. You don’t really see that much these days. That’s an incredible work ethic! That often means you’re often writing new material on the road and that’s exactly what happened here.
“The Temples of Syrinx” was brainstormed in a dressing room in Sault Ste. Marie. As a result, much of the studio time was spent fine-tuning the ideas. Neil Peart took a formal approach to writing the songs down, using indentation and paragraphs.
7. Even the 2112 album cover has a story!
Hugh Syme worked on the Caress of Steel cover, but the record label took creative liberties with his artwork changing up the colour, and he and Rush weren’t happy with that. So they introduced a new rule, anything related to the album art has to get Syme’s approval, in person, so nothing is changed behind his back. This approach led to an iconic image. The cover art itself is simple and text-driven, but the related logos and assets became Rush branding staples, like the red star in a circle, symbolising an autocratic society, and the naked man, symbolising innocence and vulnerability, together telling the story of good vs evil, creativity vs conformity. That text became a logo for Rush. Merch is a big money maker for artists, so visuals are important.
8. “2112” is the longest punk song.
Bukszpan shares an interesting theory about this over 20 minute long dystopian prog rock opera being a great example of punk rock. Now you might think that sounds crazy because it’s way too long and punk rock isn’t known for having suites with movements, weird time signatures, and virtuoso playing. However, in spirit it very much is punk rock because this is the album that Rush wanted to make and they did it unapologetically as themselves and proved Mercury Records wrong. You can indeed break the rules and have a successful album without a hit single. What’s more punk rock than radically being yourself and sticking it to the man?
9. 2112 is not a concept album.
Rock and roll is full of misconceptions, and it’s important to distinguish 2112 the album and “2112” the rock opera. The title track is a rock opera that takes up a whole side of a record, but the other songs on the album have nothing to do with the title track and they’re way shorter, with all of them being 4 minutes or shorter. What makes this album brilliant is that it shows the two sides of Rush: conventional hard rock and nerdy, proggy storytelling. Gotta love a band who can do both.
10. “2112” would not exist without Tommy.
While Tommy is not the first concept album or rock opera, it is highly influential and an important album in rock and roll history. All of Pete Townshend’s strengths shine on Tommy: great songwriting, great storytelling, great music. Of course the rest of The Who shine too! From Roger Daltrey’s vocals to one of rock and roll’s greatest rhythm sections: John Entwistle and Keith Moon, this is The Who at their best and it’s a masterpiece. And I’d say 2112 was Rush’s Tommy or Quadrophenia moment too, in my opinion, this is Rush at their best, once again it’s a masterpiece. The Who and Rush, two incredible bands with each member being a master of their craft. What’s not to love?
11. There’s a feminist reading of “2112”.
The beauty of art is that it can be interpreted in so many different ways and I think the diversity of people contributes to this because we have unique points of view.
Prog and hard rock fans usually tend to be male, so the stereotype goes. But there’s a significant number of women who love prog rock, hard rock, and metal. Oftentimes the female fanbase are who keep the fandom alive and fresh, making fancams, fan art, and fanfics as well as writing opinion pieces and fan theories.
Back in the 70s, rock and roll still felt very much like a boy’s club even though there were some all-female and female-fronted bands. Rock stations wouldn’t really have many female radio personalities. One of the people working in the media who was an early champion of Rush was Donna Halper, a DJ and music director in Cleveland who played “Working Man” and listeners loved it and said they wanted to hear more Rush.
She found “2112” relatable because the protagonist is living in an oppressive society that forces people to conform to this mould that they don’t want to be in and the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx tell him he can’t play guitar.
How many women back in the 60s and 70s were told they couldn’t work in this job or that job solely because they’re women? For centuries women were held back in life and not allowed to reach their fullest potential. Imagine how much more progress could have been made had women been allowed the same opportunities as men? As a side note, I’d say ex-members of high control groups (cults) may find “2112” relatable. “You can’t listen to that, it’s demonic/satanic/worldly.”
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