Moving Pictures

Moving Pictures is Rush’s greatest signature work, beautifully concentrating the complex, high-level playing it had cultivated into shorter, clearer songs. Geddy Lee’s bass and synthesizers, Alex Lifeson’s hard guitar and Neil Peart’s precise drums powerfully push one another, producing a strong drive. A landmark that perfectly unites progressive intelligence and popular appeal. From the electronic tension of the opener “Tom Sawyer,” the band’s greatest anthem, and the brisk drama of the dashing “Red Barchetta” to the transcendent instrumental “YYZ” and “Limelight” with its big melody, outstanding technique and sure songcraft coexist in every song, while a cut like “Witch Hunt” gives the album depth. Its historical importance lies in reaching a wider audience without losing intelligent, complex construction at all. Its polish, an ideal form of progressive rock, has not faded even now. Shining brilliantly in rock history, it is an enduring masterpiece representative of Rush and of the genre itself.