"The years have come and gone, but time has passed me by"
You know, it's quite hard to imagine, but after the greatest album in their history, Rush have produced their second best album. It's surely a huge surprise from such inconstant band as Rush. Futhermore, the album sounds even more proggier than 2112 with all of its' keyboards (yeah, keys - there is a lot of them and they all are played by - guess who? - Geddy Lee), complex prog standarts and shitloads of various epics. All of this is played in 708/432 time signatures and the album is probably the most uncommercial in the band's career. Well, there IS a one hit. A one BIG hit, I must say. It is called "Closer To The Heart" and it rules. The melody is great. And although the lyrics are maybe the worst the band has ever done, I really like the song itself. Also, there is more or less hit-orintied "Madrigal" - quiet and wam acoustic ballad which makes me hate such cheesy stuff as "Different Strings" from Permanent Waves even more, 'cos "Madrigal" rules and that other song doesn't.
Speaking about that complicated stuff... Even though I really like to listen prog when it is good, I usually hate to listen to prog when it is bad. The title track on this album is one of the finest examples of a bad prog. Starts quite nicely - with pseudo-classical guitar/Moog intro, but then it degenerates into unmemorable melody whcih is driven by the awful riff. The guitar solo does not make any sense and this catchy bass does not save the situation. As for an example of the good prog, there is "Cinderella Man" for you - a curious mix of Gentle Giant and Rush with the last lyrics written by Geddy in the history of the group. The vocal part is superb and the instrumental break makes me dancing every time (imagine it!).
But the main satisfaction comes with both of ten-minutes long epics on here - "Cygnus X-1" and "Xanadu". "Cygnus X-1" is the closing number and it is ideally fits to the end of the album kinda A Farewell To Kings. It begins with some strange whispering-like sounds, but then it turns into the great "prologue" of the whole track with all of those guitar, bass and keyboards riffs. All of them are really solid and could easily be written by riffmasters like Tony Iommi and Pete Townshend. Next two parts of the song are great too with complex vocal melodies and really big twist in arragement. But then the third part goes and it... It rules. Quiet synth introduction oftenly interrupted by bass/drum interplays turns into a heavy metal paradise. Listen to the drums - man, Neil Peart is one of the greatest drummers ever, without a question! And Geddy becomes John Entwistle for the moment. The song kicks ass!
But "Xanadu" rules even more. The song seems to be the huge fan favorite (most of the Rush fans call it "the best song ever" or, at least, "the best progressive rock epic of all time), and I easily can understand why - it is the quintessential Rush song. The atmospheric intro where Alex Lifeson imitates wind with his guitar just like Keith Moon does thunder on "Love Reign O'er Me" really helps to get into the song and the introducory jam kicks shit from its' analog from "Close To The Edge" (by the way, "Xanadu" really sounds like "Close To The Edge", but with much more interesting and well-written melodies and without crappy and annoying stuff like "I Get Up I Get Down"). Oh, and the vocal parts are probably Geddy's finest hour as the vocalist... and a bass-guitarist, too! Just listen to his "Xanaduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" screams or to this sea of different bass lines. The great song, and, without a doubt, a possible candidate for the top 10 of the prog/art-rock epics I have heard.
So there it's all with their second best album. I strongly recommend this one to you, whoever you are - a prog fan, a Rush fan or an ordinary music listener. Get it, and don't listen to the other WRC sites, because WRC seems to hate this album from the start to the beginning. I like it and hope that you'll like it too.
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Wow! Now you can forget everything you have heard two years
before on Hemispheres - Rush steped at 80's platform of HUGE use of synths.
Plus, they decided to bring inside of their music some New-Wave-ish feeling.
But, still, the group saved their sound - all those hard-rocking riffs, cheesy
"mysycal" atmosphere, roaring metal guitar from Alex Lifeson and, of course,
two main factors - Geddy Lee's vocals and Neil Peart's lyrics. So if we sum
it we'll have a good Rush album. In theory.
Yes, unfortunately, only in theory. If the first side of the album is really
great, with tons of great music everywhere, the side number two sucks. Moreover,
it must be the worst side proggy Rush have ever penned. What's on there? Two
very slow, boring and dragging ballads - "Entre Nous" and "Different Strings".
OK, they are short, but it doesn't save them from being awful. They don't even
touch me at all! Oh, and the second side has a nine- minute three-part suite
"Natural Science" which is one of the worst Rush epics I have ever heard. It
begins with quiet, acoustic and completely forgettable acoustic section. The
second part is a pure unmelodical bore. And have you noticed how Geddy sings
on there? He sings awfully. And those echoes that are coming from nowhere...
Oh, I don't want to talk about them. Finally, there's a last part which has
a good melody, but Alex Lifeson spoils the picture with his ultra-primitive
metallic solo.
But, as you might guess, the first side saves the picture. It opens with a minor
hit - "The Spirit Of Radio". Many different riffs are here and there, and the
melody itself is very solid. And there's a funny little raggae part in the end
which quickly turns my memory to the holy days of "Cinderella Man". And, by
the way, I quite like the stupid lyrics. Neil Peart, you can write something
good sometimes.
There's also "Jacob's Ladder" - a phenomenal epic which perfectly captures the
feeling of thunderstorm. Geddy rules on here with his satanic voice. And the
jam in the middle with those creepy synth lines is pretty crazy, but wonderful
at the same time. And how many rhythms Neil plays on this track? I have lost
the count of them! A great song. But, my personal favorite on the album is "Free
Will". The song's hard-prog melody is a pure masterpiece. And Geddy brings up
some marvelous bass lines here and there. And he shines on that little jam.
A great song.
Finally, a short note. Before the release of album, two years have passed by,
but the band only written 35 minutes of music good enough, as they thought,
to fill the album. But only half of it is really good, but I still consider
this album to be quite fine... Buy it. At least, for "Free Will" and "The Spirirt
Of Radio". Pass the second side, but do not miss the first one. Get the album.
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After the succes of Permanent Waves (both in ordnary listeners and fanatic masses), Rush decided not to invent a bycicle - they recorded another album in the same style as Permanent Waves. But, hopefully, they did not do the crap like the second side of the previous album, and Moving Pictures, for most of it, is the immortal Rush classic. It's still not 2112, though, but it's a very, very, very solid effort. Especially for Rush guys.
Although there is nothing equals to, for example, "Natural Science" on Moving Pictures, there is some filler on the album. For instance, sci-fi/ecological tale called "Red Barchetta" is nothing but a plain bore for me. It moves nowhere for its' six minutes. Even the riff of the song (the one that seems to be one of the best riffs on the album) can't save the song. The other song I do not like is "The Camera Eye" - a two part eleven minutes long site about the camera comparing London and New York (?! - the other crazy pretentious idea from Neil Peart). It is quite nice, with Geddy sing with a very pleasent voice (check out the first part), but nooding synths aren't interesting at all and those new riffs Alex and Geddy play every minute are completely forgettable. This isn't a bad song, but it is very boring (eleven minutes! - do you remember this fact?) and nooding.
What saves the album? Just other five songs that surely belong to Rush classic. Powerful synth-driven pop-rocker "Tom Sawyer" is a major hit from the album. And it rules. The melody is so dark, so catchy and so groovy that it makes me seriously think it's the best pop song Rush have evr done. And listen to Geddy singing "And what you think about this company is what you think about society" - it rules! Oh, and lyrics are genius by standarts of Neil Peart and very well-done by all other lyrical standarts.
There is also "Limelight" - another cool pop-rocker with a great riff from Alex Lifeson and the best lyrics Neil Peart have ever written. And Geddy plays great bass lines here and there. And everything fits with evrything. And the melody just kills. In a good way, of course.
"Witch Hunt" begins with a moody synth background and creepy guitar lines. Geddy sings with some really strange tone and it really scares me. And the atmosphere is so well-done that it makes me feel like I'm in the medeval Germany hunting on witches in the middle of winter in some weird-looking forest. What a song! And the following "Vital Signs" is the other good song. Starts with a strange raggae parts but then turns into hard-rocking riff-driven thingo. Sound very interesting and fresh for Rush.
But my personal favorite is "YYZ" - one of the best instrumentals in the history of rock. It is fully dominated by Alex Lifeson who plays tons of different solos in different styles just in four minutes. This piece really helps to understand why so many people underrate Alex Lifeson, calling him "a lousy guitarist playing metallic solos" - show me one metal guitarist who can play such things. And Alex isn't even a metal player! By the way, "YYZ" is the most complex piece of music I have ever heard bar some Gentle Giant tunes.
So, only a 9, not a 10. And that's only because of two songs, both of which are enjoyable in pieces, but overall, they drag! Remember - if they could place as good as "Jacob's Ladder" instead of "The Camera Eye" of "Subdivisions" (a song from the next album - Signals) instead of "Red Barchetta", I can give it a 10 and declare it as the greatest Rush album, but... But, there are still "Red Barchetta" and 2112 still exists. Anyway, buy this album. It rules.
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