MOVING PICTURES

I've resisted listening to this album in one sitting. Ever. Remember, I owned their first albums (through the first live album) and, by the time they hit their "prog era" I had moved into serious prog, away from power cords. But today, June 25, 2020, I'm going to give it a go. Wish me luck!

I've never liked the sound engineering of this album, the instruments seem to exist each in their own universe, they aren't well blended. Plus, I have never liked that Oberheim sound. And the songs just aren't ... my cup of tea. Are these drums really that impressive?

1. "Tom Sawyer" (4:34) never did much for me. I always find myself bothered by any lack of cohesion or flow. (8.67/10)

2. "Red Barchetta" (6:08) starts out okay, instrumentally, (though sounding very 80s-ish) before singing and SKA and Jimmy Page guitar licks ensue. Maybe the lyrics are supposed to mean something to me. The shift in the middle shows promise but then never delivers. Interesting violin-sounding guitar solo. (8.67/10)

3. "YYZ" (4:24) the much lauded and revered instrumental. Anticipation. Nice instrumental teamwork but, come on people, have you ever heard of Mahavishnu Orchestra? Return to Forever? (8.5/10)

4. "Limelight" (4:21) one of the more accessible and melodic songs on the album (though sounding a LOT like "Fly by Night"). The drums are more enjoyable when they're singled out. (8.75/10)

5. "The Camera Eye" (10:57) opens like a late-70s jazz-rock fusion song before beefing up and then taking a sharp left in the third minute. Silly synth noises and two-chord strings with unusual power chord progressions. I like the more laid-back vocal style here (like that used in "Limelight"). Nice use of space between power chords. When Geddy's voice becomes more insistent, raising an octave, it works. Then another ninety-degree turn. About half way through I can see that a rotation of themes is becoming apparent. Again, maybe these would be better if I heard the words--if I cared about the verbal message being conveyed. For me, the voice is just another instrument. Okay. I made it through that one. Interesting. But I've heard better. So many better. (17.25/20)

6. "Witch Hunt (Part III of Fear)" (4:44) Blurry power chord progressions dominate the soundscape while Geddy sings and syncopated percussives are randomly thrown in. With fuzzy synth chords, the song congeals and tension builds. Some nice chord shifts here and there. For me, this has been the best musical journey of the album. (9/10)

7. "Vital Signs" (4:47) more POLICE-like SKA with CARS-like synth-bass. Musically, this is a very accessible, engaging song. Depending on what Geddy's singing about, I don't know one didn't get radio play. I especially like that there is an anthemic phrase repeated over and over at the end, "Everybody got deviate/elevate/escalate from the norm." My favorite song on the album. (9.33/10)

Total Time: 39:55

For being such a well-loved and famous album, I'm very surprised that there was so much of it that I had never heard before: pretty much all of Side Two.

B/four stars; a nice contribution to Prog World.