Get Into The Spirit Of Rush’s ‘Permanent Waves’

On May 29th, UMe/Mercury/Anthem label group continues its extensive Rush 40th anniversary album series with a new, imagination-capturing expanded edition of all the magic music that comprises the band’s remarkable 1980 release, Permanent Waves.

Permanent Waves, Rush’s seventh studio album, was originally released in January 1980, and its forward-thinking music signaled a new direction for the Canadian band as it entered a new decade. The six songs encompassing the album encapsulated the breadth of Rush’s formidable progressive chops meshed with its knack for creating radio-friendly arrangements, all elements that were embedded within the grooves of their previous album, 1978’s widely acclaimed Hemispheres. Permanent Waves also signified Rush’s first of many recording sessions at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, which was at one point nicknamed the trio’s own personal Abbey Road recording studio.

The album’s explosive lead-off track, “The Spirit Of Radio,” roared out of the gate with a fine appreciation for the joy of experiencing great music on the airwaves, itself becoming a favorite FM staple for the ensuing decades in the process. Next came the time-signature-challenging “Freewill,” a manifesto for embracing the independence of making one’s own life choices, while “Jacob’s Ladder” chronicled an aurally cinematic interpretation of the lyrics’ palpably invoked religious imagery.

Side 2 commenced with “Entre Nous,” a deeply introspective examination of how to bridge interpersonal differences, followed by the moving balladry of “Different Strings,” and ultimately concluded with the formidable sonic cosmic vortex of the longtime concert favorite, “Natural Science.”

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