Rush - Permanent Waves
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Free Music Notes for Permanent Waves
Free Music Review: The Awesome Prelude To Moving Pictures
Hit: 5 Stars
Apparently we die-hard Rush fans have a little war going on amongst ourselves as to which album is the best Rush album of all time. Some say Moving Pictures is the pinnacle (myself included) and some say Permanent Waves is clearly the better of the two. All I have to say about that is 1. Permanent Waves is a great album, hands down and 2. The production of Moving Pictures make it a superior album to Permanent Waves. Sorry, but it's true. Now that we have that out of the way, let's move forward to the review of Permanent Waves, one of Rush's greatest albums. After the excellence of A Farewell To Kings, Rush continued to hone their craft into a more FM radio-friendly sound and Neil Peart continued to create great lyrics along the way. Short and sweet and to the point, Permanent Waves finds Rush at the peak of their prowess as far as song construction goes. Let's take a look at the song listing.
The Spirit Of Radio - One of the all-time great Rush tunes along with Closer To The Heart and Tom Sawyer and so many more. This is awesome. A nod to the greatness of radio as a whole and the freedom of musical expression without compromising integrity for financial gain. The clever homage to Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound Of Silence" is great and most people don't notice it. S&G: "...the words of the prophet are written on the subway walls...tenement halls!" Rush: "For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall....concert hall!" Both great songs. One of Rush's best.
Freewill - Another killer tune. Freewill was a live stape for years and years. A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance. Neil's lyrics shine here. Perfect.
Jacob's Ladder - A brooding, moody epic tune. Again, Neil's lyrics are inventive and clever. Alex wails here. An often-overlooked song.
Entre Nous - Middle of the road Rush. If Permanent Waves has a weak link, this would be it along with the next tune. This song isn't terrible in any way, it just doesn't have the punch of the earlier tunes.
Different Strings - Much like Cinderella Man from their previous album, Geddy wrote the lyrics here. This song starts out slow and light and pretty much stays there. Geddy isn't a bad lyricist, he's just not Neil Peart. The diet coke of Rush, just one calorie, not Rush enough.
Natural Science - I was delighted when they started to do this song live a some of years back. It's always been one of my favorites. In the same vein as Cygnus X-1 and the latter The Camera Eye, Natural Science is one of the multi-part mini-concept songs that Rush was so good at creating. Computerized clinic, for superior cynics, who dance to a synthetic band... Awesome!
All in all, Permanent Waves is a great album. Entre Nous and Different Strings and its production keep it from being as truly great as Moving Pictures, but it is very close. Always one of my favorites, you wouldn't go wrong starting out here if you were new to Rush. If you are an old fan like me, it's clearly one of their best efforts!
Dig it!
Free Music Review: Rush begins to de-emphasize the prog in prog-rock
Hit: 5 Stars
With 1978's HEMISPHERES, Rush appeared to be running out of gas as their progressive rock sound was concerned. Yes, while some people highly praise HEMISPHERES, I think Rush's fatigue was starting to show at this point. And with progressive rock pretty much out of style by the start of the 1980s (except for England's Marillion, who probably owed a huge debt to Rush), Rush knew if they were going to stay alive, they'd have to update their sound. So with 1980's PERMANENT WAVES, Rush begins a slow journey away from long-form works, but still maintaining their winning formula of thinking man's hard rock. Even in America, Rush's albums were what sold big, not a hit single. So on the surface, a song like "The Spirit Of Radio" would seem a bit overenthusiastic. But while mainstream radio success wasn't far behind for Rush, this song rather works as a bit of a good coincidence. I'm sure even in Canada, budding rockers like Rush tuned in regularly to their radios to keep up with the latest in pop music, and as the closing paraphrase of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds Of Silence" states, maybe lyricist Neil Peart's influences aren't all intellectual. While that song would become a staple in Rush's concerts, PERMANENT WAVES has even more great works to consider. "Free Will" is an excellent anthem for freedom in all its forms, and is the earliest hint that Rush was taking progressive rock down a few notches into shorter, radio-friendly songs. Even at this point, Rush were stereotyped as geeky, technology-obsessed rockers, so the idea of Rush attempting a real-live love song may seem a bit jarring at first. But they succeed admirably with "Entre Nous", which is romantic, yet still maintains Rush's singular style. This is certainly not a song you'd find Journey singing, which may be a bit refreshing. Although it was the 1980s now, Rush wasn't quite ready to abandon their epic-songwriting style yet, and PERMANENT WAVES features two that, unlike the cry for help that was CARESS OF STEEL (1975), do work excellently. "Jacob's Ladder" is not one of Rush's more popular works, but it's still reminiscent of the music Genesis was doing when Phil Collins had officially become leader of the band, but they had not totally gone pop yet. This is one song I think Rush would do good by re-introducing into their playlist. Epic #2, "Natural Science", on the other hand, is one that only Rush would be found doing, and that's a plus because a great deal of Rush's music was in a style only they could replicate. Chances for cover versions that are even remotely faithful to the originals are nil at best. But Rush's influence on such modern-day bands like Primus and Dream Theater are easy to see, thanks to music like PERMANENT WAVES. While progressive rock hadn't really won over the Americans, PERMANENT WAVES became a top 10 album in 1980, and their biggest-seller since 2112. While the follow-up to WAVES would continue Rush's steps away from the past, the long-form songs on here indicate that perhaps Rush could carry on such a style with a few nips & tucks here & there.Free Music Review: 4.5 Best of the Classic Rush Period
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll open up by mentioning that I'm no Rush fanatic. I generally really like what I've heard, but my overall exposure is pretty much limited to the classic Rush period from "2112" until "Moving Pictures". I like all these albums a lot, however, and "Permanent Waves" is probably the best of them.
Though they still use a fairly progressive sound, Rush have cut down on the lengthy arrangements and the technicality somewhat here when compared to "Hemispheres". Of course, Rush always had some shorter, more conventional songs and they still include a few epics, but the overall balance has shifted somewhat. These changes should be evident on the opener "The Spirit of Radio", which is one of the more straightforward, poppy Rush songs I've heard from the era. This has Lee's catchiest, most melodic vocals on the album along with piercing, memorable guitarwork from Lifeson. Also, they don't totally eschew the more bizarre songwriting methods, as exemplified by the weird reggae-rock closing. All in all, an excellent opener. "Freewill" is another definitive Rush track, which mixes more conventional melodicism with proggy time changes and a more dynamic arrangement. It's not as good as "The Spirit of Radio", but it's still a fine companion piece. Next we have "Jacob's Ladder", the best track on the album and perhaps my favorite Rush song. At seven minutes this is a relatively minor epic in terms of length but this allows it to have a unity which is often lacking in this sort of material. It's primarily an instrumental track driven by Lee's pulsing, powerful bass which is overlayed by atmospheric guitars and synths. It's just a fantastically evocative and interesting track, particularly during the middle break.
The second half of the album isn't as strong as the first, but it's still more than solid. We have two more straight forward tracks, "Different Strings" and "Entre Nous", which are both a bit more gentle than the openers, but they're still quite effective and provide a nice change of pace. Finally we close with the 9-minute "Natural Science". At first this one kinda pales in comparison to "Jacob's Ladder", but on further listens it stands on its own quite nicely. It's a bit more of an old school Rush epic in that it is more clearly subdivided into different movements. It's not the most immediately memorable song here, but it eventually reveals some dynamic, layered instrumentation which makes up for the lack of traditional memorability.
In closing, I should mention that Rush are something of an acquired taste for the modern listener, what with Lee's odd, high vocals and the sometimes cheesy synths. Personally, I found these elements pretty repellant for a long time, but once I finally really listened to Rush they grew on me very fast. All in all, I think anyone with an appreciation for sophisticated but still memorable rock songwriting ought to find a lot to like in "Permanent Waves", and in late 70s/early 80s Rush in general.
Free Music Review: As great as Moving Pictures, but warmer
Hit: 5 Stars
Permanent Waves photographs Rush at the perfect moment--still young and hard-rocking but, six years after their recording debut and the requisite dues-paying of long tours, wielding razor sharp progressive songwriting experience melded with tremendous technical skills.Yes, this album "only" has six tunes, but they are all richly crafted. There's no filler to be found on this album. Rush at this point had evolved beyond doing space-rock concept albums, but while they were admittedly moving to mildly more radio friendly songwriting, they still liked fairly long songs. Even these, however, were skillfully pared down to the essentials, centered around cohesive lyrical ideas that allowed for stretching-out musically. Cases in point: Freewill, Jacob's Ladder, and especially the intense "Natural Science" (don't let the bland title dissuade you from enjoying the full force of the trio wash over you). Even the most commercial tune on the album, "The Spirit Of Radio," is an instrumental workout that also radiates the sincerity of redoubtable musicians who are hardly "selling out."
This album resembles Hemispheres in the mind-boggling *huge* sound conjured up by only three people on the traditional guitar/bass/drums. Part of this is because Geddy's bass and Neil's drums are equally kinetic but more importantly synced up so deeply on rhythmically difficult passages. It's also because Alex chased down some of the hugest analog guitar sounds I've ever heard, a real benchmark even today. Synths are usually relegated to background pedal points and uncluttered atmospherics that subtly fill out the upper sonic reaches. The guest piano added by long-time album cover artist Hugh Syme on the ballad "Different Strings" is a perfect counterpoint in texture, a respite before the force of "Natural Science," and an example of how deft use of space paradoxically adds density. Not to mention the fact that the tune--lyrics and all--is a bit of a rarity, written by Geddy in a display of matured sophistication (usually it's Neil who writes the lyrics while the other two concentrate on the music).
Moving Pictures, the other "peak" Rush album in the Hemispheres-Permanent Waves-MP period, is considerably darker by comparison to this bittersweet yet warm, probing, mature masterpiece. And it is a welcome example of the remasters, which have generally greatly improved the presence and warmth of all the Rush catalog, where applied. To me, Permanent Waves is the perfect "summer" album (welcome any time of year!), with a great overall groove and blend of musicianship that can't help but get the blood flowing, or make a road trip pulse just a little bit faster. As a refined, yet powerful and intriguing harder rock that not only stays with you past adolescence but also helps you reminisce with energetic warmth, this is it.
Free Music Review: The Spirit Of Great Rush Music
Hit: 5 Stars
Rush entered the 1980's with a fresh sound, the great Permanent Waves. The band had been neck-deep in all things prog for most of their short career up to that point, but they realized that to be truly progressive, one must move forward with the times. Music was changing, and Rush was smart enough to see that 'constant change is here to stay'. On this album, they manage to retain the elements of what Rush fans had come to expect : frenetic hard rock built around complex arrangements and polyrhythmic stops and starts, lightning fast playing, and lyrics that were a cut above your standard "I love you etc." cliches. But the band also were becoming malleable enough to take new trends and styles and meld them into something totally unique, a quality that would define the group in years to come.Here, they have stripped away the cheesy concepts in favor of a more streamlined sound (for Rush anyway). Drummer Neil Peart, who also is the lyricist, was finding more accessible ways to present his philospohical musings to the group's hardcore fans. The album starts off with one of the great guitar riffs, played nimbly by guitarist Alex Lifeson. It was on this album that Lifeson had truly come into his own. The song talks of the importance of art and staying true to your ideals over making a buck, especially in the world of Top 40 radio.
Next is the pseudo-spiritual rocker Freewill. The song features one of Lifeson's greatest solos, underpinned by amazing bass playing from singer Geddy Lee.
While the band were abandoning their 20-minute concepts, they were still fond of lengthy cinematic flourishes, one of which is the powerful Jacob's Ladder. Peart's percussion work will leave you shaking your head. Lee's vocal delivery is emotional and singable, something Lee was not previously known for. But on Permanent Waves, he seems to be trying to sing more than scream, and his high-end wail is more restrained.
Another singable tune is the ballad Different Strings, with lyrics from Lee.
The album closes out with Natural Science, a 9-minute essay with more deep observations from Peart. The song starts with gentle water lapping around the speakers with acoustic guitar. Then, much like the ocean, the composition (you can't really call it a 'song' in the traditional sense) ebbs and flows in and out of fast and slow sections, and features not one but two solos from Lifeson. It ends with the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and as they fade out you recognize that this is a great album. Only 6 tracks, but those tracks feature intricate playing, composition and originality, and find Rush learning how to balance those things with accessability. Add clean, crisp production, a few synths here and there to add color and depth(provided by Lee) and a fun, pun-filled album cover (who says Rush can't be funny?) and you have a classic.