Moving Pictures

iTunes Review

Building on the success of their previous album, 1980’s Permanent Waves, Rush seemed even more energized approaching this landmark studio release that helped define not just the group but the early ‘80s hard rock era. “Tom Sawyer” has become the prototype for radio-friendly progressive rock, an immediate anthem that set the challenge for other groups to follow. Heavy without being abrasive, loud without losing subtlety, Rush were instrumental leaders in their field. Their playing is unrivalled, from Neil Peart’s ambitious drum fills and sneaky time signatures to Alex Lifeson’s gruesomely electrified guitar riffs and singer Geddy Lee’s anchoring bass and elliptical keyboard noodling. The extended passages of “The Camera Eye” hinted at the group’s earlier epic ambitions, but the band’s profile here primarily settled into the modest format of “Red Barchetta,” a parable for libertarianism, and “Limelight,” a social comment on stardom, two succinct fan favorites that manage both technical mastery and emotional catharsis. The complex instrumental “YYZ,” based on the Morse code for their Toronto homeland, has become a textbook case for aspiring rock musicians.