EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL VINYL

 U.S. PROMO ISSUE

 1980 MERCURY Records LP

 

**RUSH**

**PERMANENT WAVES**

Permanent Waves is the seventh  by   band , released on January 1, 1980. It was recorded at , , , and mixed at Trident Studios in , . Permanent Waves became Rush's first US top five album hitting #4 and was the band's fifth gold (eventually platinum) selling album. The album also marks a distinct transition from long, conceptual pieces, into a more accessible, radio-friendly style and consequently, a significant expansion in the band's sales with hits such as "" and "" seeing considerable radio airplay.

The writing of the album began in July 1979, at a farmhouse at Lakewoods Farm in Ontario on ,  while  started his lyrics in a cottage near there. Rush began with an instrumental jam, which they nicknamed "Uncle Tounouse". Parts of this were used in the songs on the album. While Peart worked on lyrics,  and  would work on musical ideas in the basement. Within a few days they had put together "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill" and "Jacob's Ladder", which came very naturally to them, and it was recorded on a Slider JVC mobile unit. "" was the only lyric completed ahead of time.

Peart was working on making a song out of , the medieval epic from King Arthur's time. Based on the story written in the 14th century, he was trying to keep its original style. It was deemed too out of place with the other material and was discarded. They moved into Sound Kitchen studio in Toronto to record demos, joined by producer . "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill" and "Jacob's Ladder" were further polished on the warm-up tour during soundchecks.

The album was the first to be released in the 1980s, being released on the first of January and its opening track warmly greeting listeners with the lyrics "Begin the day with a friendly voice...". In 1982, Lee told  magazine that the album's title referred to "a theory that was going [within the band] about, like, culture waves; and there was a night when Neil said that a big album was like a permanent wave and I told him, 'that's our title.'" 

Rush headed to Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec and began 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 epic song to replace the discarded "Green Knight", 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 was also brought in and added a piano solo to "Different Strings". Music was composed for "Natural Science", with some leftover parts from "Green Knight". The tide pool effects for 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 a week at Trident Studios, London.

"The Spirit of Radio" featured the band's early experiments with a reggae style, which was explored further on  and .

A notable track on Permanent Waves is "Jacob's Ladder", a song style reminiscent of their earlier heavy progressive rock period. Exploring odd time signatures, the song possesses a dark, ominous feel. The song's lyrics are based on a simple concept; a vision of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. The title is a reference to the  of the sun breaking through the clouds in visible rays, which in turn is named after the   on which  saw  ascending and descending in a vision.

"Entre Nous" ("Between Us") is similar in style to "Freewill", yet it did not receive heavy radio airplay, and was not featured in concerts until the . While the band began stepping back from the epic song format on this album, "Natural Science" does clock in at over nine minutes and is composed of three distinct movements. The lyrics are driven by concepts of . It was featured, with a different arrangement, on every tour from 1996 to 2002, and was also featured on their 2007-08 Snakes and Arrows tour.

The cover art sparked some controversy because of the appearance of the "" headline on the newspaper. Because of pressure from the Chicago Tribune, Hugh Syme changed the text to "Dewei Defeats Truman". or on some, deleted the Headline altogether. The billboards in the distance were changed from Coca-Cola (who objected to the use of their logo) to include each band member's name in similar typestyle.

The background scene comes from a photo, taken by Flip Schulke, of the  in Texas during  on September 11, 1961. The woman pictured in the foreground is model Paula Turnbull. The waving man in the background is Syme.

Track listing 

All lyrics written by , except where noted; all music composed by  and . 

Side oneNo.TitleLength1.""  4:572.""  5:243."Jacob's Ladder"  7:26Side twoNo.TitleLength4.""  4:365."Different Strings" (Lee)3:486."Natural Science I: Tide Pools - 2:19 (0:00 - 2:19) II: Hyperspace - 2:48 (2:20 - 5:07) III: Permanent Waves - 4:10 (5:08 - 9:17)"   9:17 Personnel   - , , , , , OB-1  -  and  six- and , Taurus pedals  - , , , , , , , , , cover concept

***PROMO MERCURY Records***

SRM 1-4001

 

Tracks Include : please see above

CONDITION

 

Jacket: VG++ (Gold 'PROMO' stamp on rear, moisture stains to front and picture side of original inner sleeve)

Record: NM- (Plays beautifully!! Almost as New)

 

 

 

 

 

Sealed U.S. Pressing of 

 

***RUSH***

****PERMANENT WAVES****

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I use the 'Goldmine' grading system. (NM, VG, G with appropriate +/-) NM would be my highest grade. I have endeavored to be as accurate in my assessment as I can. I will not sell LPs that appear to be in less of a condition than I myself would be happy to receive. The only exception would be truly rare discs and then any flaws would be clearly explained. Having been disappointed by the condition of a number of LPs purchased I am EXTREMELY sensitive to this issue and will try my best to grade with this in mind.

 

 

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