2112 (song)

"2112" (pronounced twenty-one twelve) is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It was released as a 20 minute song on their 1976 album of the same name. The overture and the first section, "The Temples of Syrinx", were released as a single and have been featured in most of Rush's setlists since. The "sci-fi" sounds in the beginning of the song were created using an ARP Odyssey synthesizer and an Echoplex tape delay. On the "2112 / Moving Pictures" episode of the documentary series Classic Albums, producer Terry Brown states the synth intro is composed of various parts played by Hugh Syme that were put together in a collage. Starting with the 1996-97 Test for Echo Tour, when any parts of the song were performed live, they were transposed down one full step, as heard on every live album and DVD from Different Stages forward. With the combined movements being twenty minutes and thirty-three seconds long, it is the longest song or suite in Rush's library. The song was adapted into a comic booklet, which used the lyrics of the song as lines for the characters and the narrations from the cover as intros.

Parts

 * (*) Starting times and lengths approximate.