Presto (album)
| Presto | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Rush | ||||
| Released | 21 November 1989 31 August 2004 (remastered CD)[1] |
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| Recorded | June - August 1989 at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec & McClear Place in Toronto, Ontario | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 52:11 | |||
| Label | Anthem (Canada) Atlantic |
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| Producer | Rupert Hine and Rush | |||
| Rush chronology | ||||
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Presto is the thirteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music). The album was recorded at Le Studio in Morin Heights and at McClear Place in Toronto. It was the band's first album with their new international label Atlantic Records which the band signed to in early 1989 after deciding not to renew its contract with Mercury/PolyGram Records.
The band had intended to co-produce the album with Peter Collins, who had produced the previous two studio albums, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire; however, he reluctantly declined the offer for personal reasons. An objective ear was found in producer Rupert Hine.
All singles released from the album ("Show Don't Tell", "The Pass", "Superconductor") charted, with "Show Don't Tell" hitting #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart.[2] The album itself charted at #16 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and sales of Presto earned the band a gold record (sales in excess of 500,000 copies) in the U.S., and Platinum in Canada.[3]
Contents |
Musical style and direction [edit]
The album is generally held by fans to have marked the beginning of a transition period, moving away from a sound dominated by synthesizers and toward more traditional rock instrumentation and pop songwriting. In an interview in Canadian Musician, Geddy Lee explained:
"We wanted [Presto] to be more of a singer’s album, and I think you’ll notice that the arrangements musically support the vocal[s]. . . . Neil’s lyrics to me are a lot more heartfelt. Presently, they’re experience oriented. I think they deal with living . . . This album was a real reaction against technology in a sense. I was getting sick and tired of working with computers and synthesizers. Fortunately, so was [co-producer] Rupert [Hine]. . . . We made a pact to stay away from strings, pianos, and organs—to stay away from digital technology. In the end, we couldn’t resist using them for colour."[4]
"Scars" features a complex drum pattern in which both acoustic and electronic drums are utilized. The pattern was derived from a tribal rhythm Neil Peart experienced while on a bicycle tour of Africa (later chronicled in his first book, The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa). Peart has gone on to incorporate this pattern into his live drum solos. The song also features the use of a sequencer in place of, and often mistaken for, a bass guitar.
According to Geddy Lee during the Rush in Rio concert (as well as the recent "Box Set" episode on VH1 Classic), “The Pass” is one of the band’s favourite songs. In a 2011 interview, Peart said of Presto, "That was an album that, for all of us, should have been so much better than it was... If we could do one [album] again, it would be that one, because we still love the songs from it, but... you can never make magic happen." [5]
During the 1990 Presto Tour, the title track itself was never played. It was first played live during the Time Machine Tour in 2010.
Critical reception [edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [6] |
| Allmusic | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
Gregory Heaney of Allmusic described the album as 'workmanlike' and is removed from the creativity of their earlier works. However, he asserts that the songs are not terrible, just a sense that something is not quite clicking, perhaps due to the length of time it has been since the band wrote more traditional, guitar based songs.[6] However, before such a review was posted on November 10, 2012, the site had listed a favorable 4.5 star (out of a possible 5) review of the album by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, of which little trace remains. Erlewine described the album as one that "intelligently leads Rush into the '90s without musical bleakness."[7]
Track listing [edit]
All lyrics written by Neil Peart, all music composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Show Don't Tell" | 5:01 | |
| 2. | "Chain Lightning" | 4:33 | |
| 3. | "The Pass" | 4:52 | |
| 4. | "War Paint" | 5:24 | |
| 5. | "Scars" | 4:07 | |
| 6. | "Presto" | 5:45 | |
| 7. | "Superconductor" | 4:47 | |
| 8. | "Anagram (for Mongo)" | 4:00 | |
| 9. | "Red Tide" | 4:29 | |
| 10. | "Hand Over Fist" | 4:11 | |
| 11. | "Available Light" | 5:03 |
Personnel [edit]
- Geddy Lee - bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals
- Alex Lifeson - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- Neil Peart - drums, percussion
- Rupert Hine - additional keyboards, background vocals, production
- Jason Sniderman - additional keyboards
- Stephen W Tayler - recording and mixing
Charts [edit]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Billboard 200 | 16[9] |
| UK Albums Chart | 27[10] |
Sales certifications [edit]
| Country | Organization | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | RIAA | Gold (500,000) |
| Canada | RIAA | Platinum (100,000) |
Singles [edit]
| Information |
|---|
"Show Don't Tell"
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"Presto"
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"The Pass"
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"Superconductor"
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References [edit]
- ^ "Rush Remastered: Four Classic Collections Arrive in Stores Aug. 31st | Market Wire | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
- ^ Bowman, Durrell. "Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture," PhD dissertation in musicology, page 235, UCLA, 2003[dead link]
- ^ Marsicano, Dan "What the Hell Happened To...06.08.09: Rush-Presto" http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/106532
- ^ Krewen, Nick. "Rush: Presto change-o" Canadian Musician 12.2
- ^ http://exploremusic.com/show/the-time-machine-tour-interview-with-neil-peart-of-rush/
- ^ a b Heaney, Gregory. "Presto - Rush". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Happy 20th Anniversary Presto!-Rush Is A Band Blog (Archived Entry from Allmusic.com)". Rush Is A Band Blog. Retrieved 11/21/2009.
- ^ Bob Mack (1990-01-25). "Presto". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
- ^ "Presto chart position in the US". Billboard.
- ^ "Rush chart positions in the UK". The Official Charts Company.
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