Rush - Permanent Waves
Progressive Hard Rock
1980
You know how some people are so good looking that it becomes weird? Actors, actresses and models who, if you were standing by them in a bar, you’d stealthily shuffle away from because they’d make you feel so uncomfortable? That’s how I’d best describe Rush’s
Permanent Waves, a record with six songs, running for no longer than 36 minutes, that’s perfect for no other reason than all six of those songs being really, really good. It doesn’t stand out for its overall punch, or because of the atmosphere it creates, but rather, because it's consistently entertaining. So consistent, in fact, that, yes, I'd go so far to call it weird.
All other so-called ‘prog albums’ are still trembling in the wake of this record. Suddenly, Geddy Lee doesn’t sound like a girl and suddenly, five minute songs are technical while ten minute songs are hooky. Pink Floyd were masters of such songwriting before Rush were, but what separates Rush from the Floyd is their positivity. These are positive-sounding songs that, at heart, are hard rock, and the band, especially Alex Lifeson, loves to underscore them on albums and then unleash them in all their glory when playing live (see “Freewill”).
Seriously, is there any other band that crafts music so enjoyable on so many levels as Rush? I don’t think so. And that’s another reason why
Permanent Waves is so good. “The Spirit of Radio”, in particular, is so iconic in its endless barrage of groves and hooks, but there are subtleties to it that no one ever mentions. Most prominently, it's probably Neil Peart’s finest lyrical hour, this man clearly disheartened by what music represents to some people, and what it results in, a theme he’d explore furthermore with “Limelight” on
Moving Pictures. The track is so smart, but also so inconspicuous, and it’s probably at its best playing through your car speakers while you’re driving on the highway, the wind blowing through your hair, and your favorite radio station cranked.
The album seems to have a relationship with nature at times, “Natural Science” in particular not only speaking of it but also sounding as if it’s a part of it, thundering waves bookending the epic while everything in-between sounds like it’s happening outdoors as well. The guitars, in particular, sound aqueous, Lifeson clearly having fun experimenting with his tones and filling every hole of space with glorious sound. The whole album is like that, I think, in the way that it’s so full. The day a 5.1 mix of the thing drops will be the day Steven Wilson wets his pants, I assure you.
But what takes the album over-the-top, something that Rush has always excelled at, is that there are songs here that that are great in their simplicity, not their complexity. “Jacob’s Ladder”, probably the weakest track here, is good fun with its thrashing around, but sometimes breathers are needed, which are given to us in the form of “Entre Nous” and “Different Strings”. Both songs sound as if they were written quickly, not because they’re sloppy but because there are no other possibilities for how they could’ve sounded. They both flow so logically, and so well.
No doubt about it,
Permanent Waves is the best of the Rush albums. It’s where Rush’s hard rock roots and progressive rock aspirations intersected, and were optimized, the band finding themselves by utilizing an unfounded marriage of ambition and comfort. I’d also argue that to this day, it's a colossal influence on contemporary progressive metal acts, and the obligatory ‘hit single’ that most of them feel the need to include on every new release. Up until Rush, not as many technically gifted bands were writing restrained prog, and while an unfathomable number of bands try to pull it off today (in moderation, of course), few do. Certainly not as well.
***** (out of five)