Anniversary Today of Album That Put RUSH into the Limelight

Big day for fans of the Canadian rock trio Rush. It was 39 years ago on February 12, 1981, that their eighth studio album, Moving Pictures, was released. Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart continued the songwriting process that they had begun on their previous release, Permanent Waves. They wanted to write songs that were more tightly structured and shorter in length than their earlier work. Basically, songs that were more "radio-friendly".

Needless to say, they succeeded. Moving Pictures was a hit right out of the gate, reaching #1 in Canada and #3 in the United States. It actually remains Rush's top selling album in the States, eventually selling over 4 million copies. Moving Pictures was also greeted with uniformly positive reviews from music critics and Rush fans.

Featuring classic Rush songs such as the three that were released as singles, "Tom Sawyer", "Vital Signs" and "Limelight", Moving Pictures was a high-water mark for the band.

Also included on the album is the mini-epic "The Camera Eye", "Witch Hunt", the instrumental "YYZ"(nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance), and one of my personal favorites from Rush, "Red Barchetta".

I recently revisited Moving Pictures after the death of Rush drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart,(on January 7 of this year) and I discovered that even with the passage of time, the album sounded as great as it did upon release 39 years ago. I still absolutely love each and every second of it. Thanks, guys.