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Rush - Permanent Waves

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PERMANENT WAVES
Released: January 1980
Certified Gold by RIAA: March 17, 1980 -- Certified Platinum by RIAA: November 9, 1987
Highest Billboard Chart Position: 4
|Hemispheres| -- |Lyrics| -- |Liner Notes| -- |Articles| -- |Album Artwork| -- |Album Review| -- |Tour Dates| -- |Back To Discography| -- |Moving Pictures|

LINER NOTES

Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus pedals
Neil Peart - Drums, tympani, timbales, orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, bell tree, triangle, crotales
Geddy Lee - Bass guitars, Oberheim polyphonic, OB-1, Mini Moog, and Taurus pedal synthsizers, vocals

Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
Arrangements by Rush and Terry Brown
Recorded at Le Studio, Morin-Heights, Quebec, during September and October 1979
Engineerd by Paul Northfield
With general assistance from Robbie Whelan
Mixed at Trident Studios, Soho, London, in November 1979
Engineerd by Terry Brown
Assisted by Adam Moseley, Craig Milliner, and Geddy Lee, with cameo appearances by Steve S. Hort
Mastered by Bob Ludwig and Brain Lee at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, Maine
Special featured guest: Hugh Syme, piano on "Different Strings"
Inspiration and vocal coaching by Daisy the Dog
Steel drums by Erwig Chuapchuaduah

Art Direction and graphics by Hugh Syme
Cover concept by Hugh Syme and Neil Peart
Photography by Fin Costello, Flip Schulke and Deborah Samuel
Cover girl couturière: Ou la la
Colour collaboration: Peter George
Pilot of Juliet Foxtrot Kilo: Mike Deere

Management: Ray Danniels, SRO Management, Inc., Toronto
Executive Production: Moon Records
Road manager, lighting director, and assistant to Mr. Shreve: Howard (Herns) Ungerleider
Stage manager: Michael (Lurch) Hirsh
Concert sound engineer: Ian (the Weez) Grandy
Stage right technician: Liam (Punjabi) Birt
Stage left technician: Skip (Slider) Gildersleeve
Centre stage technician: Larry (Shrav) Allen
Guitar and synthesizer maintenance: Tony (Jack Secret) Geranios
Electrical technician: Ted (Theo) McDonald
Stage Monitor mixer: Gred (Gordie) Connolly
Projectionist: Harry (Tex) Dilman
Personal Shreve: Sam (Shreve) Charters
Concert sound by National Sound and Electrosound (U.K.)
Concert lighting by See Factor International
Concert rigging by Bill Collins

All of the above was transported by the skilled hands of: Tom (Whitney) Whittaker, Pat (No. 9) Lines, Arthur (Mac) MacLear, Gene Guido, and Tim Lewis

Honourable mentions: Moe Kniffman, Nick Kotos, George (Ike) Guido, Bob (Puppy) Cross, John LeBlanc, Bill Churchman, Dave (Shreve 1) Donne, Fuzzy Frazer, Dave Burman, Helmut, Nick Prince, Graham (Wild Man) Hewitt, Sgt. Rock & Easy Co., Second City Television, Lakewoods Farm, The Sound Kitchen, Lefty, D.K.D., Steve Herns, Le Studio: Andre, Yael, Pam, Kim, Carole, and Roger, Andre & La Barratte, the Wines & Crew, FM & Crew, Wireless & Crew, The Maxoids, Marvin Gleicher, Brian Robertson, Jimmy Bain, Michael Schenker, the Projectors, Peter Mensch, the P.M., Bob (the Grove) Snelgrove, the inmates of the Great Fog, Gerry Griffin, Lee Scherer, and their families and friends at NASA, Henry Spencer and baby, Le Mont St. Michael, the Montcalm, vin-du-hairface, volleyball, Space Invaders (10p), euchre, Malibu Grand Prix, hockey--Steve Shutt and Larry Robinson, thanks for the sticks!, M*A*S*H, The Jack Secret Show, Rickey, Lucy, and Ethel, (Where's Fred?), Neal and Larry at the Percussion Centre, all at Oak Manor, and all at Trident. Ho-Hoo!

We express our appreciation to the fine people and instruments of Gibson, Moog, Tama drums, Rickenbacker, and Sunn amplification

© 1980 Mercury Records © 1980 Anthem Entertainment


ARTICLES

  • Billboard Special Survey: Permanent Waves - Billboard Magazine, January 1980
  • Logical Positivism for Astral Minds - Sounds Magazine, January 1980
  • Rush: Something Special For Everyone - Scene Magazine, February 1980
  • Intense Early Reaction to Rush's Permanent Waves - RPM Weekly Magazine, February 1980
  • Rush: Permanent Waves (Review) - Melody Maker Magazine, February 1980
  • F.M. Radio Earns Plaudits from Rush - Music Express Magazine, February 1980
  • Rush Won't Rush Into Style Fads of Moment - Billboard Magazine, March 1980
  • Battered by Old & New Waves, Rush Keeps Their Boat Afloat by Rocking It - Circus Magazine, April 1980
  • A Canadian Chart Rush - Record Review Magazine, April 1980
  • Tight Rush - Record Review Magazine, April 1980
  • Alex Lifeson - Rush's Kinetic Lead Guitarist - Guitar Player Magazine, June 1980
  • Geddy Lee - Hi-Tech Bassist and Synthesist with Rush - Guitar Player Magazine, June 1980
  • Rush's Heavy-Metal Message Hits the Radio - Rolling Stone Magazine, June 1980
  • Rush Identifies with International Markets - RPM Weekly Magazine, November 1980


    TRACK LISTING (click on any track for the lyrics)

    1. The Spirit of Radio (4:57)
    2. Freewill (5:23)
    3. Jacob's Ladder (7:28)
    4. Entre Nous (4:37)
    5. Different Strings (3:49)
    6. Natural Science (9:16)



    THE SPIRIT OF RADIO

    Begin the day with a friendly voice,
    A companion unobtrusive
    Plays the song that's so elusive
    And the magic music makes your morning mood.

    Off on your way, hit the open road,
    There is magic at your fingers
    For the Spirit ever lingers,
    Undemanding contact in your happy solitude.

    Invisible airwaves crackle with life
    Bright antennae bristle with the energy
    Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength
    Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free

    All this machinery making modern music
    Can still be open-hearted.
    Not so coldly charted, it's really just a question
    Of your honesty, yeah, your honesty.

    One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
    But glittering prizes and endless compromises
    Shatter the illusion of integrity.

    For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall,
    Concert hall
    And echoes with the sounds of salesmen.


    FREEWILL

    There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance,
    A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.

    A planet of playthings,
    We dance on the strings
    Of powers we cannot perceive
    "The stars aren't aligned -
    Or the gods are malign"
    Blame is better to give than receive.

    You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
    If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
    You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
    I will choose a path that's clear-
    I will choose Free Will.

    There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
    The cards were stacked against them- they weren't born in Lotus-Land.

    All preordained-
    A prisoner in chains-
    A victim of venomous fate.
    Kicked in the face,
    You can't pray for a place
    In heaven's unearthly estate.

    Each of us-
    A cell of awareness-
    Imperfect and incomplete.
    Genetic blends
    With uncertain ends
    On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.


    JACOB'S LADDER

    The clouds prepare for battle
    In the dark and brooding silence.
    Bruised and sullen stormclouds
    Have the light of day obscured.
    Looming low and ominous
    In twilight premature
    Thunderheads are rumbling
    In a distant overture...

    All at once, the clouds are parted.
    Light streams down in bright unbroken beams...

    Follow men's eyes as they look to the skies.
    The shifting shafts of shining weave the fabric of their dreams...


    ENTRE NOUS

    We are secrets to each other
    Each one's life a novel
    No-one else has read.
    Even joined in bonds of love,
    We're linked to one another
    By such slender threads.

    We are planets to each other,
    Drifting in our orbits
    To a brief eclipse.
    Each of us a world apart,
    Alone and yet together,
    Like two passing ships.

    Just between us,
    I think it's time for us to recognize
    The differences we sometimes fear to show.
    Just between us,
    I think it's time for us to realize,
    The spaces in between
    Leave room for you and I to grow.

    We are strangers to each other,
    Full of sliding panels,
    An illusion show.
    Acting well-rehearsed routines
    Or playing from the heart?
    It's hard for one to know.

    We are islands to each other,
    Building hopeful bridges
    On a troubled sea.
    Some are burned or swept away,
    Some we would not choose,
    But we're not always free.


    DIFFERENT STRINGS

    Who's come to slay the dragon,
    Come to watch him fall?
    Making arrows out of pointed words,
    Giant killers at the call?
    Too much fuss and bother,
    Too much contradiction and confusion.
    Peel away the mystery,
    Here's a clue to some real motivation.

    All there really is,
    The two of us,
    And we both know why we've come along.
    Nothing to explain,
    It's a part of us
    To be found within a song.

    What happened to our innocence,
    Did it go out of style?
    Along with our naivete',
    No longer a child.
    Different eyes see different things,
    Different hearts beat on different strings.
    But there are times
    For you and me, when all such things agree.


    NATURAL SCIENCE

    1. TIDE POOLS
    When the ebbing tide retreats
    Along the rocky shoreline,
    It leaves a trail of tidal pools
    In a short-lived galaxy.
    Each microcosmic planet
    A complete society.

    A simple kind mirror
    To reflect upon our own.
    All the busy little creatures
    Chasing out their destinies.
    Living in their pools,
    They soon forget about the sea...

    Wheels within wheels in a spiral array,
    A pattern so grand and complex,
    Time after time we lose sight of the way,
    Our causes can't see their effects.

    2. HYPERSPACE
    A quantum leap forward
    In time and in space,
    The universe learned to expand.

    The mess and the magic,
    Triumphant and tragic,
    A mechanized world out of hand.

    Computerized clinic
    For superior cynics
    Who dance to a synthetic band.

    In their own image,
    Their world is fashioned.
    No wonder they don't understand.

    3. PERMANENT WAVES
    Science, like nature
    Must also be tamed
    With a view towards its preservation.
    Given the same
    State of integrity,
    It will surely serve us well.

    Art as expression,
    Not as market campaigns
    Will still capture our imaginations.
    Given the same
    State of integrity,
    It will surely help us along.

    The most endangered species,
    The honest man,
    Will still survive annihilation.
    Forming a world
    State of integrity,
    Sensitive, open and strong.

    Wave after wave will flow with the tide, and bury the world as it does.
    Tide after tide will flow and recede, leaving life to go on as it was...