Number 47

I couldn't think of anything to write about so it is time to add to the Top 100 CD list. At Number 47 is...

Rush - Moving Pictures (1980)

Is it fair to consider a CD one of the best ever if you can't remember the last two songs at all? Well, when the first six songs are as good as these are the answer is yes. Moving Pictures captures Rush at the exact moment when their artistic sensibility and commercial potential collided. Like chocolate stuck in peanut butter for the first time (thank you Officer Reeses) the band with complex rhythm patterns and a squealingly high voiced singer hit platinum sales while not giving up an iota of respect.

How did they do this? Rush is one of the greatest bands of all time, that's how. All three members are considered virtuoso's in their field: Drummer Neal Peart is a legend of technique, Guitarist Alex Lifeson could range from meaty riffs to scorching blues solos and Geddy Lee was one of the few bass players to play lead parts. Despite their prog rock tendencies, their music had an immediacy that labeled them hard rock. Top it off with intellectual lyrics about self determination and personal freedom sung in a screechy voice and you have the paradox that is Rush - a band that has a unique sound that speaks to millions of loners who amount to a mass audience.

Moving Pictures starts off with "Tom Sawyer", their signature song. The slow stepping beat and dark, swirling keyboards frame this classic hit. "Red Barchetta" is a fast moving rocker about a boy taking a car out for a drive after gasoline engines and cars have been banned. My personal favorite, the instrumental "YYZ" show off the band in all their instrumental prowess. The anthemic "Limelight" appears next with it's bold guitar riff and surprisingly self aware lyrics about the trappings of stardom. Another song, "The Camera Eye" gets by on a trobbing, synth driven groove.

The last two songs, "Witch Hunt" and "Vital Signs" I don't remember at all. But none of that matters. The first six songs are timeless rock classics. Moving Pictures is the reason there is a Rush today.