PRESTO

'Presto' marks the return of a more guitar oriented Rush as the band approaches the final year of the dreadful 80's. As a result (or is it the other way around?) the keyboard is found as a much less dominant instrument. While the pop of Power Windows and Hold Your Fire is still present to a great degree here, there is also a small hint of prog returning as well. Compositionally, the album is a bit more structurally and instrumentally diverse than the previous two albums.

Songs like Show Don't Tell and Chain Lightening are full of energy and reminiscent of Grace Under Pressure, while 'Superconductor' has a convincing riff in 7/8. If nothing else, these songs are lyrically strong, and Peart definitely shows his poetry skills along with his consistently impressive drumming throughout.

I would still say this is not a very favorable album, but it is a noticeable improvement over the disaster of the previous two albums.

3/10