Rush
Fly By Night
Caress of Steel
2112
All the World's a Stage
A Farewell to Kings
Hemispheres
Moving Pictures
Exit Stage Left
Signals
Grace Under Pressure
Power Windows
Hold Your Fire
A Show of Hands
Presto
Roll the Bones
Counterparts
Test for Echo
Different Stages
Vapor Trails
Rush in Rio
On the first day of the new decade of the 80's Rush unleashed their 7th studio album Permanent Waves. This album was a sign of how Rush was to change in moving from their previous long epically structured songs into more radio friendly lengths. It also introduced some synths into their songs, which would come to dominate their work in the 80s and early 90s. However, the album still has some strong guitar rockers and holds two seven plus minute epics that are considered among their best.
The two hit singles start off the album in �Spirit of the Radio� and �Freewill.� The former being a highly energetic ode to their local radio station in Toronto, detailing the power and freedom of the radio. The song ends with a intelligently placed reggae jam that�s fun to groove with. The latter of the hit singles is an ode to as you could guess, freewill, and contains even more impressive guitar work, and the chorus is catchy as hell. The other two normal length songs are solid as well, with �Entre Nous� having grown on me with its sweet hook at the beginning of the chorus and its narrator�s pleading message that the spaces between us can be crossed with just a little more patience. �Different Strings� is the only song on the album that I feel to be bland, in fact I can barely recall much of it at all.
The two epics on here are both superb examples of Rush�s musicianship. The closer to side A �Jacob�s Ladder� is basically an instrumental jam about a storm. Yes Rush wrote a song about a storm cloud. However it is the sweetest song about a storm cloud you will ever hear! The playing is absolutely flawless and ominous to make you feel as if you really were in the midst of a thunderstorm. The closer to side B �Natural Science� is a fan favorite, however I�m not that high on it. The song deals with evolution and how the intelligent man will win out in the end. The song does exhibit some wicked solos from Lifeson that show the pure creativity the band has.
Final Comment: Most of the time transitional albums suck. This one does not. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get into Rush (That should be all of you out there!)
Score: ***�
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