Moving Pictures, an overhyped Rush album?

Overhyped? Maybe 2112. No, Moving Pictures had the ability of simply selling itself because of its general excellence. Sure, Tom Sawyer and Limelight were relegated to being force-fed the populace as standard radio fodder by the powers that be, but this took nothing away from the general appeal of the album among Rush-ites and those that followed. Geddy Lee once opined that 'Pictures was the moment Rush finally came around full circle as a writing and performing unit.

How I've said in my reviews about Rush albums (  from RUSH until Grace Under Preasure) , my top Rush album is "A Farewell To KIngs" followed by "Hemispheres" and "2112". However, I consider "Moving Pictures" also a truly masterpiece, as well as "Permanent Waves".  !!!

No. Moving Pictures is a great album. I still can’t believe Tom Sawyer became as popular as it did, I mean it’s a great song but it doesn’t sound commercial at all. To me MP is perfect.

How much is over hype. Or Over rating?

I credit the taste of radio programmers for putting Rush into the mainstream and not just whatever trend that week. The thing is it's not like the public go for just 3 albums and reject the rest. Most Rush fans get into most things Rush. Individuals have their preferences one way or another of course.

Me. I bought the record and thought it was great, with a mild reservation over The Camera Eye. They followed that with the tour record which I liked even more.

There. Over rating in hyper drive. This is fun.

Just because something is a masterpiece does not mean it is overhyped...so no

^ agree

I personally have never understood the distaste/alarm many PA members have about the words "overrated and underrated." 

All it means is that you disagree with the prevailing written or numerical judgements about an album.  So what?  Isn't that the point of a "rating" / "review" website?  To register opinion?  So if one disagrees with prevailing opinions about something like Foxtrot, what is wrong with saying that you personally feel it is overrated?  You are saying exactly that anyway if you give it a low rating.  So I'll never understand that one. 

Finnforest wrote: I personally have never understood the distaste/alarm many PA members have about the words "overrated and underrated."  All it means is that you disagree with the prevailing written or numerical judgements about an album.  So what?  Isn't that the point of a "rating" / "review" website?  To register opinion?  So if one disagrees with prevailing opinions about something like Foxtrot, what is wrong with saying that you personally feel it is overrated?  You are saying exactly that anyway if you give it a low rating.  So I'll never understand that one.

No alarm whatsoever in my case. My objection to the use of "overrated" is just that it is generally used as a synonym of "I don't like it". As there is no objective way of measuring an album's worth (or a book's, or a movie's....), I find the use of such a word lazy, to say the least. Then again, I am not the biggest fan of giving numerical ratings, especially when not accompanied by reviews.

The word overrated doesn't necessarily mean you don't like it, just that you have a different opinion of its accumulated rating.  You can like an album quite a lot yet still believe the average site rating too high.  It's just one of many adjectives that could be used to describe such a scenario that is, if we admit it, very common.  It's not an insult, or at least, it doesn't need to be.    

All you people claiming that we should just present qualitative opinions are being crazy. Saying one album is good and another isn't? Madness! Once the collective has passed down its judgement, who are we to disagree? All hail the priests of the temples of Syrinx.