Rush - Moving Pictures (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe) (2022) [Hi-Res]

Newly remastered! Celebrating 40 years of Moving Pictures with a Super Deluxe edition. Rush’s 1981 album Moving Pictures is being reissued for its (belated) 40th anniversary in April.

Moving Pictures, Rush’s eighth studio album, was originally released on February 12, 1981, and its adventurous yet accessible music catapulted the forward-thinking Canadian band to even newer heights as it began navigating the demands of a new decade. The album’s seven songs expertly blended Rush’s intrinsic prowess for channeling its progressive roots into radio-friendly arrangements, a template the band had mastered to a T all throughout its previous album, 1980’s deservedly lauded Permanent Waves. Moving Pictures was also the second of many Rush recording sessions at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, which was ultimately nicknamed the trio’s own personal Abbey Road recording studio.

The album’s lead-off track, “Tom Sawyer,” became one of Rush’s most cherished FM favorites in addition to taking its rightful place as a perpetual concert staple for decades to come. Next, the band shifts into the multi-generational dreamscape of “Red Barchetta,” which chronicles the thrills and chills of a high-stakes backroads car race. The instrumental barnburner “YYZ,” lovingly named after the airport identification code for Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, runs the gamut of the band’s forever impressive progressive chops in under four minutes flat. Side A closes out with the observational luminescence of “Limelight,” a timeless, if not prescient look at how introverted artists grapple with public demands while trying to maintain a personal level of earned privacy.

Rush: bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist/vocalist Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart — maintains a large and uniquely passionate worldwide fanbase that acknowledges and respects the band’s singular, bold, and perpetually exploratory songcraft that combines sterling musicianship, complex compositions, and distinctive lyrical flair. Rush has sold more than 25 million albums in the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales estimated at 45 million (and counting), and has been awarded 24 Gold, 14 Platinum, and three Multi-Platinum album distinctions. Rush has received seven Grammy nominations, and the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

"On Seventies albums like 2112 and Hemispheres, Rush mastered the high-prog epic. Moving Pictures was the record where they proved they could say as much in four minutes as they previously had in 20. Songs like 'Tom Sawyer,' 'Limelight,' and the Police-like 'Vital Signs' showcased the trio's superhuman chops in a radio-ready framework, while more adventurous tracks like the Morse code-inspired instrumental 'YYZ' and the synth-heavy suite 'The Camera Eye' found them tastefully streamlining their wildest ideas. Said Geddy Lee, 'We learned it's not so easy to write something simple." (Rolling Stone, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time)

Geddy Lee, bass, keyboards, vocals
Alex Lifeson, guitar, vocals
Neil Peart, drums

Digitally remastered