MOVING PICTURES

A perfect album, if there is such a thing. Came out at the right time. Rush reoriented themselves with the other magnum opus that is Permanent Waves. They still had that great prog rock thing going on from outputs like A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres, but with a more arena rock radio friendly vibe. Geddy Lee stated in Martin Popoff's book "Contents Under Pressure - 30 years of Rush" that Moving Pictures was this close to never see the light of day, as Rush almost came out with what would have been Exit... Stage Left right after Permanent Waves. At almost the last moment, however, they decided they were not through exploiting the new direction they found with Permanent Waves, and decided to go back in the studio to write new material in the same vein. Looking back, Mr. Lee feels it was probably THE best move of their entire career, and I agree with him a 100 %.

Every song here is fabulous, and I cannot think of a single weak moment in this album. You just have to think about all the classics this album gave us, like Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, Limelight, and, of course, their classic exercice in self-indulgence that is YYZ. The production was top notch for the era, the musical execution of every member of the greatest power trio ever is flawless, the lyrics are, as always, masterfully written by drummer Neil Peart, and Geddy's voice reached its perfect range, abandoning the sometimes annoying shrieks from past albums.

This album is not only a classic in prog rock music, it is a cornerstone of music, period. The testimony of three dedicated and talented individuals forming the living, breathing entity that is Rush.

Mandatory purchase for everyone...