Rush - Moving Pictures

Rush have seemingly sold over forty million albums and are one of Canada’s biggest ever bands. My mate had loads of their CD’s and we would all go back to his flat as he shared it with another pal, Rush never went on the CD player so shock horror I know nothing about their music. I could have told you there was three of them and that they ended when their drummer died, Neil Peart (had to look that up, sorry Ruch fans) but I had no idea they were to tour this year with new drummer, Anika Niles.

Rush have released nineteen studio albums and Moving Pictures was their eighth released back in 1981 storming into top tens across the world.

Most people on the internet state if you are into music, you will have heard opener Tom Sawyer, I haven’t, says it all really. It’s quite good to be fair, imaginative drumming throughout and vocalist Geddy Lee is in from the start before he hits a note and the synth that appears halfway through is distinctive and dominates before we are led into Alex Lifeson’s guitar solo. I am going out on a limb here, but these guys know their instruments, in fact instrumental YYZ it’s bloody obvious (again apologies Rush fans).

Red Barchetta starts strongly and does not let up and has a single striking riff at one point that catches my ear and as a man who enjoys a guitar or two you cannot fail to be impressed by Lifeson’s playing and he again excels on the more straightforward Limelight as drummer and lyricist Peart gives an insight into fame.

I get that at ten minutes The Camera Eye is the albums centrepiece, and I can appreciate the playing, but it doesn’t do anything for me for the first three minutes at all, then kicks in for a brief period before losing me again. As a Rush novice I lost interest.

Witch Hunt opens with what sounds like a distant football crowd and a heavy riff from start to finish, it is a darker sound, but synths escalate over the top, its fine but no more.

We end with Vital Signs a reggae sound with a synth over the top that I didn’t like first time round but has grown on me as I have done the usual three listens.

After side one I was enjoying my first foray into Rush but side two was a struggle, but was an interesting diversion from my usual listening, I would go there again.

6/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Red Barchetta