MOVING PICTURES

Never been my favourite Rush album. Why? It has the more commercial tunes such as 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Limelight', which are both equally fine song. I think that overall, this album was definitely an attempt at making a commercial friendly prog album, which is fine, but overall I think there are better Rush albums.

Tom Sawyer as an opener has always been a Rush classic, especially for me, I am canadian after all. The overall commercial tone of the song is different from their usual take on a more prog hit such as Freewill off Permanent Waves. However the overall mood and atmosphere of this song is like their Mama, except for 2 years earlier and frankly better written.

Red Barchetta is a brilliant tune, always liked it, it's still a bit more on the commercial friendly side but it is much less accessible than Tom Sawyer. The intricate drum patterns made Neal Peart (may he rest in peace) are staggering, the guitar and bass patterns on the song just intertwine with the drums and the lyrics are also amazing. Quite the poetic lyrics for a song about a car, and do I enjoy it? Oh yeah I do, it's always been another Rush classic that i can crank on my stereo.

YYZ, Pearson International anyone? No? Ok... sorry. Anyways, this is probably the best on the album. The odd times, the drum patterns, the tone of every single instrument. The only problem is Geddy Lee's inability to play keyboards well, he is the Geoff Downes of Rush, except he makes up for it for being an incredibly talented bassist and amazing vocalist. The beginning is intricate and covered by odd time signatures, and even the subtle chord on the keys are well done, not well played but still it adds layers to the song. The solos eventually come up and all of them are just so well done, Geddy's bass solos, the drum solos and the Guitar playing is just... it makes your mind bend. The slow part reminds me of something... I will probably never be able to think of what it is but it's so familiar to me. It's all well written and well played.

Limelight has never been a song I was a fan of, the lyrics seem offputting, almost like they don't like the spotlight (even though probably doesn't exactly mean that). The alternating odd times are well done, I just find that the song isn't very intriguing. I can enjoy the overall tone of the song but I wouldn't buy the album for this song. I still think this album is great, but I was never a huge fan of this song.

The Camera Eye is a song about Manhattan, the observation of New Yorkers, the overall concept of this song is very interesting and... having been to New York, it's fairly accurate. The music for this bigger piece is very slow at first with cool keyboard sounds done by Geddy and the drumming is just.. well.. Neal Peart. The song eventually picks up speed and then you get the lyrics kicking in and well... Rush greatness. Layering more odd times, more intriguing and well written guitar and bass parts, the flow of the song is brilliant.

Witch Hunt is quite the tune on this album, the weird and darker intro to this song is a different approach and rather interesting from the start. The rest of the track is also very well written, good chords, intricate drum fills, Geddy's vocals are great, etc, etc. This song belongs on this album and frankly I enjoy it myself.

Vital Signs is probably one of my favourite Rush songs of all time, I love this song to death. The intro had that sequencer and then Alex and Neal burst with their parts, the guitar parts are great, the drum fills are of standard to Neal Peart. The rest of the song has that more commercial tone while still maintaining that amazing prog feel. The drum part is irregular but very typical of Neal Peart, never wanting to do a straight beat, and always trying to experiment a bit, a brilliant quality of his indeed. Geddy's vocals are yet again great, I've always loved his voice and his tone. He has the vocal range to sing all of these parts with emotion and this song proves it. Needless for me to say, this is a brilliant song to end off a very good album.

Ok, so why am I not giving it a 5 star review. The weaker songs on the album, Limelight for me has never stood out as a great track, and I have never thought of it as a very well written track, it has it's good drum beat but overall I never thought it was a great song. It has good playing overall, just the song itself is just bland to me.

I do like this album a great deal, but I think they did better albums in the past. If you want a more commercial friendly Rush album, this is it, but I myself prefer Hemisphere's, Permanent Waves, A Farewell To Kings, etc. This album did solidify their fanbase, but I find that they just wrote slightly better material a few years earlier.