Moving Pictures

Rush ensconced themselves once again at Le Studio in Quebec with Terry Brown to record their eighth studio album, Moving Pictures. "Tom Sawyer" kicks off; and continuing the trend from the previous record, offers another radio-friendly slice of prog rock. Geddy Lee's synthesizers accent the track, which features another of Alex Lifeson's firebrand guitar solos. The tale of a Ferrari roadster, "Red Barchetta," follows, and winds its course in expert fashion. The instrumental "YYZ" takes its name from the airport code for Toronto; but musically it's all Rush, featuring their brand of tight, complex hard rock. "Limelight" was the second single from the album and features Neil Peart's classic lyric of the band's newfound fame. Along with "Tom Sawyer," it entered the UK Top 10. Clocking in at 11 minutes, the two-parter "The Camera Eye" opens the second side in epic fashion, while the ensuing "Witch Hunt" takes a while to get going. The album's cover sports a triple entendre of "moving pictures," courtesy of long-time artist Hugh Syme. Though the album reached No. 1 in their native Canada, the album would peak at No. 3 on both sides of the Atlantic and earn quadruple-platinum status in the US. Rush immediately leaped on tour to support the album, recording material for their next release along the way. Exit...Stage Left, also released in 1981, features those recordings, plus one side recorded on the previous Permanent Waves tour. On subsequent albums, Rush would further embrace synthesizer technology, and also part with long-standing producer Brown. Success, however, would never be more acute than it was here.