4.5 stars - Rush searches for a new sound

Presto (1989.) Rush's thirteenth album.



The eighties was a mixed decade for Rush. While the band gained in greater audiences than they had ever had in the past, their shifting of sounds greatly disappointed many of their seventies fans. The change from a classic, seventies prog rock sound to an eighties keyboard/synth-heavy one didn't appeal to a lot of people. Fortunately, for every fan the band lost they gained several more in the process. As the eighties drew to a close, Rush was once again seeking to change direction. Presto, Rush's final studio album of the eighties, was released in 1989. Read on for my review.



Here's where Rush started a major sound shift. While the studio albums that immediately preceeded this one opted for the eighties-style prog rock that began heavily using keyboards and synths, this one took the band in a new direction. Here, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart greatly minimized synthesizer usage in favor of a more stripped-down, down-to-earth approach to rock and roll. This album was the first shift toward the sound the band would use on their nineties releases. Admittingly, there are still some synths on this album, but they're really just in the background, helping to carry a tune. They aren't heavily emphasized the way they were on any of the albums that came right before this one. There were no major hits on this album, but there were a few minor ones. Show Don't Tell is probably the best known of which. This song, essentially, shows what the band was about at this point in time. Alex Lifeson's guitar playing in this song is really unlike anything else he had ever done to the point - it has more of a modern rock sound to it. Synths are kept to a minimun, mainly residing in the background. Other minor hits include the hard pop-rocker Superconductor and the severely underrated classic Red Tide (why wasn't this song a bigger hit?) Rush was in an identity crisis of sorts when they released this album and it shows through and through, but the music itself is very good, and definitely hinted at the new direction the band would be taking in the immediate future.



Rush's albums got reissued and remasters, but sadly, it's a crappy remasters series. The sound quality has been improved, but that's it. No twofer releases, no bonus tracks, nothing extra (Mercury Records loves to do this to us.) I'm glad that the band's catalogue got remastered and reissued, but still, when you do remasters it's kind of an unwritten rule to go the extra mile!



In the end, Presto stands as a solid entry into the Rush catalogue. Admittingly, this isn't the best album to buy if you're new to the band, though. If you're new to the group, I recommend starting elsewhere (Moving Pictures is usually the best place for a new fan to start a Rush collection.) Although certainly not my favorite Rush album, Presto still rocks with the best of 'em. No Rush studio album collection should be without it.

Another good album

Lots of wordplay in the lyrics, but that is what RUSH is all about. Not a bad moment here.

Be wary of choruses

Distortion is used very seldomly here, but the clean and acoustic guitar textures are so lush and complex that it is not needed to create any artifical depth...Geddy must have taken a lesson or two from Alex and as a result "Presto" is the cleanest rush album every recorded. There are very few synths, duel guitars, or clicky electronic drum noises. This album sounds natural, and very performable. The emptiness of space allows for the instruments to interweave in ways not heard since the 70s era.



The lyrics are decent here. They are heart-felt, but not watered down with words like "feelings" and "love," rather with colorful imagery, and poignant messages. The tribal rhythmed "scars" takes a journey through the speakers vivid memories, while the infamous "the pass" emphasizes with troubled teens in the shadow of death, and unlike papa roach or korn, gives constructive advice for dealing with suicide. In "Red Tide" there is an obvious allusion to Dylan Thomas, and his most famous poem. "Chain Lightning" makes some well thought out observations as well. Not Peart's best, but miles ahead of his rock contemporaries.



The biggest problem with this album is the extensive repetition of the Chorus. Ive listened to this album many times, and tracks like "Superconductor" must be skipped, because if I hear "Watch his every move!" another time, I'd probly never listen to Rush again. So be warned, like another reviewer said, many tracks wear out pretty fast.



Despite those setbacks, "Presto" is Rushes best album since 1982's "Signals." You also will not hear another album as good until 2002's "Vapor Trails," which completely annihilates Rush's entire catalouge.



So buy this album if you like to sing along with catchy choruses, but I know most prog rock fans don't. For the rest of us, i'd say that the bass solo in "Show, Dont Tell" is worth the price of the album alone. That being only the first track, it is certainly worth the money.



Standout Tracks: Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning, The pass, Scars, Red Tide.

I feel really bad about this, but...

I cannot recommend this cd, because everything except for "The Pass" just doesn't sound very good. I really liked this the first few listens, but then I just thought the choruses and stuff were annoying. I think that only a few people can really stand the repeat listens of this album, and though Presto is initially really good, Roll the Bones is way better. The mastering and sparkly quality of the album detracts from its listenability. If you want something better, get Roll the Bones, one of their best and most "popular" type cds.

Inspiring...

I got the cassette for this one years ago from a friend (I don't even remember which one now), my second Rush album overall, and ended up really enjoying it start to finish. Unfortunately, I lost the tape when I left home and didn't replace it with a CD until recently. I was a bit hesitant, wondering if it would be as good as I remembered. I'm pleased to report that, after listening to it again many times, I still like it a lot; I may even consider it as one of my favorites thus far. The songwriting throughout is outstanding, displaying intelligence, wit, skill, and flexibility. There is definitely some groove on several of the songs - Chain Lightning, Scars, Superconductor, i.e. - providing ample hooks to interest the listener. There is quite a bit less metrical fluidity than on earlier albums, part of the trend towards simpler song structures (only Superconductor significantly strays from common time), but that only matters if you like that sort of thing, and the quality of the other elements of the performances easily makes up for this possible "deficiency." A number of lovely melodies enhance Mr. Peart's lyrics - The Pass, Presto, Anagram, Available Light - and Mr. Lee's vocal performance is as good as it ever was or has been. Anagram (For Mongo) features lyrics that lead me to think that Mr. Peart, like John Lennon, sometimes writes lyrics simply for his own amusement, either as a word puzzle or to befuddle those who try to interpret lyrics too deeply. In this case, certainly the first and probably both are true. I don't really care to try and over-analyze lyrics myself - I like the music first and foremost. I'm usually content with a general feeling for the lyrical content. There are those who love to listen to Rush while studying the lyric sheet. These folks should find good fodder here in such songs as Chain Lightning, The Pass, Presto, and Hand Over Fist.

The general orchestration of the album is probably its greatest contribution to my subsequent understanding of Rush. Instead of limiting themselves to the standard trio they could have been, the band has generally felt free to expand their instrumental sound. Keyboards, including synths and piano, are tastefully used in almost every song. Acoustic guitars are also brought into play, especially Presto and Hand Over Fist. Mr. Peart uses the full range of his percussion arsenal. The result of all this is 11 highly individual songs, each a little gem in its own right. The album is not at all a tedious listen.

It is my belief, based on my own experience, that this album is one that would be a good place to start for someone exploring Rush anew. Aside from its overall quality and variety, the place it holds between two different so-called Rush-eras may be instructive for further investigations. Proceed to nineties or seventies albums if you want more guitar based rock, or look to the eighties albums for a more varied approach.

Some good songs, but a bit too clinical in sound.

After several albums of growing influence of synthesizers, Rush began reemphasizing guitars on "Hold Your Fire", "Presto" continues that trend. The album, produced in a manner to emphasize the separation between instruments results in a clean sound, drastically different from the hazy synthesizer emphasis of the past few records.



The music itself, like "Hold Your Fire", has that feeling of transition, Lifeson's guitar sound is bulked up a bit, and there's quite a bit more variance in sound than there's been on the past several albums. What I've always found mystifying about this one is that its got all the pieces for an album I should enjoy, but it doesn't hold my interest that well. It seems to me that the bright spots on the album all occur within the first few songs-- "Show Don't Tell" is a great rock song with the most up front guitar on a Rush album in years, "The Pass" is bar none one of the best lyrics that Neil Peart has ever composed (and performed top notch by the band), with a great simple structure to the song, and "scars" is downright funky, they've toyed in this direction in the past, but to so overtly embrace it is stunning, and the title track is a great mostly acoustic song, the first of several great ballads on the next several Rush albums.



The rest of the material doesn't really grab me-- the band's looking for a direction, that much is clear, and they seem to have pursued a somewhat more pop route than the synth wash of the previous albums, this could be a response to cleaning the synths off the last couple albums combined with the rather separated production. End result, songs like "Chain Lightning", "War Paint" (does have some great lyrics), "Superconductor", "Red Tide" and so on really don't feel like too much, maybe a bit too clinical.



Honestly, it may be worth the purchase for "The Pass", the song is entirely stunning, but the album itself is a bit too lifeless.