Presto Vs. Roll The Bones

**EagleMoon** · October 16, 2013

If Presto would get a remix job ala Vapor Trails, it would rate much higher on my list.

**one80Srocker** · October 17, 2013

Ok, something that time does to us is it tends to make us forget what the Rush albums made us feel at the time they were released. When Roll The Bones was brand new, it's what we jammed while we drove around in our cars in our cassette players or when we plugged in CD players to our cassette steroes, and what the radio was jammin'. Roll The Bones was bigger on the airwaves where I am from than Presto was but Pittsburgh radio did support Rush well always. Roll The Bones was a little more "catchy." In this era, late 80's and early 90's, we expected bands to go away. It's very difficult for bands to survive from one decade to the next. The Beatles knew this and were skeptical about their own survival as most bands in that early rock n roll era didn't last. It was as The Beatles accepted this as inevitable and were proud to make it as long as they did. But Rush just keeps going and keeps working. Just when we started to forget about them, BAM!!!!

"Here's the new song from Rush, Dreamline!" Then the radio starts playing Neurotica and Roll The Bones and Heresy and Bravado. And at that time we are changing decades and expecting new things but not knowing what to expect. But Rush was right there on schedule and probably even ahead of schedule in our musical minds. I graduated high school in '89 so there were many transitions for me in this period of time. Understanding one's self and the new realities and either letting go of the trends we were apart of, whether it were real or just a phase of youth, were some things we have to figure out as we grow. But Rush was still being Rush and making new material and not dying off like so many bands do and did, and we got used to it. But Rush never detached from what Rush does and never stopped working or detached from us. They are like a music box that never stops playing and is so happy to do so. They are like the sweetest girlfriend or best friend that is always happy to see you and keeps smiling and full of such positive energy.

Sometimes we forget what these albums sounded like when they were new to us. There are many that are so down about Test For Echo. That was the first time we had to wait 4 years for new Rush. So when we got it, it was awesome! Then the Neil Peart video came out, "A Work In Progress," and took us even deeper into the songs on that album. What a masterpiece! But the songs die for us for whatever reasons. At the time they were new, they were the latest Rush songs and were very good. Unfortunately, the 90's had such poor context, especially after the Roll The Bones era, that when you heard a new Rush song, it wasn't followed up by or played in a rock block of anything that was in at least the right direction of music. What was left was dying. At least when you hear Roll The Bones or Presto you can think of alot of other good tunes and bands and waves of music that were still delivering. Even though it wasn't the 70's and early 80's, the early 90's definately made its mark in the soundtrack in our lives even with the Rico Suave and Bel Biv Devo stuff to the continuation of the last stages of metal and glam metal to the remainders of some rock n roll legends leaving us with some one-hit-womders or a few more singles (Robert Plant, Paul Rogers-The Law, The Storm-some Journey leftovers, etc, Tom Petty). The soundwaves were still alive and well at that time and producing new sounds that were fun even if it wasn't our musical preference. As far as I am concerned, 1990, 1991, and 1992 might as well be 1980-10, 1980-11, and 1980-12.

Presto and Roll The Bones are two albums that are so close to one another. Like A-side and B-side but worthy of so much more. They are like the blond chick and her best friend, the brunnette chick. Both are so beautiful and so hard to pick one over the other. I love them both so much. They are different yet have so much in common. They make a great pair. Could be the perfect double album Rish never made. But Presto was a revival album for Rush in many ways and was consistant with the climb out of the depths of the bottom of the colorful and synthesized and sell-out 80's commercial era of 1986-88. Presto was turning another corner for Rush. The format and layout of the album was similar to Hold Your Fire in the way that it had the same approximate number of songs (maybe a pattern there as Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows had 4 songs each side). But the songs rocked and had great melody. The album had drive. And if you saw them on that tour then you might agree that it was as good as they ever sounded live. Neil's drum kit had that 80's metal era sound. Alex' guitar was distorted and had the crunch that was consistant with the over-distortion of that era but it worked for Rush. Geddy changed his image then as well and the whole thing just worked.

To me, Presto is their most underrated work. For those of us who are in the class of "89, when I talk to music fans from then, they love Presto. It is not uncommon to hear a rocker from then cheer out, "Prestoooo!" I hear that when I play songs from Presto on the jukebox, when I wear my 1990 tour shirt to the shows, when I engage in Rush talk.

Not to mention how cool the album cover is with the rabbits. But listen to these Rush albums as if they just came out or try to remeber and take yourself back to when they were new. Only then can you hear them in their purist form. If life is really bad then it may be a good idea to wait to buy an album from your favorite band so as not to remind you of those bad times when you hear that album later on. But Rush is always there through the good and the bad. Fortunatley for the most part when I listen to them I remember the good. Presto was there when I was in transition from high school to the real world as was Roll The Bones. But very difficult for me to pick one over the other as my Pittsburgh Penguins were winning Cups (Pirates were awesome eventhough they choked) and Roll The Bones always reminds me of that time.

But I would have to say that Presto is my choice if I has to decide. There's no need to list the songs as you already know them in your own way. Every song touches us personally in our own ways. I just think the songs on Presto are deeper and better songs. The sounds are more in depth and the songs are more creative and more melodic. Hard to compete with Ghost of a Chance and Bravado but Presto is musically a better album. Roll The Bones is more upbeat. But the sountrack of my life would be incomplete without either.

Sorry for rambling, good night! I hope you will forgive me, I write for a while and don't usually proofread

Gonna go jam out some Roll The Bones and Presto now!

**one80Srocker** · October 17, 2013