As my eBay handle indicates, I am a big Rush Fan. Being a fan though, does not change the fact that Permanent Waves is a classic, must-own album by fans of Hard Rock, Classic Rock and Prog Rock alike. This was the first album to adopt a more accessible (commercial) sound as opposed to the longer, Progressive Rock featured in the past few albums. In my opinion, this album had a better balance of styles than the follow-up, the huge Moving Pictures. Songs like The Spirit Of Radio, and Free Will are Classic Rock radio staples, while songs like Jacob's Ladder and Natural Science do a really good job of quenching the Prog Rock thirst! I don't think there is any filler material here. When the album was first released, it featured in the cover a newspaper with the headline: "Dewey Defeats Truman", the infamous headline that incorrectly identified the winner of the US 1948 presidential election. The Chicago Tribune, even after so many years, did not like the headline to be used, so artist Hugh Syme changed the "Dewey" spelling to "Dewei". The newspaper still didn't like it so most issues just have a blanked out headline. As far as I know, only this early pressing on Anthem, and perhaps another early Japanese pressing have the full headline. The mastering of this particular one is the same as the West German atomic, which a lot of people prefer even over the MFSL audiophile release. I would recommend getting this one because it doesn't pop up that often. Again, this is a classic must-have and any issue sounds good in my opinion.Read full review
'Permanent Waves' is a classic album from 1980, which isn't among my very favorite Rush albums, but it does contain radio staples "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill", the latter of which is one of the Rush songs that helped me become the huge fan I am. While you can hear both of these songs almost every day on classic rock radio, the sound of the CD is very good (especially the old West German CD issue I found), and I heard elements that I've never heard before. While the rest of the album isn't something I'll listen to often, those two track are worth the price of the CD to me.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Anyone who’s never really listened to Rush should begin by listening to Permanent Waves. Masterful and melodic, with incredible lyrics by the late Neil Peart. They are the consummate “musicians’ musicians”. A must have!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Awesome cd, the most talented band all time. RIP Neil Pert, awesome drummer.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is an incredible piece of prog history. The mighty Rush (who are influences of DreamTheater), are pioneers in the hard rock prog scene. I love this album. If you like technical Prog, you also will love this album.
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