PERMANENT WAVES

Oh dear! After the promise of the previous two excellent studio albums, this one marked, for me, the first major change in direction, and not one I enjoyed much. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad album, and Jacob's Ladder and Freewill are Rush classics, and rightfully so. But the rest of the album seems thin,and to lack ideas. The Spirit Of Radio is far too jolly and insignificant, and the other tracks are forgettable. (Although the end of Different Strings has some nice fade out guitar work. Vies with 2112 as the second or third weakest album they have done. (Of course, both are superior to the tragic Fly By Night!) Only for die-hard fans.