Permanent Waves Super Deluxe Edition

Celebrating 40 years of Rush’s Permanent Waves, the Super Deluxe Edition will feature two CDs, three 180-gram audiophile black vinyl LPs and a 40-page hardcover book filled with reimagined artwork by original album designer Hugh Syme, unreleased photos from the band’s archive and an exclusive twelve-thousand plus word essay.  The Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 album remaster is made available on CD for the first time.  CD 2 is loaded with unreleased bonus live tracks from three stops on the Permanent Waves World Tour 1980: Manchester Apollo, Manchester, England; Hammersmith Odeon, London, England; and Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri, all newly mixed by the band’s longtime producer Terry Brown.

Permanent Waves is the band’s first of many iconic visits to Le Studio recording studio in Morin Heights, Quebec which has been nicknamed Rush’s Abbey Road Studios. A blank sheet of Le Studio letterhead was newly discovered, so the first of many collectibles included is a 20-page 5”x7” Le Studio notepad.  The two replica tour programs represent the official Permanent Waves World Tour 1980 program and with the inclusion of U.K. performances the very rare, unofficial The Words & Pictures Volume II UK-only tour program is included.   The Super Deluxe Edition’s finishing touches feature 3 band member replica backstage laminates, a 24”x36” double-sided poster showcasing the original album cover model and photos of each band member recording at Le Studio, and three Neil Peart handwritten lyric sheets for “The Spirit Of Radio,” “Entre Nous” and “Natural Science.”

Permanent Waves is the band’s first departure from in-depth, ten-minute plus conceptual song crafting and is deemed as a poignant moment they reinvented themselves and their sound. “We’ve taken it (the conceptual album) to its logical limit and it’s time to do something else,” remarked Geddy Lee.  To further reinvent themselves, the band opted to record at Le Studio in Quebec which has been highly credited in the evolution of the Rush sound and would soon become their home away from home for future albums to come.  Giving birth to two of the band’s most important songs in their stable, “The Spirit Of Radio” along with “Freewill” offered fans a long overdue experience: regular radio play.  Additionally, the album features the cinematic “Jacob’s Ladder,” the album’s third single “Entre Nous,” the Geddy Lee lyric penned “Different Strings” and the barometer for pure progressive rock “Natural Science.”