CARESS OF STEEL

On the whole not one of my favourite Rush albums yet it certainly has its moments. The hard rock opener Bastille Day contrasts well with the melodic Lakeside Park but I Think I'm Going Bald is one of the bands poorer tracks, particularly so on an album as otherwise dark as this one. Lifeson was certainly the star on early Rush albums and never more so than on The Necromancer and Fountains of Lamneth yet these tracks seem to promise more than they deliver, the former being spoiled by Hollywood voice-over style narration. Fountains doesn't quite work for me, it's no 2112, though Panacea is a standout passage. Definitely not an album for Rush beginners, but certainly shows the band is not afraid to experiment.