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Moving Pictures
welcomes RUSH into a new phase of their career with Tom Sawyer
leading the way. Sawyer is RUSH’s most popular song ever.
Featured prominently in Sawyer are the keyboards now a staple in
RUSH music and performances…and there are only three of them. This
song exemplifies the songwriting format RUSH would use for the
remainder of their career. It’s not a classic A – B format, but it is
uniquely progressive…the ultimate RUSH song.
Red Barchetta
is another fabulous song, keeping up the energy of Sawyer and
showcasing RUSH’s all new sound. Peart still has his similar
percussion style, but it feels more expanded. Pert is in his prime. Also
Geddy’s bass is featured much more prominently in Barchetta, and
even though Alex has a great solo, his guitar doesn’t feel like the main
instrument. Synthesizers fill out the remainder of RUSH’s sound
quite nicely.
YYZ is
bizarre, but you cannot help but be drawn into this rockin’ groove
instrumental. The central components of YYZ are Alex and Geddy’s
simultaneously soloing lead and bass guitars! Geddy Lee earns his place as
one of the best bass players in the history of music with this tune.
Listening to this magical composition, it is impossible to ever imagine
these musicians playing in another band. This is RUSH at their
finest, and I’m not the only one. RUSH won the Grammy that year for
best instrumental: YYZ.
As if this album couldn’t get any better,
another extremely popular hit is Limelight. This tune is just as
solid as the rest of the album. By this point, it’s obvious that Alex is
using less distortion on his guitar more and more. Alex’s solo in
Limelight is probably the most memorable of any.
The Camera Eye
continues to deliver, and is a throw back to RUSH epics of the past
with their new sound mixed in. While not an epic in the true RUSH
sense, it is the last multi-part song captured in on album. The
synthesizer opening draws the listener into the long prelude toward
vocals. As you listen to this song, and this entire album, you wonder why
RUSH never released an instrumental album! Even though this song
extends past the ten-minute mark, it never gets old…never gets boring.
Witch hunt,
part III of “Fear”, as the liner notes state gives the impression that
the rest of this unreleased epic was not worth the album, or that this
section outshined the rest of the song. Regardless of what the rest of
“Fear” may sound like, Witch Hunt is another outstanding song and
is a real compliment to the album.
Vital Signs
rounds out this incredible record, making it the best RUSH album
from start to finish. Moving Pictures is a timeless album.
While every record before it, and several afterward feel dated, this
record does not. The instrumentation of the album and quality of the songs
could readily be released today and be just as well accepted. Nostalgia
aside, this is one of RUSH’s best albums ever; there’s not a bad
seed in it. |
