Rush ensconced themselves once again at Le Studio in Quebec with Terry Brown to record their eighth studio album, Moving Pictures. "Tom Sawyer" kicks off; and continuing the trend from the previous record, offers another radio-friendly slice of prog rock. Geddy Lee's synthesizers accent the track, which features another of Alex Lifeson's firebrand guitar solos. The tale of a Ferrari roadster, "Red Barchetta," follows, and winds its course in expert fashion.

For Permanent Waves, Rush was back in Canada with producer Terry Brown. They assembled at Le Studio in Quebec where the band would continue to record for the next 15 years. The album was written and recorded over the summer of 1979, and the band was back on the road before the album was even released. The record contains six tracks, marking a return to shorter, less epic pieces. "The Spirit of the Radio" opens with a killer guitar riff; and somewhat controversially, drops into a reggae beat for a few bars before Alex Lifeson's guitar solo kicks in.