Customer Reviews

Permanent Waves

5 star:		(155)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...excluding Neil Peart's entry into the band.

Mostly recorded in 1979, PERMANENT WAVES (1980) marked the starting point for Rush's full-blown entry into condensed, accessible progressive rock. They abandoned the 20-minute suites and mystical lyrics for catchy progressive song structures, and more human, worldly-related topics. But, Geddy Lee (vocals/bass/synths), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums/lyrics) didn't lose their brilliance in composition, even if most of the track lengths were fit for radio.

"The Spirit of Radio" is an ever-popular track, and seems to still get as much radio airplay as it did over two decades ago. A catchy, melodic track with cerebral lyrics dealing with no other than the radio, and it's effect on us listeners (i.e. music fans.)

"Freewill" is a philosophical rocker dealing with personal beliefs (e.g., god, fate, stars) and the consequences - positive or negative - of them. Neil Peart seems to be quite ambiguous in his lyrics, and you can't necessarily tell what *his* personal beliefs are at times. He seems to be playing more a role of devil's advocate, which in some cases is probably the smartest part to play.

"Jacob's Ladder" brings slight resemblance to Rush's 70s period, as this is the most *proggish* on the album, and more than likely can please fans of that particular period. Mostly instrumental, it's an atmospheric rocker which leans toward the darker and heavier side. Highlights of the track are the instrumental section in 5/4, and later, a spatial, instrumental section featuring guitarist Alex Lifeson (later joined by band) playing a snaky riff in 13/8, while Neil is keeping time nicely, and Geddy lends some darkly airy synths on top it all. This track bears considerable King Crimson influence, though clearly, it's still Rush's trademark sound.

"Entre Nous" is something of a ballad, but with intellectual-oriented lyrics. Alex Lifeson's trademark atmospheric arpeggios, Geddy's subtle, but commanding vocal combine nicely to make a highly compelling track.

"Different Strings" is the soft tune on the album. Though possibly seen as a warm up to the following track, it stands nicely on it's own. Poignant as well.

"Natural Science" is the other most *proggish* number on the album. Written in three sections, the lyrics mostly deal with nature and the enviornment. Complex musicianship is very apparent, but doesn't overshadow the strangely catchy and addicting elements found here.

This would be a perfect place to start for anyone interested in Rush. Features a nice balance of complex musicianship and accessibility that's hard to beat. Recommended.

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.

Rush contains three of the greatest musicians ever formed in a rock band. With Geddy Lee's unique voice and awesome bass playing, Alex Lifeson's superb guitar solos, and Neil Peart's excellent lyrics and fantastic drumming, they knocked out fans and fellow musicians with their complex arrangements and lengthy epics. But with the release of their 1980 album PERMANENT WAVES, Rush's songwriting and musicianship began to take a new turn.

With the '80s, the trio said goodbye to the concept albums and 18-minute-plus marathons of their '70s past. Although their songs were shorter, the complexity and intelligence were still there. As a band, Rush were stronger than ever. The album kicks into high gear with the energetic "The Spirit of Radio," Rush's first ever hit single. Featuring more time changes and switches than any other Rush song, this dedication to a Canadian radio station is a great intro to what will follow. "Free Will," another classic, features one of Alex Lifeson's most magnificent guitar solos as well as some of Neil Peart's best lyrics. The 7 minute epic "Jacob's Ladder" is mostly instrumental and the playing by all three is great, most notably Geddy Lee's bizarre synthesizer piece in the middle.

"Entre Nous" is one of the most realistic love songs I've ever heard and contains a lot of catchy hooks. "Different Strings" is one of the most powerful songs the band has ever laid down. It should get more credit than it deserves; it's one of their all-time best. The album ends with the 9 minute opus "Natural Science," which starts out as a slow acoustic piece, then picks up speed like a bullet train. There are only six songs on PERMANENT WAVES and it's a very short record (35 minutes), but adding extra bonus tracks or anything else would seem very wrong. Although I still believe MOVING PICTURES is the band's greatest album (and the best album ever made), PERMANENT WAVES comes awfully close. This is one of Rush's finest masterworks.

This album marked the transition between old Rush (Hemispheres, long songs, sci-fi lyrics) and new Rush (Moving Pictures, shorter songs, more mainstream lyrics). In turn, it ends up having the best of both worlds. For example, the great opening combo of Spirit of The Radio and Freewill gave a taste of what was to come on Moving Pictures with Tom Sawyer, Limelight, etc. And Natural Science was a sort of mini-epic comparable to (and actually better than) Hemispheres. Those three songs are absoulte classics, but Jacob's Ladder is nearly as good, and Different Strings and Entre Nous are about as close as Rush ever got to a ballad, and they are both adequate songs. Geddy arguably turns in his best performance ever on bass here (with the possible exception of MP), and, the lyrics are, of course, excellent (especially Natural Science with it's usage of tide pools as a metahpor for the human race in a sort of future Utopia). Overall, just an excellent album.

When I first started seeing "Gold" CDs in the mid-80s I thought it was just another way to get me to pay more money for basically the same quality as aluminum-substrate CDs. In other words, I thought it was all...hype.

I even had a Tower Records employee tell me, "The only difference is that the gold doesn't oxidize as fast." (Given the intellectual level of the average Tower employee, that he used "oxidize" was impressive enough.) Which, while true, it also tells me that the guy had either never heard one of the discs or didn't have access to even mid-level audio equipment.

So I've been laboring under a 25+ yr delusion that Gold CDs were a marketing ploy.

Well, I've justed listened to Mobile Fidelity's "Permanent Waves", Special Limited Edition no. 3042. (I read somewhere that only 5000 are made, if so I got lucky since I almost passed it up.)

Not only was a I wrong, I was DEAD WRONG. I feel like such an idiot. I could have--SHOULD HAVE--all of MoFi's Rush editions. Now they are going for $100 and up (if nothing more than an investment!). The wife--sadly, like most women, a Rush-hater--ain't gonna go for dropping that kind of cash.

As for the sound quality I concur absolutely with many of the reviewers: this is simply the best sounding "Permanent Waves" I've ever heard, and I've owned FOUR previous editions (LP, Cassette, un-Remastered CD and Remastered ["The Rush Remasters"] CD) and this blows them ALL away.

The sound quality is breathtaking. I used the "STRAIGHT" setting on my Yahama HTR-6050 Receiver so that none of its decoders would alter the sound out-put from my Toshiba HD-A30 (yes, it's an HD-DVD player, it's also a d*mn good CDDA player). Only in concert (esp on this last tour) have these songs sounded better.

Geddy's bass: clean and punchy; sharp and fat at the same time (Rush fans should know exactly what I mean), something rarely fully captured on disc ("Power Windows," even pre-remastering, was an excellent example--and don't I wish I had that Mo-Fi version of that!).

Alex's guitar: Mr. Lifeson's guitar ranges from shimmering (the 12-string on "Natural Science"), to the emotive scream of "Spirit of Radio's" solo, to the measured, martial pace of the mid-section of "Jacob's Latter." (The last being the only Rush song ever called "beautiful" by a Rolling Stone reviewer--not that we Rush fans CARE what Rolling Stone thinks anyway.)

Neil's percussion: probably the most amazing thing about this disc is the complete fidelity to his "old" kit, with its plethora of percussive devices both familiar and bizarre.

The tympanis on "Jacob's Ladder", to give one example, reverberate so cleanly it was almost as if I could reach out and touch them. His snare snaps back with a wicked authority so many drummers aim for and so very, very few achieve.

The only better sounding disc I've ever heard are SACD's, e.g. Coltrane's "Lush Life" and Janine Jansen's "Four Seasons". Of course, even this disc doesn't equal an SACD, but it's closer than anything else.

I could write 10,000 words about this gem of a remastered disc. But Amazon only allows 1000 and I doubt most folks would want to read it.

For an album I've listened to on at least a weekly basis since 1983, if not daily, I was further surprised as how many "new" things I discovered from this single listen. (Needless to say, there'll be many more.) The opening tidal pools of "Natural Science" to the closing crash of the in-coming tide reminded me so much of La Jolla Shores it was eerie.

Hugh Syme's piano work on "Different Strings" is also beautifully rendered. I don't know if he was playing a Steinway grand--it certainly sounded like it. Whatever it was, few of my "classical" piano CDs sound this pure. The fidelity is so good that at the end of this track I can hear what I believe Alex's pick tapping a pick-up. It's THAT good.

If you're a Rush fan and an audiophile (and aren't the two really synonyms?), you simply MUST have this disc.

Let's hope this disc sells enough copies to warrant yet more Rush albums from MoFi's Magical Mixing Laboratory. They deserve it--and so do we.

I only hope that more Rush CDs are coming from MoFi's Magic Mixing Laboratory.

The cover art also wasn't quite what I expected. It looked like it was done with a low-end HP copier/scanner. I think we deserve better for the $26.99 paid. Hopefully, future Rush releases (if there are any) will correct this flaw. The only flaw in the release.

Finally, HUGE props to Shawn R. Britton (of MoFi) who did the remastering job.

What can I say take one of Rush's greatest album's master it to a Gold Disc...Only greatness can happen! The sound it crisp, clean and clear. There is actually a noticeable difference between this and my older disc.

Welcome addition to my Gold Disc Collection.

I'd still love to see a gold disc of Hemispheres someday!

Permanent Waves is a sort of arrival record. Up until this point Rush played as fast and as long as they could to show their prowess. With this album they abandon that theory and begin crafting shorter, more powerful songs with a much better result.

One of the things noticeable on this album is how Rush starts allowing the music to be influenced by the lyrics. This is very evident on "Jacob's Ladder" where the music becomes almost as ominous as the lyrics themselves.

Rush learns more subtlety with songs like "Entre Nous" and we get to hear Peart exploring his drum set around the words he's written.

The double punch of "Spirit Of Radio" and "Freewill" demonstrate how Rush doesn't need a 10 minute song to play like Gods or get their lyrical ideas across.

"Natural Science" is a bit of a return to the longer form of songwriting, except this is simply outstanding.

For the first time up to this point, Rush has released an album that is powerful from beginning to end...something that would continue for many years. Usually on the earlier albums there was some hit and miss with songs being great and some being just awesome.

Permanent Waves has arrived (mine is stamped with #00398 in gold lettering - sweet!) and has gone through the process - A/B-ing with the 1997 remaster and original CD release - and the conclusion is what I expected. Audio nirvana. The latest Mobile Fidelity offering blows away any previous CD version of Permanent Waves, plain and simple. The soundstage is much, much wider and fuller, the sound is clean and crystal clear. I won't say it's a new album in the hands of MoFi - it's simply the album as it should have been long ago. Why does it take these guys to make music sound the way it should?

As for that new packaging style, the mini-LP replica style, it's beautiful. I'll always miss the cool and smart Lift-Lock cases, but these mini-LP replicas are very nice. But . . . and unfortunately there has to be a "but" . . . for some very strange reason, while Mobile Fidelity focuses so much time and energy recreating the original packaging, with nice, sharp (if a bit dark) images used for the cover and all photos, they really fudged it when it comes to the lyrics book cover, which is the same as the album cover. Instead of being the same crisp, sharp image, it is a murky, blurry, off-color red - yet all the text is perfectly clear, meaning they actually chose a blurry picture (it's not a bad print job). Truly baffling - but it's relatively minor when everything else is so nice.

Six stars for the music and remastering, one star deducted for the fumbled image choice. We're paying nearly $30 for these things - we deserve *everything* to be top-notch. They very nearly got it. Hopefully this won't occur in the 2112, Moving Pictures, and Signals MoFi reissues that will be coming out over the next year or so.

Permanent Waves opens with just that.....a rockin' wave of back-to-back radio staples The Spirit Of Radio and the awesome Free Will. This is probably the strongest opening to a Rush album so far thru seven studio albums. From the opening riff of Radio the album promises not disappoint and it rarely flags. Tired of `em or not, Radio and Will are must-loves in the Rush catalog.

From this point we segue into perhaps the weakest song on the record, Jacob's Ladder....which, I might add is still quite good. Nice riffing here from Alex as well as some tasty soloing. It's a little slow in parts but still enjoyable. (It could be a couple minutes shorter).

Entre Nous ushers in a couple back-to-back laid back tunes and takes the album down a notch, but one that increases the melody. Entre Nous is a wistful, feel-good song about relationships and the delicate ties that bind people to one another. Great lyrics here and light melody to accompany. And holy crap, Different Strings really is an exceptional little piece (hidden gem # 4 - god, I'm a sucker for the slow stuff) set to melodic plucking from Alex with impressive vocals from Geddy. "All there really is....the two of us" portion of the lyrics is really, really well done. I'm actually quite moved by the song and hugely impressed with Lee's vocal performance. Just...wow.

Natural Science is also a pretty nifty little tune overall....(again I hear Dream Theater stealing). I like this song quite a bit. Was awesome to see this show up on Rock In Rio. The closest thing the band comes to one of their epic pieces, but with noticeably less pomposity. In general the album as a whole is pretty straight forward and lean, which is a nice change.

Hey kids...I'm diggin' it. The band has really found their footing at this point, that much is clear. Not without some annoyances, but at this point I'm lying if I don't confess that those are mere quibbles. How much has this band grown over the six years between this and the first album, eh? Tons.

I'm probably a few years worth of saturation away from making this a perfect 5-star record...(I mean, how much can you truly learn/absorb in even 4 or 5 listens?) So until it all sinks in and I'm singin' Different Strings in the shower.....

PERMANENT WAVES: 4.5 stars of 5

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Rush said goodbye to the sci-fi tales, the ten-minute epics and the complex arrangements for a more commercial, radio friendly sound, with successful results. A change of decade bought a change of approach in their music, with lyrics that the man in the street can relate to, the right to choose ("Free Will"), the communication barrier ("Entre Nous") and the environment ("Natural Science"). Opener "Spirit of Radio" was a hit on this side of the Atlantic, and unbelievably can still be heard on radio today (albeit not very often) Had I reviewed this without hearing "Moving Pictures", I would probably have given it 5 stars. "Pictures" is in every aspect better than "Waves" and is probably the best rock album ever made (check my review), but this record still stands out on its own. Worth purchasing.