PERMANENT WAVES

'Spirit of the Radio,' from Rush's Permanent Waves, was my initial introduction to progressive music. I had never heard of the genre before, or Rush for that matter.after hearing it on the radio, all I could think was that "this song is UNREAL." The bass and drum unisons in the intro are played with such precision; it can only be described as surgical. When I finally started getting heavily into Rush (and out of alternative/grunge.thank God), 'Natural Science' was my second taste of prog, and I've been hooked for the last five years now. The 7/8 'hyperspace' section of Natural Science forever changed the way I looked at music. An incredible song.

The songwriting is great from top to bottom on Permanent Waves. Rhythmically and lyrically, it might be flawless. Listen to Entre Nous.it's pure poetry. The sound quality doesn't quite live up to the material present on this album, but for the time I'm sure it was great.

I feel that this is Rush's strongest album, just ahead of Hemispheres. Five stars all the way!