2112

Rush - 2112.

This isn't going to be a long post. I'm not sorry and I'm guessing you aren't wiping away your tears either :P

The song, not the album, is what I'm talking about. 20+ minutes of Godgiri is what 2112 is about. There's a silly science fiction story that the song is supposed to talk about, something about some priests taking over the world blah blah blah. That's not important. What is important, is that, without really knowing any of the details of the story, you still get a feel of what's happening while listening to the song! The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth.

The song is of course, by Rush, so everyone plays whatever they play amazingly well and with clinical precision! That's what I sometimes dislike about progressive rock: the fact that they're so intent on technical brilliance that they lose sight of the feel of the song. 2112, however is a happy exception to that rule, with music that....oh wait, I've already told you about the feel.

Neil Peart is the only band member whose name I remember. He's the drummer, by the way. Supposedly one of the best drummers in the world and famous for matching the guitar note to note (so to speak), he seems to do infinitely tricky things with the drumset through the course of the song. Jacob's Ladder, with it's unusual count in the second half of the song, is another song where you can see Peart's GodGiri.

The bass is also God! I'd been told (even before I began to notice bass in songs) that Rush's bassist was one of the best ever and with this song, you can atleast see that he's eligible for the title. The keyboard and the guitar are both too cool, creating the whole sci-fi atmosphere better than any words that Asimov ever wrote ;)

I just read on wikipedia that Neil Peart wrote this song. Drummers are too cool!