scrap224; Rush PRESTO

This is a journey into sound.....

Rush is somewhat of an acquired taste. I also realize that music is one of the most personal & intrinsic areas of the human condition. This has been a focal point of Rush's music for nearly 40 years now.
When the 3 members of Rush; Geddy Lee (bass, vocals & keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitar, backing vocals) and Neil Peart (drums, percussion & lyricist) decide to create they do so with enthusiasm, passion & extraordinary musicianship.
On November 21, 1989 Rush released their thirteenth studio album PRESTO. like many Rush albums it received some mixed reviews. That is neither here nor there. I remember the first time I heard this album (on CD). Gone are nearly all of the synthesizer work that dominated some of their previous albums. PRESTO is much more of a straight forward rock album which was also more indicative of some of Rush's earliest albums. As excellent as this album sounds in the digital format, for the actual purposes of this review on this blog, this review is about Rush's PRESTO as heard on vinyl.
The albums track list is as follows; 1. Show Don't Tell. 2. Chain Lightning. 3. The Pass. 4. War Paint. 5. Scars. 6. Presto. 7. Superconductor. 8. Anagram (for Mongo). 9. Red Tide. 10. Hand Over Fist. 11. Available Light.
All eleven of these songs is a heartfelt journey to me. Concepts like living ones life, lost love, potential tragedy & choices. As heard on vinyl, this album sounds 'soft', especially for a rock album. However that does not mean it is in any way inferior.
It sounds soft to me meaning in the auditory sense of sounding 'warm'. This can only be sensed or experienced though the vinyl medium in my opinion. For me, this only enhances the listening experience with this album. It's a perfect match. Any of the eleven songs on PRESTO is a perfect example of what I'm discussing. The highs are not to high but the lows are subtle. For me, listening to this album on vinyl sounds better than a CD not because it is necessarily acoustically better than its digital counterpart but because it is a limited sounding music source. It is this uniqueness, this tactile limitation that makes PRESTO sound so good coming from a record player & not from a digital device.
Rush's PRESTO is not the perfect vinyl listening experience but it is an excellent example of an intended vinyl listening experience.

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