Permanent Waves | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 14, 1980 [1] | |||
Recorded | September–October 1979 | |||
Studio | Le Studio (Morin-Heights, Quebec) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 36:05 | |||
Label | Anthem | |||
Producer |
| |||
Rush chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Permanent Waves | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush,released on January 14,1980,through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Hemispheres (1978),the band began working on new material for a follow-up in July 1979. This material showed a shift in the group's sound towards more concise arrangements and radio-friendly songs (such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill"),though their progressive rock blueprint is still evident on "Jacob's Ladder" and the nine-minute closer "Natural Science." Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee also employed a more restrained vocal delivery compared to previous albums. Permanent Waves was the first of seven studio albums that the band recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights,Quebec with production handled by the group and Terry Brown.
Permanent Waves received a mostly positive reception from critics,and became the band's most successful album at the time of its release,reaching No. 3 in Canada and the UK and No. 4 in the United States. The album was certified platinum in the latter by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million copies. Rush released "The Spirit of Radio" as a single in February 1980 and toured in support of the album in 1980.
In June 1979,the band finished its eight-month tour of the United States,Canada,and Europe in support of its sixth studio album, Hemispheres (1978). The tour had taken its toll on the group and,for the first time in the band's history,each member agreed to take a six-week break before starting work on a new album. [5] They regrouped in mid-July 1979 at Lakewoods Farm near Flesherton,Ontario to write and rehearse new material for two weeks. [5] [6] They set up their equipment in the basement and put down what Peart described as "a giant hodge-podge of instrumental mish-mash," initially titled "Uncle Tounouse",during the first session. The piece was not developed further,but sections of it were used as the basis of passages on other songs they would record. [5] A typical day's schedule involved Lifeson cooking breakfast for the trio,after which Lifeson and Lee worked on musical ideas while Peart gathered his notes and walked to a nearby cottage to write lyrics, [6] with "Entre Nous" being the only set completed prior to their arrival at Lakewoods Farm. This routine had a productive effect on the three,with "The Spirit of Radio," "Freewill",and "Jacob's Ladder" being put down within several days without considerable effort. [5] The new songs marked a shift in the group's musical style towards more concise arrangements and radio-friendly songs,though Peart denied that the band consciously set out to produce commercial music. [7] Peart attempted to write a song based on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ,the 14th-century epic set in King Arthur's time,but it was abandoned after it was deemed too out of place with the other material. [5]
With some material prepared for Permanent Waves,Rush moved into Sound Kitchen Studio in northern Toronto,Ontario [6] with their producer Terry Brown to put their ideas onto tape. "The Spirit of Radio," "Freewill" and "Jacob's Ladder" were further polished on the warm-up tour during soundchecks,and by early September,"The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" were being performed live on the band's warm-up tour in August and September 1979. [5] [6]
In September 1979,Rush headed to Le Studio in Morin-Heights,Quebec to record Permanent Waves with Brown and engineer Paul Northfield. [5] [8] Having recorded their previous two studio albums in Wales the band felt it was time for a change and initially chose Trident Studios in London,but cancelled due to the high costs of studio time and accommodation. [6] The idea of working in a busy city environment became something they now wished to avoid and instead sought a remote location. [6]
The recording sessions involved the band tweaking the settings of instruments and positioning of microphones. They recorded basic tracks with multiple takes until they captured the best performance. While Lee,Lifeson,and Brown began overdubs,Peart began attempting to write another longer song,and after enduring three days of writer's block,"Natural Science" was born. Fin Costello was then brought in to photograph the band in the studio. Cover art director Hugh Syme was also brought in and recorded a piano solo on "Different Strings". Music was composed for "Natural Science",with some parts reused from the discarded "Green Knight". The water sounds at the beginning of the song were created by splashing oars in the private lake,performed by Brown and studio assistant Kim Bickerdike,and the natural echo outside was used to record various instruments. The rough mixes on the album were complete,and the final mix was completed in two weeks at Trident Studios. [5]
Upon the album's completion,Lifeson felt unsure about the record and for a period of time,could not listen to it due to his feeling that it failed to present any fresh ideas. His opinion changed when he first heard the album on the radio after its release,realising he had overreacted. [6]
"The Spirit of Radio" featured the band's early experiments with a reggae style in its closing section,which was explored further in the band's next three albums, Moving Pictures , Signals ,and Grace Under Pressure . The group had experimented with reggae-influenced riffs in the studio and had come up with a reggae introduction to "Working Man" on their tours,so they decided to incorporate a passage into "The Spirit of Radio," as Lifeson said,"to make us smile and have a little fun." [6] Peart wrote the lyrics with Toronto radio station CFNY-FM in mind which had adopted the title as its slogan. [9]
"Jacob's Ladder" uses multiple time signatures,and possesses a dark,ominous feel in its first half. Its lyrics are based on a simple concept:a vision of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. The title is a reference to the natural phenomenon of the sun breaking through the clouds in visible rays,which in turn is named after the Biblical ladder to heaven on which Jacob saw angels ascending and descending in a vision. Early in Rush's 2015 R40 Live Tour,Geddy Lee incorrectly stated that the song had never been played live before,but was corrected by fans on the internet (the song had been performed during the Permanent Waves tour and a live recording of the song was featured on Exit... Stage Left ). [10]
"Entre Nous",French for "Between Us",did not receive heavy radio airplay and was not performed live until the Snakes &Arrows Tour in 2007. [9] [11]
While the band began stepping back from the epic song format on this album,the closing track "Natural Science" is more than nine minutes long and is composed of three distinct movements:I) Tide Pools,II) Hyperspace,and III) Permanent Waves. The lyrics are driven by concepts of natural science. It was featured,with a different arrangement,on the 1996 Test for Echo Tour,the 2002 Vapor Trails Tour,the 2007–2008 Snakes &Arrows Tour and the 2015 R40 Live Tour.
The background scene comes from a photo,taken by Flip Schulke,of the Galveston Seawall in Texas during Hurricane Carla on September 11,1961. The woman in the foreground is Canadian model Paula Turnbull,who is also featured on Exit... Stage Left (1981) [12] and the man waving in the background is sleeve designer Hugh Syme. [13] To create the appearance of Turnbull's skirt blowing in the wind,a fan was placed out of frame when she was photographed. [14]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [16] |
Record Mirror | [17] |
Rolling Stone | (favourable) [18] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [19] |
Permanent Waves was released in the US on January 14,1980. It reached No. 3 in Canada and the UK and No. 4 in the US. In two months,the album had sold one million copies in the US. [20]
The album was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association,and in September 1980 Rush sent the gold record to Terry Fox,shortly after he had to abandon the Marathon of Hope. [21] : 118
Following the album's release,Rush supported Permanent Waves with a concert tour of Canada,the US,and the UK between January 17 and June 22,1980. The group toured with a 25-member roadcrew who handled the 60 tons of equipment to stage the show,which included Boeing 707 landing lights,a $50,000 mixing console,and a screen projector behind the band. [20] The tour cost $12,500 each day and each band member earned $1,000 per show. [20]
Region | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|
United States | January 14,1980 | [22] |
United Kingdom | January 18,1980 | [23] |
Year | Label | Format | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Anthem | CD | Digitally remastered by Andy VanDette as part of the reissue of Rush's Mercury-era albums [24] |
2015 | Anthem/Mercury | CD,LP | Remaster with 24-bit/96 kHz and 24-bit/192 kHz formats [25] |
2020 | Anthem/Mercury | CD,LP | 40th Anniversary Edition with previously unreleased live content. [26] |
All lyrics by Neil Peart except "Different Strings" by Geddy Lee. All music by Lee and Alex Lifeson. [8]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Spirit of Radio" | 4:58 |
2. | "Freewill" | 5:23 |
3. | "Jacob's Ladder" | 7:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Entre Nous" | 4:37 |
2. | "Different Strings" | 3:50 |
3. | "Natural Science"
| 9:27 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Beneath, Between & Behind" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 2:30 |
2. | "By-Tor & the Snow Dog" (Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) | 5:52 |
3. | "Xanadu" (Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) | 12:16 |
4. | "The Spirit of Radio" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 5:08 |
5. | "Natural Science" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 8:46 |
6. | "A Passage to Bangkok *†" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 3:57 |
7. | "The Trees" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 5:28 |
8. | "Cygnus X-1" (Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) | 8:05 |
9. | "Cygnus X-1 Book II (parts I and IV-VI)" (Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) | 14:45 |
10. | "Closer to the Heart" (Recorded at the Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK) | 3:26 |
11. | "Jacob's Ladder" (Recorded at the Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.) | 7:38 |
12. | "Freewill" (Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) | 5:46 |
* Included on the vinyl and digital deluxe releases only
† Previously available on 2112 Deluxe Edition (2012)
Credits are taken from the 1980 liner notes. [8]
Rush
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [37] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [39] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Rush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart. The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up changes before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this line-up was kept intact for the remainder of the band's career.
Signals is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 9, 1982 by Anthem Records. After the release of their previous album, Moving Pictures, the band started to prepare material for a follow-up during soundchecks on their 1981 concert tour and during the mixing of their subsequent live album Exit...Stage Left. Signals demonstrates the group's continuing use of synthesizers, sequencers, and other electronic instrumentation. It is the last album produced by their longtime associate Terry Brown, who had worked with them since 1974.
2112 is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in March 1976 by Mercury Records. It reached No. 5 in Canada and became the band's commercial breakthrough in the US, peaking at No. 61.
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, Fly By Night, and marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock. Songs such as "The Necromancer" furthered Rush's advancement into narrative-driven, fantasy-based compositions, while "The Fountain of Lamneth" was their first prog-rock "epic" to span an entire side of vinyl. Other tracks like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" became staples of the band's live setlists.
Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 12, 1981, by Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Permanent Waves (1980), the band started to write and record new material in August 1980 with longtime co-producer Terry Brown. They continued to write songs with a more radio-friendly sound, featuring tighter and shorter song structures compared to their earlier albums.
Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released April 12, 1984, on Anthem Records. After touring for the band's previous album, Signals (1982), came to an end in mid-1983, Rush started work on a follow-up in August. The band had decided not to work with longtime producer Terry Brown, who had collaborated with Rush since 1974. The new material accentuated the group's change in direction towards a synthesizer-oriented sound like its previous album. After some difficulty finding a suitable producer who could commit, the album was recorded with Peter Henderson.
Exit... Stage Left is the second live album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released as a double album in October 1981 by Anthem Records. After touring in support of their eighth studio album Moving Pictures (1981), the band gathered recordings made over the previous two years and constructed a live release from them with producer Terry Brown. The album features recordings from June 1980 on their Permanent Waves (1980) tour, and from March 1981 on their Moving Pictures tour.
Rush in Rio is a three-disc live album by Canadian band Rush, released on October 21, 2003. The album is also available as a two DVD set. With the exception of the last two tracks on the third disc, the album was recorded at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on the final night of the Vapor Trails Tour. The other two tracks were taken from previous shows on the same tour. "Between Sun & Moon" was recorded at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona, on September 27, 2002, and "Vital Signs" was recorded at the Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, on October 19, 2002.
Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released October 19, 1993, on Anthem Records. After the band finished touring its previous album Roll the Bones (1991) in mid-1992, the members took a break before starting work on a follow-up.
Test for Echo is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 10, 1996, by Anthem Records. It was the final Rush album to be co-produced by Peter Collins. The band supported the album with a world tour in 1996 and 1997, after which they went on a five-year hiatus following the deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife, and would not record again until 2001.
Different Stages is a live album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1998. The bulk of the first and second discs were recorded at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, during the 1997 Test for Echo tour. Five other songs from various stops along the tour were included and three songs from the 1994 Counterparts tour. The third disc is taken from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the A Farewell to Kings tour in 1978.
"The Spirit of Radio" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, released from their 1980 album Permanent Waves. The song's name was inspired by Toronto-based radio station CFNY-FM's slogan. It was significant in the growing popularity of the band, becoming their first top 30 single in Canada and reaching number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour is a live DVD by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on November 22, 2005 in Canada and the US, and November 28, 2005 in Europe. The DVD documents the band's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour, and was recorded on September 24, 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany.
Exit... Stage Left is a concert film by the Canadian band Rush that premiered on MTV in February 1982 and then released on CED, Laserdisc, Betamax, VHS and DVD at various times between 1982 and 2007. It documents a live concert performance by the band on their 1981 Moving Pictures tour. In October 1981, the band released an audio album of the same name of the same performance at the Montreal Forum, in Montreal, Quebec on vinyl LP, audiocassette, 8-track cartridge and (later) compact disc. The video has a different track list from the album, as well as voice-over comments from the band members about songwriting and performing. The four songs from the European dates of the Permanent Waves tour, included on the audio album, are not included on the video.
Gold is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on April 25, 2006.
Snakes & Arrows is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on May 1, 2007, by Anthem Records. After their R30: 30th Anniversary Tour ended in October 2004 the band took a one-year break, during which they agreed to start work on a follow-up in January 2006. The album was recorded in five weeks with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz, a fan of the group who was praised by each member for his approach and technique. It contains three instrumental tracks, the most on any Rush album.
"Freewill" is the second track on the 1980 album Permanent Waves by Canadian progressive rock band Rush. The song's music was composed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and its lyrics written by Neil Peart. In a 2016 review of Rush discography for Ultimate Classic Rock, Eduardo Rivadavia described "Freewill" as a "cerebral but remarkably radio-friendly" song. Lee has stated that the final verse of "Freewill" is at the highest part of his vocal range.
Snakes & Arrows Live is a live double CD and DVD by Canadian band Rush. The CD was released on April 14, 2008, in the UK and on April 15, 2008, around the world. It was also released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 24, 2008. The material was taken from two performances during the first leg of the Snakes & Arrows Tour, recorded at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17, 2007. The album features nine of its 27 tracks drawn from Snakes & Arrows.
"Headlong Flight" is the second single from Canadian rock band Rush's 19th studio album, Clockwork Angels. It was released to radio stations and for online preview on April 19, 2012, and became available digitally and on disk April 24, 2012. A lyrics video was also made available on YouTube. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Geddy Lee commented on the song:
'Headlong Flight' was one of those songs that was a joy to write and record from beginning to end. Alex [Lifeson] and I had blast jamming in my home studio one day before the second leg of the Time Machine tour, and I did not revisit that jam until a year later. Alex and I assembled the song to be an instrumental and its original title was 'Take That Lampshade Off Yo Head!,' but once we saw the lyrics Neil [Peart] had written, I knew that the spirit of the lyrics matched the instrumental perfectly and it was just a matter of making them fit and writing the melodies.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Phonogram is planning a heavy advertising campaign for leading rock group Rush who have a new album released on January 18 called Permanent Waves.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)