Product Description

MOVING PICTURES is the intersection between Rush's '70s art-rock style and their sequencer-laced '80s efforts. An incredible stylistic leap for the band, the songs here incorporate reggae, percolating synth and even a new wave-tinged early'80s pop sensibility. "Tom Sawyer", the ultimate alienated-teen saga, is the album's best known song. "Red Barchetta" picks up where 2112 left off with futuristic, sci fi-orientedlyrics. The instrumental "YYZ" is as far into straight-up progressive rock as the band had ever ventured. Things get socio-political on the ominous "Witch Hunt", and a Jamaican flavour enlivens "Vital Signs". The increased reliance on synthesizers and sequencers would later become irksome to old school Rush fans, but on MOVING PICTURES, electronics are tastefully applied to further the group's musical vision, makingfor what just might be their finest batch of songs.

Track Listing

1. Tom Sawyer
2. Red Barchetta
3. YYZ
4. Limelight
5. The Camera Eye
6. Witch Hunt
7. Vital Signs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1300 in Music
• Released on: 1997-07-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 40 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With Moving Pictures, Rush's complex songwriting and musical virtuosity reached new heights. It's that rarest of creatures, a highly listenable progressive-rock album; even the all-instrumental "YYZ" is of interest to listeners besides musicians. The highlight of the album is "Limelight"; like many progressive-rock bands, Rush writes songs about the experience of being on-stage. The result is impressive, with almost orchestral arrangements that never overwhelm the actual music. "Tom Sawyer", another classic, is on this album, as well as the science-fiction-meets-road-movie "Red Barchetta", the epic "The Camera Eye", the cautionary "Witch Hunt", and "Vital Signs", which takes advantage of the budding digital sound technology available at the time the album was recorded. This is probably Rush's best album; it's definitely their most accessible. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

moving pictures
i got this album, the day it came out, still play it a lot, my not my lp, got the cd version too, it still sounds modern even yet, the production is superb, the playing even better, is its rushs best album, probably yes, but its rush, were talking about, rush dont make bad albums, i should know, got them all on lp, and cd, go on give it a try, you wont be disspointed, great stuff,
john bruce.

All Time Classic- As fresh as it ever was!
I just nominated this as an album for Liz Kershaw to play on her 'Punters Picks' feature (Saturday mornings, BBC 6Music online and DAB radio here in the UK). I was reappraising my music collection recently and had a sort of 'what could you not live without' list made out. This was near the top. Even though I like all Rush's albums from the 80's, I still identify this as being the album that changed their course into the band I love. The first four tracks are as good as it gets, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ and Limelight. Amazing that each song is followed by another masterpiece. Nowadays the price you pay for these albums as very low indeed. If you've never tried Rush, start here. You're not risking a lot of money and you'll open a new horizon of musical adventure.

Of historical interest only
Am I unique among Rush fans in preferring their recent stuff? Maybe I'm just sick of this album after 25 years, but with the exception of "limelight" and possibly "camera eye", all the songs on "Moving Pictures" to me now sound naive, meretricious and DATED. Yes, the musicianship is awesome, the ensemble playing is superbly tight, blah blah blah... There are a zillion brilliant musicians in the world, what distinguishes the very best (and Rush are among the very best) is that they grow up and move on. Compare 2 sample lyrics: "Suddenly ahead of me across the mountainside/ a gleaming allow air car shoots towards me two lanes wide" (from "Moving Pictures"), and "Like a forest bows to winter/Beneath the deep white silence/I will quietly resist" (from "Snakes and arrows".) I think it's a safe bet that anyone over the age of fourteen will find the second more relevant to their situation than the first. I rest my case.