The door begins to close on epic multi-part rock opera Rush and the door begins to open for classic-rock-staples-and-1980s Rush.
Rush’s 1980 release, Permanent Waves, marked another shift in Rush’s musical direction and would telegraph the band’s musical direction for the next 2 releases. On Permanent Waves, and the two following Moving Pictures and Signals in the coming years, Rush makes a distinct shift towards shorter songs and ‘radio-friendly’ music without really sacrificing any of the things that make Rush who Rush is. While the songs might be shorter, the messages in the songs are no less profound and the music no less challenging.
Permanent Waves starts off ‘The Spirit of the Radio’, a song that has choked up guitar players for years with that instantly recognizable opening riff:
‘Radio’ was the single supporting Permanent Waves and in addition to receiving surprisingly high placement on the UK charts and US charts, ‘Radio’ posthumously received a number of awards and recognitions for its cultural significance to music including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of songs that helped shape rock and roll. Moreover, ‘Radio’ was (allegedly) named after the sign off slogan for CFNY, a Toronto radio station.
The band hasn’t (nor did anyone at the time really hope or expect they would) forget their dexterous musical roots. The band, ever challenging themselves, continue in the same vein as ‘Circumstances’, ‘Closer to the Heart’ and ‘Cinderella Man’ with another shorter, 4 minute song, that comes off as a simple pop number but actually hides much deeper musical complexities. For starters, the song’s verses and choruses alternate 7/8 and 4/4. Second, right around the 3 minute mark, the song clears out and loads back up with another signature Geddy Lee bass run dancing all over the fretboard and challenging both the left and right hands. Enter Alex’s contrapuntal guitar solo and 40 seconds later, all 3 musicians rejoin for the end of the bridge. A fiery exit all the way into the outro of the song where Geddy strains to the cartoonish heights of his vocal range before closing out with the chorus one last time. Once again, Rush does Rush in a big way.
The longer songs on this album, ‘Jacobs Ladder’ and ‘Natural Science’ , are uncharacteristically listener friendly. They don’t wind and weave and transcend all kinds of wild musical territory like the band’s earlier progressive pieces. Rather, these songs sound like if you were to take the adventurousness of ‘La Villa Strangiato’ and coupled it with the approachable songwriting flavor the band was adopting as of recently. Like the band is now wiser and now taking all their ambitious progressive rock ideas and channeling them into something more controlled and safe for a bigger audience to enjoy.
‘Entre Nous’, the album’s second single, and ‘Different Strings’ are definitely the most ‘Rush-pop-flavored’ songs on this album. Shorter songs with deep messages, a verse-chorus musical structure and tight musicianship. This brand of song will make the most appearances over the next 10 years worth of albums. The former of the two songs would see it’s first live performance during the 2007 Snakes and Arrows tour – almost 25 years after its release!
Overall, newcomers to Rush are likely to get the most value from Permanent Waves and the band’s next 2 albums, Moving Pictures and Signals. The songs aren’t lumbering behemoths with dense storytelling elements that can overwhelm the senses on even the third or fourth listen, rather controlled, condensed versions of the band’s essence. The songs are very listenable and the replay value is high here. Seasoned Rush fans can enjoy this album just as much as novice Rush fans.
Permanent Waves (1980)
- The Spirit of Radio 4:57
- Freewill 5:24
- Jacob’s Ladder 7:26
- Entre Nous 4:36
- Different Strings 3:48
- Natural Science 9:17
Credits on Permanent Waves:
Terry Brown | Arranger, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
Erwig Chuapchuadua | Drums (Steel), Guitar (Steel) |
Fin Costello | Photography |
Ray Danniels | Management |
Peter George | Collaboration |
Geddy Lee | Assistant, Bass, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Mini Moog, Mixing Assistant, Moog Synthesizer, Oberheim Synthesizer, Synthesizer, Vocals |
Alex Lifeson | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Pedals, Pedal Steel |
Craig Milliner | Assistant, Mixing Assistant |
Adam Moseley | Assistant, Mixing Assistant |
Paul Northfield | Engineer |
Neil Peart | Art Direction, Bell Tree, Composer, Concept, Cover Art Concept, Crotale, Drums, Orchestra Bells, Timbales, Timpani, Triangle, Tubular Bells, Wind Chimes |
Rush | Arranger, Primary Artist, Producer |
Deborah Samuel | Photography |
Flip Schulke | Photography |
Hugh Syme | Art Direction, Concept, Cover Art Concept, Design, Graphic Design, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Piano |
Robbie Whelan | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
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