Rush’s Highest-Selling Album, ‘Moving Pictures’

This week on the WPDH Album of the Week, we'll feature Rush's eighth studio album, Moving Pictures.

Moving Pictures was released on February 12, 1981 through Anthem Records. The album was recorded at Le Studio in Quebec during October and November of 1980.

The album was recorded after Rush concluded their 10-month long tour in support of their seventh album Permanent Waves. The decision to record Moving Pictures was made when Rush stopped in New York City during the tour.

There were other thoughts to do a second live album using recordings from that tour, but Neil Peart was instrumental in doing a new album. Lee and Lifeson caught his excitement and the album was recorded.

Upon the release of the album, Moving Pictures became a commercial success reaching number one in Canada and hit number three in the United States. To date, Moving Pictures is Rush's highest-selling album and has been certified quadruple-platinum by RIAA.

The album produced three singles in 1981, Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and Vital Signs. The instrumental YYZ was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

The tracklisting for Moving Pictures:

1. Tom Sawyer
2. Red Barchetta
3. YYZ
4. Limelight
5. The Camera Eye
6. Witch Hunt
7. Vital Signs

The first songs on the album to be written were The Camera Eye, followed by Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, and Limelight. Once those songs were written they moved to the studio to record demos of each song. Once the album was fully prepared, they headed to the studio to lay down the tracks.

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