Rush's Moving Pictures is considered by most fans as the greatest Rush album to date. Obviously so, this album featured the band on it's prime developing the roots of what was to become of prog-rock in the 80's and 90's, being probably one of the most influential albums within the genre. Rush's ever-changing approach was finally being characterized by a heavier distorted guitar sound and overall friendlier arrangements for the songs, although they still consisted of extremely complex ideas. The result was just perfect; a more commercially accessible album for the masses and a masterpiece for all music lovers. This album brought prog-rock back into the mainstream and allowed the band to receive some true recognition from the general public, hand in hand with enormous success.

"Tom Sawyer" - "Tom Sawyer" gives an overture to the album, starting out with some spacey synths, as well as a great drumbeat and guitar riff… it is probably the Rush song that has received the heaviest airplay ever. The guitar and synth lines are perfectly well interlaced and help the melody achieve a greater sound. Lifeson goes on and delivers a breathtaking solo at the middle of the song, not to fast or overwhelming, but just a bunch of right notes at the right time with an awesome melody.

"The Red Barchetta" - The song's main theme consists of a nice, relaxed ride in a car through the sunny afternoon, and the feeling of enjoying the cool breeze as one speeds up on the accelerator. The song begins with a harmonic arrangement in the guitar that gives way to the melody, suggesting just the right mood and atmosphere for the amazing car drive. One can really say that the band shines as a unit on this song; every aspect of the song is covered perfectly to the last detail, taking us through a whole series of moods as we listen to the lyrics evolve in a pleasant journey in the countryside.

"YYZ" - We then arrive to the amazingly complex instrumental song. This is a song in which it is particularly hard to keep up the beat due to the constant time signatures changes, which practically characterize the entire song. This song is also well known as the great Rush instrumental, even receiving a Grammy nomination during the 1982 awards. The trio's virtuosity is displayed with splendor in this song… one can really tell that these guys are truly great musicians.

"Limelight" - This song is also one of the band's most commercially successful. The lyrics display the difficulties of being considered a role model or rock star, and the obvious fact that they can't fulfill everyone's expectations. It's about the stress of having to cope with being recognized everywhere you go and having total strangers intruding in your personal life… not the expected universal dream, huh? Well, anyways, the song has a great catchy melody and chorus, and completely manages to do this with great guitar riffs and a well-based structure. It's a quite simple and direct arrangement, but this seems to work marvelously for Rush.

"The Camera Eye"- With this track, the band gives a twist to the album's previous song style approach. The relaxed synth intro takes us away from the heavy rock sound that characterized the first couple of songs. Actually, this song points out the direction in which Rush would eventually embark in a songwriting sense. The guitar and vocal melodies are outstanding, and so are both, the smooth and drastic tempo changes. "The Camera Eye" in a way also brings back some previous more progressive Rush elements, amounting to a length of almost 11 minutes, a pretty worthy time frame for a 70's prog-rock band.

"Witch Hunt" - As we get to this song, some eerie synth sounds fill the atmosphere and give us a stressful and insecure vibe… exactly what the band aimed to achieve. I doubt anyone would argue with the statement that this is the album's darkest song. It goes on to explore atmospheres and distorted sounds that would make us feel as though we were near witchcraft. The guitar's distortion is a crucial element in creating these moods, perfectly balanced so that it involves you with the atmosphere created.

"Vital Signs" - The band returns to the classic Rush sound; a leading bass line with a great drumbeat and a guitar playing around some complementing chords to fill those empty gaps in the song. Geddy Lee's bass line mainly gives an overall shape to "Vital Signs" and helps in creating an interesting up-beat around the entire song while every instrument jumps in, one way or another. The band takes an interesting approach at entering the chorus line with a great chromatic guitar melody, feeling as though everything flowed smoothly.

Few would argue the statement that a Moving Pictures is an important marking point in the prog-rock scene. The album is a true classic and the general prog audience is well aware of this. It would be hard to even picture where most bands would be at if it wasn't for the strong influence of Rush in their approach to music. Strange as it seems, as time goes by, this album receives even more recognition. A Moving Pictures is definitely aging like a good wine.

-by Javier Elizondo