MOVING PICTURES

This is a bit of a dark album for me in terms of the mood conjured by many of the songs. This isn't really surprising given the subjects tackled. That said, it has all the trademarks of a Rush recording: expert musicianship, well crafted music, thought-provoking lyrics (you can tell Neil Peart puts as much time into crafting these as he does his drum parts), wicked time signatures and codas, and a stirring vocal performance. This is certainly one of the bands most complex recordings but it is also one of their most rewarding.

"Tom Sawyer" is one of the outstanding album and show openers of all time with its pounding, mesmeric riff. "Red Barchetta" is wonderfully upliftingand makes you wish you owned a car like that. "YYZ" is one of the finest instrumentals ever recorded and very significant for the band, being the identifier of Pearson International airport in Toronto and one they looked forward to seeing on tickets following a long hard tour.

"Limelight" is one of my favourite songs and one of their most complex ever. When in a band some years ago, I suggested it as a possible cover to play as I was trying to learn the guitar part and not doing to badly (or so I thought). The rest of the band just laughed as we listened to the Rush version.

Anyway, "The Camera Eye" is another flawless epic which builds nicely up to and between "choruses". It is another of those songs that lifts you up by evoking the very different, yet hauntingly similar, landscapes of New York and London. It's followed by the menacing beat of "Witch Hunt" and the edginess of "Vital Signs", which evokes for me a desire to rise above the ordinary and make something more of life.

Simply another classic.