Presto Rough Cut/Demo Versions

[Papa Emeritus]

From this post on Facebook. 

 

Quote

As an avid collector of all things Rush, I recently stumbled upon something that I feel needs to be shared.  In my ongoing hunt for some obscure piece of Rush history, I was given the opportunity to acquire an old school TDK cassette tape, simply labeled RUSH "Rough Mixes" July 1, 1989 along with a few other band related artifacts.  The fact that it had a Le Studio label really caught my interest.  The date on the cassette and the tracks listed, albeit out of order, made it obvious it was the album Presto.  The owner of this tape was not a fan of the band, just a guy that flipped houses.  Turns out he discovered the tape in the old residence of one of Alex's since deceased long time guitar techs.  After striking a deal for about a dozen itineraries from the Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure tours, a super cool SRO patch and a bunch of random other documents from Le Studio, I decided to take a chance on the cassette.  Was it blank?  Was I scammed?  

When the casette arrived, poorly packed in just a bubble mailer, I realized I had no device readily available to actually play it!  Off to the garage to find my Fisher dual cassette CD Boombox with detachable speakers.  I found a different cassette, pressed play, and my boombox still worked.  Sigh of relief.    Now what about this 35 year old TDK SA90 I just got.  I didn't expect much, and cautiously pressed play, and right out of the gate, Show Don't Tell, was somewhat different!  I'm playing a 35 year old cassette in a 30 year old cassette player...  and it sounds AMAZING!  Literal chills.  I'm sitting there listening to Rough Mix versions of songs very few people have ever had the opportunity to hear.....  until now.  Needless to say, the original tape has since been backed up I am honored to share this piece of Rush history and I hope you all enjoy it.  Please share it.
Special thanks to Danny de Hoyos for all his efforts and assistance in putting this all together on YouTube.

 

Listen to the songs here. 

 

[ytserush]

This is really cool!  Brings me back. Very raw and immediate. Tape hiss very annoying, but I love the performance.  This is the stuff!  Great find!

[ytserush]

When the label finds out how many views these are going to get they will apply some serious pressure if they ( and other albums) still exist. These are AWESOME!

[ytserush]

I think I may have found my favorite version of Available Light. Yeah it's rough but it emotes!  I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

[ytserush]

This tape has inspired me to pull out the Audio Fidelity Presto for comparison when this is done.. I love the energy on these demos!

[TheGhostRider]

This is an amazing find. For the longest time I believed the Power Windows demos would be the only album we’d ever hear a rough cut of. Glad I was finally wrong. 

[condemned2bfree]

10 hours ago, ytserush said:

This is really cool!  Brings me back. Very raw and immediate. Tape hiss very annoying, but I love the performance.  This is the stuff!  Great find!

Rush should have used Dobly

[condemned2bfree]

These demos sound really great, even tho they lack solos.

[Todem]

What a find!!!!!

[TheHonestMan]

This is incredible. Thank you for posting. Presto is such an underloved album. Really hoping Ged and Alex dust off some of the songs for this tour.

[lerxt1990]

WOW!  Really neat...  I'm always kind of amazed at how musicians hone rough cuts into the great final versions of songs.

[chemistry1973]

4 hours ago, condemned2bfree said:

These demos sound really great, even tho they lack solos.

I don’t think they’re demos but rough mixes of their studio sessions. Almost Dona versions of what ended up on the album. Drums definitely the same

but some vocals are different and Al hadn’t finished adding guitars.

Edited February 22 by chemistry1973

[TheAnarchist2112]

5 minutes ago, chemistry1973 said:

I don’t think they’re demos but rough mixes of their studio sessions. Almost Dona versions of what ended up on the album. Drums definitely the same

but some vocals are different and Al hadn’t finished adding guitars.

The vocals are for sure different, on some songs the keyboards aren't really there or are really pushed back (like Anagram) but I think we could probably classify them as demos if so many things are different like this. Maybe alternate/rough takes?

[TheAnarchist2112]

aaaand just realized that I just described the definition OF a demo.

[PurpleHayes]

Rupert Hine really wasn't a good fit for Rush, was he?

[TheGhostRider]

3 hours ago, PurpleHayes said:

Rupert Hine really wasn't a good fit for Rush, was he?

I’ve thought the same thing for years. What ruins Presto for me is not the songs, it’s the mixing. It’s so flat and dull sounding. The live versions are a million times better. 

[chemistry1973]

12 hours ago, TheAnarchist2112 said:

The vocals are for sure different, on some songs the keyboards aren't really there or are really pushed back (like Anagram) but I think we could probably classify them as demos if so many things are different like this. Maybe alternate/rough takes?

They’re songs in progress - these are the tracks being built towards a finished product. These are rough mixes of unfinished songs, but with elements meant to be final (like with the drums, some guitars and backing vocals).

 

A demo would be a separate cheaper session, in order to get a framework for the songs so the producer could have an idea what the bands’ arrangement and concept was. See: the power windows demos. 

[condemned2bfree]

On 2/22/2026 at 5:26 PM, chemistry1973 said:

I don’t think they’re demos but rough mixes of their studio sessions. Almost Dona versions of what ended up on the album. Drums definitely the same

but some vocals are different and Al hadn’t finished adding guitars.

Yeah the vox have different melody lines in places for sure. Sort of weird hearing no solos after all these yrs.

Edited February 23 by condemned2bfree

[Brava Doh!]

6 minutes ago, condemned2bfree said:

Yeah the vox have different melody lines in places for sure. Sort of weird hearing no solos after all these yrs.

But you know them in your mind, so they really are kind of there, you know? 

Edited February 23 by Brava Doh!

[Ged Lent's sis]

Oh em gee! "Show Don't Tell" really moves.

[condemned2bfree]

1 hour ago, Brava Doh! said:

But you know them in your mind, so they really are kind of there, you know? 

😃 Perfect volume too.

[chemistry1973]

On 2/22/2026 at 11:58 AM, PurpleHayes said:

Rupert Hine really wasn't a good fit for Rush, was he?

Listening to these now no I don’t think he was. I think Rush was done a disservice.

 

Not that I think Rupert did it on purpose or anything, but he was purely an 80s producer. Listening to show don’t tell and it’s apparent how much better it sounds without all the overproduction.

[chemistry1973]

3 hours ago, Ged Lent's sis said:

Oh em gee! "Show Don't Tell" really moves.

It’s better than the finished product!

[Timbale]

I feel like such an idiot...but I honestly don't think I ever clocked that it is a bass, not a guitar, that is playing the moving line under the piano at the top of Available Light.  I guess that either says something about the frequency range of the bass recording...or my bad ears.

[Lurkst]

4 hours ago, Timbale said:

I feel like such an idiot...but I honestly don't think I ever clocked that it is a bass, not a guitar, that is playing the moving line under the piano at the top of Available Light.  I guess that either says something about the frequency range of the bass recording...or my bad ears.

 

It's a very unusual bass pattern for Geddy.

 

Really enjoyed going through these uploads, Presto could have been a much more vibrant sounding album. How could you listen to performances like those and decide that they needed to be suppressed?