RUSH 2112 (CD+DVD Universal)

Rightly heralded as one of the greatest prog albums ever, the Canadian trio’s fourth album was their break through and this deluxe edition gives it some decent treatment. The cover, featuring the Starman, is as distinctive as the music.

The title track runs to 20 minutes, a seven part suite, and tells of a futuristic story, a complex one I won’t go into here but the feel throughout is not just classic prog rock but also has a sci-fi feel in places, The guitar, bass, drums and lyrics are all complex and interweave well, and additional synthesiser adds to the sound.

It is easy to lose yourself in the title track alone, while the rest of the tracks (stand alone, not part of the title track’s concept) are all of equal quality,.

The album is essential listening and this package proves it, and does it justice. The remastering is good, even more so on the DVD which gives a full 5.1 surround sound mix. Then there’s the thick booklet, lengthy sleevenotes, lyrics and photos. Superb! 9/10

Joe Geesin