Permanent Waves

5 Ratings: 4.8

Classic Rock, Hard Rock & Metal, and Rock album by Rush

One of Rush's finest moments, second only toMoving Pictures. This album includes two classic songs, "The Spirit of Radio" (which has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in all of rock) and "Freewill." There's also the epic-feeling "Jacob's Ladder," … see full wiki

Tags: Music, Rock And Pop

5 reviews about Permanent Waves

Showing 1-5 of 5

Sort by:

review by engelcox. January 05, 2010

Well worth the time

The lead off track of this album by Rush, "The Spirit of Radio," was written for and about a Canadian radio station, and it perfectly captures a moment in radio history, between the payola of the 60s and the corporate conglomerates of the 90s. For those of us who grew up listening to radio in that period, the tune is bittersweet, especially the prescient ending wherein Neal Peart rewrites Simon and Garfunkel's lyrics from "The Sound of Silence" to lambast the emerging profit-only centered radio … more

Comment Compliment

review by BaronSamedi3. June 10, 2007

posted in Music Matters

Hopefully it really is Permanent

Pros: Natural Science Cons: Like a lot of Rush albums, too short The Bottom Line: This is your official warning: I'm a very, very bad song interpretor. All Rush fans have their favorite periods of Rush music. Some favor Rock Rush, the period in the '70's when Rush perfected the art of the epic. Others, for some reason I will probably never understand, think Synth Rush of the '80's was the best. (Hey, I think Rush made some good … more

Comment Compliment

review by TomBenton. April 22, 2006

Rush reborn and better than ever

It seems as though Rush has lived through three incarnations. The first began with the band's self-titled debut and ended with HEMISPHERES in 1978; this was the band's traditional hard-rock period. The second began with the release of PERMANENT WAVES in 1980. During this phase, Rush began experimenting more with synthesizers and created a sound that was more "new wave" than "hard rock". That said, PERMANENT WAVES is a magnificent album, ranking beside MOVING PICTURES as the band's finest achievement. … more

Comment Compliment

review by rmurray847. April 08, 2003

posted in Music Matters

GREAT! Fuses Rush's lavish musicianship with accessibility.

This album was Rush's first major foray into wide-spread, popular success. And now, 25 years later, SPIRIT OF THE RADIO, FREEWILL and even JACOB'S LADDER still get frequent airplay, and not just on "classic rock" stations.My only gripe about the album is its brevity. Six songs over about 40 minutes...but then I remind myself that they didn't have CD's back then, so a shorter album today was a "regular" length album back then.Every song is a winner on this album, but in my opinion, the true gem for … more

Comment Compliment

review by lordchimp253. March 25, 2001

One of the best rock albums ever.

It is with Permanent Waves that Rush began to shed their progressive trappings and garner interest beyond the steadfast progressive crowd. Geddy Lee began to sing at lower ranges, complexity was trimmed, but excellence was preserved. It is a precursor to Moving Pictures; a bridge between their recondite progressive rock days and their immersion in the mainstream. But while most transitional albums merit dismissal, Permanent Waves remains one of the band's best releases, accessible to the band's … more

Comment Compliment

What's your opinion on Permanent Waves?

rate