Rush - Permanent Waves
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Free Music Notes for Permanent Waves
Free Music Review: Rush blasts into the 80s with an epic...
Hit: 5 Stars
1980 Not my favorite but it has it's moments. Terry Brown is back giving the album a great sound but not the best production of RUSH's 80s catalogue. There's more acoustic guitar in this one (compared to other RUSH albums)& lifeson is using a lot of distortion on his electric solos. Peart is still using ludwig drums (he goes to TAMA on moving pictures onward) & they sound great with alot of fullness & power. Geddy Lee's vocal range is only continuing to evolve here but his bassing is muted & much less complex & his keyboarding is fairly simple or absent. Lifeson was never a huge fan of heavy keyboards & it showed on this album as geddy's pattern's were simple & short. There is alot more space in this album as the guys are not as busy in their instrumentation (especially geddy). Overall, fewer tempo changes, less extra percussion, fewer complex bass parts, & fewer dominating keyboard patterns. This album is heavily dominated by lifeson's guitar playing. One notable moment is in the song different strings where geddy lee is playing a rhythm piano which is very rare in a RUSH album & the only time that I can think of (to hear piano in a RUSH album). notable songs are spirit of the radio (of course), jacob's ladder, & natural science. Don't get me wrong... I love this album but I think that lifeson had a heavy hand at the arranging end of this one. It's still an epic & has endured to become a classic album.Free Music Review: Rush reborn and better than ever
Hit: 5 Stars
It seems as though Rush has lived through three incarnations. The first began with the band's self-titled debut and ended with HEMISPHERES in 1978; this was the band's traditional hard-rock period. The second began with the release of PERMANENT WAVES in 1980. During this phase, Rush began experimenting more with synthesizers and created a sound that was more "new wave" than "hard rock". That said, PERMANENT WAVES is a magnificent album, ranking beside MOVING PICTURES as the band's finest achievement. It opens with the affectionate "The Spirit of Radio", followed by the high-powered anthem "Freewill". Alex Lifeson's guitar work meshes with Geddy Lee's synthesizers to create an apocalyptic, stormy atmosphere on "Jacob's Ladder". "Entre Nous" is the band's (successful) attempt at making an intelligent love song. The calm "Different Strings" was the final Rush song with lyrics written by someone other than Neil Peart (in this case, it's Geddy Lee). Finally, the album closes with the nine-minute "Natural Science", which features those wonderfully intellectual and analytical lyrics which Peart is so skilled at writing. With PERMANENT WAVES, Rush burst into the experimental 80's, showcasing a new sound and attracting more attention than ever before. It seems impossible that the band would reach higher heights than this - yet on their subsequent release, MOVING PICTURES, Rush did just that.Free Music Review: The first time
Hit: 5 Stars
Permanent Waves was my first Rush album and it remains, in my opinion, one of the three best if not the outright best. Perhaps 'Moving Pictures' might edge it out for stylistic perfection, maybe 'Signals' evokes more imagry. Like a politician's promises; these things waver and change from day to day so I don't worry too much about the absolute number one.Regardless of what ranking I, or anyone else, might assign to 'Permanent Waves', the album is a nearly flawless piece of work by arguably the best group in progressive rock. From the striking cover art to the last song this is rock at its best. The bigger LP cover did the artwork more justice but after two decades of paranoia about scratches in the LP, the format CD is very nice.
More years ago than I care to remember I found myself sitting by my window on the 8th floor of a hotel in St. Paul watching snow fall in the evening and listening absently to the radio. Suddenly the opening riff of 'Spirit of Radio' came through; instant connection, I loved it. Naturally, the station didn't say who did the song and so over the next couple of days - humming a few bars, reciting a couple of lyrics - I asked around. It took longer than you'd imagine but I found someone who identified the song and the artists. The album (they were LPs back then) was mine by sunset. Don't wait for the snow, try not to even wait for sunset; it's that good.
Free Music Review: Permanent Waves, Lasting Impressions...
Hit: 5 Stars
"...Though glittering prizes and endless compromises, shatters the illusion of integrity, yeah..." Stunning lyrics by Peart, absolutely earth shattering music by Lee and Lifeson, this is what defines 1980's Permanent Waves as the purest rock record that Rush ever recorded. Only Rush could release an album with 6 songs on it that would remain a cornerstone of progressive rock to this day. The tracks are indispensible: The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, Jacob's Ladder, Entre Nous, Different Strings, and Natural Science. No filler, all killer. Spirit of Radio is probably Rush's most recognized song behind Tom Sawyer and contains a harsh condemnation of radio's fall from grace. Freewill is in my top 5 Rush songs ever recorded it just rocks. The heart of Permanent Waves is undoubtedly Natural Science which is a sprawling beast of a song with Neil writing about something he was truly passionate about. Permanent Waves could also be viewed as a prelude to the GREATEST PROGRESSIVE ROCK ALBUM EVER RELEASED, Moving Pictures. Rush was hitting their stride on 2112 and A Farewell to Kings but redefined the genre with Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, and Moving Pictures. This is an absolute must have for any fan of rock music, although I may be a little biased; because to me the liner notes Music by Lee/Lifeson, Lyrics by Peart are better than lyrics by McCartney/Lennon. Highest RecommendationFree Music Review: The best one
Hit: 5 Stars
After 30 years of listening to Rush and never feeling like I had a clear favorite album by them, I've spent time listening to "Snakes & Arrows", which I really, really, REALLY like. Suddenly it dawns on me that if I ever had to choose just one Rush album to take to that mythical deserted island, "Permanent Waves" would be the one. Sure, "Moving Pictures" is the Rush signature, "2112" is the breakout, and "Signals" the philosophical homage to modernity and its issues, but "PW" is the one that is most evocative of everything Rush has done. "Natural Science" is the second-to-last great Rush opus (along with "The Camera Eye"), and "Spirit of Radio" is just as wonderful a radio oriented song as "Tom Sawyer". The real highlight of this album for me is "Jacob's Ladder", a mystical, dynamic song filled with near-impossible time signatures and cool lyrics, and of course the classic Rush bass sound with Alex's ethereal guitar arching over the top. "Entre Nous" is a song I like, but if there is a weakest song here, that is it. Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot - Rush doesn't get any more "Rush" than on "Freewill" - the fantastic solos, Randian lyrics, explosive drumming and again, Alex just soaring... reminds me of "Red Barchetta" a bit. Hmmm. Looks like I'll have to take TWO Rush CD's - this one and "Moving Pictures" after all. They really are quite inseparable.