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Review 35, Moving Pictures, Rush

Everybody got to deviate from the
norm...

Even me. Whenever I put on this album,
it's for one reason: I want to listen to Vital Signs, and I feel I
should endure the pilgrimage to see my painfully metaphorical Mecca.
The lyrics and music feel rather separated, which is fine for the
more rocking songs (Tom Sawyer, Limelight) but leaves Red Barchetta
and The Camera eye feeling horrifically pretentious and half-hearted.
The playing throughout is fine, even if we get a few rather
unnecessary-feeling sections (with the pop convention of 'repeat a
bar before adding vocals because the audience don't have a big
attention span'). The exception to this is some of Lifeson's solos,
which feel rather sterile and nonthreatening to me. Geddy Lee's voice
has lost a lot of its drama, and is more suited to the rock or
quieter numbers than to more narrative or darker things on Red
Barchetta and Witch Hunt. Not an incredibly fun or enjoyable Rush album, but a fair effort.

From its first Oberheim synth and
accompanying blunt drum sound from Peart, Tom Sawyer gives us a very
song start to the album. The song moves through a couple of
variations on one song part, with comfortably enough variety in the
music, vocals and lyrics [which, though not stunning, have a welcome
dark resonance and mystique] to survive. We get a very potent gritty
bass-driven chorus with a dark vocal from Lee. The instrumental
section begins with an excellent combination of synths which are
followed with a rather rockless solo from Lifeson. The return to the
vocal sections, however, has Peart on top form, with a crashing array
of drums and cymbals. A great rock song, with an individual
atmosphere and an impressive complexity and mobility for such a
successful hit. Memorable as an opener, and an excellent use of the
synths.

Red Barchetta is a prime example of the
problems with the album as a whole. The music holds no relation to
the lyrics. The lyrics are poorly phrased, the idea illogical
(anything with 'I've got a desperate plan' can't be that great, and I
can't understand the exact rationality of the slightly sci-fi
concept, which seems another rather weak attempt to revive the
freedom against control themes of 2112). The story, desperation and
emotions included, bears no relation to the music, which is just
repeats of earlier sections with some mostly insignificant variation.

On the plus side, a pretty good
performance from Lee on vocals, and a decent, grainy solo from
Lifeson. A rather wallowing bass-driven section with disastrously
blunt guitar is repeated a few times, as are a couple of much
improved rocking ones led by Lifeson's guitar. The repeats seem a
little blunt, and, especially towards the end, have very little
relation to the story or development other than Peart adding a couple
more sounds ('I've got a desperate plan' does not even feel remotely
desperate'). The concluding part is pretty good with some good bass
soloing from Lee, and a gradually descending mix. Basically, it would
have been nice to have a song where the lyrics genuinely related to
the music, rather than simply telling a story at the same time as the
music is playing, with the words tortured to fit the metre.

YYZ is a fair instrumental with an
excellent bass part from Lee (solos included), even if it drags a
little. Peart throws out all sorts of drum parts into the mix, and
Lifeson's guitar is used calmly as a controlled rocking factor the
background, even if it doesn't impress much when contributing a more
solid riff. A good idea, but it goes on longer than it had to to get
the point across and I'm not particularly keen on the ending, for
some reason.

Limelight is another solid rocker,
unfortunately dragged down by an occasionally irritating set of
lyrics (I've seen it called a full song of lyrical hooks, but I could
really have done without the cheap Shakespeare reference). Great
Lifeson guitar throughout, with an interesting Peart performance as
well, which manages to emphasise the vocals by its absence. Great
chorus (especially with regards to the vocals and a rock power not
often achieved on the album). The return to a verse is unconvincing,
but the song remains powerful and excellent, and manages to
decelerate to provide a background for an effective quiet Lifeson
solo.

The Camera Eye begins with some city
sounds, because it can, and then gradually builds up from a synth
background, which I like, and a lead synth, which I don't, to a
massively overdone element of pompous development with boring
drumming, before moving to an almost-completely unrelated rolling
drums and guitars to a bit of more conventional, if rather less
interesting musically section. Geddy Lee's vocal highlights the
extension of musical meh, with some repeats of earlier sections and
some plainly bland, rather drum-dominated sections with very tiny
variations. The first part of the lyrics ends with little ado and
gives way to a desirable instrumental break, even if the repeats of
themes from the earlier music simply seem to be repeats rather than
proper developments.

The second part also features the
terrible drumming choices, but has a redeeming bass part from Lee,
who manages to stir things up a little. The trio's hideous attempt to
add an English feel with an 'alright guv' quietly added is hilarious
for all the wrong reasons. Lifeson and Lee give us a suitably
impressive example of bass and guitar interplay before the song fades
out on a synth rhythm and a Big Ben clanging. I really don't like
Peart's drumming on this song, and the piece as a whole feels a bit
forced and almost a chore to listen to.

Witch Hunt is where the album begins to
pick up a gain. A rather blunt example of chimes, inquisitorial
voices and rather cliché witch-hunt feel with a couple of
wonderfully grainy synths lead us into the superbly rocking main
guitar riff. Geddy contributes a dark vocal, which doesn't quite
click with me, and confident synths. Peart makes some slightly
amusing use of the tin bucket that he's apparently hidden under his
orphan-shelter drumkit. Geddy (I swear he's the only musician I think
of my the first name. Who knows why?) provides some clever bass
additions, including some high playing that rather escapes the mould.
Maybe the boys were trying a bit too hard to bring in the atmosphere,
but I appreciate the effort, and it's overall a good song.

Vital Signs is, in my mind, completely
transcendental over the rest of the album. Wonderful
atmosphere-developing synths without the effort of The Camera Eye, a
quirkiness, constantly-shifting, and a mechanical, yet organic feel.
Peart provides some wonderfully bizarre percussion choices, and Lee
manages the vocals without feeling strained or drowned out by any of
the instruments. Absolutely classic effort, with a perfectly handled
atmosphere, great rock moments, an uplifting message, superb playing
on all fronts, interesting and effective lyrical choices more
reminiscent of Natural Science than The Camera Eye. Finally, a great
fade, ending the album on the highest note it has. This is one of my
favourite Rush songs, certainly, from those I've heard.

For me, this album wasn't a must-have.
It doesn't rock as hard as 2112, the lyrics are mixed in quality, and
the atmospheres are often forgotten. I think it is, overall, a good
album, even if The Camera Eye doesn't convince me and tempts the evil
next button. Worth getting for Vital Signs alone, but I think that A
Farewell To Kings is a better and more representative Rush introduction, by and large.

Rating: Three Stars
Favourite Track:
Vital Signs
---

Well, I've caved to intimidation tactics and some relistens of it. I think The Camera Eye is the only thing I really find hard to like now, even if Vital Signs and Limelight are the only two that I think are consistently great. Three stars it is.

*eagerly awaits the progload*

Edited by TGM: Orb - May 19 2008 at 16:18