PERMANENT WAVES

Permanent Waves was the turning point that would launch Rush nicely into the new decade. They shed most of the progressive tendencies that had defined the preceding albums and frankly, that was a good thing. Not because I don't like Farewell To Kings or Hemispheres, but because I think Rush would prove to be best at easy when writing in a more concise song format.

It is a difficult album to rate. On one side, it is defining for Rush's career, it has some amazing songs of which Jacob's Ladder is the standout.

On the other hand the album is a bit on the short side. When discarding the trite ballad Entre Nous), I count 30 minutes. But also the other ballad Different Strings is hardly essential and reminds me of the filler tracks they had on 2112 and Farewell to Kings. The remainder of the tracks are very good but are featured abundantly on all live albums.

On top of that the album sounds rather dry and lacks a bit of punch. And to give it a final blow here, the following album Moving Pictures would continue and perfect this style of Rush music. All those reason would point towards 3 stars.

I guess it is justified to put it in between those two and your appreciation may largely rely on the moment when you picked it up. I picked it up in 1986 after I had heard all other albums from Rush's back catalogue and it didn't add much really.

If you have followed a more chronological route, then this album will obviously be more defining and important. But I can't give 4 stars to a 35 minute album featuring Entre Nous.