Many people will rave about how 2112 is Rush's concept album.  These people often ignore the album that came before it.  This album is the raw material that would soon lead up to 2112; a few good songs followed by 2 concept tracks.  The Necromancer, the first of the two, is more the jam session to come up with some new musical ideas.  Fountain of Lamneth has some of the bands best earlier music work, despite Neil trying too hard to write a novel and not a song.
The 3 songs that preface the work are also mildly entertaining.  Bastille Day is still played on the radio at times and it just has a drive to it that I admire after years of listening to it.  I Think I'm Going Bald just makes me laugh... especially how Geddy says the line in the song.  Lakeside Park is the first mellow song Rush wrote that even tried to be interesting, which I think is partially due to Neil's growing poetic ability.
Like most of the other music of early Rush, the good stuff can be found on chronicles.  The rest of the music, although I love to hear bands experiment with their sound, is still far too inconsistent to listen to from beginning to end.  The album is certainly a step up from their last two, but there's many many more steps that need to be taken.
Many people will rave about how 2112 is Rush's concept album. These people often ignore the album that came before it. This album is the raw material that would soon lead up to 2112; a few good songs followed by 2 concept tracks. The Necromancer, the first of the two, is more the jam session to come up with some new musical ideas. Fountain of Lamneth has some of the bands best earlier music work, despite Neil trying too hard to write a novel and not a song. The 3 songs that preface the work are also mildly entertaining. Bastille Day is still played on the radio at times and it just has a drive to it that I admire after years of listening to it. I Think I'm Going Bald just makes me laugh... especially how Geddy says the line in the song. Lakeside Park is the first mellow song Rush wrote that even tried to be interesting, which I think is partially due to Neil's growing poetic ability. Like most of the other music of early Rush, the good stuff can be found on chronicles. The rest of the music, although I love to hear bands experiment with their sound, is still far too inconsistent to listen to from beginning to end. The album is certainly a step up from their last two, but there's many many more steps that need to be taken.