Published on Jun 4, 2002
If the first six studio albums from Canadian rock trio Rush were
a journey to discover which direction they wanted to take their
music in, 1980’s
Permanent Waves was the declaration that they journey – at
least for the moment – was over.Featuring a more commercial sound
than many of their previous efforts (certainly more commercial than
A Farewell To Kings or
Hemispheres), Geddy Lee and crew moved away from the concept
album idea and focused their energies on writing tight songs that –
God forbid – might get airplay.
It worked;
Permanent Waves has left its permanent mark thanks to “The
Spirit Of Radio” and “Free Will,” two songs which have been so
latched onto by rock radio that it’s almost tiring to hear them
these days. But while
Permanent Waves was most definitely a step forward for Rush,
it was still a tentative step.
It wasn’t that Rush had abandoned longer “epic” songs; “Natural
Science” clocks in at over nine minutes. And it wasn’t that Rush
had been having problems writing long songs that were interesting.
But the two longest songs on this disc, “Natural Science” and
“Jacob’s Ladder,” both are noteworthy because they remain
interesting from the first note to the final fade-out. It sometimes
seems hard to believe that so much time has passed once you’ve
finished each song, because the writing and performances are both
so watertight that a minute seems more like a second – proof
positive that Rush had mastered this style of songwriting.
Long-time readers might expect me to bash “The Spirit Of Radio”
and “Free Will” at this point, just because they’ve been overplayed
on radio. Sorry, won’t happen – but that doesn’t mean I think a
song like “Free Will” is perfect. “The Spirit Of Radio” is indeed a
marvelous track, which still can excite me today like it did when I
first heard this album as a teenager. But “Free Will” has its
flaws, most notably a rather sloppy guitar solo from Alex Lifeson,
who puts speed over style in a rare mistake in his style. Likewise,
there really isn’t a solid rhythm line in the verses – at least not
until you get to the bridge, when things pick up a bit.
Interestingly enough, it is the overall sound of
Permanent Waves that is the disc’s biggest downfall – and I
admit, since I’m working from an older copy, that things may have
been improved when the disc was re-mastered and re-released. The
overall production work on this one (courtesy of the band and Terry
Brown) is surprisingly high in the treble, providing not enough
bass to create a solid overall sound. The end result is just a
little tinny – not enough to wreck the album, but enough to affect
the overall experience in a negative way.
Of the two songs not yet mentioned, possibly the hidden gem is
“Entre Nous,” a powerful song that plays with time signatures and
musical styles like they were pick-up sticks, all the while never
losing the heart of the song. “Different Strings” is a nice enough
effort, but it doesn’t have solid enough songwriting behind it to
make it a ballad that works, especially coming from a band such as
Rush (who had done softer-edged songs before).
Permanent Waves marked a new chapter in Rush’s career, and
while they would go on to even better things, this disc is that
first move into a new direction. As they took more steps, they
became more confident with their moves; if only this disc had some
more of that confidence, it would be the classic many Rush fans see
it to be.