Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Moving Pictures

Well, if you know me at all, you knew this had to happen sooner or later: it's RUSH HOUR!!!!!! That's right, this week we get our first taste of Rush, Canada's most successful rock band of all time. And what better place to start than with their most successful album, Moving Pictures.



Release date: February 12, 1981
Singles: Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Vital Signs

Before I get into the music, I have to mention the cover. Obviously, the name of the album is Moving Pictures, and the cover art shows some guys moving pictures. Pretty simple, right? Oh, but that's not all. You look at the pictures themselves and discover that they are emotionally moving pictures. Now you're thinking, oh Rush, how clever you are. But wait, there's more. When you turn the album over, you discover that there is a camera crew making a motion or moving picture of the whole scene! Ohhh, Rush.

Now, the music. The first side is all classics. Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ (quick note about YYZ: that's the airport code for Toronto, and the rhythm at the beginning of the song is actually YYZ in morse code. Ohhh, Rush), and Limelight. The other side ain't bad either, even if it isn't in KQRS's regular rotation.

Rating: 11 thumbs up - This album is Rush at its pinnacle. Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson didn't do anything much better before, and certainly not after. After this, they started going in a different direction. In fact, "The Camera Eye" on side 2 is the last song Rush has made that is over 10 minutes long. That says everything.

Now enjoy the official music video of "Vital Signs." Music videos back then weren't the big productions they are nowadays. The highlight for me is seeing Neil Peart in an Expos hat. So Canadian.



Pat is crazy.