PRESTO

Among the Ludwig remasters, this is perhaps the best. It’s a clear improvement over the original cd.As far as the music itself, a little advice: do not compare Presto to Permanent waves, Hold Your Fire to Hemispheres, Roll the Bones to 2112, etc. Compare Presto to everything else that was going on in music in1989 (trust me, most of it? yuck!).When Presto came out I was grateful, and proud that I was always a Rush fan, and amazed that they could turn ANYTHING into superior prog rock.

This album is Rush's highest musical achievement, in my opinion. They produced it at the point in their careers where their youthful energy, talent, and creativity were perfectly complemented with the maturity, artistic freedom, and technical mastery they had acquired from their vast experience proceeding it.This is the only Rush album that has a couple songs on it that my "Rush hating" friends enjoy, and (less remarkably) an album that my Rush-fan friends will listen to time and time again.Unlike most Rush albums, if a person can't appreciate this album, they simply don't understand music.

Seller was fine. Not knocking them. But this CD is a huge waste of money. Presto is my favorite Rush album, I’ve been listening to it for 30 years. I don’t know what Audio Fidelity was trying to accomplish here. All they did was remove all of the punch from the original CD. The drums sound small and the mix is muddy. I listened to the original right after this and left the volume alone. Night and day difference! Do not waste your money!

I'm uncertain what some people are talking about, when exclaiming that this remaster is exactly the same sounding disc as the original. Unless they downloaded the MP3 version of Presto and the download site didn't update their catalogue to include the remastered tracks...? The recording of this great Rush release is thin and reserved to begin with; narrow in dynamic range and very crisp with a high treble edge. The bass guitar 'punch' is almost non-existent...a very flat sounding DDD recording. But to say there are no differences at all with the latest remaster is not accurately stated.Now, I've compared both the original CD from 1989 to the remastered 2004 disc using sound editing tools, and there is some definite overall improvements to be found here. Is it such an improvement that it should be praised as the best thing since the miniskirt? Hardly. But it is a better quality disc and is an upgrade in sound clarity. To start, the instruments are separated much better: all three musicians are readily heard and equal in the mix. What really stood out for me was the added instrument layers that seems to surround the players are now much more noticeable on this remaster. The song Scars provides the listening experience I am trying to convey with my last sentence. You can hear 'swirling' keyboard effects, acting as a layer above the beat and rhythm of the musicians. It sounds very clear and is nicely mixed.This remaster won't win any sound engineering awards, as it still lacks the driving bass that so many Rush fans like, but it is worth the cost to replace your '89 CD. Perhaps we'll see another remaster down the road of this classic (Audio Fidelity 24K Gold CD perhaps?). Until then, this will have to suffice. 4 out of 5 stars for a stellar CD and adequate upgrade.

PRESTO is the second record produced during Rush's pop period (1987-91) and is the most successful. Despite a couple of lulls, this is one of the strongest sets of songs that the band ever came up with. I'm not sure if they are RUSH songs, but they're good nonetheless.The album opens with a bang. "Show Don't Tell" is probably Rush's best pure pop song. Who thought they could get funky? "Chain Lightning" is almost as good and "The Pass" is one of Rush's more inspired ballads. Finally, "War Paint" is a little silly, but who can resist the coda with the "boys and girls together paint the mirror black" bit. About as shamelessly catchy as Rush has ever gotten.After that the record is a little more hit or miss. There is nothing that bothers me, but some of it is kind of forgettable. Still "Superconductor" is catchy and memorable, "Red Tide" is great despite its silly production, and "Available Light" is a fine track to end on. I kind of like the title track, but if you asked me to hum any of it except for the "if I could wave my magic wand" bit I'd be stumped.Fans of heavy progressive rock probably won't find much here to love. The crazed instrumental breaks are minimized (if not completely missing) and most of the songs clock in at under 5 minutes. If you are interested in Rush's pop period however, this would be the place to start.

Presto is the beginning of yet another turning point for Rush. This review is for the vinyl pressing and not necessarily the music, although I really love this album. This is their first LP issued under the Atlantic label. It is 200 gram vinyl and is done well. Very quiet and clean sounding. It has, though, a somewhat flat sound like the CD, though a bit warmer due to being analogue. You really cannot miss with Rush on vinyl.

I already love the album, was hoping that it would correct for the lack of bottom end. It did a little, and it is a little louder than the original CD release. Not sure it is worth buying if you already have the original.

As the last 80s album. this has a similar sound to their previous 3 or 4 albums but lacks a certaing cohesion that made them so good. That said it is still a force to reckoned with and has so many good tunes it's hard to absorb.Opener 'Show Don't Tell' is not one of my favourites but it is hard to argue with such honed songwriting ability. It has hooks, riffs and melody that would be the envy of any self-respecting writer. ' Chain Lightning' is sufficiently catchy also but fails to produce such long-term recall, almost as if this is a filler track, which is a testament to the band's strengths as it is not bad by any stretch. 'The Pass' is the first truly great song here. It harks back to material from Grace Under Pressure, is mellow but uplifting, a trademark Rush song. 'War Paint' is another very catchy track but sounds slightly deflated. Maybe it's the production, but it seems a little flat. 'Scars' falls under the same malady, but these are both 2 good songs as their melodies and rhythms still make a mark.It's with 'Presto', 'Superconductor' and 'Anagram(For Mongo)' where the true essence of the album is laid bare. These are 3 dissimilar but equally transformative songs. Each are catchy, hook-laden and near perfect pieces of work, material that will be listened to by this reviewer for a very long time. They are the jewels of this album. 'Red Tide' is good but could have been removed and no harm would have been done. 'Hand Over Fist' and 'Available Light' are both excellent examples of Rush's inate songwriting nous.Not a complete triumph when compared to the previous 3 aor 4 albums but it showed the beginning of a transition period for the band, moving away from the heavy synth sound that typified the 80s and onto a more stripped down, alternative sound that was to become indicative of the grungey and unsure world of music in the 90s. But as always with Rush, the tunes speak for themselves.

show don't tell the first song starts of sounding like it will be another synth album until the blast of guitar and bass then you realise this is going to be an excellent album and also another change in style for the band,Excellent inventive guitar as always by Alex, Nice punchy bass lines and powerful clear, driving drums be Peart ( can't spell first name)there is still a little bit of synthesizer but its alot less than on the last two or three albums, and while I like those albums its nice to see alex back to the forefront, and good powerful driving album.Show don't tell is a pretty good opener but its not the best song on the album I don't think.The album it self does sound Firmly very eighties which I actually like alot,the next song Chain Lightning is cool but something about it just isn't particularly catchyThe Pass ( one of the bands favourites) is pretty good and catchy (probably why it is one of their favourites)the production is really crisp and clear and very very good but some how not particularly sterile sounding. It sound stereotypically like the period of change that happened in the very late 80's and early nineties which is crystal clear sound quite spacious sounding, but with on this album at least very audible low end, as things were turning digital lots of album in this period were rather tinny but this one isn't which is good.Geddy Lee seems to have toned down the complexity of his bass lines on this album, and they have definatley concentrated on how the over all song sounds rather than how their individual parts sound.All in all a Fine albums and for some a fine (return to form) I don't consider it a return to form because I don't think they ever lost their form they just chose to use different sounds and instruments for a while ( innovative some would say)

This is the band's thirteenth studio album. It was released in 1989. The trio maintains the category with bands not so hards, but has quality. Whoever likes the band should find it interesting and well played with tracks that leads to a pop-rock. It's a band that has record in their songs, you know it's Rush. It is notorious. The fifth track, "Scars," may be the one that disagrees a bit without being uninteresting. The tracks "The Pass" and "Presto" may be the best. OK! Note 7.

Good album

all good