A Pause

I’m in the midst of preparing my Rush “Fly By Night” review. It’s in pure stream-of-consciousness notes mode. That’s not a process I normally uphold, but within the first moments of Fly By Night, I knew that kind of attention would be required. So, I have two pages of notes on the album. They total to about 1200 words, which I’d probably reduce to 600-800 and then expand to 800-1000. I know what score I’d give the album, and I’m already pretty happy with my write-up process thus far.

However, I’m feeling very ambivalent about the process of reviews. And, in some small way, it’s because of Tony Scott. Very long read after the jump, but I'd very much appreciate your readership.

Wish You Were Here Review

WISH YOU WERE HERE

PINK FLOYD

1975

Harvest, Columbia/CBS

Prod. by Pink Floyd

Is it strange that I am finding Wish You Were Here to be Pink Floyd’s most depressing disc? I mean, it’s far less depressing than The Final Cut, but that is largely because The Final Cut is mostly unlistenable. But Wish You Were Here evokes sadness different from that of the following Waters-focused albums. While a juvenile form of the cynicism that envelops Animals and the first disc of The Wall slithers into the album, it is bookended by mournful odes; while still personal, they are a more shared experience, based upon the mental degradation of former Floyd frontman Syd Barrett. While the album is largely dedicated to his memory, it lives beyond it, and intimate knowledge of the band’s history should not be necessary to enjoy the simple elegance of the album.

The dynamics of Pink Floyd are on pure display here. The music shifts from gorgeous to spacey to aggressive to rollicking time and time again, and no song is longer or shorter than it probably should be. These aren’t playlist songs, though; “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” a gorgeous ballad with multiple shifts, is split into two fifteen minute parts, and even the shortest song, the cynical “Have A Cigar,” is over five minutes long. Still, there’s a dramatic shift between Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here; Dark Side of the Moon carried far more jazz in its roots, while Wish You Were Here is a more rock-focused album.

While the lyrics and songwriting credits shift largely from guitarist David Gilmour to bassist Roger Waters, Wish You Were Here is home to most of Gilmour’s best guitar work. While Dark Side of the Moon has already come and gone, and though “Comfortably Numb” looms on the horizon, none of his work places quite as much emphasis on beauty as Wish You Were Here. Both “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and “Wish You Were Here” carry long sections where Gilmour’s guitar is given first chair, and it is the most melodic and sustained in his career. His acoustic guitar playing receives a limelight almost throughout, the only exception being “Have A Cigar,” perhaps the most open and brazen torching of the music industry Pink Floyd has ever put out, with rollicking guitar lines throughout.

Sadly, the musical anarchy of these critiques is facile in comparison to Dark Side of the Moon’s “Money,” and both “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have A Cigar” simply feel out of place between the more personal dedications of the bookends. Waters isn’t a master of this cynicism yet, and the digs at the industry almost feel token. They are definitely musically interesting, though; “Welcome to the Machine,” in particular, has a lot of great acoustic guitar work, the sort that The Wall uses on “Is There Anybody Out There?” to great effect. And keyboardist/synthesizer wizard Richard Wright goes into hysterics throughout, proving his efficacy to the band with “Machine” and “Diamond” time and time again. But “Machine” and “Have A Cigar” are too broad and impersonal to be more than musically interesting; “Machine” would have fit better on Meddle or Side Two of The Wall, while “Have A Cigar” is the sort of boogie that could have divided “Goodbye Blue Skies” and “Empty Spaces” moderately well.

The larger narrative of Wish You Were Here is confused; the critiques of the music industry simply feel out of place next to the beautiful ballads bookending the album, and a longer middle section might have made the album feel a little more complete. The critiques seem to echo a sort of regret or envy for the type of music Barrett would have liked to keep making, a sensation that Pink Floyd had “sold out.” However, this bitterness is still too distant to truly be affecting; on Wish You Were Here, all one needs to follow is the mourning this group of friends feels towards the loss of the one who brought them all together. Or simply play audience to a group of extremely talented musicians playing the most simplistic and beautiful soundscapes they’ve accomplished thus far.

4/5

HIGHLIGHTS: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)”

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: “Welcome to the Machine,” “Have A Cigar”

CATALOG CHOICE: The Wall (Note: For those looking to understand what kind of musical mind Barrett was, check out Piper At The Gates of Dawn)

NEXT STOP: Yes, “Close To The Edge”

AFTER THAT: The Who, “Tommy”

Moving Pictures Review

MOVING PICTURES

RUSH

1981

Anthem/Mercury

Prod. by Rush & Terry Brown

It’s obviously worth noting that I come into these Rush reviews with a slightly predetermined mindset. In any review of the band Rush’s music, I will do my best to displace my previous distaste for the band, but I will repeatedly make it clear that, in the past, Rush has most certainly not been my thing, and I am here to challenge that idea and try to enjoy a band millions around the world revere.

Rush’s Moving Pictures is probably their most accessible record. With multiple classic rock staples, its place is cemented throughout the annals of rock history. However, I find it hard to recommend Moving Pictures, which is ultimately a collection of songs rather than a concept album, to anyone who has heard these songs extensively through classic rock radio.

Yes, “Tom Sawyer” is a brilliant piece of music on a fresh listen; who could deny that? Its trance-like synth and guitar is just about perfect, and it's one of the most unified songs the band's ever had. It's one of few times a song was clearly written around a series of drum lines Neil Peart had created, and it's wildly successful, though it's worth noting how much of a team player bass player Geddy Lee manages to be here as well. The vocals on the track are still as mediocre or frustrating as most Rush songs (your mileage will always vary in regards to the caterwauling of Geddy Lee) but they don't really detract from the quality. To those who would deny the awesomeness of the famous drum fills on the studio version of the song, I salute you for entering a realm of Rush denialism that eclipses my own.

But parts of “Tom Sawyer”, “YYZ”, and “Limelight” fail to impress after years of exposure. They’re high-energy, they’re well-crafted, and they certainly stand out more successfully than some of Rush’s other songs. But the big punches in "Tom Sawyer" and "YYZ" are moments of intense technical skill rather than beauty or humanity, and so the “songs” serve as vehicles for moments of a good show. Meanwhile, "Limelight" has always seemed like a song that belonged to another band, and on multiple listens of the album, I simply lost focus during the song.

Alex Lifeson’s guitar contributions are rarely exciting throughout Moving Pictures, and every Lee vocal bounces between tolerable and distracting. This, of course, leaves Rush with their most famous attributes; Lee’s bass-playing and Neil Peart’s drumming, both regarded as world-class players. Outside of “YYZ,” Lee does not receive center stage often, and yet he continues to play as though he’s the only man on stage. Basslines on “Limelight” and “The Camera Eye” force through unnecessarily, leading to a handful of jumbled moments. These are quality basslines, but they’re often played at inopportune times. Peart is much guiltier of this problem, playing ludicrous drum parts on “Red Barchetta,” “Limelight,” and “Vital Signs” that distract far more than they add. I’ll say once again that I believe Rush is an extremely talented trio of players that have a tendency to compete with each other for the listener’s focus rather than write a cohesive song.

As for the non-radio tracks, there’s enough to like that a fan of the band’s style might adore Moving Pictures, but those that aren’t crazy about Rush’s style won’t find much to love in the other songs. “Red Barchetta” remains a casualty, as Lifeson’s best guitar riff is overshadowed by Peart’s excessive drum lines. “The Camera Eye” is actually a very enjoyable collection of different sections, but many of the riffs found in the 11 minutes never really evolve into anything that earns the run-time. “Witch Hunt” and “Vital Signs” are fine songs that simply fail to differentiate themselves from the pack.

3/5

HIGHLIGHTS: “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” “Limelight”

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: “Red Barchetta,” “The Camera Eye”

NEXT STOP: Yes, “The Yes Album”

AFTER THAT: Muse, “Black Holes and Revelations”

Next stop in regards to Rush: Their 1975 album Fly By Night.