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| "Natural Science" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suite by Rush | ||||
| from the album Permanent Waves | ||||
| Released | January 14, 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | September–October 1979 | |||
| Studio | Le Studio (Morin-Heights, Quebec) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 9:20 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | Neil Peart | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Rush suite chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Natural Science" is a suite of "Tide Pools", "Hyperspace" and "Permanent Waves" by Canadian rock band Rush. With music by bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson and lyrics by drummer Neil Peart, it serves as the closer for the six-track Permanent Waves (1980), their seventh studio album.
Background
[edit]Rush's seventh studio album Permanent Waves (1980) saw the band attempt to produce complex songs in shorter lengths than epics of albums like 2112 (1976) and Hemispheres (1978) which lasted up to 20 minutes. The decision was influenced by the change of styles popular in rock music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a rise in popularity of punk and Jamaican styles such as reggae and ska.[2]
The album was recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights from September to October 1979.[3] In 2024, when asked by Ultimate Guitar what was Rush's hardest to record, Lifeson initially said "Everyone." However, he pondered for a moment and the first song that came to his head was "Natural Science". His rationale was the composition required "pretty intense playing", and takes would often be re-done "a million times" for perfection.[4]
Composition
[edit]Lyrics
[edit]"The fact that science isn't some impersonal thing that's trying to destroy us, it's not an enemy it's something we ourselves created and if it gets out of hand it's our fault for letting it get out of hand. So, what it boils down to really is, we've just gotta take ourselves in hand really more than anything it's we who need the taming."
"Hyperspace" is an allegory of contemporary society, where the world turns "mechanized" and "out of hand" within "a quantum leap forward".[6] "Permanent Waves", covering the future, is a cautionary tale about the extreme power, as thus potential destruction, of nature.[6][7]
"Natural Science", like much of Rush's music from 1975 to 1985, critiques from an individualist perspective homogenizing institutions and social circumstances. It brings up commerce and mass media's dulling of artistic expression also criticized in Permanent Waves lead single "The Spirit of Radio" (1980), as well as "The Big Money" (1985) and "Superconductor" (1989). Technology's ability to elevate and oppress the population simultaneously, heard in some Signals (1982) cuts and the entirety of the Cold War-themed Grace Under Pressure (1984), is also a theme in "Natural Science".[8]: 84
Release
[edit]The three Permanent Waves tracks in prime rotation on FM radio upon release were "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill" and "Natural Science".[9]
Reception
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"Natural Science" was the favorite Permanent Waves track of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, his reasons including its successful balance between accessibility and complexity and for being the most similar to songs of previous Rush albums.[10] It was also the favorite Rush song of another drummer, Voivod's Michel Langevin, for being a mixture of all of the aspects of Rush's music he enjoyed, in addition to its "sci-fi quantum physics theme, and a touch of militant environmental consciousness!"[11]
A 2020 PopMatters review of Permanent Waves's 40th anniversary edition "Natural Science" claimed, "not only is it awesomely ambitious and wide-ranging in its own right, but how it influenced countless proteges is evident than ever with four decades of hindsight".[12] Far Out's Dale Maplethorpe acclaimed Rush's ability to have "a great beat to it that is hard not to head rock to" despite the chaotic composition, with it constant and sudden time signature and volume changes.[13]
On Paste magazine's top "15 Songs About Science", "Natural Science" was number six, above Elton John's "Rocket Man" (1972) and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (1969). Laura Stanley concluded in her assessment, "Rush’s compact summary of life leaves a lot of room to fear the future."[6] "Natural Science" landed on an top-ten list of the same in the rock genre from Far Out, which also featured "Space Oddity" and claimed it be one of the genre's all-time "most insightful scientific concepts".[7]
Ultimate Classic Rock ranked "Natural Science" the ninth weirdest Rush song, where it was called "a maze with some fascinating twists and turns" and its "Tide Pools" section unlike any other Rush song.[14] In 2007, the Detroit Free Press called "Natural Science" one of five all-time Neil Peart performances on a Rush.[15] Rush historian Martin Popoff almost put a "heavy" solo in the song on his list of the top-20 Lifeson's Rush track guitar riffs.[16]
Live performances
[edit]For Lifeson, "Natural Science" was challenging but rewarding to perform at concerts, citing its fast tempo and "intricate, hard playing".[5]
Covers
[edit]A cover version appeared on the various artists tribute album Working Man: A Tribute to Rush (1996). The Devin Townsend-sung track had James Murphy as lead and rhythm guitarist, David Townson performing the second lead guitar, Deen Castronovo on drums, Matt Guillory on keyboards, and Stuart Hamm as bassist.
Peart appreciator, Symphony X's Jason Rullo, uploaded a drum cover of "Natural Science" to YouTube on February 3, 2024.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "About Permanent Waves". Rush.com. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ Elliott, Paul (June 24, 2016). "The History Of Rush by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson: Moving Pictures and the 1980s". Classic Rock. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ^ Permanent Waves (Media notes). Rush. Anthem Records. 1980. ANR-1-1021.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Prato, Greg (January 26, 2024). "Alex Lifeson Names Most Challenging Rush Song to Play, Answers If He and Geddy Lee Will Collaborate Again". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Reed, Ryan (January 14, 2020). "Rush's 'Permanent Waves': The Story Behind Every Song". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ a b c Stanley, Laura (December 23, 2016). "15 Songs About Science". Paste. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Potter, Jordan (March 3, 2022). "From Rush to David Bowie: 10 best songs inspired by science". Far Out. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ McDonald, Chris (2009). Rush, Rock Music and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- ^ "Top FM Rotation" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XLI, no. 38. February 2, 1980. p. 20. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Hawkins, Taylor (May 12, 2021). "Why I ❤️ Rush's Permanent Waves, by Taylor Hawkins". Classic Rock. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ^ Ewing, Jerry (January 7, 2015). "Rush Song Of The Day - Natural Science". Prog. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ Blum, Jordan (May 26, 2020). "Rush's 'Permanent Waves' Endures with Faultless Commercial Complexity". PopMatters. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ^ Maplethorpe, Dale (April 15, 2024). "Alex Lifeson picks the most difficult Rush song to record: 'Pretty intense'". Far Out. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ Reed, Ryan (May 21, 2023). "The 10 Weirdest Rush Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ McCollum, Brian (August 27, 2007). "The Beat of a Different Drummer". Detroit Free Press. p. 23. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (August 27, 2023). "Top 20 Alex Lifeson RUSH riffs, ranked". Goldmine. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
The heavy bit in "Natural Science" came oh so close.
- ^ "SYMPHONY X Drummer JASON RULLO Performs RUSH Classic "Natural Science" (Video)". Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved January 21, 2025.