For nearly 40 years, I have amassed a huge collection of CDs. And I remember the first CD I purchased: Rush’s Moving Pictures. I’d heard about how much better CDs sounded, how you didn’t have to flip them over to hear more, and that they were virtually indestructible. So in 1983, I purchased a basic Sharp CD player for $300 and had them throw in Moving Pictures for another $14.99. After I got home and connected the player to my stereo, I worked for another few minutes removing the wrapper from the jewel case that held the CD. Carefully, I placed the 4.75″ disc on the tray, pressed the ‘Close’ button, and eased back, preparing myself for a sonic blast. Once the synths of “Tom Sawyer” oozed out of my speakers, I realized I’d made the right choice as an introduction to the Compact Disc.
Though it technically dropped on February 12, 1981, Moving Pictures has received a 40th anniversary makeover via six expanded variations, including the Super Deluxe Edition, the three-CD Deluxe Edition, the five-LP Deluxe Edition, the single LP Edition, the Digital Deluxe Edition, and the Dolby Atmos Digital Edition. What all of these sets have in common are the album’s seven original songs. From there, they threw in unreleased live tracks from 1981,
plus extensive liner notes, photos, various swag and written commentary from musicians like Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Primus bassist Les Claypool, and drummer Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. And, of course, the audio has been remastered for vinyl and digital, and punched up for surround and Dolby Atmos. All these years later, hearing Moving Pictures in PCM Stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes on Blu-ray Disc is nearly as evolutionary as hearing the album on CD for the first time. I suspect vinyl lovers would disagree, though it’s hard to argue with a lossless playback.
For Rush, Moving Pictures was a game-changer. On their previous album, 1980’s Permanent Waves, they’d already started to transition from longer, proggier pieces with allegorical themes to more streamlined, somewhat shorter songs still surging with thoughtful lyrics and intricate musical passages. “The Spirit of Radio” dented the charts, and “Freewill” would become a concert staple. Moving Pictures took one step further into radio-friendly land with heady material like “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight,” both finding middle ground in the U.S Hot 100. The more complex numbers like “Red Barchetta,” “The Camera Eye” and “Witch Hunt” have the band balancing a more economic attack with broader arrangements that still stretch the musicianship. Of course, the instrumental “YYZ,” which garnered a Grammy nomination, finds bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neal Peart pushing the bounds of their capabilities. There’s little question it serves as Peart’s most defining moment as one of rock’s preeminent drummers.
With five million copies sold, Moving Pictures is Rush’s most successful album. It opened doors to the Canadian band and established them as top-selling headliner until they disbanded in 2015. Apparently, there weren’t any throwaways or studio outtakes worth sharing from Moving Pictures as the expanded versions are filled out with a previously unreleased 1981 live recording of a show from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Along with a huge chunk of 2112, there are stunning performances of most of the material from Moving Pictures, hardily received as “new songs” by the hometown crowd. A raw medley that includes “Working Man” and “By-Tor & The Snow Dog” shows the band never lost sight of their roots.
The Blu-ray Disc featured in some of the Deluxe Editions also has four bonus videos, including a brand-new video for “YYZ,” plus three remastered promo videos for “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight,” and “Vital Signs.” If you spring for the Super Deluxe Edition of Moving Pictures (40th Anniversary), get ready for extras like a Red Barchetta model car mounted on a black perch with an MP40 nameplate, Neil Peart signature MP40 branded drumsticks, metal-embossed guitar picks, one each with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson’s respective signatures engraved on them, a replica of the Moving Pictures 1981 official tour program, an MP40 logo enamel pin, a 3D lenticular Moving Pictures in motion lithograph, an Toronto 1981 concert poster; a replica concert ticket from the 1981 Maple Leaf Gardens show, a Rush Through The Years 1973-1981 poster, a YYZ luggage tag, and a All Access World Tour ’81 insert. There can’t possibly be a better package celebrating 40 years of Moving Pictures.
~ Shawn Perry
