SUNDAY DROP - SPIN # 134 FROM THE R'NR WITH RYLO RECORD COLLECTION
Regarded as the album that gave birth to progressive rock (prog-rock), our Sunday Spin # 134 is '2112' by Canadian band, Rush. The artwork is iconic and you instantly know what it is, even if you only got a glimpse of the red star in the night sky. '2112' is easily their best album as a whole but it's worth checking out some of their other albums like:-
'Hemispheres' (1978)
'A Farewell To Kings' (1977)
'Permanent Waves' (1980)
'Fly by Night' (1975)
'Moving Pictures' (1981)
The band was prolific in the '70s and '80s and I admit that we don't own enough Rush albums in our collection. I'm still not buying albums because we are trying to save money towards bigger things right now and keeping the dream alive of a music room one day. Night Kat Kiz and I had a lot of laughs when she was guessing the MWSP earlier in the week and it's good to laugh out loud together. Life lately has felt pretty demanding. I mean, there is a lot happening right now in our lives and lots of conflict and change in the world. Sometimes it can all feel a bit overwhelming and that can make writing about music difficult to do.
On Friday, our son got to show my parents his classroom and he loved being the little tour guide for them. They had a lot of fun, even though it was busier than the Easter Show bag pavilion on Easter Monday at midday. If you've ever been to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, then you know exactly what I am talking about. The school sounds like they were overwhelmed by the amount of people and it wasn't organised too well. It was a nice moment for our son to feel proud and in a couple of weeks he will have finished kindergarten. Where has that time gone? I think he ended up falling asleep with the Harry Potter wand in his hand (a wand and book from the book fair at school purchased by Grammy and Gubby).
We were invited to a 3 year old birthday party on Saturday for a girl in our daughters daycare class. They had a jumping castle, face paint and a big grassed area for the kids to play. They had a lot of fun looking at the greyhounds too, but after a couple of hours in filtered sunshine, I was feeling the effects of the heat. We took it easy in the afternoon with a bit of playground time late - where they have the water trough turned on for the kids to fill up and play in. I swear that they could play with that for hours! On Sunday I got stuck into the lawns and cars while Night Kat Kiz attacked the house. We managed to get some quality drawing time in with the kids as we spun some records - a special mention to 'Powerslave' by Iron Maiden. This album had our son rocking back and forth like he was on a swing as he made maps and spooky monsters. The kids have become obsessed with an Australian show called, 'Spooky Files' lately and their imaginations have been running wild.
I placed Rush's '2112' on the turntable and dropped the stylus on the outside groove. Wow, the opening sounds coming through feel so futuristic and caught the attention of the littlest Rylo's. The musicians on this album are perfectly photographed on the back of the LP jacket (see image below) - Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. Can you believe that their label told them not to put out another concept album, after the commercial failure, 'Caress of Steel'. What did the band do? They handed the label another concept album, basically saying "FUH YOU". The band knew it was good and a lot of musicians and fans are thankful that they released this prog-rock masterpiece.
Side A - 'I. OVERTURE' / 'II. THE TEMPLES OF SYRINX' / 'III. DISCOVERY' / 'IV. PRESENTATION' / 'V. ORACLE: THE DREAM' / 'VI. SOLILOQUEY' / 'VII. GRAND FINALE'
SIDE B - 'A PASSAGE TO BANGKOK' / 'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' / 'LESSONS' / 'TEARS' / 'SOMETHING FOR NOTHING'
The song on Side A is broken up into seven parts (identified with roman numerals). They class these parts as a whole, making up the title-track, '2112'. This was probably the first album that I heard by the band or possibly 'Moving Pictures'. Experiencing the opening sounds, that depict a futuristic land where music is being heard for the first time, was memorable upon first listen too. I was studying for some exam at high school and had to stop to see what the rest of the album had in store for me. Listening to it again now and clearly on a better medium is very rewarding on my ears. This repress has been meticulous and love that they have included the lyrics within the gatefold.
I really don't know enough about this band and will need to look into their story at a later date. The use of synthesizers and guitars to create this soundscape has been copied by so many bands since, more out of respect and homage to what they achieved first. Do I have a favourite part within the seven sections? I think it changes with each listen. I found myself drumming along with the sticks to the up beat parts of 'II. THE TEMPLES OF SYRINX', so I guess at the time of writing this Sunday Spin, that would be my favourite section. On Side B, the tracks are all under 4 minutes in length. I'm not sure if the concept of the album continues onto Side B, but the slower track called 'TEARS' seemed to stand out to me. I was being shown a crayon drawing of Australia by our son and it was a nice moment.
Some other bands that (might) remind you of Rush and worth looking into are:
Dream Theater
Pink Floyd
King Crimson
Coheed and Cambria
Kansas
Uriah Heep
Jethro Tull
Yes
TOOL
For me, I would say that we have a lot of Prog-Rock or Prog-Metal albums in our collection. It wasn't until I looked into it in more depth, I realised that we didn't have many at all.
If you wanted a recommendation on Side B to fall in love with this band, it's probably on the track, 'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' where the bassist and vocalist, LEE sings, "You have entered the Twilight Zone, beyond this world strange things are known. Use the key, unlock the door. See what your fate might have in store. Come explore your dream's creation, Enter his world of imagination". Let me know on our social pages if you are a big Rush fan, as I'll have to pick your brain on what you love about their music. The stylus hits the dead wax and keeps spinning until we lift the stylus and that signals the end of another Sunday spin.
We hope that you liked hearing about our weekend shenanigans and the musical journey our children go on each and every weekend. Take a moment to recharge your batteries after a big week and if you can, come back next week for another record from the R'nR collection. I was talking to Night Kat Kiz last week and told her, "Hey hun, I think we are running low on records". If she was sipping on a drink, she would have spat it across the room. I let her know that if we keep writing about records in our collection on a weekly basis that we only have enough to last us almost 11 years. Hug your loved ones and soak up the sunshine while its out.
Until our next Spin.....
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