1001 Albums Summary

This is my first time listening to this album in it's entirety. I recently heard Down to the Waterline on the radio, and I've heard Sultans of Swing plenty of times, but the rest (as far as I can recall) are new to me. Down to the Waterline is a great opener, sounds a bit like Sultans but still very much it's own thing. Water of Love isn't as good as DttW but still a solid tune. I believe Water of Love was released as a single in some places with DttW as the b-side - I'd have personally swapped these but I'm not a music exec so what do I really know? Setting me up is the first "meh" track here for me. It's a bit *too* "American Rock" for me, think it's in the chord changes. More indifferent to this than actively disliking it but I'm unlikely to return to this one much. Six Blade Knife is really not my cup of tea, it does absolutely nothing for me and I'm again unlikely to ever willingly put this on again. Southbound Again, howver, has drawn me back in just as I was starting to lose hope for this album. It's incredibly catchy, gives me Steely Dan vibes (100% complimentary). I really like the quiet-ish guitar (at least i think it's a guitar?) sound that's panned almost entirely to the right, and it's got a great bassline too. I'll definitely come back to this one in the future. What can one say about Sultans of Swing that hasn't already been said? I do like this song but it's hard to go a week without hearing it on the radio. It is however nice to hear it in the context of an album for once. Is this the best song on the album? Probably, but even if it is, it isn't by as wide a margin as some would have you believe. In the Gallery is another really good song, not massive on the vocals but it doesn't detract too much from it as a whole. Wild Wild West is a surprising one for me - I groaned when I heard the intro knowing that this was going to be a "slower" kind of song, which isn't my usual bag, but this was enjoyable enough. It's not my favourite by any means but does what it sets out to do. Lions is a decent enough closing track, but Straits fatigue is just about setting in by this point in the album. I think they made the right call not to add any more tracks as I think that would have tipped it over the edge for me. Again, not a bad song by any means but not one I'm likely to listen to often. Overall, I enjoyed this album a lot more than I anticipated. I foolishly assumed that this would be "Sultans of Swing + eight other songs" but other songs like Down to the Waterline and Southbound Again are almost on the same level, if not already there. The album does feel a bit repetitive towards the end, but thankfully just avoids overstaying it's welcome. I'm a big fan of most of the guitar work in particular on this record, but the rest of the band also pull their weight when needed. Tracks worth hearing: Down to the Waterline Water of Love Southbound Again Sultans of Swing In the Gallery My least favourite: probably Six Blade Knife Have rated this a 3/5, but if half stars were available, this would be a 3.5/5.

Not only have I heard this album before but my last listen was actually very recent, within the last month or so. This is not an album that has ever particularly clicked with me despite multiple listens over the years (I bought, and still have, a CD copy of this album when I was still in school, so at least 15 years ago). I would very loosely, and perhaps incorrectly, group Rush fans in two camps, 2112 Fans and Moving Pictures fans. I would place myself in the Moving Pictures camp, and quite firmly at that. Moving Pictures is a 9.5/10 for me, and sometimes a 10/10 depending on which day you're asking. 2112 on the other hand is somewhere around a 5 or 6/10. So why have I listened to it so often? The 2112 suite is by far the star of the show here, and is conveniently the first track of the album, making it a good place to start. It isn't my favourite piece of music by any means, I've never been a huge fan of this style of songwriting, but I'm the sort of person who takes musicality over lyrics any day of the week, so when it comes to Rush it is usually quite easy to overlook the lyrics that can feel a bit dated, or even worse, cr*nge. The quieter, more story driven movements therefore fall a little bit flat for me, although Discovery does do a good enough job of conveying the plot in itself that I don't necessarily hate it. Soliloquy on the other hand, despite being the payoff to the story (and therefore possibly the entire point for some listeners) does nothing for me sadly. I do readily accept this is a flaw in my preferences rather than a fault with the music itself! The movements that do contain "actual" music are, however, very strong and up there with some of my favourite moments on Moving Pictures. The way it all kicks in again once Presentation starts is always incredibly satisfying, building up intensity through the movement until the explosive payoff of a guitar solo. My favourite movements (as redundant as it feels to separate them from their context in the suite) would be Overture, The Temples of Syrinx (seriously priests, you "hate music" so much yet write tunes this catchy?), Prsentation and Grand Finale. It's a great piece of music overall despite my own issues with it, and that's why I listen to it relatively often for an album I'm not too in love with. Why don't I love it so much, I hear you ask? I just can't really get on with any of the other five tracks, ranging from incredibly average to downright horrible. A Passage to Bangkok never fails to get my blood pumping when that oriental riff kicks in right near the start. That is, get the blood pumping right into my cheeks as I turn bright red from second hand embarassment. And although I just said I'm not a lyrics person, it's too hard to ignore the far-too-on the nose , which nowadays just remind you of "that one guy" everyone knows who make smoking weed their whole personality and constantly drop little references like 420 everywhere. Again maybe this is just me but as this is an entire song rather than a whole suite, I can't forgive it like I forgive 2112. The Twilight Zone has my least favourite Geddy Lee vocal (his voice is quite divisive but I usually side with enjoying it), and while the instrumental parts are *fine*, they're quite bland by Rush standards. It's just not one that I ever willingly return to outside of the context of a full album listen. Having said that, it was chosen as an A-side single so what do I know eh? Tears is the worst song for me personally. It's just really not my cup of tea at all, far too sappy/sentimental for me when I primarily go to Rush for their more instrumentally technical songs. I'd get that fill from elsewhere. To end on a less negative note, Lessons and Something for Nothing are two that I would give a pass to - both of these songs actually sound (at least musically) like they could fit into the main 2112 suite, and are at least playable outside of a full album listen (although I can't remember ever actively seeking to listen to these songs on demand). Overall, I really do want to like 2112 as a whole, and I have been trying to do so for a surprisingly long time compared to how quickly I give up on other artists/albums, but the absolute stinkers on here really do drag down my overall score of it. Ironically enough for one of the few albums I have on CD, if I'd waited until I was more into vinyl, I might have had a stronger opinion of this album - all the clankers are on side B so I might have never bothered to listen to them at all! Rating as a 2/5 (but I might have been generous with a 2.5 if we were allowed half-ratings)

Another one I've heard plenty of times, and one I always enjoy. Shorter review today. Incredibly consistent especially for an album made up primarily of covers. Best tracks: Ole Man Trouble Respect - Aretha made this her own but this is still great in it's own way A Change is Gonna Come - If Aretha made respect her own, then Otis makes this his own I've Been Loving You Too Long My Girl Wonderful World You Don't Miss Your Water Also worth hearing: Down in the Valley Shake Satisfaction Weakest: Rock me Baby but it's still not a bad song. 9/10 on a ten point scale but as we're on 5 stars, it's got to be a 5. (PS like a lot of 60s albums, there are a few differences between the Mono and Stereo versions of this album. Both are worth a listen imo)

Another one I've heard a few times before. My hot Zeppelin take is that even though I-IV get most of the acclaim, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti are both better than any of them. That's not to say that I-IV are bad albums by any means, just not my favourites However, of the four "numbered" albums, II is the one that I've probably heard the least, and therefore enjoy the least, so let's see if a relisten will raise it in my estimation. My faves: Whole Lotta Love What is and What Should Never Be Thank You Heartbreaker Ramble On Bring It On Home Also good but not quite my speed: The Lemon Song Not for me: Living Loving Maid Moby Dick (controversial I know but it's essentially a glorified drum solo, and works way better in a live setting) I enjoyed this relisten more than I expected, and actually ended up adding a couple of additional songs to my playlist. I'd have to give this a solid 3/5.