Presto

Presto is the thirteenth album on which Rush turns its complex playing toward lighter, more refined arrangement and clear melody, rather than merely showing it off. Stepping a little from the synthesizer-centered direction of the 1980s, the presence of Alex Lifeson’s guitar comes to the fore again. His guitar, Geddy Lee’s singing and bass and Neil Peart’s precise rhythm proceed organically while leaving rich space for one another. By deliberately restraining the number of notes, the sharp words and striking hooks of each song stand out to the fore more than before. The drive of the opener “Show Don’t Tell,” the depth of the introspective classic “The Pass” and cuts like “Superconductor,” “Scars” and “Available Light” convey the record’s wide appeal. Its appeal is that a band that passed through the 1980s synthesizer era, drawing on that experience, unites intelligence and accessibility in an extremely natural form. It is built to win on the quality of the songs and the deftness of the playing, over flash. Foreshadowing a return to guitar rock, it is a refined fine work and a record marking the band’s transition toward the 1990s.