moving pictures

Rush caught the mist, the myth, the mystery, and the drift and condensed them into these deeply moving pictures of alienation and fascination. The trio invaded the space where new wave meets hard rock and came up with their most accessible and cohesive album. Produced by Terry Brown and recorded at Le Studio in Quebec, the sound is crisp and commercial while maintaining the complexity of their previous work. They experiment more extensively with electronic instrumentation and still manage to rock out. It went quadruple platinum in Canada and the US and marks the pinnacle of their success.





http://www.rush.com/

'Tom Sawyer' draws from the recurring character in works by Mark Twain. Neil Peart recollects, "'Tom Sawyer' was a collaboration between myself and Pye Dubois, an excellent lyricist who wrote the lyrics for Max Webster. His original lyrics were kind of a portrait of a modern day rebel, a free-spirited individualist striding through the world wide-eyed and purposeful. I added the themes of reconciling the boy and man in myself, and the difference between what people are and what others perceive them to be - namely me I guess."

"And what you say about his company

Is what you say about society"

'Red Barchetta' refers to a Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta and was was inspired by the short story "A Nice Morning Drive" by Richard Foster about a futuristic society where unsafe cars are outlawed. It was recorded in one take.

'YYZ' is the airport identification code for Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is played in Morse Code (-.--,-.--,--..) in the song, which was nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental Grammy. Peart says, "It's always a happy day when YYZ appears on our luggage tags."

'Limelight' references Shakespeare to express the alienation of stardom:

"Living in a fisheye lens,

Caught in the camera eye.

I have no heart to lie,

I can't pretend a stranger

Is a long-awaited friend.

All the world's indeed a stage,

And we are merely players,

Performers and portrayers,

Each another's audience

Outside the gilded cage."

The synth-driven 'The Camera Eye' continues the theme of isolation and is the last great Rush mini-epic.

"I feel the sense of possibilities,

I feel the wrench of hard realities.

The focus is sharp in the city."

'Moving Pictures'
full album:



All lyrics written by Neil Peart except where noted; 
all music composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee except where noted.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Tom Sawyer" (Peart and Pye Dubois) 4:34
2. "Red Barchetta" 6:10
3. "YYZ" (Lee, Peart; Instrumental) 4:26
4. "Limelight" 4:20
Side two
5. "The Camera Eye  11:01
I: New York
II: London"
6. "Witch Hunt" (Part III of "Fear") 4:46
7. "Vital Signs" 4:46