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Presto: Rush's most awkward era


fraroc
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The Blah,Blah,Blah,speech era was awkward.
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Since Freddie Gruber was brought up here, I thought I'd add my thoughts. I also think Freddie softened Neil's drumming. I'm certainly no musician, so I can only go by what I hear and what I feel. And what the heck, what I think.

 

Neil seemed more powerful behind the drums prior to Freddie. I also wonder if the change in technique could possibly have hurt Neil physically. Nope, I certainly don't have any proof to offer. All I have is wonder. Neil would have had a certain physical way of drumming since the first day he picked up a drumstick and struck it down. His arms, hands, shoulders, muscles (etc.) would have "acclimated" (if that's the right word) to that way of drumming for decades.

 

Is it possible that when Freddie re-taught him how to drum, that Neil's muscles and arms and all that, would have been like, "What the Hell is this sudden change, Neil?" Could that change have really affected him? Is it possible that if Neil hadn't changed his techniques that he may not have suffered such physical pain and had to retire at such a relatively young age? (I still can't imagine what it would be like to have had such incredible talent and love for drumming and then having to just give it all up due to the physical challenge.)

 

Perhaps some drummers on here would have some personal input on that.

I'd go the other way and say that adopting Freddie's ideas probably prolonged Neil's career. Neil's original hyper-powerful approach of hitting through the drum takes a heavy toll compared to the more finesse-based Gruber approach. I'd guess the physical damage was done early on via Neil's natural pounding style, not later during the jazzy years.

 

Interesting that you go the other way with Freddie's techniques. I can certainly understand it though. Others here have mentioned Buddy Rich. I remember seeing him on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show when I was a kid and being in awe. I remember him really pounding on the drums and I think he was still playing pretty much til the day he died. It's too bad Neil isn't able to.

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I wouldn’t say it’s a matter of better or worse, but Freddie definitely refined his drumming, introduced some different technique, and sent it in a direction that it had not gone before.

 

And I am a musician. But I don’t think that necessarily qualifies my opinion any more than a non-musician.

 

Word.

 

"Better" or not is subjective in this case for sure. Neil certainly changed the way he played and approached the kit thanks to Freddie, and I can understand that some people might not find that to their liking. Less Keith Moon-style... and more nuances and subtleties (and I say that as a huuuge Moon and Peart fan)...and yeah, as echoed above, Buddy was a huge influence.....(we knew that, but whatever! :)

 

Regarding Presto specifically ... any record with Show Don't Tell, The Pass, and Available Light (among others) is good with me :yes:

Edited by Mystic Slipperman
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Another thing i'll say.......Available Light is......far and away........my fav Rush album closer.

 

awesome tune.

 

Mick

:ebert:
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Definitely a transitional album. Definitely a better album than Power Windows. I prefer Hold Your Fire and Roll The Bones to Presto, it sits nicely in the middle all the same.
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When you see how Rush evolved musically and visually througout the 70s into the 80s and then the 90s, I think that the most awkward era out of all of them would be the Presto era. The reason being was that Rush was in a transitory state, the 80s had come to a close and the 90s had come, the sound on Presto the album is reminiscent of Hold Your Fire and a bit of Power Windows, but with the bass guitar being brought back into the forefront and the keyboards becoming more background in nature, with Ged opting to use backing tracks for keyboard parts on Presto as opposed to playing them (Of course, with the exception of Show Don't Tell). Their live show and image was also in an awkward in-between state. Alex still had his 80s hairstyle, Geddy still had a ponytail,but didn't perm the top of his hair anymore and wore glasses after years of contacts, Ged reduced his keyboards from four to two live, and Neil still played double bass. So while Rush was slowly transforming their live show into something more modern and scaled back, some vintage elements still remained.

 

 

Oddly enough I pulled out the Up Close Radio Special For Presto last weekend before I went on my Marillion Clutching At Straws Tour bender for the rest of the weekend, Geddy said there's a renewed energy on Presto that hadn't been on the two previous records. (Still trying to sort that one out myself.)

 

I do like the album a lot but energetic is not really a word I'd use for it but maybe if felt that way making the record. I think the Presto tour was my least favorite though.

 

I've always called it the mid-life crisis tour. They only played 5 Presto songs live on that tour and the 4 shows I saw weren't all that inspiring to me. (Neither were most of the bootlegs from that tour. (It was the only time I thought I'd seen too many Rush shows on a given tour.) The didn't play any new songs until song number 8.which hadn't happened to that point I don;t think. I also don't think it was a coincidence that Neil decided to go back to school at some point after that. The Roll The Bones tour was a bit better but things didn't seem to really start to cook again until the European Tour and the 3rd leg of the US tour when they put Vital Signs with that amazing guitar outro and The Trees back in the set.

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Oddly enough I pulled out the Up Close Radio Special For Presto last weekend before I went on my Marillion Clutching At Straws Tour bender for the rest of the weekend, Geddy said there's a renewed energy on Presto that hadn't been on the two previous records. (Still trying to sort that one out myself.)

 

I do like the album a lot but energetic is not really a word I'd use for it but maybe if felt that way making the record. I think the Presto tour was my least favorite though.

 

If you go back and look more often than not the guys usually said such things after recording a new album...hell Peart said he thought Snakes & Arrows was possibly their best work ever...I just chalk that up to an artist flush with the afterglow of new creativity.

 

Presto is anything but energetic.

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Oddly enough I pulled out the Up Close Radio Special For Presto last weekend before I went on my Marillion Clutching At Straws Tour bender for the rest of the weekend, Geddy said there's a renewed energy on Presto that hadn't been on the two previous records. (Still trying to sort that one out myself.)

 

I do like the album a lot but energetic is not really a word I'd use for it but maybe if felt that way making the record. I think the Presto tour was my least favorite though.

 

If you go back and look more often than not the guys usually said such things after recording a new album...hell Peart said he thought Snakes & Arrows was possibly their best work ever...I just chalk that up to an artist flush with the afterglow of new creativity.

 

Presto is anything but energetic.

 

Most of the time I agree with their point of view (Love Snakes and Arrows) but I'll admit that comment baffled me when you consider the final result. There is some jamming on this record but a lot of it seems muted by what Rupert Hine did to it.

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I think Presto is a great album, though I didn't think so at the time it was released. I thought it was just ok. I saw them for the first time on that tour and just remember being really disappointed that they didn't play "Presto". Afterwards, I wondered if the guitar technology of the time didn't allow for the quick acoustic to electric sound changes needed to play it. I was overjoyed when I heard they were playing it on the "Time Machine" tour.

 

As far as Neil's style change, I'm assuming that this was his way of streamlining his part in the recording process by switching over to a more improvisational technique. Kind of the way they decided after hemispheres that they needed to cut back on the overly complex stuff to maintain their sanity in the studio.

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Their songwriting style got very "safe" in the Hine era. The melodies and structures and recorded performances were fine but they were really holding back compared to the musical chops they showed on the previous albums. It wasn't until Counterparts where they seemed to cut loose and start having fun again (Cut To The Chase & Between Sun and Moon are good examples)
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Someone earlier made a good point, Rush always touted their newest album as "the best thing we've ever done". A lot of bands do that fresh out of the studio with new material they're happy with. And then a few years later when they're putting out another new record they'll usually dismiss the earlier album it as "it was OK but we could've done better. THIS album is the one..."

Funny thing about Rush is the albums in the later era of the band they didn't care much for (Presto, Counterparts) I like a lot while the ones they really seemed to love (Snakes, Clockwork) are drinkcoasters at my place I rarely if ever listen to because aside from a handful of songs they're hot garbage

 

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To each his own, but Presto is probably my least favorite Rush album. When I first heard Show Dont Tell, I was like, hell yeah! It was a cool riff and a dynamic song. There are a few songs I like but overall its not great IMO. Dont love the production either, and if they used the production philosophy from Counterparts (heavier sounding guitars and bass), it would likely have made it better. Again, IMO and YMMV
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I group Rush eras by their live album releases up to T4E, so Presto is in Phase IV and it ranks second in that era

 

CP/Presto/RTB/T4E are my rankings

 

I like it but was very happy they moved on from Rupert after the next record.

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I think Presto is a great album, though I didn't think so at the time it was released. I thought it was just ok. I saw them for the first time on that tour and just remember being really disappointed that they didn't play "Presto". Afterwards, I wondered if the guitar technology of the time didn't allow for the quick acoustic to electric sound changes needed to play it. I was overjoyed when I heard they were playing it on the "Time Machine" tour.

 

As far as Neil's style change, I'm assuming that this was his way of streamlining his part in the recording process by switching over to a more improvisational technique. Kind of the way they decided after hemispheres that they needed to cut back on the overly complex stuff to maintain their sanity in the studio.

 

I really wanted to hear Chain Lightning Presto and Available Light. At least we got Presto 21 years later.

 

I liked Presto when it came out, but I was really preoccupied with Dream Theater in the months before Presto came out.

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Another era of Rush that's actually pretty awkward isn't really talked about as it's the band's literal apex. Moving Pictures. Again, it's another transitional period for the band. It wasn't quite the 70s prog Rush and it wasn't quite the 80s new wave Rush either. It was something kinda in the middle. While songs like Red Barchetta, Limelight, Tom Sawyer, and Vital Signs are very bass heavy with minimal keyboards, you also had songs like The Camera Eye and Witch Hunt which featured Geddy playing keyboards while singing and substituting bass guitar with synth bass which became a staple on the following four albums.
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Funny thing about Rush is the albums in the later era of the band they didn't care much for (Presto, Counterparts) I like a lot while the ones they really seemed to love (Snakes, Clockwork) are drinkcoasters at my place I rarely if ever listen to because aside from a handful of songs they're hot garbage

 

Everything I’ve read points to them liking Counterparts very much. But yeah, they really seemed to love Snakes and Clockwork. Snakes is neglected and not missed at my place. I skip half of Clockwork but what I don’t skip I really enjoy

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Another era of Rush that's actually pretty awkward isn't really talked about as it's the band's literal apex. Moving Pictures. Again, it's another transitional period for the band. It wasn't quite the 70s prog Rush and it wasn't quite the 80s new wave Rush either. It was something kinda in the middle. While songs like Red Barchetta, Limelight, Tom Sawyer, and Vital Signs are very bass heavy with minimal keyboards, you also had songs like The Camera Eye and Witch Hunt which featured Geddy playing keyboards while singing and substituting bass guitar with synth bass which became a staple on the following four albums.

 

I'd say there is nothing awkward about that era at all. If you look at the band during that time, they were on top of the world with possibly the best album of, not only their career, but that year.

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Funny thing about Rush is the albums in the later era of the band they didn't care much for (Presto, Counterparts) I like a lot while the ones they really seemed to love (Snakes, Clockwork) are drinkcoasters at my place I rarely if ever listen to because aside from a handful of songs they're hot garbage

 

Everything I’ve read points to them liking Counterparts very much. But yeah, they really seemed to love Snakes and Clockwork. Snakes is neglected and not missed at my place. I skip half of Clockwork but what I don’t skip I really enjoy

 

Same here.

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Presto is a solid effort. However Power Windows and Hold Your Fire were on a completely different level production wise. The contrast of styles is stark. Personally Hemispheres-HYF is unmatched in terms of Rush. The grand finale of the side long epic albums through the pinnacle of their synth era. The growth, the production value, the playing, arrangements, lyrics...all of it is the pinnacle of Rush.

 

With Presto we are getting a much lighter side of Rush. They really went contemporary but without all the gloss and production value of Hold Your Fire. I felt like there were some very awkward moments on that album (Anagram, and Super Conductor are by far the weakest tracks of that record). Also I felt some of the lyrics did not fit the musical arrangements smoothly.

 

Many strong points though on the record to talk about. The opening track Show Don't Tell is a powerhouse of a song that still rings today. The Pass is a fantastic song. The title track has aged incredibly well and was a thrill to hear live on the Time Machine tour. Available Light was always one of my favorite Rush tracks ever since the first time I heard it. That song is so unique for them. Such a shame we never saw it performed live.

 

Presto is a transitional album indeed. I feel like the album itself has 9 tracks that really stood out and still sounds great today, with two duds (mentioned above).

 

The interesting thing for me though is the follow up in Roll The Bones is not as consistent as Presto, but the great tracks are truly classics IMO.

 

Dreamline

Bravado

Roll The Bones

Where's My Thing

Ghost Of A Chance

 

Just fantastic Rush songs. If I could put an album together of those two it would go like this:

 

 

Show Don't Tell

Dreamline

Bravado

Roll The Bones

The Pass

Where's My Thing

Chain Lighting

Ghost Of A Chance

Presto

Available Light

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