Additional personnel: Hugh Syme (keyboards).

Recorded at Toronto Sound Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Ultradiscs are mastered from the original master tapes using Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering technique, then plated with 24 karat gold and housed in a stress-resistant lift-lock jewel box.

Lyricists: Geddy Lee; Alex Lifeson; Neil Peart.

Personnel: Geddy Lee (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Alex Lifeson (guitar); Hugh Syme (keyboards); Neil Peart (drums, percussion).

Recording information: Toronto Sound Studios, Toronto, Canada.

Photographers: Gérard Gentil; Yosh Inouye.

Arrangers: Rush Brown; Rush; Terry Brown.

2112 is archetypal high-concept heavy/art-rock, featuring an interconnected suite of songs and a futuristic science fiction-inspired lyrical theme (courtesy of drummer/sole lyricist Neil Peart). When it came to '70s sci fi rock epics these guys were capable of giving Hawkwind and Jefferson Starship a run for their money. The first half of the album features "2112" proper, a series of interrelated tunes that paint a portrait of a 1984/Brave New World-style future, where music and emotion are outlawed. Ultimately, our hero discovers a guitar and uses it to fight the powers that be, all to the accompaniment of vaguely Led Zeppelin-derived heavy rock riffs and daunting time signatures. The final five tunes are unrelated to the concept piece but continue in a similar musical vein, though a little balladry is mixed in towards the end.