This week's Record of the Week, courtesy of the Randomizer, is Rush's 1981 release, Moving Pictures. This excellent 2019 reissue is what's on my turntable this morning.
What to say, what to say, what to say. These guys have helped soundtrack my journey for a very long time. I still remember the day me and Jim S. were hanging out, riding bikes. We were about 12 or 13, in junior high school. We ended up at his house and he says let's listen to some of my brother's records. He disappears for a moment and returns with an armful. The first one he pulls out is Rush's 2112 (1976) and sets it up on the turntable. I was hooked by the opening. Dude, it sounds like outer space, this is so cool! Who are these guys?
That was my first exposure to Rush, beginning a lifelong love of the band. There was even a period where I had moved on to other stuff, but I always had room for them whenever the music would come on or if the topic came up in conversation. I've seen them multiple times, can't remember how many; more than some people, less than others. Like any Rush fan, I was very sad when the news of Neil Peart's death popped up in early 2020. And somehow, the surviving members (Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee) have decided to tour again with a new drummer, Anika Nilles (I'll be in attendance next week!). Suffice to say, this band has been with me for a long, long time.
Anyways, about this album. Consensus, I think, is that it's their best album. It's difficult to argue otherwise. It's a tight album, only seven songs (although one of them is 10+ minutes long), all bangers, no filler. The songs are all hits in the Rush canon, fans love to hear them live. Somehow, Tom Sawyer became popular on FM radio (anyone remember FM radio?), so that was the actual "hit" from the album. The cover is an amusing meta joke in typical Rush fashion. This album still stands tall as far as I'm concerned. Maybe not a bold statement some 40+ years later, but perhaps so to the uninitiated. I try to keep everyone in mind when writing these things!
In any case, Moving Pictures is kind of a weird bridge between rock and new wave. They were moving in that direction with their previous album, Permanent Waves (1980) and they would go even further with their next album, Grace Under Pressure (1984). Tighter, catchier songs with a rock filter. There are a lot of angular guitar and keyboard stabs on this album, kinda similar to Andy Summers' work with The Police (who we just discussed a couple weeks ago). Just listen to the album closer, Vital Signs. That, to me, is a straight up New Wave song. And maybe as the last song, it signaled the direction in which they were headed for the remainder of the 80s. Maybe a bit unusual for them at the time. Just different. But now, stone cold classic.
And this album. I think if you talk to hardcore Rush fans, casual Rush fans and general music fans; they'd agree that this is THE album to get if you were to have one Rush album in your collection.
Just a footnote, this page will be on hiatus for at least a week. Maybe two.