With my collection complete, I have been listening through the entire studio album output of the band Rush. Today I’m posting my take on Permanent Waves.
Permanent Waves
This album introduced the world to a pair of perennial favorites, both of which got a lot of radio airplay. While this isn’t the first album to feature the keyboards, that sound is creeping more and more into the music. Geddy is aging and has begun to bring his voice down in both pitch and power. I suspect he was starting to feel the effects of the combination of his forceful style and aging. The voice that once represented the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx makes a brief cameo, but for the most part, it has retired.
The Tracks
Spirit of Radio 4:56
This song opens with one of the most distinct guitar riffs ever recorded. It’s so recognizable that I caught the guitar player for Alan Parson’s Live Project sneak it into a solo when I saw that band in concert. The song is all about the music industry and how crooked and shameless the business really is. There are some nice parodies of both Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel slipped into the lyrics. A concert staple, this song is often what people not all that familiar with Rush think of when they try to come up with a Rush song. A+.
Freewill 5:21
Between the catchy melody and the wonderfully elegant lyrics, this is one of my favorite songs. It discusses how people use religion to dictate what they do–to do the thinking for them. Rush does have some atheistic themes from time to time, and that might turn some people off. I don’t think this song is pissing on God so much as on organized religion. All it says is think for yourself. The tail end of this song features what is pretty much the last example of Geddy Lee’s shrill and high voice. Another A+.
Jacob’s Ladder 7:26
An interesting song because this was one of the very few where the band wrote the music before they wrote the lyrics. It’s basically a discussion of storms, and the mood brings up the thunder, lightning, and dark skies. There is a lot of keyboard on this song, sort of an introduction of what was to come. I give the song an A.
Entre Nous 4:38
One of the few love songs Rush did. This one discusses how people in a relationship are still very much in different worlds with slender threads connecting them. People must be in different worlds because they exist inside different heads. The lyrics make this song. A.
Different Strings 3:51
One of the rare softer songs. It has decent lyrics, rhythm and melody, but there is nothing particularly remarkable about this song. B+.
Natural Science 9:17
The longest song on the album is not listed on the cover as a multi-part song, but the lyrics in the liner notes separate it into three sections. It’s a good study in changing dynamics and is worthy to take up the last position on the album. A.
Summary
Overall, Permanent Waves is an important album for the two hits and for moving along the transition into the band’s keyboard era. Most of the Rush fans I went to high school with owned this album, so there is a lot of nostalgic value for me attached to the cover image. It’s a decent album that is overshadowed by the albums before (Hemispheres) and the album after (Moving Pictures). I give the album an A.
I gave Hemispheres an A+.
I gave A Farewell to Kings and A.
I gave 2112 an A.
I gave Caress of Steel a B+.
I gave Fly by Night an A-.
I gave Rush a C+.