Missed out on the 2016 40th-anniversary re-release of 2112, the fourth studio album by Canada’s Rush? If you move fast, you can make up for it with a new Pressing of 2112. This is a limited edition version (5,000 copies available worldwide) on 180g, opaque blue vinyl.
I pre-ordered a copy from the Rush Backstage Club at the start of April and it arrived a few days ago. It looks and sounds fantastic, and playing it reminds me of why I started moving back into records as my preferred music listening medium. It’s been a rather expensive transition back to vinyl (especially galling given that I’m paying a premium to replace records that I bought then gave away decades ago, then paid for CD copies of, and now pay to stream), but I consider that a life lesson. Plus it’s exciting to track down and buy the records that once made up my collection. And at $27.99, the blue vinyl 2112 is actually a bargain compared to a lot of albums I’ve bought in the past few years…
You won’t find Dave Grohl or Alice in Chains on this version—it’s the 2015 remaster by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Mastering Studio—but you will find the Red Star of the Solar Federation. A hologram of the symbol that adorns the cover of 2112 can be found on Side 2.
If you’re interested, remember there are only 5,000 copies available and it started shipping on April 27, so the clock is definitely ticking. Then again, if you miss out on this one, now that the band has stopped touring I suspect that the lucrative limited edition releases of their back catalog will become a little more frequent…
