Well thirty years on and we have the Deluxe edition of the Rush album Moving Pictures.
As any fan of Rush will tell you the history of the band has been an exercise of great music becoming ever more popular with each successive release.
At the time of Moving Pictures Rush had moved into another stage of their career which had begun on the previous album Permanent Waves. Moving Pictures moved the band on another step and by now not only were the band playing to massive audiences throughout the world they were releasing hugely successful albums and even having hit singles. The hit singles drawn from this album were the obvious Tom Sawyer and the less obvious but no less great Red Barchetta a track that still remains a favourite of mine from the now massive Rush canon.
The album as a whole though proved to be one of the bands most successful up to that point. With Permanent Waves the band had almost re invented itself for the new decade. With Moving Pictures the band refined that vision and whilst there were no epics such as 2112 or Xanadu the songs still sounded majestic and contained the inherent greatness we had come to expect from Rush. The trademark sound was still there and it was most definitely Rush but perhaps the power was distilled into a more powerful punch. Tracks like Limelight, Vital Signs, Witch Hunt and YYZ still delivered that unmistakable Rush sound but the music now had a an undeniable commercial edge which was most definitely attracting new Rush fans across the globe.
This Deluxe edition is exactly what the Rush fans want and whilst there is no unreleased material included the package is still a desirable one. The packaging is first class and the booklet contains a lengthy essay from Rock journalist David Fricke alongside many previously unseen photos.
The second disc in the package however will be the real pull for most fans. The disc is a DVD disc and contains a photo gallery and the videos made for the album including Tom Sawyer. What will be the clincher though will be the full album in 5.1 Surround sound. Here is where it gets really good and if this album isn’t an album to recommend you go out and buy a surround sound system then I don’t know what is. Basically you are advised to slip the disc into the player turn up the volume and strap yourself in. A quite frightening but at the same time hugely pleasurable experience
So in summing up despite the fact that the album is thirty years old the album still sounds incredibly fresh and current something that is a testament to the vision and performance of Rush as a whole and something that continues to this day both onstage and in the studio.
Moving Pictures is the bands biggest selling album and listening to it you can see what it was that tipped the scales in the bands favour back in 1981. It really is one of the best rock albums of the last thirty five years and while many bands may claim that honour few can back that claim up. Rush however had and still have what it takes to back up a statement like that
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