Warthur 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.

Unitron Rush-Presto

Once Rush felt they had completed their era of synth-led rock on the weak effort 'Hold Your Fire', Rush decided to go to a more alternative rock direction. Enter 'Presto', as in 'Presto', we made a good album after our worst!

1: Show Don't Tell starts the album off rocking, with Lifeson back in action with awesome heavy guitar riffs. After a softer moment with nice acoustics and Lee's lower vocals, the song starts rocking again. The synth can still be heard but it takes the spot as an enhancer rather then leading. The bridge has some great bass and a classic Lifeson guitar solo. Rush is certainly back in action. (10/10)

2: Chain Lightning---Beginning with synth that leads into great guitar and strong bass, This song flows from mellow to heavy a lot. Lifeson conducts an awesome solo while Peart attacks the drums at the bridge. Not much else to say. (7/10)

3: The Pass begins with great bass by Lee. During the chorus Lifeson gives us some great guitar while Lee gives a great vocal performance. After a ambient sounding bridge with a guitar solo, the chorus comes back. Great for a softer song. (8/10)

4: War Paint---starting off with great guitar, this song has more synth then the previous. The song has very inspirational lyrics about not being vain and the lyric 'The mirror always lies' proves that. The song builds up during the bridge, with a kick-ass solo by Lifeson. The song fades out during the last chorus. (8/10)

5: Scars is easily my favorite song from this album, with it's ambient sound. It begins with Lee giving us amazing bass work and Peart's drumming complimenting it perfectly. All the instruments give it a dark moody atmosphere, which I love. The guitar comes in at the perfect moments during the chorus. Instead of a guitar solo at the bridge we get a drum solo. The bass is really what stands out the most in this song, with the bass ending the song. (10/10)

6: Presto is what I guess you could call a power ballad, starting out very slowly with nice acoustics. Once a great solo comes in half-way through it gets a little faster. An okay song, A little too pop-like and I just think it drags on for a little too long for what it is though. (3/10)

7: Superconductor---Beginning with heavy guitar, Superconductor is a rocker. The chorus is one of Rush's most heavy moments in quite a while. The lyrics are among my favorites on the album, being about commercialism. The guitar gets faster and complimented by synth at the end. Probably my 2nd favorite on the album. (10/10)

8: Anagram is a pretty bland song, the guitar is good but it doesn't really go anywhere. There isn't even a guitar solo. The weakest on the album. (1/10)

9: Red Tide begins with great piano work before the guitar comes in. A softer song at first, but it gets faster. The chorus is really catchy and once the bridge comes in the song gets faster. Another great song. (8/10)

10: Hand Over Fist starts out with softer yet catchy guitar. The guitar soon picks up and the chorus comes in. Lifeson makes a great solo. A great song, but not much else to say. (7/10)

11: Available Light opens up with piano combined with some very powerful drums by Peart. The guitar comes in and picks the song up for the chorus. The piano enters again soon however. Lifeson gives a great guitar solo matching the mood of the song. The only thing that annoys me is when Lee squeals at the end of the choruses. Still a great album closer. (7/10)

Overall, Presto isn't a perfect comeback or anything, but it's a great one. Presto ushered Rush into yet another era of their musical career that would have their strong and weak moments,this happens to be a strong moment. An excellent addition to any rock collection.

Hope you found this review helpful.

siLLy puPPy 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.

arcane-beautiful Yay, Rabbits.

Yea, after the abysmal period (yes I will say that), Rush came back with an album that was, actually a great album.Yea, this is a great achievement for Rush, after that dark and dank period they went through.

With a wee bit of prog and an excellent blend with pop between the 2, this album was very enjoyable.

1. Show Don't Tell - Pretty cool intro/ Very funly. Geddy's vocals in this song are amazing. Quite a catchy chorus. Great opener. I love the bass solo.

2. Chain Lightening - Their is quite an eccentric 80's King Crimson vivbe to this song. Pretty interesting. The chorus is quite nice.

3. The Pass - Classic Rush song. Amazing song with one amazing chorus. They do this song amazing live (Rush In Rio).Great lyrics. Amazing guitar solo. Basicaly one amazing song. Their is also a video for this song, which is a bit werid but quite cool.

4. War Paint - Reminds me of a more upbeatversion of Supertramp. Pretty cool song. I like the vocal harmonies in the chorus.

5. Scars - Amazing bassline. The chorus is graet and quite catchy. I love the synth atmopshere in the song.

6. Presto - The harmonies in the chorus are very nice. A nice laid back moment in the album. The guitar solo is pretty cool.

7. Superconductor - Quite a groovy song. Very cheesy chorus, but very effective. And yes, I love the other guys deep voice. A very catchy song. I love all the different key changes at the end.

8. Anagram (For Mongo) - I don't get what the title means. The chorus is so 80's, but it's pretty cool. Great song, very cheesy.

9. Red Tide - The intro sounds like Duran Duran. Pretty cool chorus. Quite catchy. I love the piano riff in the song.

10. Hand Over Fist - Very cathcy chorus. A nice cathcy song. Pretty cool guitar solo.

11. Available Light - I think there is a bit too much echo on Geddy's vocals in the verse. Great chorus. Good way to end the album.

CONCLUSION: A breath of fresh air from Rush. Thank god. Ohh, a nice breeze.

AtomicCrimsonRush 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.