The one album Rush said “changed everything”
To say that Rush was simply a progressive rock band would be drastically underselling their contribution to the world. They were one of the most cerebral acts of the 1970s, and even for artists who were used to taking chances with their music, like Yes and Genesis, no one could keep up with what the Canadian power trio was doing throughout their time in the spotlight. They had prog-rock down to a science, but there was a way for them to open themselves up a little bit more.
After all, the whole premise behind the band had been about taking risks every time they went into the studio. Their debut was a big plate of Led Zeppelin worship before they got the ball rolling, and even when they got Neil Peart on board, their music was going through changes every time they went into the studio, whether it’s the dystopian vision happening in 2112 or the fantastical journey on ‘Xanadu’.
But there are only so many places that people could go once they have those 20-minute epics under their belts. It’s great to know that they could play that fast and not spontaneously combust at the end of the song, but for all of the epic journeys they took their listeners on, it was easy for them to become a little bit boring if they decided to continue down that path after Hemispheres.
They had no way to compete with themselves anymore, but the music world was already progressing around them. The biggest names in prog had given way to the punk movement and more adventurous bands like The Police, and since the band were the least likely group of people to make a Sex Pistols, Permanent Waves is what you get when you show the band new wave music for the first time.
Although the tracks were a bit more concise this time around, Neil Peart only saw that as a good thing, saying, “Permanent Waves was the step. It changed how we made records; it taught us to breathe, with ‘The Spirit of Radio’ and ‘Freewill’. We were learning to be more concise, too. A lot of lessons were learnt. Not least to step back from it all.” There are still some longer songs on here, but ‘The Spirit of Radio’ is probably the best example of them working outside the norm.
It’s still progressive in spirit, but from the rock and roll swagger of the opening riff to the reggae breakdown halfway through the tune, there’s a second for it to get boring. In fact, they were toying with the first progressive pop songs ever made, and while ‘Closer to the Heart’ fit the framework of a pop tune, hearing them create something as sunny as ‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘Limelight’ later came from them making tunes that were this catchy.
For some fans, this was also the beginning of the end as well. As much as people neglect to talk about the best music the band made in the 1980s when they adopted synths, this really is the starting point for that sound, complete with Geddy Lee adopting the mini Moog synthesiser when playing live and becoming one of the most impressive members of the band by playing the keyboards, bass, and singing all at the same time.
But whereas Permanent Waves isn’t nearly as sharp of a pivot as someone would hear from a band like Radiohead during their Kid A sessions, it’s the perfect example of bands progressing without disappearing up their own ass. They were still eager to explore new things, and the reason why this album works so well is that you can hear them having fun while making it.
