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Permanent Waves, the eighth album in Rush’s discography, holds up very well as a psychedelic album in today’s times, despite being released in 1979.
The album builds a journey story for the listener starting off with track one, “The Spirit Of Radio” as an introduction. “Jacob’s Ladder” has a lot of unique sounds for a rock album and takes the listener to the middle of the character’s journey.
Throughout all the songs, listeners get a new sound, with otherworldly playing from lead guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart.
The lyrics play a big part as well, with the vocals by Geddy Lee. “Free Will” and “Different Strings” show the emotions of the character listeners are imagining.
The album wraps up the character’s journey with “Natural Science,” which brings the album full circle nicely.
While this album is around 45 years old, it still manages to bring enjoyment, as listeners today don’t see many such character stories.
