PRESTO

This one is a logical progression from Moving Pictures. Although Geddy himself has dismissed this album, I find it one of their best. the fifth contender for best Rush album ever. Every track is superb. Comparatively weak is Hand Over Fist, but only comparatively! The album opens with Show Don't Tell, with amazing guitar work by Alex. Chain Lightning and The Pass continue this, and War Paint is a modern Rush classic. Great stuff! Presto is brilliant. SuperConductor has a tremendous riff, and Available Light is essential. A great album and one of Rush's finest. Listen to it and you will agree!

Ah, the magic had returned. "Show Don't Tell" slaps the listener around with its tight, sinuous mix of bass, drums and guitar while pushing the synthesizers back where they belonged. Credit coproducer Rupert Hine for helping RUSH rediscover where their true power lie: superlative musicianship, forceful imagery and rational exuberance. For the opening track alone this is the best RUSH album since "Signals", but "Presto" is not a case of top-loading the deck this time. The disc rocks hard from every angle, like the caged energy of "Chain Lightning", "War Paint" and "Superconductor." If you've been lulled to sleep by the synthetic softness of "Grace Under Pressure" or "Hold Your Fire", "Presto" is the wake-up call you've waited for. It'ss their leanest album since "Power Windows", but rendered with much more energy and technical skill. In fact, with this album RUSH began to show up in the heavy metal category (they did rock harder than Tull), joining borderline prog/metal acts like KING'S X and QUEENSRYCHE in that molten middle earth. There are still nods to their past work; "The Pass" sounds a lot like "Second Nature", while "Turn The Page" reappears in a few tracks. Of course, those were some of the better tracks from "Hold Your Fire", and it certainly does seem on "Presto" that RUSH and Rupert Hine were able to distill what was best about the band and replicate it across an entire disc. "Presto" and "Hands Over Fist" are also excellent cuts that rank with the best work from their last few efforts.

Having closed the '80s chapter with the live "A Show of Hands", "Presto" bodes very well for the future. Again RUSH had regrouped and revised their approach to stay relevant, once more proving that their vision of prog rock could take root anywhere, anytime.

I found this album quite dull. The songs are all very basic and similar to each other in their compositional structure, and the mandatory guitar solos are not very good. The album cover with lots of bunnies is quite funny though...

Rush is one of those bands that i have never been fan of, some friends of mine like them a lot and that is why i started to listen to some of their albums, one day in a local shop i fouind this album in a very nice price so i buy it and later exchanged it, why?, because this album is completely boring and lacks of originality and good music, maybe i am being a bit hard with it because i am not a Rush follower, but i have listened much better albums than this, maybe this album was contagied by the 80s pop era of music, this album shows a commercial side of Rush and i dont like it, the musci is not the best nor the worst, but i think they could have done something better, since i exchanged it, i have never listened to it again, and i am not willing to do it, just for fans.

A very underrated album that I particularly enjoy. This is at a point where Rush was at full flight in the 80's, doing what they do best. Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee are masters of their instruments, and they talents still come through 11 years after their first masterpiece. The use of keyboards is heavy, but Geddy sticks with the vocals and bass as his first priority.

The album begins with Show Don't Tell, which could be a prequel to the upcoming behemoth beat of Roll the Bones. With a very upbeat and ear friendly chorus, they rip and roar through the piece with precision and skill. The next track worth mentioning is the emotional The Pass, a piece that Neil wrote about teen suicide. With a very emotional vocal line by Geddy and some emotional playing by Lifeson, you can't help but be brought to tears. The title track is also very good, with a hook line chorus, and some very interesting work by Geddy. The other track I particularly like is Superconductor. This is a very underrated track IMO. Alex's work never ceases to amaze me.

Overall, this album is very good. All of the members play their best and it shows on 50 minutes of music paradise. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is just getting into Rush, but once you are a fan, this is an album you won't want to miss.

In the end of 1989 Rush released the album "Presto". It contains songs with catchy melodics, subtle breaks, short but fiery soli and functional keyboards. I will never forget that I heard for the first time the album opener "Show don't tell", I almost cried like a baby who had lost his favorite toy! This confronted me with the fact that Rush was no longer interested in making long and varied compositions, I had to respect their musical choices but from now on Rush was no longer my band, I sold this album after two sessions... what a disappointment!

A low 3.

From the first notes of "Show Don't Tell", it's obvious Rush are slowly returning to a more ballsy, tougher way of doing things, even if it's in baby steps, and even if they would never, ever be the band they were on, say, 'Permanent Waves'. But life is about change, and the 3 members of Rush always went with the flow of life, never looking back. You have to respect them for that. 'Presto' sees them coming up with a far stronger set of songs than its forgettable predecessor, 'Hold Your Fire'.

"Show Don't Tell" is full of vigor and life, with powerful vocals from Geddy Lee and some amazing dynamic interplay that reminds you just how special this band is. Second song "Chain Lightning" is so good that you might be tricked into thinking Rush had gotten all the crud out of their system for good. It starts innocently, upbeat with watery guitars, synthetic effects, slappy bass and a mild vocal approach. But the pre- chorus and chorus explode into one of Rush's brightest moments of the era. An airy, colorful, compelling chorus sticks in the head and moves the song along quickly, while Neil Peart plays nimbly and dynamic throughout. There are more moments of interest in this song than the whole of 'Hold Your Fire', as if Rush got hungry again. "The Pass" is next, which was resurrected for their live set years later, and for good reason. It's a poignant lyric and a moody piece of music.

This is where things get a little weak. "War Paint" is limp, nothing really outstanding or memorable about it, with a pop-happy chorus and even more sugary guitar solo. "Scars" is funky with an exotic tinge, a bit like "Mystic Rhythms" maybe, but showing The Police influence wasn't fully out of their system yet, the whole thing even closer to Duran Duran than anything. "Presto" is nice due to the use of acoustic guitar, which hadn't been used this much on a Rush album since 'A Farewell To Kings', but it's hardly worthy of that era's magic despite the relatively ambitious arrangement. "Superconductor" is one of the worst songs of their career, with chorus that's too stupid to believe. "Anagram" stirs the emotions, and the key changes are interesting, but it's still a bit overly happy and annoying. "Red Tide" is a strong bit of storytelling, playing upon hope and fear, renewal and paranoia, with some interesting dynamic shifts and excellent vocals. The final two songs couldn't be more different in quality: "Hand Over Fist" is awful, ultra-pastel pop that's incredibly hard to listen to...and "Available Light", which revolves around a beautiful chorus featuring some of Geddy's best vocals in years. An illuminating song that ends this uneven album on a high note.

Too bad the production on this album is soft and muted, flattening what sound like relatively energetic performances. It doesn't help an already so-so album. But there's enough to like here, and it's a small move in the right direction.

Good introduction to 'modern' period of Rush.

Starting with Presto, the final period of the band has a lot of appeal to the girlfriends of the Rush fandom; the easy listening period finally arrived and Rush has many radio staples per album, here The Pass and Show don't Tell (with both interesting videos).

Presto is also the start of the 'personnal' records of Rush, with much more deeper lyrics about man/woman, soul/society and humans/environnement. It's also the start of the 'super stylish art covers' with great pictures and incredible work of imagination and marketing. Peart is opening a bit more his heart and some pretty emotionnal stuff can be heard in the Pass for example. Rush got a lot more FM friendly this time but the overall product is again, above average. Althought technically, it's inferior to Hold Your Fire with a lot less keyboard and a lot more acoustic guitar and a clear 90's production.

For many this has been their introduction to Rush, but as a big, big fan, Presto is less interesting since the threesome lost almost totally it's 70's attitude.

Not 'in-your-face' anymore.

Definitely one of their best '90s albums (though it came out in '89), "Presto" is a vast improvement on the overtly commercial leanings of "Hold Your Fire". True, there are easier moments here as well, but the presence of synthetisers is thankfully less obtrusive and Alex Lifeson's guitar once again a protagonist .

The opener "Show Don't Tell" immediately sets the scene, with its jagged rythms and Alex's aggressive riffing - clearly a much more complex offering than the catchier, chorus-orientated songs on HYF. "Chain Lighting" rocks harder and faster than most of the band's '80s production after "Moving Pictures"; while the slower, deceptively melodic "The Pass" deals in style with the thorny topic of suicide, as if introducing the darker subject matter of the album's follow-up, "Roll the Bones". Though not all the tracks are as good as these three, there are other gems to be found on this album, such as the ethnic-tinged, strongly percussive "Scars", the partly acoustic title-track and the brisk, dynamic "Red Tide". Even the weaker tracks, though, never reach the really low standards of some of the songs on "Test for Echo".

While it's true that Rush have never gone back to the longer compositions of their '70s glory days, there is a lot of merit in being able to write shorter yet interesting songs which are intelligent and progressive in their own way. "Presto" is obviously bound to be a disappointment to those who would have wanted the band to churn out clones of "2112" and "Hemispheres" until the end of their career (which has not yet come about, thank goodness!); though more open-minded listeners will appreciate its many strengths, not least the steady growth of Geddy Lee's vocal skills: no longer a Robert Plant clone (as he's often been unkindly labelled), but an articulate, expressive singer, the best possible vehicle for Neil Peart's lyrics. An excellent album, one I would recommend to all but, perhaps, the "absolute beginners". A solid 3.50 stars, this time rounded up to 4.

An interesting release, this one. After the synth-laden "Hold Your Fire" and before the over-commercial "Roll The Bones", "Presto" is one of those Rush albums that stands alone (Grace Under Pressure, Counterparts, 2112 are such albums). It sounded fresh when released, sounding like no other Rush album before it (nor any album after it). Most tracks are very good : "Show Don't Tell" is probably the hymn song from this album, with an interesting rythmic structure and a nice bass solo.

"Chain Lightning" is a bit reminiscent of the old "Batman" television theme (only way much better), has good lyrics and a great drum part.

"The Pass" is probably Rush's most poignant song, a semi-ballad dealing with suicide, where the band sounds as delicate as they never have (remember Tears, Madrigal, Different Strings), better than Bravado on Roll the Bones in my opinion. The display of restraint and feel within this song is superb.

"War Paint" is ok, not very good nor very bad. Still sounding like nothing else they previously recorded.

"Scars" is definitely Neil Peart's stand-out number on this album (drum wise). The drums are as interesting as, say, in songs like Mystic Rythms and Territories, only even more so. So interesting in fact, that Neil incorporated one part of the song in his drum solo from there on. I am not sure, but I believe Geddy only plays synth and vocals on this track (the bass sound is so synthetic) and Lifeson's guitars are ethereal. An excellent mezmerizing track.

"Presto" was a pleasant surprise, with acoustic guitars that actually sounded like acoustic guitars (I believe the only other song Lifeson played acoustic guitar in the 80's was Mystic Rythms, and it did not really sound as an acoustic guitar). A light, catchy number, with a somewhat magical mood to it.

"Superconductor" is the album's rock track, the most upbeat song. When the album was released, I remember friends that either loved or loathed that song. I was among those who loved it. The most energetic number of the album.

"Anagram". Well, this song is filler for me. Even though the lyrics are exciting (altering words to form other words as the title suggests) I find that this has to be one of the two really weak tracks of this album, and one of Rush's weakest moments along with another song from this album which comes later.

"Red Tide" is a great song, environmentally engaged with great lyrics. It is also a great track musically, a bit more in the vein of Territories.

"Hand over Fist" is, to me, even worse than "Anagram" and wins the uncoveted "Worst Rush Song" award in my humble opinion.

Album closer "Available Light" is, once again, a very different song from Rush. A slow introduction with piano, evolving into a rock song, returning to a slow verse, with a great vocal melody.

Production wise, everything is crystal clear. Probably a bit too clear, at the expense of bottom end. While Alex Lifeson benefits from this, Geddy Lee's sound suffers from it, while Neil Peart's sound is very good, very in-your-face, just a bit too clear.

Forget tracks like "Anagram" and "Hand over Fist", and what you have here is a great album, unique in Rush's discography for it's approach and songwriting. The second best album of the period between "A Show of Hands" and "Different Stages". Overall, I think I even prefer this one to "Hold Your Fire". Keep in mind that this is not prog rock anymore (art rock instead), and you should not be dissapointed.

"Presto" has the band sounding more restrained and refined than ever before; each note sounds meticulous and the album's production is so squeaky clean you'll be wondering if the mixing board erased all the rock from the songs. Honestly, the tracks are all very good-- but they are also very dull.

Peart's lyrics are as smart as ever but, like much of the band's playing here, just can't generate the same excitement as before. There are few songs that you'll remember and even fewer that the band themselves perform live today. My biggest complaint, however, is the positively anemic sound of Alex's once majestic guitar.

I would say that this is their weakest album of the '80's; fun for dedicated fans of the band but a poor example of the group's virtuosity.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 2 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

This is one of RUSH's most commercial sounding records. And having Rupert Hine produce it will certainly help bring that about. This would be their last album of the eighties and the sounds and style we heard on "Hold Your Fire" can be found on songs like "Chain Lightning" and "War Paint". While "Anagram" may have seemed like a good idea at the time it has to be the worst song on this record. "Red Tide" brings to mind "Grace Under Pressure" with the meaningful, dark lyrics.

"Show Don't Tell" is a good song with a crisp, clean sounds and short instrumental outbursts. The synths are in the background, as they are on most of these songs thankfully (except the songs I mentioned earlier)."The Pass" is perhaps the best song on here and it's certainly the most meaningful as it touches upon teen suicide. They did a video for this one. "Presto" has some good tasteful guitar and I like the lyrics. In the liner notes you can see the humour of RUSH when they start to thank people. For example : "A wave of the wand to..." "Superconductor" is an upbeat, catchy tune about the effect famous people have on the public. "Hand Over Fist" is pretty good with that good beat. "Available Light" seems to work. Some interesting guitar from Alex 2 minutes in. Great drumming as usual.

An upgrade from "Hold Your Fire" but still not worth more than 3 stars.

Pop goes the Rush.

Though an album that has some very strong offerings, and some complete essentials, this is more one for the fans. This album definately has more of a pop taste to it as the 90s approachs, and where the late 80s and early 90s Rush had more experimental material happening this album is kind of lost, attempting rock, post-prog and pop music in a sort of mish-mash that Rush doesn't normally come out with. However, if you're a big fan of the Hold Your Fire/Roll The Bones era of Rush, don't pass this one up!

Some songs on this album are very friendly to the listener's ears, with SUPERCONDUCTOR and SHOW DON'T TELL being very often heard my local radio, each song is good, very catchy, but that's not what Rush and prog fans love about the band. There aren't really any low points to be had, but what makes me give this album the rating it's getting is the lack of high points. Most songs are fairly average, and where each one does have it's charm, you have to really appreciate the angle that each one is being told from. The few high points on the album include the solumn THE PASS, a song about teenage suicide, CHAINLIGHTNING, a pop-flavored prog track that is actually quite good a few times around, and the increadble diamond in the rough AVAILIBLE LIGHT. This is a track highlighted with increadable vocals and instrumention, which really is where the whole album should have been going, what an album that would have been!

In the end it's an enjoyable album that ultimately gets a 2.5 star rating for having less longevity than most of Rush's albums, and, really, being more of a fan only thing. Rush fans will find a lot to like on this album (I did), but prog fans looking to get into Rush had better avoid this one. Good, but fans/collectors would find it more enjoyable than others.

I am huge rush fan...

every time I go to see them play I pray they don't play anything from this album. it'so frighteningly mediocre. Bad has its merits .. sometimes Led Zep get it horribly wrong, but hey, so what, they're pushing the envelope. This album hardly pads the wallpaper.it's as if the band had been given a dose of soporifics.

Banal platiitudionus vacuous track follows banal platitudinous track. this is truly dreadful.

If I could wave MY magic wand I would consign this album to anals of history (whoops did i mean annals, no ...on relfection I think I got it right the first time).

I would love to have said that there was a passable B-side in this but ... hey you know I wouldn't

Time to put on some Temple of the Dog.......... Hunger Strike ... oh yes

Not such a bad evening after all

Pass the sherry vicar

One of the good albums of Rush from the '80's but with lack of passion i might say. Not as good as the predecesor but still enjoyble. Not very much to add here, only if you enjoy Rush's music you must try this one. Anyway Presto is the last album of the eighties of this famous band, what is most obvious here is that the synths are in the background, that is not the story on previouses releases where the synths are very in front like on Grace under pressure or Moving pictures. Presto has high points and low points of greatness. For example Show Don't Tell is Rush with it's best ability of making good music with good lyrics and Superconductor, the best pieces from here, the low points are Anagram and Scars far more mediocre than any Rush songs from the '80's. So this album desearves 3 stars but nothing more.

After returning to Rush and their studio albums after a 20 year hiatus, post Power Windows I can honestly say what a good move it was. While the tracks became shorter in composition the artistic magic and craftmanship is still there. Presto maybe an album largely panned by critics and band members alike but I have to say it sounds fresher than Power Windows, which sounded like the ideas were drying up. ' The Pass' is a superb Slow marching song, great lyrics and melody as well. Other great songs are the closing' Available Light' and the tightly woven ' Superconductor'. The first track ' Show Don't Tell' sounds like a rendition revisit of ' Spirit of the Radio' with great guitar licks from Alex Lifeson. Overall Presto has impressed after about half a dozen listens. Rush were still evolving and after finally accepting shorter compositions and less demanding concepts and atmospheres their music still sounds great. A solid three stars.

Presto is the thirteenth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. The album was recorded at Le Studio in Morin Heights and at McClear Place in Toronto using producer Rupert Hine when producer Peter Collins ( who had produced the two previous efforts from the band) declined the offer. Hold Your Fire (1987), which was the last album before Presto, was a heavily synthezised affair and a step towards more mainstream pop/ rock according to many fans while Presto marks the transition towards the more guitar oriented style that Rush would follow in the nineties.

The music still has lots of synths and people who didn´t enjoy Hold Your Fire might still have a hard time enjoying Presto. There is more emphasis on the guitar though and songs like the album opener Show Don´t Tell and my favorite on the album The Pass are very enjoyable in that respect ( both were released as singles and both charted on the TOP 40 of mainstream rock tracks along with the third single from the album Superconductor). I have a soft spot for the pop oriented Anagram ( for Mongo) too and Chain Lightning is also a favorite. The first four songs on the album does stand out as being the strongest IMO and a couple of the later songs are pretty average. None are bad but they are rather forgettable.

The musicianship is outstanding as always. Great technically challenging drumming, strong and powerful basslines, grand open guitar chords and intriguing guitar solos which by then was a trademark in Alex Lifeson´s sound and Geddy Lee´s distinct high pitched vocals.

The production is powerful and very clean. Not a typical eighties production and it seems that Rush moved into the nineties before time.

Presto is not Rush best album IMO even though it contains one of my favorite Rush tracks in The Pass. I can´t give more than a 3 star rating though as there are simply too many average tracks on the album. Just short of excellent though ( which would mean a 4 star rating in my book).

'Presto' - Rush (5/10)

Let me begin by saying there are some of Rush's most underrated songs here. The songs 'The Pass' and 'Available Light' are two of my all time favourite Rush songs, and are some of the most beautiful pieces they've ever done. There's also some more well-known material here that's great, such as the progressive 'Show Don't Tell' and the arena-rock song 'Superconductor.' What keeps this album from being really great is the fact that it's not really fun to listen to from start to finish. I listened to it about four times in it's entirity before resorting to focus on my preferred songs, while occasionally turning back to the backcatalogue songs... There's no flow to the album, which is a real shame, considering some of the songs are Rush classics.

Alex Lifeson can be heard here in much grander force than on the few albums that came before, such as 'Power Windows' and especially 'Hold Your Fire.' While it's nice to have Alex back at the forefront, I wish he could have simply done more with the role, and done some more lead work here.

While there are great songs here, there are also very forgettable songs. 'Hand Over Fist,' 'Scars,' 'War Paint,' and 'Chain Lightning' are definately nothing special, and definately would not be songs you would want them to play at concerts.

This is more or less a non-essential album, but the two 'underrated' songs (as I've mentioned before, 'The Pass' and 'Available Light') are too amazing to be missed by any Rush fan. If anything, check out those two songs. The rest of 'Presto' is alright, I guess... Money better spent on something else though, perhaps?

Mixed feelings on this one. A very mediocre affair with perhaps 4 great songs and the rest to be discarded in the waste paper bin of banal popular mainstream radio blechh. There is very little to recommend as far as progressive - in fact it is further from progressive than most other Rush albums.

The sound quality of crashing clanging guitars is up to a high standard but the lyrical content and song structure is very forgettable. In fact it is difficult to find any particular highlights but of note, I guess, is Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning, War Pass and Superconductor.

As for the rest... scrape it off into the paper bag and sell to the highest bidder.

I love Rush, the classics are indispensable - 2112, Farewell to Kings, Moving Pictures and even more recent works such as Counterparts are brilliant heavy prog works. However, Presto is as exciting as pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Some of it works and most of it does not - It is all so safe and superficial and devoid of that classic quality that is... Rush.

Presto is quite simply one of the finest musical products of the 1980s, fusing popular sensibilities and sounds with smart songwriting. I gravitate toward this album simply because it's great music. Take it for what it is.

"Show Don't Tell" With relevant lyrics, Botox-tight drumming and bass playing, and some powerful guitar work, this stands as one of Rush's best songs of the late 1980s. Lee demonstrates that he has not grown lazy with four strings.

"Chain Lightning" The second song on the album boasts discordant chords and a somewhat discordant melody during the verse. The experimental guitar solo sounds weak, especially with the low-lying rhythm section.

"The Pass" Quite simply one of the best thing Rush did since Moving Pictures (and probably the best song of the 1980s proper), "The Pass" is always a joy to hear. Neil Peart's drumming is as fervent as ever, perhaps imparting additional power to his potent lyrics. Geddy Lee's vocal harmonies are simple but impeccable, while Alex Lifeson's guitar is smooth and welcoming.

"War Paint" Powerful music gives way to cheesy synthesizer on this one, unfortunately. The lyrics are also fairly substandard. Despite those shortcomings, Peart's drumming is outstanding.

"Scars" Inspired by African tribal drumming he experienced whilst on a motorcycle tour of West Africa, Peart uses both acoustic and electronic drums here. Despite it's nearness to Lee's bass sound, the bass here is actually a sequencer. The vocals are particularly forceful.

"Presto" The title track is somewhat cheesy, but tended to grow on me over the years. While I used to skip over it each time I played the album, I no longer can do so.

"Superconductor" That heavy riff in 7/4 is a great taste of the fun in store on this track. The chorus is nothing short of enjoyable, and even the synthesizer-laden middle section makes me bask in satisfaction.

"Anagram (For Mongo)" A song loaded with fun but relevant lyrics, the words dominate this track. The music is good also, but not as powerful as the words.

"Red Tide" One of the few Rush songs to employ the piano as a major instrument, this is largely a laid back song with a somewhat forceful chorus. An allusion to Dylan Thomas's most famous poem is a major part of this song. Lifeson shreds a bit, but his tone is one of his worst.

"Hand Over Fist" Thin clean electric guitar runs through the beginning of this amusing track, which I have always enjoyed. Aside from the typical radio-boasted tracks, this is one of those Rush songs I heard growing up, and it holds a place in my heart.

"Available Light" Another track that's heavy on the piano, the final track on the album is slow initially, but does not stay so. The refrains are beautiful and pertinent, and Lee sings at his most spirited.

After several albums where keyboards dominated Rush's sound, 1989's Presto showed a dramatic shift which would eventually lead to Rush's transition back to its roots through the 1990s. Keyboards now played a more discreet role in the band's overall sound. Although a few songs on this album have them as the prominent instrument, the album is decidedly guitar-centric. Everything else in the Rush sound hasn't changed much, from Lee's vocals and the usual complex bass lines to Peart's skilled drumming. It's nice to hear Lifeson's return to form.

The one major similarity with Presto and preceding albums is it still song-oriented and chiefly radio friendly material. It's sort of like Grace Under Pressure and Hold Your Fire combined, but with much fewer keyboards. No matter how much I wish they would return to their late 1970s sound, I can't fault them for more accessible, yet quality material. After all, this was 1989, a year where the word "prog" was practically non-existent. There wasn't much else worth listening to in 1989.

A good album, not in anyway essential and a far cry from the band's peak years. Three stars and a cool album cover.

Rush has been my favourite band ever since I got to know them a good 25 years ago. Only recently they have found strong opposition from Opeth and especially Porcupine Tree. But for now, they still hold their ground. One of the reasons I like them so much is because they have constantly been evolving and following their own vision and inspiration. Basically I've found myself liking all the phases they went through.

Presto is from the era when, looking at the band pictures, we were all wondering if we had purchased an album from a new boysband instead of from our beloved prog guys. Damn, how slick and clean they looked! Well, if these guys have one weakness it is that their looks have followed whatever trend was around at the time. From hard rock hippies to the typical prog-look (long capes and kimonos alert on 2112) and then whatever the most horrible haircut was around in the 80's. Yes, those guys are true fashion victims!

Now, are you still waiting till I'm going to start about the album? Bad luck, I can summarize that in one sentence: it takes a while to get used to the poppy and flimsy bubblegum sound here, but actually, this is a decent set of songs that could please most of their 80's fans.

2.5 stars

A kind of return to form, but not a return to Prog of any kind

The quality of Rush's output declined steadily (and substantially!) in the mid 80's, and though the band never again made anything to match the albums from their classic era (2112 to Moving Pictures), Presto was, in my opinion, the best Rush album since Moving Pictures. In many ways, Presto constituted a return to form as well as a return to Rock (as opposed to the New Wave and Synth Pop that crept in on the band's previous four studio albums). The trademark lead guitar, bass and real (as opposed to electronic) drums are back and the synthesisers are not yet abandoned (as they would be in the 90's) but rather refined. In addition, a wider array of keyboard instruments are used on Presto including grand piano and some symphonic sweeping synths (played by two guest musicians). Also, more acoustic guitars than before are present. Overall, a more loaded and complete sound than on previous albums is created. Presto somehow combines the best elements from the band's other 80's albums (but avoids most of their weaknesses), with the rockier elements of the 90's releases and the best material of post-Moving Pictures Rush. The only track I don't like on Presto is the tedious Superconductor.

Another aspect worthy of a special note is that although the band reached their peak in the late 70's, one aspect of their sound had continued to improve; namely, Geddy Lee's vocals. Lee was never much of a vocalist, but listen to the album closer Available Light and it becomes obvious how much he has improved from the band's early days.

It should be pointed out, however, that even if a return to form this album by no means constituted a return to Prog. As I pointed out in my review of the previous Hold Your Fire album, Rush's Prog-phase was long since over at this point in time and they have never since showed any interest at all in trying to revive it in any shape or form (apart from in concert, material from the classic albums is still performed live by the band).

Presto is a good Rock album and certainly one of the best of post-Moving Pictures Rush. If you gave up on the band after their classic era, Presto is a good place to rekindle the flame. Sadly, the next couple of albums by the band would be among their weakest ever.

After Hold Your Fire and A Show of Hands, Rush realised they'd pushed their synthesiser-dominated post-Signals sound as far as it would go and it was time to shake things up. Presto sees them scaling back the use of synthesisers dramatically - restricting them to a few textures here and there - but though the return to guitars-bass-and-drums is welcome and refreshing, they aren't quite out of the 1980s yet.

In particular, Neil Peart's drum sound has a very dated sound to it (he definitely isn't banging on cereal boxes, you can't pull off some of the technical tricks he does here on those, but you might be fooled at some points).

In terms of the songwriting, what we have here is not a full-throated return to the ever-memorable and exciting Rush of Moving Pictures or A Farewell to Kings so much as an attempt to make an album using Hold Your Fire-era songwriting practices using Permanant Waves-era instrumentation. It's a little change, but a refreshing one after the sometimes sterile sound of that album; I wouldn't call the album brilliant, too many of the songs blend into each other a little, but I would say it's the point where the course correction starts to kick in.

Maybe the band wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but I can't shake the feeling that the band members themselves felt like HYF was a bit of a dead-end, as this album is very little like the previous few. The most fundamental change is that, with this album, Rush basically abandoned any pretense of "artsiness" in the sound. There are still some synthesizers (along some piano), but they're largely shoved into the background and function just as window-dressing; the focus of the sound is definitely back on the power-trio core. Instead of hard synth-prog, the band presents us with "mature" pop-rock, with continued focus on Peart's various messages (and honestly, the lyrics are mostly fine on this album). As you can see from the rating, I'm not terribly impressed by this album, though I do like it much more than I used to. One thing I do respect about the album is that this album shows Rush, for almost the entire album, showing a great deal of restraint in its instrumental approach, as they largely try to let the songs speak for themselves and only use their arrangements for embellishment. Unfortunately, in doing so, they end up revealing that the songs aren't that great (particularly in the second half). A lot of the maturity on this album, to me, feels just as close to adult-contemporary as did some of my less favorite songs on the last two albums, and these don't even have the excessively dense arrangements that made those songs so notable for their goofiness. The thing is, this is the kind of album a band makes that can only be fully appreciated by a heavy fan of the band. You know, the kind of album where a fan raves about all of the little subtle touches, and the general feeling of maturity, and how it's an understated, underrated gem. I don't say this in a bad way; goodness knows I do that myself for lots of late-period albums of a lot of bands I enjoy. Unfortunately, this is also the kind of album that inevitably bores those who only like a band on a casual level, and who like a band's best stuff but could take or leave the rest.

I do generally like the first half, though. The arrangements are nothing special, and the style is almost totally unoriginal, but there are some decent riffs and melodies here. One song that totally eluded me my first few listens, but that I now really like, is "The Pass," a touching song about somebody contemplating suicide and how it's really not worth it. I don't get really moved by a lot of Geddy's singing or Neil's lyrics, but I definitely feel something in hearing Geddy sing, "Don't turn your back and slam the door on me" and other lines here. I'm also fond of the opening "rocker" "Show Don't Tell" (my former choice for the album's best), which has a very good chorus that easily sticks in my head.

Despite some of the silliness in the lyrics, I find "Chain Lightning" very memorable, and Lifeson has some effective uses of his standard arpeggiation throuighout. The title track is a little dippy lyrically, but only a little, and it has a mildly entertaining melody. And, well, "Scars" has a pretty strong hook in its chorus. "War Paint" isn't that notable to me, but it's still ok, and I don't mind when it's on. If the first half of the album (through the title track) falls on the level of "moderately above average," though, the second half definitely falls on the level of "moderately below average." None of the songs (except the really dippy "Superconductor," one of the dumbest "rockers" I've ever heard from Rush) are clearly awful, but he melodies are really non-descript, and the lack of hooks ends up emphasizing the adult-contemporary aspects all the more. It's just boring, and a band like Rush really has to entertain me for me to care much.

Let me stress again that I'm glad that the band abandoned the synth-heavy sound (largely for good), I really am. The thing is, Rush was never really meant to be a regular, conventional pop band (albeit with lyrics that are more sophisticated than those of a normal pop band); pop hooks, absent of hard riffs or bizarre synth parts, never were the band's main forte. I hear some good songwriting on here, but there's just not that much, and there's not a lot to make up the deficit. Fans will definitely want this, but I don't know about the rest of us.

Almost everyone has a "one that got away" in their past and I reckon that applies to rock & roll bands, too. In Rush's case this particular album, one that could've been a classic, slipped through their fingers for no other reason than sometimes it just happens. Somehow this persevering trio had survived the MTV virus-infected 80s intact and this was their last record to be released before the new decade was to commence. They'd broken all ties with their long-time label and were now working for the industry behemoth that was Atlantic. No doubt they wanted to make a big impression by delivering a masterpiece so they enlisted the help of producer Rupert Hine who'd done good things with the likes of Anthony Phillips, Stevie Nicks, Camel and Tina Turner to provide them with a fresh sound. The group wanted to move away somewhat from the synth-heavy focus that had characterized their last few offerings and return to their power trio roots to some extent. Their intentions were admirable and they'd done everything they could to insure that they'd knock the record business on its ear with "Presto" but the magic that the title implies simply failed to show up. Their muse was vacationing with Phil Collins in Cancun, perhaps. Who knows? What we have here is a slightly above average album but also one that doesn't stand out as being remarkable.

Neil Peart's light toms provide a sneaky intro to "Show Don't Tell" and they lead to a strong, tight, complex prog funk riff that's delightfully edgy and relatively raw for this bunch. Alex Lifeson's guitars are bright almost to the point of brittleness, Geddy Lee's vocal is confident and Neil's crisp drumming all add up to a promising, energetic opening salvo. I like Peart's noteworthy lyric, "You can twist perception/reality won't budge." "Chain Lightning" follows and it has a sort of Canadian rockabilly vibe going for it that's quite engaging in its own quaint way. Geddy seems to have found a mature singing comfort zone not only on this track but throughout the record that is a far cry from the screechy yelps of his youth. Alex's guitar ride is playful and pleasingly weird. "The Pass" is next and it is far and away the apex of the album. Lee's deftly played bass chords at the beginning are cool as all get out but it's the number's melody lines and thoughtful arrangement that cause it to shine so brightly. This song displays how far the band had come in honing their composition skills because I consider it one of their very best in their vast catalog of work. Neil's lyrics address the sensitive subject of suicide tactfully without being patronizing. "Can't face life on a razor's edge/nothing's what you thought it would be," Geddy sings with emotion. This cut is a gem worth seeking out if you haven't heard it. "War Paint" marks a return to a heavier-handed motif yet they keep their prog mentality in the recipe by including a lot of stunning dynamics. Peart drives the track hard while Lee croons "All puffed up with vanity/we see what we want to see/to the powerful and the wise/the mirror always lies." On "Scars" they really step outside their box. Behind a funky, synth sequenced bass line and a myriad of African rhythms they hit the road running. It sounds like they wanted to experiment with a single-key piece that would challenge them to embellish its simple concept creatively. The results are a mixed bag of successes and failures.

"Presto" starts with a startling blast of sound that leads to Lifeson's strummed and stacked acoustic guitars, setting the stage for some surprises in the way of contrasting aural textures and an array of prog-related movements. Alex's guitar work is tasteful enough but overall there's nothing concrete to latch onto and remember a half hour later. "Superconductor" sports a hard rock riff and verse in 7/8 time, then opens up into a 4/4 glide for the connecting bridge and chorus. It's a decent tune but I can't help but feel that Lifeson missed a golden opportunity to step forward and kick out the jams with an awesome guitar solo but it doesn't happen. Not sure why, either. The door was wide open. "Anagram (for Mongo)" owns a moniker that gives a clever nod to "Blazing Saddles" and, while some fans may not like it much, I find the track endearing. I like the polished structure of the song very much because they take no unnecessary risks. It's as if they knew they had an excellent composition on their hands and they made sure they didn't mess it up by overcomplicating matters. Sometimes less is more. One line sticks out. "The cosmic is largely comic/a con they couldn't conceal." "Red Tide" is yet another of their 80s-era work that shows how much they admired what The Police were doing in that time frame. The utilization of vocal harmonies widens the scope on this cut and on several more of the record's numbers. "Hand Over Fist" rides atop a plodding groove that lays down a solid foundation for what, unfortunately, turns out to be a mediocre song. At this point in the proceedings the slickness of the production becomes monotonous and detrimental. They end with "Available Light" and, of all the tunes presented, this one most exemplifies the problem I have with the album as a whole. The predominance of a standard piano at the start is a wonderful change of pace but it doesn't last long enough. The trio is too married to the tried-and-true, bigger-than-life Rush assault mindset that barges in and effectively ruins the moment. They could've held back and created something subtle and poignant instead and it seems to me the payoff would've been significant if not amazing. Kudos to Alex for some fine guitar work, though.

Released around Thanksgiving in 1989, "Presto" did okay by rising to #16 on the LP charts. It's hard to criticize that level of success (especially since music in general was in such a sorry state of affairs at that juncture) but we reviewers must call 'em as we see 'em. The tunes are top-notch and the execution is, as always, flawless but there's just something vital missing (except in "The Pass") in the eleven cuts that cause them to miss the mark. I read where Geddy Lee once said of this record that he wishes they could have a re-do on this one because they so sincerely believed in the material they'd assembled for it. I couldn't agree more but the sad fact is, the "one-that-got-away" never comes back. 3.2 stars.

RUSH got the message loud and clear with the backlash of "Hold Your Fire" that enough was enough in their little synth based fairyland so they seriously scaled back on keyboards on their 13th studio album PRESTO and focused more on the power trio guitar, bass and drum sound that they were more famous for. The sound goes back to a less controversial time but the songwriting seems to have stayed in tune with the last few releases in that the tracks are short, somewhat poppy rock and fairly middle of the road in the energy delivering department.

I could be the carbon-based life form who has listened to this the most. I happened to have this along on a major cross-country road trip with only a few other albums so this got more than its share of listening time one summer. This album does bring back fond memories of the endless desert highways of Nevada and Utah and the countless mountain ranges and valleys dotted by a smattering of small villages and lots of sage brush. However, after listening to this album a million times still doesn't make it a better album. It is definitely better than its predecessor but that wouldn't take a lot to be honest.

I really love the first few songs including "Show Don't Tell," "Chain Lightning" and "The Pass." The next few songs up to and including "Superconductor" are OK and have some parts that are interesting but I always find myself taking creative control while listening to this album thinking that they should do that, change this, take that out. Everything after "Superconductor" is boring filler. This album is the perfect example of a 3 star album. Good for a few songs and nothing more.

The last hurrah, so to speak, of mid-period Rush, and like the other bookend of the era, Moving Pictures, one of Rush's best efforts. Presto is one good four- to five-minute song after another - - and several songs are more than just "good." No sidelong epic suites, no 10-minute mini-epics, nary a song even six minutes long. There's also no "Spirit of Radio," "Tom Sawyer," or other all-time classic Rush songs, although "Show Don't Tell" comes closest.

The performances and production are excellent, but that's to be expected on a Rush album. What sets Presto apart are the compositions. Unyolked, perhaps, from the demands of an overarching album concept, the band creates eleven distinct songs. As is the case with most Rush albums, the overall sound and mood on are pretty consistent on Presto.

Among Presto's best songs is "Available Light," which is another stab at the theme of "Time Stand Still," and a more satisfying one. "Show Don't Tell" and "War Paint" (the narrative structure of which reminds me of Genesis's "The Cinema Show") also stand out.

It's clear from listening to Presto that Rush had made peace with the idea that they wouldn't be able to reproduce these songs on the concert stage. They had been playing to tapes for years, but never before (or after) Presto did Rush seem unconcerned with making songs that could be convincingly performed live by a power trio with one vocalist. Instead, it seems, they focused on making a studio album.

There is nonetheless a power-trio feel throughout much of Presto; the keyboard parts seem secondary, while bassist Geddy Lee plays more chordal parts. There are also more guitar solos with only bass and drums as backing. (Parenthetically, I'll remark that some of Alex Lifeson's solos are in the same league as Dave Gilmour's: soaring and momentous without being busy.) But more notable than changes in instrumentation is the proliferation of vocal parts all over Presto. The quantity and overlapping character of the backing vocals on closing sections of a few songs, like "Available Light" and "War Paint," even approaches that of a contemporaneous Chicago song. Nearly every song has substantial harmony vocals on at least some parts. One other very unusual aspect: producer Rupert Hine, who along with Lee provides backing vocals, has a distinctive voice, and thus occasionally we have vocals on a Rush song not sung by Geddy Lee (the aforementioned "Time Stand Still" being another example).

Presto is still a Rush album, though, and some songs suffer from drummer/lyricist Neil Peart's moralizing - - "The Pass" being the clearest example. There's also some unnecessarily ostentatious virtuosity, such as the bass part on "Scars."

Ultimately Presto is second only to Moving Pictures in the Rush catalogue. These are two very different albums; Moving Pictures is much easier to define as a "progressive" album; Presto is really art-rock or art-pop (however those are differentiated). If I were to rate this as a "prog" album, two stars might be appropriate - - in other words, this semiprogressive offering would only be for diehard Rush fans. But there are hundreds and hundreds of albums on Prog Archives that are arguably not progressive - - to me anyway - - and I think it'd be counterproductive to choose certain albums to penalize for not being progressive enough; if Michael Jackson's Thriller we're listed on this site, I'd give it five stars.

Presto does in fact have some progressive elements; certainly more than Thriller does. But judging it by its own merits, Presto is a four-star album.

Most of us seem to look back on Rush's 80s catalog as the band simply trying to progress their established sound and usually succeeding at doing so. However, we also need keep in mind that back when these albums came out, many of the band's hardcore fans felt pretty betrayed by the excursions into pop territory and the heavy synthesizer use. Accusations of selling out were common, as well as accusations of the band forgetting the elements of what made them so great in the first place. But at the same time, many people also disregarded what made the 80s period of their music so good at points. Sure the arrangements were less long-winded and complex. Sure, Geddy Lee's synthesizers played a very dominant role in the instrumentation. And sure, the sounds of the pop and new wave artists of their time were creeping into their sound. But one reason that albums like Signals and Grace Under Pressure were so good was that they were so relatable. Not only was the signature Rush sound still present, but aided by the more personal and less fantasy-based lyrics that were already becoming a fixture in the last few albums. And the way the band's newly tightened songwriting was weaved in with their traditional progressive rock elements made for a successful formula.

Well sadly, they couldn't keep up this momentum for too long. Power Windows was a solid effort, sure, but it represented the band's most annoying feature at this period of time: too much goddamn synthesizer work. It was to the point that guitarist Alex Lifeson was getting pushed pretty far into the background, especially with the incredibly weak and watered-down Hold Your Fire. So naturally, Alex Lifeson ended up being the person who told the public that the next Rush record was going to be more guitar-driven and making a return to many of the band's traditional 70s musical traits. So with expectations being high, did Presto ditch many of the previous album's flaws? Well yeah it did, but it brought in other issues to take their place.

Presto actually shows a lot of promise with its first track "Show Don't Tell," which exhibits some of Rush's finest instrumental and songwriting chops in quite a while. Plus, Alex's heavy guitar tone is so satisfying to hear when in sync with Geddy's bass playing. However, right from the very first five seconds of its follow-up "Chain Lightning," you can instantly (and I do mean "instantly") tell what's wrong with the album. Namely, the sound is incredibly thin and sterile. I know it's been stated many times before, but Presto's production is absolutely horrible. While the watered-down sound is fine for mellower songs like "The Pass" or "Available Light," it doesn't even come remotely close to giving the faster and more intense songs the power and weight they probably deserve. This is the band's first album with producer Rupert Hine, and while he would do a better job on the follow-up record Roll the Bones (although only marginally better), this was just a lousy first effort. But sadly, this is not the only thing wrong with the album. The forgettable and boring nature of the record also extends to the songwriting, as the songs just seem to blend together around the middle portion. It's easy to forget you're even listening to the record as background music when you're not giving it a completely focused listen, which is a real shame considering the memorability of the band who made it. Some things do stick out, such as the simultaneously atmospheric and danceable "Scars" or the nicely off-kilter 7/4-time rhythm of "Superconductor"'s intro, but they aren't enough to salvage much of the record.

That is, UNTIL we reach the last four songs. Presto might have a lot of issues, but you wouldn't think so if it was just judged by these final tracks alone. From "Anagram" to the gorgeous closer "Available Light," Rush display some of their most inspired songwriting since Grace Under Pressure five years ago. "Hand Over Fist" benefits greatly from a great mix between quickly-strummed guitar chords and a fun melody from Lifeson, while "Red Tide" and "Available Light" can attribute their high quality to some really great piano lines that are integrated into the rhythms and melodies. These songs not only sound inspired, but very emotionally resonant as well. Also, as usual for Rush's standards, the musicianship of Presto is top-notch; for how simple and frustratingly bland many of these songs are, the band can find some pretty creative and impressive ways to give them life. While I already touched on Geddy and Alex's parts, Neil Peart is also great here. He might be limited by many easy 4/4 rhythms, but his willingness to make the best out of this format just displays more versatility and variety on his part. A drummer doesn't necessarily need to show off to be good, and Peart understands this concept very well.

So we have a bit of a mixed bag. Presto is just as flawed as Hold Your Fire, but the former is arguably more frustrating because there was the promise that Rush would be making some grand return to the glory days. On the other hand, Geddy Lee explained in an interview about the record that the band still decided to revert back to many of Hold Your Fire's pop elements and synthesizer-driven parts anyway. Perhaps they weren't quite ready to leave this comfort zone just yet and make another switch to their sound, but the lack of progression is still incredibly disappointing when given the album's potential. Luckily, things would turn around in a pretty big way with Roll the Bones.

After the exploration and use of synthesizers taken to the limits of their imagination and something more, Rush strips themselves of all that tucking and, finishing the 80's, they turn with "Presto" to a less pyrotechnical and more hard rock style, with short and direct themes, and at times rudimentary.

The loss of prominence of the synthesizers is evident from the opening "Show Don't Tell" or the accelerated "Superconductor" and "Anagram (for Mongo)", where Alex Lifeson's guitars shine with more than interesting riffs, although the strength and power of the raspy riffs of their beginnings were long gone and are missed.

As true as the ability of the Canadians to create pieces that overcome the passing of the years and settle in the timelessness of legends, as with the delicate "The Pass" and its calm and precious harmony, or the crystalline acoustic beginning of "Presto".

Beyond its intense moments, "Presto" is wrapped by a mantle of underhanded melancholy that remains strong throughout its development, and that is crowned with "Available Light", the song where Neil Peart shows his unsurpassable mastery in percussion, in general more rhythmic in the rest of the album.

All in all, a correct work with primitive airs, but with less explosiveness.

3 stars