Rush - 2112
Like I said on page 1, the twenty-something minute title track is fantastic. Multiple listens are kind of dulling the effect, but it's still pretty awesome. The first part, "Overture" perhaps throws a few too many riffs out without sticking to them long enough, but for the most part they're high quality, and when it leads into "The Temples of Syrinx" the awesomeness kicks into high gear. With a beefier production it would actually be heavy as **** at times. As it is, it's still metal as ****.
This also contains my fav vocal performance of the album. Their singer has always been what got between me and liking this band. His voice is just borderline annoying. But his more raw singing style on much of this album really brings an energy that is just infectious, and especially during this part of the title track.
Third part, "Discovery" is one of several melodic interludes. I'm ignorant of songwriting in general, and with prog I'm pretty much adrift without a sail or an oar, so I have no idea why there should be a tempo shift here, or why the band should use this rather than that change. I'm still digging this though. Each softer part is unique, and when it gets more metallic the song is all the more intense for it. So I'm just gonna assume Rush know what they're doing.
That being said, many of the sections seem more like samplers of songs, and I actually think that stretching this out into a thirty minute long song would have made each one feel more complete. "The Temples of Syrinx" is just far too awesome to be only two minutes long.
I've given this album a few listens to let it sink in, and honestly, I think I'm starting to dig the second half even more than "2112". Being separate songs, they seem to be allowed to develop more than the different sections of the title track. They range from heavier numbers, to somewhat complex power pop, and even a rather awesome ballad. Not to mention a killer closer in "Something for Nothing".
I can see why Machine would say this was dated, but it's still an excellent album to start off with, and possibly the first step to me not hating Rush. We'll see.