MOVING PICTURES

Moving Pictures means a lot to me as it was one of the first prog rock albums I bought. I bought it second hand along with Genesis And then there were three. Both LP´s had had the same owner, and this was visible as both had been through a fire and smelled really bad ( Actually my Pink Floyd Animals must have had the same owner too, as it smells really bad too).

Moving Pictures is somewhat odd in the discography of Rush, as it really doesn´t sound like anything else they have made. Well Permanent waves has some of the same things but not quite. The album is very stripped down. Guitar, bas, drums and of course Geddy Lee´s vocal are the most prominent sounds on Moving Pictures. The sometimes excessive use of keyboards on many of Rush´s albums is stripped to a minimum on Moving Pictures. The keyboards are there, but they are pretty subtle, which really helps set this album apart from any other Rush album. Keyboards can be very nice, but I generally think Rush uses them too much in their music. Thankfully not on this one though.

The sound quality/ Production on Moving Pictures is on a higher plain. This is one of my favorite productions of all time. Especially the sound on the drums. It´s really impressive and powerful. I like to call it dry, but I´m not sure people understand what I mean. It suits the album perfect anyway.

Tom Sawyer starts the album. And what a start it is. Geddy sings with so much power in this song, and Neil Peart´s drums are very commanding. The guitar from Lifeson is also really cool in this song.

Neil Peart shows his lyrical talents in Red Barchetta. I just love the nostalgic story about the uncle and his car. Again the music is very powerful and beautiful.

YYZ is a genre defining instrumental song. It´s one of the best instrumental songs ever written. The instrumentation is so stripped, that you can clearly hear what everyone is doing and it helps emphasize what a powerful song this is. Lifeson´s solo is amazing and Neil Peart and Geddy Lee plays so well on this track. I can´t praise this song enough. But you get the point, right ?

Limelight is really a winner too. Tight instrumentation and a Geddy Lee in good vocal form ( He always is. He has never let me down). The lyrics are clever too.

When listening to The camera eye I always get an urban feeling. It´s really a great epic song. Of course it´s pretty stripped down like the rest of the album, but there is still an epic feel about it. This is a great song.

Witch hunt (Part III of Fear) is a live favorite and in my eyes probably the weakest track on Moving Pictures. It´s not bad at all though, just the song I like the least. A pretty slow track.

Vital signs is a great closer to Moving Pictures. There are some keyboards here that points toward the next album Signals, but they are not as excessive as on that album. The song has got some kind of Ska/ Reggae rythm which sets it apart. Nice move.

This is a classic Prog rock album, and a personal favorite of mine. I think this is a masterpiece ( The sole masterpiece they have ever made) and I can give no less than 5 stars. Unfortunately as mentioned, Rush didn´t continue in this style, and already on the next album, their beautiful music drowned in oceans of keyboard and synth. Too bad, I´m sure if they had pursued this path, they would have made more masterpieces.