PRESTO

This is definatly their second best 80's work, right behind Hold Your Fire. The only real reason that it didnt get the best vote was for the reason of production. There is a little too much high end and not enough bass end, though it still very upfront, but slightly too sharp sounding for my ears. The bass sounds awesome on this recording, I will say that though. I do wish it was little more bottom end because sometimes, even during some of the bass solos, you can't really hear it all that well. The guitar parts are really interesting to me. They are rythmic and possess some of the best riffs because of Alex and his guitar. Neil, well, Neil is awesome on this record. He plays with some nice passion and its really great. The album is nice....definatly a good one on the 80s side. The next album, a big suprise, might not be as good.

The first song "Show Don't Tell" is easily one of the best songs on the album, maybe behind only "The Pass" really. The bass solo is pretty good, and the keyboards are nice and mysterious, and, for a matter of fact, the whole song is very mysterious sounding because of the dark vocals and guitar chords. The drums are definatly strong. Neil is really pounding and playing really forcefully. There is a slight short guitar solo, that last for a few seconds after the main bass solo and the vocals are singing over it, its very nice though. "Chain Lighting" is even darker sounding than the previous track. The riffs are so dark to me, its a very different track too. The lyrics are interesting enough, really nice. The bass lines are pretty cool, nice and chordy enough. This was the era when Geddy really started to play with chords on the bass, making some different sounds that some other bassists don't do because they usually use one-note lines. The vocals are really nice, nice overdubbing of vocals too. "The Pass" might be the most important song on the album. It talks about teen suicide, and how big of a deal it is now. The music itself is definatly glorious, for one thing. The bass line is really nice and it kind of makes you feel inspired when you listen to it. The guitar knows the right place to play, thanks to Alex, the guitar solo is near perfection. Its not too fast, but it has the right slow pace that is awesome. The drumming is suberb. "Warpaint" is another great rock song, with some proggy lyrics, but thats the only prog thing. Its kind of a letdown musically, but its very good considering the rest of the album. "Scars" is another great track, with an awesome keyboard part that sounds alot like a Geddy bass-part, even though with no chords. The guitar takes a backseat for this song, and the keyboards, vocals, and drums stardout. Neil is so good here, its honestly amazing to me. I can't believe the African influence on this song, its sounds too cool for school to me. "Presto" is a bit too poppy sounding for my taste, but its alright at least. The music is nice, and the lyrics are awesome. "Superconductor" is really the last good song. Its got an awesome and upbeat riff that will not get out of your head, and the vocals are just simply to die for on this song. The rest of the album you can definatly forget, especially "Red Tide" for getting my vote of worst song on the album. Its not bad, its just not very good at all, though nice lyrics. Music is lacking on that song.

The album is definatly a good one, you will want to buy it.