(Image credit: Anthem)
Tom Sawyer
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt (Part III of “Fear”)
Vital Signs
Moving Pictures is a benchmark album for Rush – and it sounds as fresh today as when, after five months of often fraught work, the band sat in a playback at Quebec’s Le Studios and declared it was finished.
Side one of the original vinyl featuring Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, the instrumental YYZ and Limelight was faultless. Flipping it over, we heard a newly matured Rush – each aged 27 or 28 at the time – rein in the epic The Camera Eye (inspired by John Dos Passos) to 11 exhilarating minutes, terrify us with Witch Hunt, then set our techno pulses racing with Vital Signs.
“Moving Pictures was such a huge record for us,” Geddy Lee told Prog. “That level of success was like nothing we had ever experienced before. But we had a lot of ‘moments’ with that record – it was a tough one to finish.
“Two songs came together pretty smoothly: Limelight and Red Barchetta, which was such a great thing to play live, off the floor. Tom Sawyer was the opposite, a late bloomer. We had so much trouble getting the guitar solos down and balancing the bottom end. But after a lot of struggling, we nailed it, and it was so powerful. We were going, ‘Shit, where did that come from?’”
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Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in February 1981
Killers – Iron MaidenDifficult to Cure – RainbowFire Down Under – RiotFace Value – Phil CollinsSt. Valentine’s Day Massacre – Motörhead & GirlschoolAnother Ticket – Eric ClaptonWorking Class Dog – Rick SpringfieldPoint of Entry – Judas PriestBangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks – Hanoi RocksCaptured – JourneyFeels So Right – AlabamaThe Fool Circle – NazarethMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts – Brian Eno & David ByrneStray Cats – Stray CatsThe League of Gentlemen – Robert Fripp and The League of GentlemenWild-Eyed Southern Boys – 38 Special
What they said…
“On Seventies albums like 2112 and Hemispheres, Rush mastered the high-prog epic. Moving Pictures was the record where they proved they could say as much in four minutes as they previously had in 20. Songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and the Police-like Vital Signs showcased the trio’s superhuman chops in a radio-ready framework, while more adventurous tracks like the Morse code-inspired instrumental YYZ and the synth-heavy suite The Camera Eye found them tastefully streamlining their wildest ideas. (Rolling Stone)
“Witch Hunt and Vital Signs remain two of the trio’s more underrated rock compositions. The former is a moody collage of shouted voices, blasting guitar riffs, and dynamic crunch with sinister vocals, while the latter offers syncopated synths skillfully melding new wave and polished reggae with prog. Moving Pictures proved Rush still had vast, uncharted musical territory to explore.” (AllMusic)
“To write a manifesto is folly; songs become manifestos. Such is the case with Tom Sawyer. Rush’s signature song embraces technology without succumbing to its dazzle. 1981’s version of Mark Twain’s 19th-century warrior with a mean, mean stride does many things that make sense only in Peart and co-lyricist Pye DuBois’ notebook, but the enthusiasm of Lifeson’s guitar fills and Peart’s nervous triplets are matched by Lee’s Oberheim-OBX solo.” (Pitchfork)
What you said…
Mike Canoe: What to write about an album about which just about everything has been written? On any other day, I would probably point to Permanent Waves or Farewell to Kings as my favourite Rush album, but as soon as Tom Sawyer starts, I realise that there is only one answer and that answer is Moving Pictures.
Side A is practically perfect in every way: 1) Tom Sawyer‘s a megahit I’ve never gotten tired of, 2) Red Barchetta is one of the best story songs ever written by anybody ever (and probably the best one written by Rush, sorry, Prince By-Tor and 2112) 3) YYZ was probably the first favorite instrumental of every male in my age bracket (and the first airport code we knew) 4) Limelight might be the most uplifting song about the woes of stardom ever written.
Side B was a tougher nut to crack. It took me a long time to appreciate the long The Camera Eye and, through proximity bias, it dragged down the surprisingly dark Witch Hunt with it. I am good with them now, but the last song, Vital Signs, has pretty much always been my favourite Rush song. Granted, my music experience was still pretty limited in 1981, but I had never heard anything quite like it, and I still think it’s a jawdropper. I’ve made a point to avoid the setlist but would, of course, love it if Vital Signs made an appearance.
I was set to see Rush in June, but both that show and the rescheduled show got postponed. Hoping everyone is healthy and happy in September and their gear is exactly where it’s supposed to be.
Andrew Cumming: Are Rush perpetually underrated? Sure, they’ve got a huge fan base. But there always seems to be a caveat. Too nerdy, too proggy, don’t like the vocals. Rush could do it all – classic rock, classic pop, prog, hard rock. That six-album run from 2112 to Signals has to be one of the best six-album runs in all of pop and rock music (is there a better run?). Moving Pictures comes late in the sequence but showcases all of the above. Classic rock (Tom Sawyer, YYZ), classic pop (Limelight), prog (most of side two). It’s about as close to perfect as you can get. Shame it’s not more widely recognised as so.
Mark Herrington: Moving Pictures is a great progressive rock album, which I bought on release in 1981.
I thought I’d look at each track in my order of preference. Witch Hunt has always been my favourite on Moving Pictures and stood out the first time I heard it. Dark, atmospheric and menacing – it immediately appealed to my Sabbath leanings. Tom Sawyer is a great opener and one of their defining signature songs. Limelight: soaring vocals, great guitar and another fantastic track. Red Barchetta is a great track, with its strong sci-fi narrative. Camera Eye has one of the highlights of the album in the vocal passage that begins with “They seem oblivious to a soft spring rain..” and ends with “The focus is sharp in the city”. Its only drawback is a slightly overlong intro. YYZ: an epic, driving instrumental. Those six tracks are all top-drawer rock classics.
The one track that is not on the same level is the last track, Vital Signs. It does not appeal to me as an album closer, where I’d prefer something epic, and I don’t think it’s in the same class as the rest of the album. Overall though, Moving Pictures is an album that is one of the best in this area of classic rock.
Evan Sanders: What a great album, among those that were ubiquitous in the vinyl collections of my teenage friends back when it was released. Rush had an unusual place among my teenage buddies. Not quite as hard-rocking as Van Halen or Aerosmith, and their members didn’t have the girl-friendly sex appeal compared to others, and their progressive history sometimes put them in a category with bands like Yes and King Crimson. They were most popular among my musician friends, who admired the technical excellence of their playing.
With Moving Pictures, Rush probably took their most successful step in bridging the worlds of prog rock and classic rock. The four songs on side one deserve to be on a list of best album sides ever. And the best song of those four might be the instrumental YYZ. The second side is closer to their progressive roots, and I wonder how many people didn’t listen to it as much, especially if they were drawn more to the classic rock sound.
Thank you to the group for giving me a reason to put Moving Pictures on repeat this week, as well as the entire Rush catalogue. And respect goes out to all of those who got to see them live in their original lineup. 9/10.
Chris Downie: A truly iconic entry, and according to many the crowning achievement in one of the greatest consecutive album runs in music history, from 1976’s breakthrough 2112 to 1985’s Power Windows, the majesty of Moving Pictures needs little introduction.
It’s no surprise the band chose to perform this in its entirety on their spectacular Time Machine in 2011 as part of its 30th anniversary celebration; from the opening bars of Tom Sawyer to the Police-influenced Vital Signs (which foreshadowed much of what was to come on the next two albums), there isn’t a weak moment to be found.
Whether this is their greatest album is a topic of many forum debates (this writer has it tied with predecessor Permanent Waves and the aforementioned 2112), but like its predecessor it sees them seamlessly transition from their pioneering prog-metal days, to a more slick, traditional song-oriented format. That said, as the 11-minute epic Camera Eye amply demonstrates, they never abandoned their roots completely. Essential listening, in a back catalogue already rammed with classics. 10/10.
Greg Schwepe: When I saw Moving Pictures was selected as this week’s album, I joked to myself, “Oh, this will be the easiest review I’ve written…ever!” Then the more I thought about it: “Oh, this could also be the hardest review I’ve ever written.” Easiest because of my familiarity with it (which I’ll delve into) and hardest because I’m not sure I could offer any new insight into what is probably the most popular album by the band.
By the time Moving Pictures was released in 1981 I was already a full-blown fan. I owned almost all of their catalogue (bought this at its release), I had already seen the band twice, and the FM rock stations where I lived in the Midwest were very Rush-centric and played them out the ying-yang.
So now you had this excellent example of the band morphing away from “whole album side songs” or a 10-15 minute song (pretty much a whole album side!) to more bite-sized (and radio-friendly length) songs. This began with the predecessor album Permanent Waves, and by the time they released Moving Pictures, they hit it out of the ballpark. But since they’re Canadian, I’ll use a hockey analogy and say this was the equivalent of scoring top shelf on the goalie from a blue line slap shot. But Geddy is a huge baseball fan, so the baseball analogy works too.
In listening for the eighth millionth time while writing this, I tried to figure out what keeps drawing me back to this album, besides the obvious great musicianship and lyrics. And if I had to narrow it down, I’d say it’s the different moods that the various songs evoke, and how I can get lost in each of these seven classics.
It’s the synthesiser lines and the “air drum in your car drum solo and I don’t care who’s watching” of Tom Sawyer. It’s the dystopian feel and excitement of Red Barchetta where you can feel yourself punching the gas on the “shining car.” It’s the Morse code intro to YYZ (Toronto’s airport code) and then the ensuing groove and locked-in guitar, bass, and drums. It’s the emotive solo in Limelight. It’s the metropolitan travelogue feel of Camera Eye where you can imagine yourself in New York and London. It’s the angry mob in Witch Hunt where you feel a part of the mob. And finally it’s the twitchy guitar riff of Vital Signs.
While hardcore Rush fans could quibble all day long about what their best album is, Rush created an album that the average rock fan or non-hardcore Rush fan will probably call their favourite. And when your songs get used in a South Park episode, well, you’re immortal.
While in college, I was able to see the actual Moving Pictures tour where many of these songs were played live for the first time, something I still mention to this day to friends; and just did again here! Then in 2010, my son and I saw the “Time Machine” tour, where they played Moving Pictures in its entirety. Talk about geeking out.
And there have been times when I will listen to this album five times in a row. So, yeah, I guess this one has had quite an impact on me. And in about a month from now, my son will fly home from halfway across the U.S., and we will make the trek to Cleveland (where I’m sure the band will do something special), where he and I will see the band together for the fourth time. Ahhh, bonding!
10 out of 10 on this one for me. I rarely give 10 ratings on these reviews, but in recalling all the reasons I liked Moving Pictures, I really couldn’t give it anything less.
Mike Sargent: My favourite Rush album is Power Windows, but objectively, Moving Pictures is the best Rush album.
Paulene Ashmore: Rush! One of my favourite bands. First came across them in my student days back in 1979. 2112 was my first purchase, followed by their self-titled debut, and I’ve been there ever since. Have my (UK) tickets for March next year, which will be my second time seeing them live since the Signals tour. And I cannot bloody wait!
Moving Pictures has to be up there as one of their best, but 2112 will always be my favourite: pompous and overblown. Just how I like it!
Dave Morgan: 45 years on and still I marvel at the musicianship. It hasn’t dated at all. 10/10.
John Davidson: Not only is this a strong contender for the best album slot in Rush’s impressive and varied catalogue, but it’s also a strong contender for best rock album ever made.
Tom Sawyer is a song I’ve heard so many times I can play it in my head without even putting the record on. But it’s a rare evergreen song that never gets old.
Red Barchetta was my favourite song on the album as soon as I heard it. It remains so today. A perfect marriage of song and lyrics. Only Rush could write a classic rock “I love my car” song and turn it into a Sci Fi short story on the way.
YYZ is a great instrumental, but really blossoms live, where it became a showcase for Neil Peart’s drumming. Limelight is a rare thing on a Rush album; a singalong. But Peart’s lyrics explore the parasocial relationship that arises between a band and its fans. Written 25 years before social media, it is even more relevant today.
Camera Eye is the album’s epic love letter to both New York and London, and it sees Rush embrace keyboards in a way that bridges the band’s emerging 80s sound with the riff-rich atmospherics of Alex Lifeson’s guitars. Witch Hunt brings the mood down a little with a brooding tale of the dangers of giving in to fear and groupthink. It too remains as relevant today as it did in the 1980s.
Vital Signs is the only song on the album that I don’t love. The reggae-style beat and guitar riff seemed out of place at the time, but as with Camera Eye, it’s the strongest guide to the evolution in style they were about to embark on in Subdivisions.
I don’t think Geddy Lee delivered a better vocal performance than on this album. The fact that he could do it live, while laying down rich and complex bass parts and playing the keyboards at the same time, impresses me even to this day. 10/10.
Philip Qvist: A full-blown classic as simple as that. That amazing six-album run from 2112 to Signals was when Canada’s greatest ever band was at its peak, and Moving Pictures was the jewel of that amazing run.
The best songs are the evergreen Tom Sawyer, the instrumental YYZ, their nod to their progressive roots with The Camera Eye and Red Barchetta, but this is pretty much a flawless recording.
When I first heard Tom Sawyer on the radio, I was convinced that Rush were a five- or six-piece band and not a trio, while I would never have guessed that their drummer was the band’s main lyricist. I would say that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart peaked with this 1981 release.
A classic at the time, and it still remains an absolute classic to this day. Moving Pictures is one of my Top 50 albums, and it’s a 10 every day of the week.
Adam McCann: Stone cold classic. Shout out to Vital Signs, a massively underrated Rush track.
Warren Bubb: Quite probably Rush’s finest album.
Adam Ranger: Good timing for me. I have been listening to a lot of Rush recently, since I got my tickets for their London shows in March next year. The UK tour for this album in 1981 was the first time that I saw Rush live.
I believe that Moving Pictures is the last truly great Rush album. I didn’t much care for the albums that came after it. At least not until Roll The Bones or Counterparts anyway.
There are no filler or substandard tracks here. And for the most part, the songs are shorter and punchier than previous records. The opening of Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta and YYZ is as good as you can get. Limelight is almost a sing-along from Rush! But not cheesy or formulaic.
Then we have the one “epic” (by which I mean an eight-minute-plus track) on the album, Camera Eye, with traditional changes of pace. Then the darker Witchhunt and finally the more quirky reggae influence of Vital Signs, a track that many don’t seem to like as much but I have always loved. For some reason, it takes me back to those 1981 times more than any other track.
A strong contender for one of the best Rush albums ever. Given what went before, that’s a huge compliment.
Marco Edwards: I have listened to this album more times than any of the albums featured as Album Of The Week. It is simply amazing. For once, I haven’t got to think about the scoring. It will always be a 10 from me.
Brian Hart: This will be a short review because there’s nothing to say about this album except that it is a classic. It’s seven songs that clock in at 39 minutes. Sweet, short, and to the point.
No need to expand on Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, and Limelight because they are Rush’s greatest hits! YYZ is an instrumental that hits and is catchy enough to keep you interested. It’s the last three songs – The Camera Eye, Witch Hunt, and Vital Signs – that I was a little less familiar with. They aren’t on the same level as Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, and Limelight, but they are still very good.
Rush are another band that was just a bit before my time. I knew all their greatest hits, but I wasn’t a super fan. I regret that I never got to see them with Neil Peart. I saw Rush for the first time last month at night four in Chicago. I’ve been to well over 100 concerts in my lifetime, and I can honestly say that show was in the top three concerts (if not the best) I’ve ever seen. Geddy’s singing was excellent, Alex’s playing was incredible, and Annika Niles’ drumming is top-notch. I highly recommend seeing them if you still have a chance. I haven’t stopped listening to Rush since that concert. I am definitely a big fan. There are no skips on Moving Pictures.
Final score: 9.14 (142 votes cast, total score 1298)
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