CARESS OF STEEL

A far too hasty stab at progressive rock by a band that was previously doing slightly complex but more straight ahead rock, they wouldn't refine their art until the next release 2112. The shorter songs here work better, the longer ones get bogged down, are too weildy and lack the dynamic shift the band became so good at on subsequent albums. Still, it's perfectly executed and too strange an album to be completely ignored. Potential fans approach with caution, start with the albums from the late 70's and early 80's, then you might just be ready for this.

Diehard Rush fans only should get this CD. If you have the LP or cassette then you have my sympathy because the sound was terrible until it was remastered. I don't have this in my collection because I don't like story-telling, epic type of albums. I will say that it's very original, complex and creative. However, they tried to do too much in too short of a time. It needed another year of edits, rewrites and minor fixes. You feel like you should grow your hair long and become a hippie after listening to this one. Dudes at Ocean Beach -- don't make room in the van for me. I'll surf awhile.

For years, this was my favorite (besides Moving Pictures) because it's kind of the "lost album" (probably because there's no "hits"). Definitely their strangest and darkest body of work, a great example of the album cover foretelling what's in store. Thin, murky production as well, and while all of this may sound negative, I think it builds the case for this being one of the best Rush albums. Side 2 is their first attempt at a side long "epic" (which they would perfect next time), and although "Fountain" doesn't gel perfectly and seamlessly, it's still a fantastic example of how creative and far-reaching these guys were. "The Necromancer" still gives me chills. Highly recommended, but only for the fearless and hardcore Rush (and prog-rock) fanatic.

Rush delves deeper into the realm of progressive rock, one needs only to look at the cover to determine this. Released not long after Fly by Night, it contains much more mysticism and philosophical meandering than the previous releases. The Fountain of Lamneth is one of Rush's greatest epics, other than 2112 itself. The epic is about the birth of man, and his endless search for the fountain of youth, or lamneth, with excellent musical sections including Didacts and Narpets (anagram for Addicts and Parents), and the tribute to Dionysian indulgence in Bacchus Plateau. Bastille Day and Lakeside Park are two hard rock classics still played on classic rock stations. The former is a tale of the french recolution, while the latter is reminiscent of past times. The Necromancer is another brilliant epic, inspired by Tolkien's work, that is another song of Rush's that must not be overlooked. Highlighting the band's growing musical prowress, this composition is worth listen after listen after listen.

The band experiment new ways to write the music in this album and it's a bridge to the next one in the discography. Very good moments with some inconsistence in the arrangements in the "Fountain of Lamneth", with hard breack ups in the melodic line. Try it.

Excellent album, "The Fountain of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer" are simply outstanding, their first big attempt to go into pure prog. "Bastille Day" is one of their classics among "Lakeside Park" and "I think i'm going Bold" is like they felt nostalgic at that point and made a rocknrollish fill in the album to remember there roots. Go buy this album, i guarantee no regrets for prog open-mind people.

2,5 stars really!!!

Rush trying to do their future classic music . Did not really get this one right, as this is sometimes sloppy . This has the markings of a band still learning their trade .

Two tracks hold the proghead's attention: The Necromancer is really dark but leaves me rather cold and Fountain of Lamneth, which is just a little pretentious only because they are trying too hard , too quick and too early. The rest of the tracks are normal early Rush tracks that you will find from their debut up to 2112. Lakeside Park is one of those many Toronto parks where the partying was simply great. Bastille Day was a concert favorite.

My rating must seem really low, but as a early Rush fan, I thought this was fantastic but with age creeping up on me, this album has obviously not aged as well as I have!

The first Rush release I bought, way back in '75. The sound and production is not the best, even on the cd. (I don't have the remaster, but it has to be better!) Musically, it is far superior to Fly By Night, but that isn't a hard thing to achieve! (See my review for that one!) The Necromancer is tremendous, very dark and disturbing, as is The Fountain of Lamneth. The best short song here, unnoticed by many, is - I Think I'm Going Bald. The guitar work is very impressive here, especially at the end, and the whole song is a refreshing change from bogged down 'serious' lyrics. For me, Bastille Day and Lakeside Park are only average, but the album as a whole is worth adding to your collection. But take a chance on the remastered version, it has to be an improvement!

This is the darkest of the RUSH albums. After the dynamic and lively "Fly By Night", it is surprising that they produced a so dark album. No keyboards! This album has varied songs, sometimes smooth and relaxing ("Panacea"), sometimes hard rock ("Bastille Day"), sometimes fast, progressive and experimental ("Necromancer"). The guitar is absolutely outstanding! How many different guitar sounds one can really appreciate here! The sound is pretty good too!

Here the focus shifts to epic fantasies, but is it a case of RUSH by-toring off more than they can chew? Both "The Necromancer" and the side-long "The Fountain of Lamneth" have their moments, even if the band hasn't quite figured out the best way to bridge their ideas into a single, cohesive whole. Is The Fountain's "Panacea" simply a standalone track like "Rivendell" encased in bookends, or a logical point along a continuous path? And does the dark narration between segments of The Necromancer constitute a clever plot device or a crutch? Fortunately, these questions are tangential to the task at hand, which is enjoying the good music that does appear on "Caress of Steel" (and there's plenty of that). The opening "Bastille Day" might be their most majestic moment yet, and the coolly delivered "Lakeside Park" is another positive sign of things to come. Separating sections of the longer works from their extended families yields similar highlights, including "Under The Shadow" (featuring a riff worthy of BLACK SABBATH) and "Bacchus Plateau." RUSH still hasn't found a way to spread the sounds of a bass/guitar/drum trio across prog rock's semi-classical structures, often leaning on ALEX LIFESON to "fill up" space by stretching chords into arpeggiated patterns of mesmerizing cloth, which approximates the sound of a keyboardist but often finds them short one lead guitarist. As a result, "Caress of Steel" sometimes feels like the work of two bands, half-committed to the music of BLACK SABBATH or LED ZEPPELIN while aspiring to the work of GENESIS. Like their next album (2112), this record may not achieve every thing it sets out to do, but ambition and conviction go a long way toward minimizing the potential downside. Also, any album that can overcome a lame track like "I Think I'm Going Bald" in its midst must be pretty damn good.

A great move by a future legend. This is perhaps one of the most overlooked albums of the entire Rush catalog. The first three tracks are okay. Nothing to write home about. However, The Necromancer (track 4) and The Fountain of Lamneth (track 5) are what really stand out. The Necromancer- I used to drive 3 hours home from college very late at night through the middle of nowhere. I would put this on and it would scare the hell out of me. The atmosphere on this track is wonderfully spooky. Very heavy Sabbath-like riffs, catchy melodies, and phenomenal musicianship. Just plain great. The Fountain- One of Rush's early masterpieces. I really think this track deserves a look by everyone, wheter you're into Rush or not. Moody, brooding, and brilliant. It almost succeeds in creating a texture in your mind. I actually feel the emotions Geddy describes as he sings. Later they would go on to create some of the most inspired music ever. Yes 2112, Hemispheres, and Farewell to Kings would come along to much fanfare and deserved praise, but for me, Rush starts right here.

One of the best Rush discs, in which is contained a real masterpiede like "The Fountain of Lamneth", and some other great quality themes, so as "The Necromancer" or "Bastille Day". This disc is the prologue to the best stage of Rush, and so, is essential to understand the evolution of this excellent band.

"Bastile Day" singlehandledly brought awareness of this tragically under-celebrated holiday to legions of hard rock fans across the world, and as a song it's notably hard and relatively adventurous for 1975 rock. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is funny the first time, and possibly thoughtful upon repeated listenings (same theme as CSN's "Almost Cut My Hair", really), but apart from some good guitar work is relatively forgettable. "Lakeside Park", however, is really quite good- a flowing and vivid feel that can take you on a ride. While the longer pieces don't really work yet, "The Necomancer" is more fleshed-out than "By-Tor" was, and "The Fountain of Lamneth" takes the progression even further, preparing us and the band for what was to come on the next album. They are refining their style and their chops here- it makes a more satisfying album than "Fly By Night" but the meal won't be quite ready to eat until "2112".

CARESS OF STEEL was the beginning of Rush amazing epic works, with that masterpiece called "The Fountain Of Lamneth", my only complain is that I would have wished to listen to all of this tracks with no spaces. "Bastille Day" was the best song written by Rush to that year, and also "Lakeside Park" and "I Think I´m Going Bald" are pretty good tunes.But again ther is a weak part on the album, "The Necromancer" is very boring, with the exception of the narrative (By-Tor part 2), I find the music boing, except for than E9 minor chord in the beginning of the song.

Hmm, not one of my favorites. But again, They still show quite a bit of musical/lyrical ability here. Bastille day is a popular tune loved by all rush fans and songs like necromancer and the fountain of lamneth are very long but amazing songs. I have yet to try and learn the fountain on guitar. I just listen to the whole thing and say to myself, "maybe some other time :p" Although I still like the album, because im a die hard rush fan, I don't really recommend buying it unless you're into them as much as I am. It's not one of their better albums in my opinion.

Its a great moment when you hear your favourite artist striving to reach greater heights in their creativity. COS was that moment for Rush, and although I didn't discover all the Rush albums in order its always a pleasure to listern to listern to COS immediately after 'Fly by night'. Fans tend to rate 'FBN higher, but I disagree. COS has 'The Necromancer' and 'The fountain of Lamneth' Two very strong conceptual tracks that form the blueprints for the bands future legthy works. The tracks I tend to avoid on this, their 'difficult' third album, are 'Bastille Day' - although most Rush fans seem to regard this as an anthem - and 'I think I'm going bald' 'Lakeside Park' is a pleasant 'ditty' with a fairly personal and reminiscent lyric, but little more.

I give this album 4 stars for 'The Necromancer' and 'TFOL' and the heady mixture of sensitivity and drama that make them. The musicianship on FBN was good enough to be getting on with, but Rush make a leap on COS, and in some ways the playing is 'cleaner' than on 'A farewll to Kings' which came out two years later. The production too is 'clean' allowing the woody organic sound of Neil Pearts drums to come through. The album has a natural and rather laid back feel to it that appeals to mea great deal, and is a sharp contrast to the screaming rock 'n' roll of FBN. A fine album!

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.

Presupposed by the band to be the big breakthrough album, Caress of Steel finds Rush in a transitory period. As evidenced by the major changes heard between Rush and Fly By Night, as well as a change in the band's drummer, Caress sees Rush increasingly losing its Zeppelin influnces and taking on its own unique geek-fantasy-prog rock that we all know and love.

Caress' five tracks show that Rush, although capable of great musicianship, is still fumbling for a musical idenity. Somewhere between Zep jams and fantasy prog we find gems such as Fountains of Lamneth, Rush's first side-long epic, and beasts of ugliness such as the band's infamous I Think I'm Going Bald. Personally, I enjoy Bastille Day, the album's short opener, The Necromancer, and Fountains of Lamneth. For those of you who like some good ol' distorted guitar jam on your prog toast, then this is definitely the sandwich for you. Although The Necromancer and Fountains have great moments, Rush wasn't fully able to grab on to an epic as an entire musical piece as opposed to a collection of separate songs spliced together... even 2112 and the later Hemispheres, although Hemispheres improves upon this, are similar in structure. Certainly Panacea and Bacchus Plateau make fine songs on their out of context of the epic, even though there is a continuous story that holds the songs together. Besides this, Necromancer and Fountains are fantastic. Peart's lyricism is astounding as usual, even way back when in 1975, particularly so on Fountains. Fountains tells the story of growing up and learning how to live in the form of a journey to a mystical Fountain perched atop a mountain that lies across a vast ocean. Fountains is, no doubt, a song written by Peart but strongly influnced by his favorite auther/philosopher Ayn Rand, an influence that holds strong in Rush's catalogue up into the mid-80s. In typical prog form, The Necromancer is the story of the Fellowship travelling into Mordor, a Tolkien story that has probably been told in several hundred ways by several hundred prog bands. All said, Caress shows Rush in their early days, warming up for their actual breakthrough album, 2112.

A few weeks later, I wrote my review about the 2112 album and you will find strange to give COS 5 stars when I gave 2112 only 4...Ok, it might deserve 4 stars too...But...Did I say before how much I like experimental and weird albums?...That extra makes me put the maximum rate to this one, because I consider it very challenging and adventurous and the result, IMHO, is and album that mixes their present and what they wanted to do in the future making two epic tracks like The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth, both songs are maybe their most unpopular, but that doesn't mean they're not good efforts...

With The necromancer we find for the first and only time, the inclusion of the narration along with the singing...that makes it their most obscure track (fantastic!) ... it's few words, but a lot of music.

The Fountain of Lamneth is more elaborated as in story as musically, the changing of rythms are fabulous, though some of you say they had some problems when linking the one suite with another, but the approach is acceptable.

Bastille Day and I Think I'm Going Bald are hard rock songs...Bastille Day their most popular track and one of the best of the album, while "...Going Bald", a late scream of what rebel and pop groups of the 60's were claiming in those days, their weakest track.

Rush began to acquire its identity, leaving little by little their Zep's influences and making records that embellish our shelves, the best was to come and for me this was their very and most promising beginning

A very underrated album, even within the Rush fanbase. Cleary, 'The Fountain Of Lamneth' is the highlight of this album; a real work of art. One of their best, and most daring songs. The remainder of Caress Of Steel is a bit uneven, but still quite good...'Bastille Day' and 'Lakeside Park' are winners; however, 'I Think I'm Going Bald' doesn't quite match up. Parts of The Necromancer are great (Under the Shadow esp.), but Return of the Prince is a big letdown compared with the previous sections. All in all, a 4 star album. Buy it for The Fountain Of Lamneth, Bastille Day, and Lakeside Park. That's 28 minutes of top notch material right there! Cool cover art too :)

"Caress of Steel" is classic early Rush. Both raw and powerful, and delicate and beautiful. It is of course a very overlooked and puzzlingly critized album. Personally, I'v allways felt it was one of Rush's very best; and I'm not a 'died in the wool' Rush fan. Just an admirer who loves thier music and unique sound. The album opens with a Rush classic, "Bastille Day". Enought said there. It goes on with the whimsical "I think I'm going bald". Then, another Rush classic, "Lakeside Park". How anyone could listen to this track and not feel that yearning for things having passed away by time is beyond me. A raw, but gorgeous rock song. "The Necromancer" is certainly the weakest part of the album, and it's this song that so many people seem to characterize the entire work by; that's unfortunate. Side two encompasses the rock suite "The fountain of Lamneth". This is a cohesive, well crafted series of songs that bring the listener along both on a journey of the mind but of the imagination as well. The lyrics are mature, the musicianship top notch as allways, and the piece is nicely balanced and well conceived. Just great music. I'm sure many will strongly disagree with my opinions here but I might remind them that I'v been a Guitarist since I was a kid. Musicians often see things a bit differently than do non musicians. Not to say we know more or are better judges, just different. That's all. I hope my thoughts will encourage some to re listen to "Caress of Steel". Give it another chance. They just don't make em' like that anymore.

Boyce

Ah, perhaps the most controversial album of Rush's career (aside from Vapor Trails). Personally, I love it and on the whole find it more interesting than 2112, even if nothing measures up to that albums title track. "Bastille Day" is one of the best slabs of pure hard- rock every produced, in my biased opinion; Geddy Lee's vocals are very convincing and angry here, and Alex Lifeson has never played with such an edge. "I Think I'm Going Bald" features some good guitar and bad lyrics, though they are pretty funny (Geddy takes a rare turn as wordsmith in this song). "Lakeside Park" is more of a straightforward pop song, though with some inoovative guitar and great drumming/bass playing. It is also special to me personally because it mentions my birthday. "The Necromancer" is my favorite pre-2112 piece, with Alex's best guitar work of that era. That ultra-crunchy metallic stop-time riff in the middle section is just a killer, and a logical precursor to the main riff of 2112. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" is a bit hit-and-miss, with the best sections being "Bachhus Plateau", the psychotic drum showcase "Didacts And Narpets", and the incredible "No One At The Bridge". This side-long suite just doesn't contain the overall cohesiveness of "Cygnus X-1 Book II" or "2112". Overall, this album shows the direction the band would move toward in the near future, even if some of it doesn't work as well as it could have.

I found this as an interesting album, including both good and some very bad moments. The shorter tracks I'm fond of here are the "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park", but "I Think I'm Going Bald" is a quite terrible joke rock song I fear. The longer epics have good parts in them, but the compositions seem to be done in a haste, and there are some poor parts included too. If you like 70's hard rock and structured epics, this might be a worthy album to check out! Warning: Some very high an mighty heavy screaming vocals of the 70's included!

I have to say that I was disappointed when I first heard this album. I anticipated another pair of '2112's with 'The Necromancer' and 'The Fountain...' but I was sorely disappointed. They both do have their moments, but I don't think the band was quite ready for such epic and ambitious tracks at the time. The album does have, in my opinion, one of the best early Rush tracks, 'Bastille Day', but it also has the track which I'm sure was recorded as a joke 'I Think I'm Going Bald'. That track is sheer filler, but is followed by 'Lakeside Park' which just about rescues it. Then come the epics, which I don't think fulfilled what I expected. They are overall quite messily executed, and while still musically sound, they don't seem to quite fit together. This album is worth getting, but I'd go for 2112 if you're looking for an unforgettable epic.

his is the point in Rush albums where they were defining the sound that they would be known for throughout the seventies with more involved lyrics from drummer Neil Peart. A more hard edged guitar sound that would be more complete on the next one 2112, but compared with previous efforts A Caress Of Steel is more in line with how they would be perceived with a progressive like influence, although subtle as that may be, but it is still a worthy album that has taken a lot of stick from time to time. Personally it's my favorite Rush album and "Lake side Park" is one of the better songs from any Rush period, a song with memories of youth and drinking and simply hanging out with friends. The song is nicely juxtaposed with electric and acoustic guitar parts, something the band would work with on a few occasions if only to stamp an emotion on a song and it works a treat here with all the poignancy of the song. Some of the longer pieces are a bit experimental and lyrically can be a bit dumb but they are still listenable and surprizingly tight and even mesmeric at intervals, especially with the candid piece "Panacea" as the B side roll toward the end. All around A Caress Of Steel has a nice quality and a warm and fresh Terry Brown production.

Album number 3 and rush is heading toward greatness...but they're not quite there yet.Things are getting a bit more complex but then there are tracks like I think I'm going bald! A track that would have felt more at home on the 1st album.But given that this is the 3rd album in two years they may have still been pulling tunes from there 1st album songbook.Not a classic album but worthy of purchase (as are all of their albums)This is better than the Fly by night in my opinion.

After purchasing this album without being familiar with it's songs, besides Bastille Day I was amazed, The NecroMancer and Fountain of Lamenth are both excellent epics, not as powerfull and exhillarating as 2112, but still a great choice for Rush fans, Lakeside Park, although short is now one of my favorite Rush songs.

To most Rush fans this remains to be one of the hardest albums to digest. I recently purchased the digital remaster, which prompted me to review this album. Let me go ahead and get any negatives out of the way. "I'm Think I'm Going Bald" would have to be, in my opinion, the weakest link on the album. I mean that only by the fact that it sort of stands by itself when taken in context with both the theme and mood of the rest of the album. I'd have to say that as a stand alone track, it well represents the band's tongue in cheek approach and comedic wit often displayed thoughout their career. But now that that is out of the way, let's get to the meat of the good stuff. "Bastille Day" represents Rush's constant ability to comment on social and political concepts in a structured and inteeligent way. C'mon, a rock song about the The French Revolution? Not often a subject tackled by the most politically aware musicians. "Lakeside Park", beautifully written, arranged , and gives a nod to the better times in life not often addressed in prog. Which now brings us to the two more epic tracks on this CD, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". For any sci-fi fantasy fan, you can obviously recognize the Tolkein influence to the storyline of "The Necromancer". Musically, this track from beginning to end is astounding; the multi layered guitars, Geddy's ability to translate angst in his vocal style, to the spirit lifting theme of Return of the Prince. Classic! "The Fountain of Lamneth", is a bit tougher to just review when considering all probably went into the concept. Lending ideas from Greek mythology, Coronado's search for th Fountain of Youth, a take on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for No One at the Bridge, which Geddy's vocals towards the end just drip with sorrow and anguish, well done. So, as a whole, the album gets a weird rating from me. I only put the 2 star rating based off of the fact that if you're not a Rush fan, then this album probably isn't for you, and it's still a tough one for most Rush fans at that. I can only encourage anyone to sit down and really listen to everything going on in this album and I believe you'll come out with a different perspective than the one you started with. Enjoy!

G

This Rush album is the beginning of a long trend in their output of albums. It is the start of what some like to call their Progressive Era. I, for one, like to think of it as a warm up to 2112, for the two epics aren't fully fleshed out and are a bit abstract. Musically, this album is at a time when Rush were trying to expand their horizons, and many different tones and moods are heard. There's the heavy anthem of the album in Bastille Day, the bluesy rocker I Think I'm Going Bald, the soft modulated guitar tones on Lakeside Park, the quiet and somber tones of the Necromancer, and the alternating phased and acoustic sounds of The Fountain of Lamneth. All the right ingredients are there, but why was this album so unpopular when it came out? Frankly, I think it's because they took an unexpected turn and their fan base didn't like it.

Anyway, back to the music. The album opens with the rough and heavy Bastille Day. The drumming and bass on this track are well done, as well as the crunchy tone of Lifeson's guitar. Add in a bluesy, heavy guitar solo, and you have a masterpiece from Rush. The lyrics bring up images of a kingdom under fire, and the guillotine claiming the lives of many.

The next track, the weakest track on the album, I Think I'm Going Bald is more of a joke lyrically than anything else. The music also feels like a rehash of something from their first album, and the solo sounds similar to the one in Bastille Day, the weakest song on the album.

The final of the contemporary tracks, Lakeside Park, is a journey into the past of Neil Peart. With a introduction drum roll, the bluesy guitar shines throughout the vesres, and the clean and soft guitar shines through the choruses. This is one of my favorite Rush songs, mainly because of the modulations Alex Lifeson uses on his guitar, they are phenomenal.

The first of the epics, The Necromancer, is an abstract piece. Beginning with a very deep narrorator (Terry Brown I believe), he tells of a tale of three travellers who are greeted by misfortune when a necromancer takes them into the shadow. The music starts off quietly, with volume swells off of Lifeson's guitar. The ending is full of rejoice when old character Prince By-Tor comes and saves the day (unlike in the song off of Fly by Night, where By- Tor is the evil one). The music is rich and very well done.

The final track, The Fountain of Lamneth, is also a very abstract piece. Musically speaking, this was the most ambitious piece Rush had done to date. The riffing by Lifeson is very similar to what was going to be one of his staples later in Rush's career. It begins quietly, with acoustic guitars from Lifeson. Then one of the main riffs comes in, and it is the most memorable things on the album. It's a very rocking section that takes you straight into Didacts and Narpets. This section is a one minute drum solo from Peart and has only one line of lyric, "LISTEN!!!". The next part, No one at the Bridge, is easily the best riff Lifeson had come up with to date. The rest of the track is masterful, and it truly is one of the great Rush epics.

Overall, this is a great album. Not the best Rush album, but it has many likable qualities to it. The epics, while musically strong, are very abstract. It seemed like this album was the Prequel to 2112. Very solid effort by a very creative group. 4.5/5

I got the album last week and, after a couple of spins, I have to say that it's not as bad as I expected after reading many reviews here. It's a pretty moody one, lots of atmospherics, and there is no keyboards at all. The sound is pretty raw and dry. Just guitars, bass, drums. We're still far from AFTK, but there's definitely something very good here, like "Bastille Day", which to me is a classic hard/rock song. "I think I'm going bald" makes me laugh not only for the subject, also because it is an evident nod to KISS, it's kind of a homage to the masked guys, really. It's a good humorous song (and reflective). "Lakeside Park" is a very sweet ballad, makes you think of the good days past and maybe of your childhood. "The Necromancer" is the best part to me, it's very very moody and dark and the main arpeggiated riff is another classic (often copied by other bands). Ther's more progressiveness here, the song is split in sections, all pretty different between them, ranging from the moody beginning to the energic, quasi metal middle part, to the relaxed feel of "The return of the prince". "The fountain of Lamneth" is also split in sections and contains pretty good moments like "Panacea", and personally I like the intro and the outro on the song.

The album is overall enjoyable, of course it is different from other RUSH material, it's dark, it's definitely strange, but it sure deserves to be listened to, and to the expert ear it sometimes can be a surprise.

Starting really great with a fabulous bass Riff, great drumming singing and guitarplay, Bastille Day is a great opener for a bad album. The first three songs are good, and very well played, but the two attempts at longer songs are totally wasted on me.

Outside the single Bastille Day, the funny I Think I'm Going Bald and the great ballad Lakeside Park, which I regard as good material for a three star album, the rest is a wankery, unbalanced, but daring attempt at something that might be described as progressive rock, but bad progressive rock excists.

Only for fans.

Through this third studio album Rush had proved their existence as an excellent rock band with some exploration into more progressive style by creating a long duration epic with approximately 20 minute long of music. It's actually not the song duration that matters it's more on how diverse the music has changed from traditional mainstream rock music. And for this reason only, the band has proved even through its opening track "Bastille Day" (4:36) here I can sense that Alex Lifeson's guitar riffs are completely different with hard rock style. "I think I'm Going Bald" (3:35) is still dominated by heavy guitar riffs with excellent guitar solo. "Lakeside Park" (4:07) is an excellent track combining excellent acoustic guitar work, solid bass lines, good vocals and dynamic drumming. "The Necromancer" 12:30 is an epic that comprises three parts: I. Into the Darkness (4:20), II. Under the shadow (4:25), III. Return of the prince (3:51). The first part is ambient in nature and it has strong influence from blues. It's a very melodic part especially when it's combined with Geddy Lee's voice. At the end of first part there is a narration by a male voice followed with drum solo and guitar riffs that remark the music entrance into second part. The guitar solo is truly stunning. The music turns into a relatively complex arrangements followed with a sudden break to indicate the part 3.

The concluding track of this album is an almost 20 minute long epic "The Fountain of Lamneth" (19:50) that comprises 6 parts: I. In the valley (4:17), II. Dialects and narpets (1:00), III. No one at the bridge (4:15), IV. Panacea (3:12), V. Bacchus plateau (3:12)., and VI. The fountain (3:48). Even though the basic music is hard rock but this epic has demonstrated that Rush, since this album, embarked their musical journey into progressive style. This epic proves well on this. It perfectly combines rock and blues with good composition.

Overall, it's an excellent addition to any prog rock collection. If you are die-hard fan of Rush, owning this album is a must, I think. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

This album was almost Rush their swansong! Everything went wrong with the band, including the cover art because the chemical process turned it into too dark. The music can be devided into archetypical rock songs, progressive hardrock compositions ans tracks that are their time ahead featuring great experimental ideas. Instead of disbanding, Rush took their time and convinced everybody (including the worried record company, the fans and the musical press) with the innovative and acclaimed successor "2112". So "Caress of steel" was a kind of therapeutical experience!

Weak production! Or mixing, or whatever. They're going for a BIG, SELF-IMPORTANT Led Zeppeliny sound, but there's too much space and air in the mix, so it sounds like a vanity pressing by some band that would never be heard from again (if only!). Still, once you get past this minor skin irritation, they're actually a halfway decent Led Zeppelin tribute band. They prove that they can kick the rocks with their headbanging lead-off track "Bastille Day" (which would be that much better had Terry Brown bothered showing up for work that day), and side two has many lops of melodic prettitude. Unfortunato, Geddy's voice is a yelping headachey mess. He sounds about nine years old. And not all the riffs are all that hot. They certainly try, though, and that counts for something.

Something BAD!

For younger listeners, who are used to the production and mixing of recent albums, I can imagine that it is harder to listen to and appreciation the sound quality of older albums. BUT, that shouldn't be used as a reason for disliking or trashing an album. The technology of the times isn't a justification for slamming an album. What counts is the musical content and musical quality inherent in the music. In other words, the songwriting skills and performance of the band, and even the artwork, not the technological shortcomings.

I've listened to Caress of Steel since the late 70's and consider it one of the best Rush albums. Sure, it doesn't have the big and bombastic sound of later albums, but for those whose minds aren't narrow and limited, and for those who will look deeper than surface issues, there is some good material here.

It ain't one of Rush's 5-star albums, but it holds its own against any of the overproduced dreck of the 70's. The epics are Rush's way of putting Neil's toes in the water. In that respect, they succeeded masterfully. "The Fountian Of Lamneth" is, IMO, brilliant. Well written, highly melodic with a good solid production. Geddy hadn't touched a keyboard yet and that's what "Jorg" brought up. His words exactly: "Wich idiot's idie was that, not to play synthesizers anymore??" People, READ THE LINER NOTES!!!!! Geddy didn't freakin' play a single keyboard til 1977, when they released AFTK! Everyone with half a brain knows that. But, enough of my prattle. This is a great album, with great songs."Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" are wonderfully written. " The Necromancer" is somewhat hobbled by clunky narration, but ultimately spreads its wings and flies on your imagination. The only song I don't like is "I Think I'm Going Bald". It might have been wriiten purely for comic relief, but to me it's dreck. And 3:37 is an awful long time for dreck. But, damn...that's a great guitar solo. Try as it might, it can't save the song. That's why I only give it four stars.

I can't tell you how much I love this album. But I'll try anyway.

'Caress Of Steel' isn't very well-liked by many of the band's fans, and even the members of Rush generally dismiss it. I've never understood that. It's a bridge to the even better '2112', and the progression from 'Fly By Night' (released earlier that same year) is remarkable. It may be a transitional album, but what a fascinating listen.

Clearly there's a desire to stretch boundaries wider than ever, evidenced by the band's first side-long track, "The Fountain Of Lamneth". As quoted in Martin Popoff's 'Contents Under Pressure' book, Geddy admits that Rush was "influenced by Yes, Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and ELP" at this time. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" is a clear nod to their prog influences, an epic in six parts. It carries a lot of sadness, a grey melancholy heightened by the dry recording. It also features some of Neil Peart's best drumming up to that point (especially in first part "In The Valley"). And second part "Didacts And Narpets" offers some of the weirdest Rush ever. The different parts don't always link together seamlessly, but the individual pieces are all engaging.

It's interesting to note that keyboards hadn't yet come into the band's arsenal, so much of the progginess on 'Caress Of Steel' is achieved through ambitious songwriting, extended song-lengths ("The Fountain Of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer"), and the performances. Without keyboards filling up the sound picture, as they will do in most prog, Rush's sound (at this point) remains firmly in the early metal mode, with Alex Lifeson displaying an incredibly wide range of tones and techniques. His very individualistic style starts coming into its own all over this album.

The first half offers quite a variety of song styles. You get metal bludgeon (in that cool '70s style, of course, this ain't Napalm Death) with "Bastille Day". Self-deprecating humor in the straight rock of "I Think I'm Going Bald"--the last time anything approaching humor would be heard in a Rush song for quite some time. Fun, and a great solo from Lifeson, but the only less-than-excellent moment on the album. "Lakeside Park", lyrically and musically a better version of 'Fly By Night''s "Making Memories". And of course, album climax "The Necromancer", 12-and-a-half minutes of epic storytelling and magic-making. It stands right up there with the epic darkness of early Judas Priest and the proggier Black Sabbath material.

Maybe it's that weird downer greyness (sound and presentation) that keeps people at a distance? I like that aspect. There's certainly no other album that sounds like it. And if you, like I, love early metal as well as early prog, and prefer a good bit of darkness and drama in both, 'Caress Of Steel' is a joy. Frighteningly close to perfection.

This didn't make me so interested like 2112, AFTK and other better albums. "The Necromancer" 's and "The Fountain of Lamneth" 's guitar solo is not so funny and cool like other Alex's solos. Really, this album makes me sad. . .

"Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" are totally awesome songs, but "I Think I'm Going Bald" is something else... like it is in wrong album.. I like this album when I want to hear something strange, "The Fountain of Lamneth V. Bacchus Plateau" is VERY good good for my ears, it's and Rush comes in my mind when i'm listening that... I think that "The Fountain of Lamneth V. Bacchus Plateau" is BEST song/part in this album.

Rush's third album is good, a little better than Fly by Night but not as good as what's to follow. There are five tracks on this album, three shorter ones and two longer ones (one taking up the entire side).

First we start off with Bastille Day, a great way to kick off the album! Although it isn't prog rock, it's one of the better hard rock songs I've heard and almost too catchy. I remember having this tune stuck in my head the entire day after first hearing it. Next is I Think I'm Going Bald, which is my least favorite track on the album. It's a bluesy song with humorous lyrics about growing up. Lakeside Park is a nice song and the last of the shorter songs on the album. It's a chill type song that's pleasing to the ears. The first side is concluded with The Necromancer. The lyrics are good and inspired by the Lord of the Rings, but the song itself is mediocre. Although it was good at parts, it was boring at others and the narration really seemed to water it down.

The second side is one 20 minute song, The Fountain of Lamneth that could have been six short tracks instead of one long one. Part I starts off slow, but builds up and has some great parts. Part II is pretty much a drum solo where each of the members shout out lyrics. Parts III and IV are both slower and pretty lackluster in my opinion. The final two parts are also slow, but then go back to the catchy riffs of part one. Overall, The Fountain of Lamneth is a pretty average song.

Conclusion: 3/5 stars. Slight improvement from their first two albums, but I'd recommend some of their later stuff first. The two epics might each have good points, but overall they're weak compared to what's to follow.

This is the most underrated Rush work but for me very important work, because it is a landmark between their first hard rock period and their next progressive era. In this album the band begins to create long suites in progressive style enriched with fantasy, philosophical and mithological lyrics by Neal Peart. The Necromancer it's about 12 minutes and it's divided in three parts, it begins slowly with the narration voice that gives a dark-gothic mood to the song and the beautifull voice of Geddy Lee, the second part it's very heavy with lots of electric guitar refrains and solos by Lifeson; the last part contains one of my favourite acoustic and electric guitar chords. The Fountain of Lamneth it's about 19 minutes and it's divided in several parts most of them in a progressive style with lots of acoustic and electric picking chord, in the same dark mood. The first three songs are straight hard rock and the best i think it's "Bastile Day" and the beautiful "Lakeside park", while "I Think i'm going bald" it's a mediocre hard rock piece. Overral it' s a very good album of transition that will come to the next masterpieces like 2112 and Hemispheres.

Many consider this CD the big "flop" for Rush, but I love it. I just finished listening to it for the 1200th time (approximately). Personally, I don't care for the track " I think I'm going bald " , but that may have to do with my actual balding ...

Lyrically, the piece is masterful overall. An Excellent follow up to Fly by Night, and precursor to 2112. The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth are epic.The music is melodic and esoteric, and you can't help but let your mind and spirit wander while listening to it. I recommend looking up the lyrics online if you don't know them and read it as it's being played to get the full effect.

Pop the cork on your favorite wine and curl up by the fire after your favorite meal and put the CD in and listen to it from start to finish and you'll know what I'm talking about. Don't let the negative reviews prevent you from enjoying this CD. It helps with the appreciation if you're an "old" Rush fan, and familiar with the previous adventures of "By-Tor" on the Fly by Night album. I'm rating the CD as 2 star only because I feel it appeals to the older fans and folks who like Rush's concept songs and CD's. The CD is far from "poor".If the only Rush songs you're familiar with is "Tom Sawyer" and "Spirit of Radio", you probably won't get it. If you enjoy "By -Tor and the Snow Dog", "2112", and "Hemispheres" , you will more than likely like it.

C'mon, guys! This is real masterpiece and probably one of my favourite Rush albums. I'm suprised that it is underestimated so much!

You got everything here: not much complicated, dynamic, hard rock songs ("I think I'm going bald" and "Bastille day") as well as long progresive suites ("The Fountain of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer").

Music on "Caress of Steel" is really outstanding, but do not forget about lyrics. Guys from Rush seem to be erudites, writing lyrics with references to literature and history: we have got here Tolkien's trilogy inspired "Necromancer" and historical "Bastille Day" (with begining quotation: "There's no bread, let them eat cake").

In summary, I would like very keenly encourage you to listen to this album. There was a time when it was the most frequently listened Rush album by me. Times changed, but it is still very important position on my CD case.

Bart

The best Canadian band ever with their best album by far ever. It kicks ass especially the necromancer and the story it tells with a good rocking performance at eh end. And the fountain of lamneth, is a musical master piece. It doesn't get much beter than this one it is a must have. One of the best concept albums out their.

Yes, Caress Of Steel (COS) is not an album of typical Rush´s sound. Yes, this album is much more conceptual than others. However, I think that these opinions forget the essential: COS shows one of the most beatiful songs of Rush. "Necromancer", mainly its last part, is really great. But, "Fountain Of Lamneth" is superb! Interesting lyric, relative complex musical composition, excellent musician performance. Apparently, the members of the band do not like so much this beatiful song (they never performed this song at stage, I think). Despite its long duration (the entire B side of LP), "Fountain Of Lamneth", alone, justify the acquisition of COS, in my opinion.

Very, very nearly there. Rush's prog flirtings would soon properly come to fruitition but they still had a hurdle or two to get over. This is one of the least popular 70s albums, and admittedly probably is one of the weakest, but that's not saying much seeing as at this time Rush were still owning left, right and centre.

These ones get slated by prog fans for their unwillingness to let go their hard rock roots, but this kicks off in fine fashion. "Bastille Day" was used to open their live shows with for years after this album was released and it's not hard to see why. It's an uptempo rocker that makes full use of the band's synergy and developing songwriting abilities. It maximises the turbulence of revolution into an almost epic structure with stellar instrumentation throughout.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" is the last gasp of the first album's heavy Zeppelin inspiration and as such isn't bad. It's Rush after all and it's funny to see this laid back and simple structure get set upon by Neil Peart, who brings strange OTT moments to it. "Lakeside Park" is really relaxed and breezy with it's gentle acoustic guitar lines and Geddy's carefree vocals. This one moves about the place in complicated Rush fashion but it's subtle and the feel is never lost within the changes.

"The Necromancer", in three parts, is probably their most flaccid attempt at an epic. Each section is musically fine but shockingly unmemorable as a whole. It's underwhelming placed next to the might of "2112" and the cheesy narration really kills it off. "The Fountain of Lamneth" follows with twice as many parts and being almost twice as long (very nearly a whooping 20 minutes!) to boot. It's much better than the previous but lacks the natural flow from one part to the next that "2112" perfected. Now, both really were in essence 6 and 7 little songs plastered together, but "2112" just felt right in it's moves from one to the next and even felt, if abstractly, like it was a perfect whole. They explore their British symphonic prog fixations a bit further here, and the Yes-isms are loud and proud. They never forget to break out the hard rocking groove and I can't fault any of the performance. It's just very tame in comparison to what they'd let loose in the next few years. That said, "Panacea" and "Bacchus Plateau" are the highlights of 6 parts that move between light and dark moments very often.

Geddy once said of this period: "You could just smell the hash oil coming off us" or something like that. Well I don't know if they were taking too much or too little but this album could might have benefitted one way or the other. Anyway, any prog fan can add this to the collection, at least for the historical value and to hear how one of the biggest and most influential prog bans in the world progressed.

Album rating: 7.5/10 points = 76 % on MPV scale = 4/5 stars

point-system: 0 - 3 points = 1 star / 3.5 - 5.5 points = 2 stars / 6 - 7 points = 3 stars / 7.5 - 8.5 points = 4 stars / 9 - 10 points = 5 stars

This album obviously follows the path of "Fly By Night", still very rooted in the 70's hard rock, but increasing the progressive elements...

The main difference is that the band assumed their prog condition, and they offered us two long epics: The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth, with a little irregular results sometimes. Both songs have great parts, but some flaw moments too. The most enjoyable fact is the use of the acoustics and the excellent bass lines... Nevertheless, this two tracks should not be missed by any 70's Rush fans. At the moment of the realease of this album, Rush had not yet the complete abilities to write long tracks with totally satisfactory results... But I'm sure that they learned with this experience, and after "Caress of Steel" came "2112", with the first great Rush's epic.

The short tracks are a little irregular too. Bastille Day is really good, in the same style of the best rocker songs of the two first releases, and the only real classic of this album. But I Think I'm Going Bald it's just forgettable, really silly track... Nevertheless, Lakeside Park is another good song.

Best songs: Bastille Day (good Rush's rocker...), Lakeside Park (I love the acoustic guitar work...) and The Necromancer (it's long, but not boring like The Fountain of Lamneth...)

Conclusion: good transition album, strongly linked with "Fly By Night" but showing an indication of what the band will make in a future. The whole album is a little irregular, but it deserves a good listening.

My rating: ***

'Caress of Steel' was released a year before '2112' and two before the first of Rush's truly epic albums 'A Farewell to Kings', both vital stepping stones in it's attainment. The album features the band's first attempts at extended progressive composition, introduced however by three shorter songs.

The first of these is 'Bastille Day', a well known Rush staple which kicks the album off to a fine start. The song commemorates the storming of Bastille, which occured as a result of confrontation between the peasant classes and the ancien régime alluded to lyrically. Geddy's voice is superb and there's a fine guitar solo half way through the song from Lifeson.

Next comes 'I Think I'm Going Bald'. Geddy's singing is outrages, guitar and drumming punchy to make a song that cannot but amuse. The lyrics also introduce a theme which forms the basis for the next song; looking back at one's youth, and nostalgia.

'Lakeside Park' suffers greatly at the hand of critics (actually, Geddy Lee himself has lambasted it as a Zeppelin rip off), but I nevertheless enjoy it. Geddy refines his voice to make the song most pleasant. The drum lead-in and Peart's style in general reminds me slightly of Brian Downey on Thin Lizzy's earlier releases ('The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle', 'Things Aint Working Out Down at the Farm' and suchlike), and Bonham is obviously a big influence.

Funnily enough,'The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle' comes to mind again on listening to 'The Necromancer', although I fail to pinpoint exactly as to why this should be. Could Thin Lizzy have been an influence on Rush during this stage in their careers? Rush are after all equated with hard rock. In any case 'The Necromancer' is quite excellent, the theme being Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', split predictably into three sections. These do not however summarise rigidly the three books, the theme of 'Lord of the Rings' being dealt with more in abstract. A curious voice-over introduces each section, probably Peart - who also wrote the lyrics. The movement 'Into the Darkness' is particularly beautiful for it's sad, almost painful guitar and melody, and to Peart's sparse drumming, illustrating the barren desolation the 'three companions' increasingly encounter as they journey south towards the realm of 'the Necromancer'. A unifying theme and a degree of structure make 'The Necromancer' fairly successful as an epic, at least in my opinion; it and '2112' are worthy precursors to such masterpieces as 'Xanadu', 'Cygnus' and 'Natural Science' that define what Rush later became.

The same cannot be said of 'Fountain of Lamneth', which is often pleasant but too disjointed to be truly effective. Worthy of note is the chorus of the first movement, 'In the Valley' where reference is first made lyrically to the mountain on top of which lies the fountain for which the song's character yearns, accompanied beautifully by Lifeson on semi-acoustic. Some of the piece is incredibly naff however, for example the introduction to 'Diadects and Narpets' (where the band all shout 'Listen!') and most of 'Panacea'. As a whole this extended piece of music is not poor, but neither is it epic, lacking the maturity and consistency only really a feature of Rush after 'A Farewell to Kings' (inclusive). It must be said that my appreciation increased after multiple listens accustomed me to the narrative, but 'The Necromancer' is far superior to this work, which lacks both the excitement of '2112' and the structural perfection of 'Cygnus x-1 Book II'.

The album as a whole is still excellent however, and I don't hesitate to recommend it with four stars. If you're a Rush fan, then this album must automatically be at least of interest. If your'e not a fan, give this one a try: it's quite dissimilar to anything Rush released prior to or following its release. You never know, but you might actually quite like it.

This album is so underrated. Even the tour with it was dubbed the "Down The Tubes Tour." Caress Of Steel basically takes Fly By Night and kicks it up a notch (actually a couple of notches). The band rocks, especially with "Bastille Day" and the middle portion of "The Necromancer." Man, that bass line kills with that wicked solo. Anyway, besides the humourous yet whimsical "I Think I'm Going Bald" and the nostalgic "Lakeside Park," Caress Of Steel houses to behemoths: "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain Of Lamneth." The former is obviously inspired by The Lord Of The Rings with the spoken parts basically mirroring the basics of those novels. It begins with a slow jam with some nice guitar before heading to the previously mentioned middle section. That part kills like none other. It ends with some nice repeated guitar melodies and solo. What's really overlooked on this album is the 20 minute "The Fountain Of Lamneth." Basically, it's a story of a young man that seeks the fountain, only to return to the exact same spot. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" is constructed like so epics that's more like a handful of songs shoved together with some repeating melodies throughout (a la "Supper's Ready" by Genesis). But that's not a bad thing. It features a wicked solo by Peart too. This is required listening for any Rush fan.

Rush begin their plunge into full fledged prog waters in this kind of build up to "2112". "Caress Of Steel" is much the same as "2112" in terms of sound and style, but it lacks the finesse and elaborate sound of the following album. However, what it lacks in finesse it seems to make up for in it's sense of naivety. "Caress Of Steel" still carries the sound of a young band trying to find it's niche. Rush seem to be treading the middle ground between their early Zeppelin sound and that which would come forth on "2112". The result in itself is very interesting.

Lifeson creates some of his most memorable riffs on this album especially in the epic Fountain Of Lamneth where he resembles the style he would be using on "2112" and onward. His lead work still carries the aggression of heavy metal player at this point rather than the melodic style he would adopt later. With that being said his solos are fantastic most notably the lead work in Bastille Day which would be so powerful as to inspire the band name Majesty (pre-Dream Theater) which refers to Mike Portnoy's description of the track.

All songs on the album have their own appeal to them. The two epics have the progressive rock sound we've come to love from Rush, and the remaining tracks carry the Zeppelin sound of their first two albums. I Think I'm Going Bald is really more of a joke track, and really the only noticeable fault on the album besides a less than perfect, though not marred, production job.

Perhaps the most underrated disc/album in the Rush catalogue. Yes, the production is rudimentary and almost laughable by today's standards. Yes, the efforts are sophomoric and sometimes pretentious, reaching too far at times. Yes, the musicianship and overall quality can pale compared to later efforts. But buried amongst all these negatives is a raw enthusiasm that shines throughout the entire album.

There's really only five songs on the disc and all but one I still find enjoyable. Bastille Day was the first Rush song to exhibit the NPeart worldview, encompassing his historical look on the French revolution, combined with an Ayn Rand sense of things. That all sounds very heady but the fact is the song totally rocks, serving as the opening for many a concert tour in the band's early days.

I Think I'm Going Bald is one of those embarrassing songs that I think the band would prefer to forget; I honestly don't think they ever played it live beyond the COS tour. It has some good guitar work towards the end but otherwise is..forgettable. Lakeside Park is a pleasant, rather pop-oriented, AOR-formatted song that works very well. In fact, it's the first in an astoundingly long list of great "pop" songs that Rush created over the years (think Closer to the Heart, The Trees, Spirit of Radio, Limelight, Subdivisions, New World Man, etc.).

Beyond that point Rush first flexed their prog-rock muscles; muscles that in many ways proved to be the strongest and most enduring of any rock band in history. First was the 12 and ½ minute, 3-part Necromancer suite. Strongly influenced by the Tolkien trilogy it is sometimes awkward, sometimes simple, sometimes blunt and yet nevertheless works wonderfully. Combining all the prog-rock elements that were a staple of the 70's while layering a hard-rock element that had been missing up to that point, it was Rush's most ambitious, successful and embarrassing effort to that point, all rolled into one. I know some folks look at it laughingly today, but you know what, I still buy into it, 34 years after its release. If you don't like it, that's understandable, but it was the first clue to the greatness this band would sustain for a good 20 years.

Finally, there is the first revelation of the true genius of what Rush would become, the 20-minute opus known as The Fountain of Lamneth. To this day I believe this to be the single most underrated piece ever produced by Rush. From acoustic opening to acoustic finale I believe FoL compares very favorably to 2112 and Hemispheres. In fact, the energy and raw ambition evident throughout the piece is unmatched in Rush's catalogue. It is complete in that it tells a great story from beginning to end, has entertaining individual pieces that, when combined, are more than the sum of their parts. To this day I enjoy this underrated piece of rock history.

Thus, all-in-all, I consider Caress of Steel to be amongst the great records of Progressive Rock and Roll. It truly introduced Rush to the ears or rock and roll fans, even though most never bought into it until years later. An underrated classic, in my opinion.

With the release of this album, Rush have become progressive. Listen to The Necromancer and The Fountain Of Lamneth (their first side long track) and you'll see what I mean. There is such range in these tracks as to leave you gobsmacked at times. Some of what you hear is very experimental - which is the essence of progressive - and it is also very complex, so you really need to pay attention to get the most from the listening experience.

Of course, the albums three opening tracks should not be overlooked. They are less complex and I'd say rock with a progressive hint. Bastille Day is one to pound out at volume as is Lakeside Park and both are very good tracks. I Think I'm Going Bald is a track that I did not like at first but it has grown on me to the point where I realise that it is actually a very clever little number.

This album is as difficult to rate as the first two albums by Rush. They are all excellent to my mind but probably still only tip the scale at good here and that's how I rated them. So, I'll flag this one as good too.

Back in 1988 (I was fifteen then) this was the first record by Rush I bought. I didn't think I would wait sixteen long years before seeing them live in Milan, and all this time (still now) "Caress of Steel" has remained my favourite Rush almum ever. In my opionion even better than "2112". The celebrated and famous follow-up has, in fact, some pompous and bombastic moment clearly intended to leave the mark and gain the listener's attention by force. Not so "Caress of Steel", which should be regarded as the most elegant hard-rock piece in the 1970s. Thanks also to the perfect production by Terry Brown, Rush managed to build, note after note, an album which is extremely well balanced and proportioned, where nothing is out of place and everything is as clear as pure crystal. This is true right from the beginning, with "Basille day": here is the Epic which bands like Manowar can only dream to play, fast, precise, very well structured and played. I've always gone crazy at "The Necromancer" with its gloomy evolving to its climax, a stunning guitar solo by Lifeson with Lee and Peart doing something incredible with their rhythm section. The long epic "The fountain of Lamneth" is more a concept than a suite, as each song is clearly different from the other. "Panacea" is charming, with its arpeggios and mesmerizing tune, "Bacchus Plateau" will always be one of my favourite songs by the band, very simple in its harmonic structure, yet elegant and refined. But "The Valley" and "The Fountain", two specular songs, are something which can place Rush among the best prog-rocker ever: their alternance of jazzy structure with heavy rock guitars and pastoral passages is amazing (and they were 22 then... that's genius!). These numbers are geometrically perfect! However, my favourite track from this album is "Lakeside Park": intimate, sparkling, pure elegance in hard rock I cannot really describe. Just listen to it. In Milan (September 2004) they only played the first riffs of Bastille Day. I am far from being dissatisfied, but I know I'll have to wait for their next tour to listen to them playing live a jem from this album...

Wutu Banale on "Caress of Steel".

Actually I would rate this hunk of meat 4.5/5, but since it's not possible here on Progarchives I have to choose from 4/5 or 5/5 ratings. The Choice was easy...

Their last album "Fly by Night" is an album many of us call the first REAL Rush album. And well, i am one of those guys. FbN was still very "Zeppelin-esque" much in the manner of their debut album. The track "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" gave us a hint what to expect from the next album. And they decided to give us their first true Progressive Rock album, Caress of Steel.

The Album opens with "Bastille Day" a song much in the vain of Anthem from the previous album. Bastille Day is a story about the French revolution. On 14th of July 1789 people stormed the Bastille and on that very day the modern french republic was born. Enough with the lyrics. Bastille Day has got to have one of the most effective Killer guitar riffs ever. A true Concert classic, too bad Rush doesen't play it anymore live. "I Think I am going bald" is one of the very very few Humour songs by Rush (If i remeber correct this wasn't even suppoused to be a "Funny" song). When talking about the worst Rush track ever this usually wins, but nah, it ain't that bad. Just blues rock with embarrising lyrics. "Lakeside Park" is my favourite song on this album, love the chorus. "Necromancer" is quite surely the most boring track on CoS. Seems to be about "Lord of the Rings". Boring instrumentation, stupid synchronized Narrator voice and too lenghty to be enjoyed. I usually just skip this one. Sounds like they are trying to be Black Sabbath. And the first true prog epic by the band, "The Fountain of Lamneth". Yeah, it maybe a bit pretendious and sometimes you really can hear they are trying too hard, but if you ask me, Fountain of Lamneth is better than their most popular epic "2112". Lyrics seem to be about life, from craddle to grave, you know? I truly like the lyrics, makes me think...

Rush intended CoS to be their breakthrough album, but it sold miserably and they even called the tour "Down the Tubes Tour". I don't know why people didn't like this back then (Or nowdays) to me it's one of the better Rush albums, even better than 2112. Lucky to us they made 2112, without it, the label would have had them dropped. Think about it, No Hemispheres or Moving Pictures for us!

Caress of Steel marks Rush's leap into prog. The last album showed hints of where the band was headed with songs like By Tor and the Snow Dog, but this album sped up the slow evolution with two monolithic numbers. Neil Peart by now established himself as lead songwriter, replacing Lee's and Lifeson's admittedly shoddy lyrics. His fascination with sci-fi would later result in the band's triumphs, but here he tried just a lttle too hard a little too soon.

"Bastille Day" opens the album with Peart's musings of the French Revolution processed through the philosophical viewpoint of Ayn Rand. The song is a great opening rocker and it's the highlight of the album.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" is the standard Rush filler. It's a silly tune that ruins the severity of the rest of the album. Now, I love humor in music, but Rush has never once succeeded in making these kinds of songs work. The humor fails miserably. This is what prevents me from ever giving Rush album five stars.

"Lakeside Park" is a poppy song tha the band pulls off quite well. Rush always was good at crafting little pop gems amidst the prog.

"The Necromancer" is the first of two proggy songs that would point in the direction of future releases. The song has the darkness that would later result in the great 2112, but here it lacks the emotion of that great piece. Also, for such a gifted band, the compostion is horrible. This track is a long letdown. The only pro is Alex's solo.

"The Fountain of Lamneth" shows real promise. Peart is in top form on drums, and Lee and Lifeson give their strings a pretty good workout. However, the song drags and Peart reached beyond his grasp with the lyrics. Overall, a pretty good song but nearly as good as later epics.

Caress of Steel is an important record for Rush, but it's a bit banal. The two satndout tracks are Bastille Day and Lakeside Park. I recommend 2112 over this album, since they hammered out all the flaws in their epics for the title track.

Grade: C-

"Caress Of Steel" has to be the most underrated RUSH album. I think this is an upgrade from the first two records as RUSH takes things in a new direction.This record would set the tone for the next one "2112". Although record sales for "Caress Of Steel" and the tour that went with it proved unsuccessful (although it sold 100,000 copies just like their first 2 records did), I give the band a lot of credit for sticking with this same formula when they recorded "2112". Peart said "It was weird. We loved it so much when we made it, and we were flush with the excitement of making it.Then when it didn't do well, we were kind of stung." He goes on to say "We see it as a bridge, though. We wouldn't have made "2112" if we hadn't made that. I can trace the roots of all our material fom our previous experiments."

"Bastille Day" was a concert opener for years and for good reason, as it got the crowd in the mood you could say for the whole show. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is a funny song about getting old. Love it when Geddy screams "I think i'm going bald".This one rocks out pretty good. "Lakeside Park" is a place in Neil's home town and it has a lot of meaning for me growing up in a tourist town also watching fireworks on the 24th of May and doing crazy things at the midway and on the beach.The lyrics hit home with me of a time gone by. "The Necromancer" opens with the "Into the Darkness" section, with monologue to begin the slow paced song before we are treated to some scorching guitar, and the main melody is great ! "Under The shadow" features outbursts of heavy drums and guitar as Geddy spits out the lyrics. The drums are really good and the guitar is fantastic. The final section "Return Of The Prince" is an upbeat song like light causing the dark to flee.

The second epic is "The Fountain Of Lamenth "RUSH's first side long song. Divided into 6 sections starting with "In The Valley" with acoustic guitar and reserved vocals to open before things get loud and Geddy lets it rip 2 minutes in. "Didacts And Narpets" features some amazing drum work and chaotic vocals. "No One At The Bridge" is a great section, with nice guitar melodies and incredible vocals. "Panacea" is a good song with acoustic guitar and gentle vocals. "Bacchus Plateau" opens with guitar, with vocals and drums to follow. And finally the last section "The Fountain" with a heavy intro and intense vocals that give way to a pastoral climate.This contrast of light and heavy continue throughout the song.

This really is the start of an amazing stretch of records where RUSH could do no wrong. So yes this is raw and certainly not perfect, but this is where the monster starts to rise.

One of the last few Rush albums left in my collection to be reviewed. Until the new one comes out or if I get Test For Eco, Vapor Trails, or Presto. Anyways I'll be rambling on about how Rush is an amazing band, everyone should listen to them, blah blah blah. Feel free to skip a bit if you feel the need to.

The third album. A predecessor to 2112. And a bit more progressive than the last one since it contains two (yes two) songs over the ten minute mark. This was also the album that kind of flopped and made the record companies tell Rush not to make any more epic songs like they just did. I'm glad Rush decided to ignore that piece of (bad) advice.

The first song is a really good opening song, as can be heard on All The World's A Stage and the third disc of Different Stages. Bastille Day is (obviously if you know a bit about French history) about the day that set off the French Revolution the storming of the Bastille which is a prison. Or was. It's no longer around. Anyways the song contains the famous (misquoted I believe - if I believe some history books I've read) quote from Marie Antoinette "There's no bread, let them eat cake". Anyways the song contains catchy riffs from Lifeson.

The next song "I Think I'm Going Bald" has a strange title. It is another hard rock song that shows the Led Zeppelin influences. The third song "Lakeside park" is about Victoria Day, a Canadian holiday, and gives references to a park in Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, Ontario, which is where Neil Peart grew up. The first three songs are the hard rock songs of the album with Led Zeppelin influences and the next two songs are more of Rush's developing style.

"The Necromancer" is a song that takes referenced from J.R.R. Tolkien. The Necromancer is another title for Sauron and is mentioned in The Hobbit. It also mentions three travelers "journeying into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer" which is a reference to Frodo, Sam, and Gollum as they enter Mordor to destroy the One Ring. This is also the second song to mention By-Tor (the first one being on the previous album, Fly By Night, on the song By-Tor and the Snow Dog). But in this song By-Tor is the protagonist, not the antagonist he was in the last one.

"The Fountain of Lamneth" seems to be about a man searching for the Fountain of Youth. It takes up all of side two on the album and is 34 seconds shorter than 2112. Rush was warned to stop making these types of songs after the album Caress of Steel sold less than Fly By Night and is considered a failure because of mediocre sales. Luckily Rush did not heed this and actually defied this by putting a side long epic on side one of the next album, 2112.

The last two songs show the typical progressive rock song (in my opinion). They both have long instrumental sections and fantasy lyrics subdivided into separate parts.

This is the album where Rush seems to create a sound that is unique to Rush. Catchy riffs from Alex, great drumming form Neil, and bass lines high in treble. Most likely with Geddy's Rickenbacker.

I give this album 4/5 stars. It is a great follow up of Fly By Night and a great predecessor to 2112. It is a great progressive rock album from Rush. 4/5 stars.

Following the artsy dabbling done on "Fly by Night", Rush upped the ante with two extended songs on their next album which show their burgeoning experimentation-- both of which don't really pay off. Instead of a tight, solid album like "FBN", we have a somewhat messy smattering of songs with the band playing well, but seemingly confused with what they're playing.

The chugging opening of "Bastille Day" withstanding, there really isn't much to get excited about with this release. "...Going Bald" and "Lakeside Park" don't offer anything new and are actually somewhat regressive when juxtaposed to prior awesomeness. As for the epics themselves, "Necromancer's" fantasy-inspired lyrics and goofy voice-overs are redeemed by some excellent guitar work by Alex and the central instrumental section, but "Fountain of Lamneth" can't sustain its almost 20-minute length. Its movements don't flow together very well and its themes are difficult to grasp; however, it isn't without its instrumental merits, and Geddy does have a few beautiful vocal moments as well.

All in all, "Caress of Steel" remains one for the fans, and holds up to an occasional listen every now and again.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 2 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

A commercial flop for Rush. Not only do I think the band were ready at that point to write extended passages, but I think that they didn't have good musical ideas overall: whatever they had were wasted on the two long songs here. The short songs range from mediocre to decent, there is a typical energetic rocker which fails to grab my attention, an ok pop song, and a kind of irritating hard rock tune that tries to be funny "I think I'm Going bald".

Why do the long songs fail as being good music? They are very poorly constructed, incoherent and some passages feel way too long. "The Necromancer" is the better one of those, starting with a dark slow section full of electric guitars, then having two sections which seem to have no musical connections and some unintentionally funny narration that hurts the song. "The Fountain of Lamneth" is the longest one, and the songwriting is awful. It starts with a bit of potential with a good hard rock riff, but then goes a drum solo and the singer randomly shouting lyrics and when music turns decent again, you have a very dull and overlong acoustic section and the rest is all hit and miss, making it hard to listen to it. Overall, it has its moments but is very inconsistent and ends up leaving me cold and unsatisfied. I can't believe how poor their songwriting skills were at this point and I'm glad they proved the world wrong with 2112, containing a classic hard rock epic of excellent musicianship and songwriting.

Recommended for hardcore Rush fans and completionists. There's no reason to get this album when you could buy their next set of albums, which are superior.

1. Bastille Day (D+)

2. I think I'm Going Bald (D-)

3. Lakeside Park (C-)

4. The Necromancer: (C)

5. The Fountain Of Lamneth: (D)

There are great bits here. The classic anthem Bastille Day and the D&D Necromancer. My favourie is Lakeside Park.

The album is at time frustrating and this is exemplified by The Fountain of Lamneth: the side long epic. At times it's great, and then a drastic transition ends up a blind alley and you're left going Oouch that's gotta hurt!

The band is pushing its limits at the time and is suppose that is what prog is about. It just doesn't come off here with the majesty that later albums possess.

My gosh do I love this album. This is one of the first Rush LPs I bought. "Bastille Day" is totally rocking, and I love the guitar solos and guitar tone. "I think Im going Bald" is a great riff in the vein of "In the Mood" & if you cant find a little humor/nostalgia in music at all I'm sorry, the lyrics to the tune are great, IMO. Maybe its hard to buy because such a young Peart wrote it, but still.

"Lakeside Park" is a Rush classic, with great interwoven & punch guitar & bass lines, a killer guitar solo and great middle breakdown.

"The Necromancer" is a masterpiece, with a Tolkien-inspired story line. Admittedly, in the 80s I was very into D & D, & this song seemed to go perfectly with that! The middle fast section & guitar solo is blistering.

"The Fountain of Lamneth" this tune brings me sublime tears of joy. The intro & outro acoustic bits with vocal are haunting. "Didacts & Narpets" is too short to really criticize, but the words are great, once you figure them out, featuring binary oppositions that challenge all when growing up and considering fantastic adventure versus banal normality " Learn! / Live! / Work! / Give! . . . Listen".. then it segues perfectly into "No One at the Bridge": a great and often copied guitar chord/arpeggio, not many bands used E minor 9 prior to that. "Panacea" is very moving, and features Alex's standby C major 9 open chord in the chorus. The words are very moving and paint a picture of naivety and longing and desire, which moves into "Bacchus Plateau" a rite of passage for the hero whom indulges in the finer nectars available to him. Finally, our hero reaches The Fountain of Lamneth and is disillusioned by the reality of it. I am always moved by the line "I thought I would be singing but Im tired, out of breath" honest souls would admit to knowing that feeling if they've been around awhile and have had dreams and lovers come and go. "Still, I am...."

Apart from the tunes, I LOVE the guitar sound on this album. It has a unique tone different than any RUSH album, and it seems the GIBSON-335 must've been employed a lot. Very warm, very bottom end, awesome. The bass and drums sound great: a bit sparse, but it fits the record perfectly.

I really like the cover art and inner sleve design (as in, its written in stone!).. the pics couldnt be any better, especially the one where Geddy looks positively witch like. As a youth, I always wondered what trick Alex was employing where he has his picking hand extended above the soundboard-- something awesome whatever it was.

Only if I were a bit older, I have a pal in San Antonio who saw the "Down the Tubes" tour in San Antonio at age 19 or so, said there werent many there, that it was an awesome show & my pal took the boys to a pizza place for grub & beers afterwards. Said they were the nicest cats he ever met....I know that isnt relavent to this LP opinion, not even sure if its the truth, but a cool story anyway. Wish I coulda been there!

To this day, Caress of Steel is still the Rush album that has sold the less. In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated records in the history of Rock music. Caress Of Steel represents the conection between the hardrock period and the Progressive period of Rush. It features a set of fantastic songs, mixing acoustic with electric music. I love it!

Rush trying to do their future classic music, and the result is a good one but non essential. Still one of Rush albums that i listen with pleasure but when i descovered other albums from different bands from that period i realized that is not so fabulous album as i thought in my early discoveries, just a good one. Maybe nothing more to add, just if you want to listen to the early sound of Rush this is the album that you may purchase first. 3 stars and an underrated Rush album that still needs to be descovered, and maybe a classic of prog after all.

4.60 stars

Caress Of Steel isn't good album. That say's not right for me. There's no way to say that this album is not good. For me, this is a good album, but not essential.

In the beginning, I don't like this album. But, I always hering this album anytime. Finally, I'm aware. Now, I think this is a good album by Rush.

Now, I will review one by one songs in this album. - Bastille Day: A good song. Progressive Rock movement, but they unchanged mainting a hard rock. In closing section of this song made an inspiration for Dream Theater drummer, Mike Portnoy to made a name for his band (Majesty) (Dream Theater). (A/4.5) - I Think I'm Going Bald: Influenced by British Rock band, Led Zeppelin. Without conform to progressive rock standards. However, this is not bad. (A-/4) - Lakeside Park: Same as Bastille Day, But this song is slower. (A/4.5) - The Necromancer: This is my favorite song in this album. Rush's mixed blues, hard rock and progressive genres. It's so brilliant! Once, American Progressive Metal band, Dream Theater, played this song. (A+/5) - The Fountain Of Lamneth: Absolutely brilliant! Very excellent and so glorious! This is one of my favorite song in this album beside previously track, The Necromancer. This was a masterpiece song in this album. The opening is very softly eith acoustic guitar, followed electric guitar, bass and drum to play hard rock music. Then, Neil Peart shows his performence with drum solo. Good performence by Neil Peart. The track is the first epic piece song by Rush evermade after 2112. (A+/5)

Whole, my opinion for this album is good. I like this album. I always enjoy hearing all of song in this album.

You is not Rush fan if you don't have this. Get this album now if you claim as Rush fan.

Of course.. 4.60 of 5.00 is very suitable.

Peace for Prog Rocker!

Salam buat Prog Rocker Indonesia. Maju terus pantang mundur!

Not the most cohesive or memorable RUSH album but shouldn't be written off - well worth a listen.

I've been listening to RUSH for about 3 years and had listened to the 2 epics on the album 'the necromancer' and 'the fountain of lamneth' extensively and quite enjoyed them and wondered why people dismissed this album as rather mediocre for RUSH, only recently have a listened to the album in it's entirety and now I'm inclined to agree with their opinion.

The album starts out fairly well with the relatively straight up rock on roll track 'bastille day', not bad but not particularly prog or interesting. Next up 'I think I'm going bald' is a joke really, the song is substandard straight up bluesy rock'n'roll with silly subject matter and some generic pentatonic solo. 'Lakeside park' is similarly unenthusiastic, pretty much straight up rock as for as RUSH goes, the first 3 songs are easily forgettable and really bring this album down.

'The Necromancer' is a fantastic song, easily the best on the album, it starts out with an admittedly cheesy spoken word intro about the necromancer and a group of heroes which is easily forgiven once the song takes flight first into a mellow slowly building jam. The song continues on and gains steam moving into a sensational riffy and funky jam with some great soloing before reaching the climax of a fast driving section ending with a mellow acoustic section. This is a great precusor to the song writing featured on their classic next album '2112'.

'The fountain of lamneth' the side long epic finishing the album is a bit hit and miss, there is a lot to like here but it does get a bit boring and simply isn't as interesting or cohesive as RUSH's later sidelong masterpieces '2112' and 'Hemispheres', well worth a listen though it is on the whole a good song.

Overall Caress of Steel is a decent album, not nearly RUSH's best nor nearly their worst, recommended for fans of RUSH's earlier more progressive song writing (just skip the first 3 tracks), 'the necromancer' and 'the fountain of lamneth' make it well worth the listen.

'Caress of Steel' certainly is a good album, and contains tracks that generally are more complex that those on 'Fly by Night'. However, apart from the magnificent 'Bastille Day' and the less interesting blues-rockish 'I Think I'm Going Bald', 'Caress of Steel' generally lacks the energy that otherwise characterizes the Rush of the 70s. It is probably this lack of energy that makes 'Caress of Steel' one of my least favorite of the early Rush albums. Hardcore progheads will probably find 'The Necromancer' and 'The Fountain of Lamneth' very interesting, which they certainly are, but I would pick 'Bastille Day' and 'Lakeside Park' as the highlights of 'Caress of Steel'.

Probably much of my high rating of Caress of Steel is due to the fact that I am a Rush fanatic. And to be honest, I believe only a Rush fan would really like this album. That said, I think this is an outstanding piece of work.

Rush, at this point in their career were a struggling band. Young, and with only a modest following, they were trying to find a unique sound that said "Rush" to them. Earlier influenced by the bluesy rock scene (Cream, Led Zeppelin, etc.), they were getting into the pioneering prog rock bands of the late 60's/early 70's such as Yes and Genesis. Although they toyed with this direction in their previous album (Fly by Night), this was their first solid prog album (even without keyboards).

The first three songs are shorter pieces that I like quite a bit (well, maybe not I Think I'm Going Bald so much).

Then comes a true scifi/fantasy prog piece, The Necromancer. Others have dismissed this song, but I think it is amazing, mainly for the music itself. The first part is really different, with Alex Lifeson playing around with a pedal steel guitar (he admits he had no idea how to play the thing), and some slow but great drumming and bass. The second part is a jam-fest, with all three going at it. The third part (Return of the Prince) is a happy feeling piece with perhaps my favorite guitar solo Alex has ever done; it's simple, but very soulful and fits the song perfectly.

The second side of the album is a single concept song (The Fountain of Lamneth), which actually contains numerous seperate songs. They are all good, my favorite being Bacchus Plateau (maybe because I make wine for a living?).

Overall, the musicianship is awesome. Although the sound may be a bit raw and less produced than is typical today, I really like the way it was produced. It sounds real. Geddy Lee's bass playing is great as always, and he experimented with various sounds for his bass. His voice is really high and screechy, even for him, but I happen to like his voice. Neil Peart's drumming is amazing as always, and his lyrics are really cool (no, I don't spend hours trying to figure out the hidden meanings of his lyrics, I just enjoy them for the fun).

It's funny. Rush were pressured by their record company after this album because it sold so poorly, and they even called the supporting tour, the Down the Tubes Tour, because they feared it was the end for them. Then they followed it up with the album 2112, that starts with a 20+ minute first song (2112), basically telling their record company "Oh yeah, you didn't like that last one, well up yours, we're going to make the music WE want!".

I give it 4 stars because there are no keyboards (kind of a requirement for prog), and a Rush fan wouldn't get it. However, as a huge Rush fan, who has numerous favorites from this amazing Canadian band, I find myself listening to this album more than any other Rush album for some reason, even though I think Hemispheres and A Farewell to Kings ae better prog and Rush albums. An awesome piece of work.

I want to give this five stars in the worst way.

I find this to be by far Rush's most underrated album. The first three songs are good hard rock songs that, like many have pointed out, shows their Led Zeppelin influences. They are, unfortunately, what holds the album back from being a full-fleged masterpiece. They are just not up to par with the last two songs. "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" sum up everything I love about early Rush. The fantasy aspect is my favorite part. Musically, they are very complex and well-structured.

This really is one of my favorites and is probably third on my list of Rush albums, after "Farewell" and "Hemispheres", which teeter back and forth for first place. I highly recommend it for the two epics, which are just amazing. Just about as close to five stars you can be without getting it. 4.5 Stars.

Probably the most uncommercial of all the Rush albums. To the point where the resulting tour was nicknamed the Down the Tubes tour. But along with Hemispheres & Grace Under Pressure, this is a fave of mine. And not just among Rush albums, but among my whole collection. My brother had picked the Archives 3 Lp set (Rush, FBN, & CoS). Our gang had already gotten into All the World's a Stage, and I was curious to see what else this band had in 'em. Side one starts off with a winner, an all-time Rush classic - Bastille Day. It gave off the same exhilarating bang that Anthem had on FBN. Big chords, riff after riff, it still gives me chills when I listen to it, and I still love playing it on guitar. I THink I'M Going Bald is rightly described as Rush's last real Rock n Roll song. In a way it brings back for one last time Lifeson's big Les Paul tone from their debut. Lakeside Park, though sounding thinner than on All the World's a Stage, was an early example of Lifeson's propensity for using unsual chordings, suspended, 12th fret ... why play the G here, if I can get this effect by playing it at the 7th fret. Necromancer, however, is where Rush goes prog big time. Yes, FBN had its' moments of progginess. But you could still argue that Rush was a hard rock / heavy metal band. Necromancer took them beyond just Zep & Blues riffing. Atmosphere, multi-part suite, narrative, instrumental swings from moody dark backing to overwhelming riffage. Now they were starting to put words & music working together. OF course, the second side (for those old enough to remember vinyl) is where Rush stake their first prog claim to glory. Having immersed themselves in bands like Genesis, Gentle Giant and other prog giants of the day, you can see Rush taking the first steps in establishing their own style. Changing tempos, abrupt chord changes, quiet to loud, back to quiet, riffs that sounded like the metal equivalent of Genesis's Watcher of the Skies, with the same arrangement matching the lyrics' message to the musical backing. As with many developing bands (another 70s relic, nurturing a new act until they hit their stride), Rush would learn to better edit themselves, concentrate on establishing the melody or riff beyond the 4 bar section. Indeed, 2112 is the result of this album's experimentation. So if you love 2112, CoS is a perfect match if you're looking for more.

I believe this is one of the most special albums by Rush, mainly because of the two long ones. I come to those in a minute. The first three songs are nice, almost funny (especially I think I'm going bald) but they are not really rocking my boat. Then it's the turn to The Neckromancer. This song is the main reason why I think this album is special. I mean have you ever heard a song like this ? This is truelly unique: a very gloomy song a bout a medieval wizard that really makes you get the feeling you're in the middle ages. How do they do that ? It's amazing ! And that's not all. I sometimes make a list of the best guitar solos ever and I can say that the solo at the end of this song ends up always in the top three ! This is such a great performance by Alex Lifeson, he is one of the very best in the business. To conclude we have the final epic: The Fountain of Lamneth. A song that actually consists of six shorter parts. It's a good composition but personally I favour The Neckromancer as the best of this album.

That's why I can't go for the ultimate score. One song is not really enough but it's a very good album. 4 stars

A very unique band in progressive rock history,RUSH were formed in Toronto,Canada in 1968.They begun as a classic hard rock band,as we meet them in their eponymous debut in 1974.Soon after original drummer John Rutsey would quit to be replaced by talented drummer/lyricist Neil Part.In 1975 the album ''Fly by night'' featured some slightly more complicated arrangements,but still their style can be characterized as LED ZEPPELLIN-influenced bluesy hard rock.Their third release ''Caress of steel'' was the big turn for RUSH.The album starts with three amazing mid-length tracks,featuring the well-known bluesy/hard rock of mid-70's RUSH...but it contained two epic tracks,clocking at over 12 and 19 min. respectively.These tracks contain some very interesting instrumental sections,a more complicated style of rock and lots of changing climates,based mainly on the great guitar work of Alex Lifeson and the familiar vocal lines of Geddy Lee.The turn of the sound of RUSH was a fact and ''Caress of steel'' might be the most important album in RUSH' history,as from this point on they would add tons of progressive elements in their music.A strongly recommended record!

Caress of Steel is a mixed bag of blues rock with Rush also exploring progressive elements. Even though I really like the songs "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park", I consider this to be one of my least favorite Rush albums. Besides the two aforementioned straight-ahead rockers, the album includes a humorous throw-away in "I Think I'm Going Bald" (think of a bluesy "Benny the Bouncer") and two epics, The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth. The two epics set the tone for Rush's future epics as far as lyrics are concerned. However, I think both of these epics really fall flat musically. Both of them are very disjointed, lacking any type of flow or musical cohesiveness.

The production also leaves something to be desired, in my opinion. Many portions sound "muddy" and Geddy's bass is oftentimes absent or completely drowned out. Lifeson is solid and is not afraid of including plenty of acoustic parts. Peart is such a good drummer, sometimes his technique is too precise. At times, his playing is almost robotic on this album. I believe that Peart develops his style more in later albums.

Fans of Rush will probably feel the need to include this in their collection, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

"Caress of Steel" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. The album was released through Mercury Records in September 1975, only 7 months after the release of "Fly By Night (1975)". "Caress of Steel" initially didn´t fare too well and sold less copies than "Fly By Night (1975)", and the tour supporting the album had low attendance. Rush considered calling it quits at this point (or at least feared that they would be forced to), but they soldiered on and subsequently found commercial and artistic success with their next album "2112 (1976)".

Although "Fly By Night (1975)" certainly wasn´t a stylistic consistent album, "Caress of Steel" is even more diverse, and not exactly loaded with radio friendly material either. The inclusion of "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth", which are both 10 minutes plus epics (the latter is just short of 20 minutes long) probably didn´t help gain the band more fans. Not that there weren´t progressive rock fans who enjoyed these types of tracks, but Rush was at this point still more known as a hard rock act rather than a progressive rock act, and their fans probably needed a bit more time to adjust to their new direction.

In addition to the two epics, "Caress of Steel" also features three "regular" length (3 to 5 minutes long) tracks in "Bastille Day", "I Think I'm Going Bald", and "Lakeside Park". The latter is not the most interesting Rush track, and while it´s not bad as such, it just seems to go nowhere and I´ll be a bit harsh and call it a filler track. "Bastille Day" on the other hand is a heavy energetic rocker with metal leanings, and "I Think I'm Going Bald" is a humorous hard rocking track with a charming rock´n´roll swagger. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is the only track on "Caress of Steel" which points backwards to their Led Zeppelin influenced early recordings. So stylistically "Caress of Steel" is a bit all over the place and therefore very much a transition album, where the arrow is pointing in a progressive rock direction rather than a hard rock direction, where the scale tipped the other way on "Fly By Night (1975)".

The musicianship is high class on all posts. Geddy Lee is a brilliant bassist and a skilled and distinct sounding vocalist too. Alex Lifeson´s guitar playing has improved too and his performance here is both convincing and diverse. Drummer Neil Peart puts on a strong performance on the album too. His fusion influenced playing style suits the band´s music perfectly. "Caress of Steel" is a well produced album too, featuring a warm, powerful, and organic sound. The production is handled by Rush and Terry Brown, just as it was on the predecessor.

So upon conclusion there are many positive things to say about "Caress of Steel", and although it´s not a perfect album in terms of featuring a consistent style and quality, it´s a bit of a shame it wasn´t received better by fans and media upon it´s initial release. But as mentioned above they probably just weren´t ready for Rush to be a progressive rock band yet, and had a hard time handling the transition the band were going through. To my ears the highlights of the album are "The Necromancer", "Bastille Day", and "I Think I'm Going Bald", while "Lakeside Park" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" are slightly less interesting, but a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

The third album by Rush Caress of Steel shows the band heading towards more of a progressive sound, we could see signs of this in Fly by Night. With the addition of Neil Peart the bands sound was changing, which was very good thing and the band used mystical lyrics from stories like Lord of the Rings and such. This album is a very good hard rock album and there are no sign of keyboards anywhere on Caress of Steel. Each song is a real treat to off with is the opener Bastille Day, a usual good hard rock track from Rush. Next is the only bad song on the album I think I'm going bald, I'm not a big fan of this song it does not really grab my attention at all, kind of unusual for me, most of the time i like all the Rush classics. Next is song Lake side Park, a song about some memories from Neil Pearts childhood, a very underated Rush song. Next is the highlight of the album The Necromancer, this epic hard rocking song which displays some great technical guitar playing from Lifeson, he pretty much takes over the whole album with his amazing guitar playing. The fountain of Lamneth is the last song on Caress of Steel, this song kind of takes a while to get into, a mores slow paced epic, this song does not flow as well like a 2112 or Cygnus book 2. Overall this is a good album from Rush, you hear their sound getting better as each album is released. Their next album would be their first real masterpiece. This one is a overlooked Rush album so I'm giving this 4 stars

Things were changing in the Rush camp. After two albums of solid Heavy Rock, Rush were now starting to experiment more and venturing into their more Fantasy based Prog period. First signs of this could be seen on the previous Fly by Night album with By-Tor and the Snow Dog but on Caress of Steel they went all the way.

Fans on listening to the album for the first time would think nothing much had changed with opener Bastille Day which is a straightforward slice of Heavy Rock which would have fitted in nicely on the previous albums and very good it is too. I Think I'm Going Bald is a bit of fun but it's okay and Rocks along well enough. The more laid back Lakeside Park is a lovely track, lyrics of course by Neil Peart written about a place he used to work.

It's the final two tracks that mark the real change into Prog territory though. The Necromancer, at twelve minutes and The Fountain of Lamneth, which at nineteen minutes took up the whole of side two of the original vinyl version. In hindsight the band looked on this album as a bit of a failure due to these two pieces and it's true that this is far from Rush's best. However, they do have a certain charm and are very good in places.

The Necromancer is divided into three parts starting off quietly and underwhelmingly with Into the Darkness. The use of narration with a silly voice is a little naff but hey, this was the seventies. Things pick up a bit with Under the Shadow which is mainly instrumental and has a fine Guitar solo from Alex Lifeson and features some fluent playing from the entire band. The track finishes with Return of the Prince which is pleasantly melodic with a riff reminiscent of The Who's Baba O' Riley.

The Fountain of Lamneth is divided into six parts starting off acoustically on In the Valley before the band power in. Didacts and Narpets is only one minute long mainly dominated by a short Peart Drum solo which is followed by No One at the Bridge which is more pleasing with a haunting guitar refrain from Lifeson. We're back into acoustic territory with Panacea which is pleasant enough without being stunning which leads into Bacchus Plateau which is basically straightforward Heavy Rock. The Fountain closes the piece which revisits where the track started with In the Valley. Where the track could have been improved would have been to make the parts flow more seamlessly from one section to the next rather than just pausing for a second or so; though perhaps this is the way they wanted it.

Overall then, a good album showing Rush finding their Prog feet and an important stepping stone for what was to come next with 2112.

2.5/5 to be honest

I find this album very hard to review. At the same time that I desperately want to play out my fanboy-ism for this album, it seems like highly unfair for all the readers at PA.

Fly by Night is much better than Caress of Steel is the first thought that pops up in my mind. Obviously, most of the previous reviewers disagree with that statement. Let me explain why they are wrong :).

Caress of Steel is where Rush made too much, too fast. I personally don't find neither the Necromancer nor The Fountain of Lamneth thoroughly enjoyable. Sure, they do fulfill the prog requirements, but I still don't think they are good prog. Both songs have some magnificent parts in them, with The Fountain of Lamneth being the best of the two in my opinion, but they fail in coherence. The connections between the different parts leave me feeling lost. It's like a collection of many parts cut out of many different songs, only loosely connected. And that's why I often find myself playing this album as background music, while studying or being involved with some other activity.

Bastille Day, I Think I'm Going Bald and Lakeside Park also feels strangely out of place alongside the epics. They're all fun rock songs (especially I Think I'm Going Bald!), but I'd want them on...perhaps their debut album? This isn't a good follow-up to Fly by Night, which has it's natural follow-up in the excellent 2112.

As stated earlier: too much, too fast and some misplaced good ol' rockin thrown in for good measure!

//Linus

Almost... there....

A strange album for Rush, really. This album represents Rush moving into progressive boundaries, while still clinging onto their hard rock roots. This album is the start of their classic 'Swords and Shields' era of music, capitalized on in later albums, but this album is also quite experimental and often has some missteps. It's easy to see where 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' would have evolved into this album and this album would eventually turn into '2112', and in that transition it's stuck. Considered a commercial flop by their record label (even if it sold the same as the last two albums) Rush was put on the chopping block, the tour for this album was even called 'The Down The Tubes Tour'. Luckily they still had one album to their contract and that's where it all turned around.

Three shorts and two longs... how do they stack up?

The album starts off with the heavy BASITLE DAY, which could very well have been taken from either of the two prior albums. A rocking riff and political lyrics make this one a good head-banger. Also housed on side one is the excellent LAKESIDE PARK, a whimsical rock song that encapsulates the younger days of the band spent in their hometown of Toronto. Unfortunately there's one more short song to be had, I THINK I'M GOING BALD. Rush is often accused of being too serious with their music, and this song proves why. A quirky song without much substance, I THINK I'M GOING BALD is one that's better skipped (ironically, 33 years later and none of the band are bald at all!). A couple good short songs and one oddball, Rush definitely still liked to rock.

Onto the longer tracks and this is where everything gets... complicated. A mix of great and meh, the two longer tracks show Rush entering the new territory that is the progressive epic. Where their first epic 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' excelled was it's mixture of heavy metal and progressive elements to create something completely new (and in hindsight, it's own genre), the problem with the two epics here is their speed. How can one describe the speed of these songs? Schizophrenic would be a good word, with the songs jumping back and forth between heavy and humble without mixing both. THE NECROMANCER is a good track when the volume is cranked, as it can be a bit quiet at times. The narrator describing the journey of some men across the labyrinth of the twisted Necromancer who traps them. The valiant By-Tor also reprises his role here in an excellent case of Deux Ex Machina as he comes out of the shadows to slay the necromancer at the end of the song. (Whoo, go By-Tor!). Good playing by the band, unfortunately the song is a bit too slow in parts. THE FOUNTAIN OF LAMNETH suffers from the same things in places. Granted, this song is longer and likely the better of the two with some great heavy moments, but it too is too quiet and indecisive about it's direction. One particularly excellent part of the song is 'Didacts and Narpets' as Neil hammers out the drums and Geddy lets out a shrill 'Listen!!'... just in case you were falling asleep.

In the end, what does this album get...?

Good, but not essential is the definitive way to summarize whether one should buy the album or not. 3 stars it is. Good for Rush fans and fans of early Rush, but not really for the average Prog-goer. A couple of good experimental epics and some good short rock songs make for an interesting album, but Rush has so much better stuff still to come.

Review 21, Caress Of Steel, Rush, 1975

StarStarStarStarStar My favourite Rush album, from the seven that I currently own, and likely to remain there. In good conscience, I can give it the full five stars. I can't really comment on the resemblance to Led Zeppelin, because I don't know Zep nearly as well as I should. What I can comment on is how the album affected me, and still affects me after quite a few listens. I was blown away from the first listen (I had only heard Snakes And Arrows previously), and still am. From the emotions of The Necromancer to the reminiscing of Lakeside Park to the rocking of Bastille Day, everything works for me. I can understand why some people would take issue with some of this album, but I love it anyway, and consider it perfect for me.

Bastille Day opens with a kicking bass riff, and Peart and Lifeson both come in neatly. The screaming, high vocals burst into life, carrying some enjoyable (if simple) lyrics from Peart. Great opener, with a very strong rhythm section, and I like the slightly softer instrumental break, with the occasional withdrawals of the other instruments to leave Lifeson alone. The concluding burst, however, is the highlight of the song, ascending with a great guitar-drums combination.

I Think I'm Going Bald is a great semi-sarcastic, riff-based (although it is varied, and done very neatly) song with a couple of solid short guitar solos from Lifeson. The lyrics are pretty decent, Lee's weird, not-quite-clear vocals work brilliantly, and the fade works very neatly, I think.

Lakeside Park is widely accepted as a Led Zep rip-off. I really don't mind. Nice subdued bass performance, a good example of Peart's softer percussion and I love the vocals and lyrics, with their nostalgic tone. The small escalation at the end to an almost-celestial guitar tap is perfectly done. Basically, a really good song, whether or not it's a rip-off.

Now we come to my joint-favourite (with Cygnus X-I) Rush song, The Necromancer. The division into three sections works pretty neatly, since while each section is a distinct entity, they flow very well and have a couple of constants that glue them together. Each of the musicians stands out perfectly, with Peart handling the transitions from fairly intense drumming to sparse drumming and vice versa very well. Alex Lifeson moves between soloing and rhythm neatly, and Geddy Lee provides his usual excellent bass-playing. The biggest criticism that I could give this one is the lyrics, which are unabashedly nerdy and inspired by Lord Of The Rings, even if I like them. Could have been worse... (*coughTheWhiteRiderbyCamelcough*)

Into The Darkness begins with a haunting atmospheric guitar, and develops slowly, with a hollow Lord Of The Rings inspired narrator, very sparing percussion from Peart and a developing bass part. The way it all comes together into a song, which retains all its elements and yet is a complete entity, is unforgettable and indescribable. Geddy Lee's entrance on the vocals is superb, and the strange guitar continues behind him, echoing the ideas in the vocals before turning into temperate solo that expresses the longing and mental breakdown of the travelers. Music as a form of expression. Post-perfect.

The second section (Under The Shadow) begins with a sort of swirling (presumably guitar) effect, that conveys some sort of distance and power, and then bursts out in with Peart's hard-hitting drumming and biting stabs of guitar and near-growly vocals before bursting into a heavy, rocking part with the first of two vicious solos from Lifeson. After a twisting, thick guitar effect, it moves onto the second part of the instrumental with a more pronounced bassline. Whereas the first part was travelling through a grey, soulless wood and succumbing to its destruction, this is a medieval dungeon of horrors and torture, and visions of terror and chaos. Another post-perfect. If the rest of the album was at the level of these two parts, it would never leave my CD player.

Out of this horror, the third section, The Return Of The Prince, comes with a gentle, uplifting guitar melody, bringing back the light and life to the Necromancer's dungeon. Peart contributes with a nice drum part, while Lee and Lifeson intertwine their bass and guitar. Uplifting, cheerful, potent and unassuming. Perfect as an expression of hope.

So, there you have it. Three emotions: sadness, fear and hope, three sections. A truly amazing song.

The Fountain Of Lamneth is not as strong as its predecessor, and there are admittedly some sections that people with a sense of cheese might look down upon. There are some repeats (verbatim) of the album's main parts (acousting opening echoed in the closer, The Fountain's theme and chorus are repeated a few times, and the other sections also haven't got obscene amounts of variation within them), however, no matter how hard I try, I can't bring myself to care. The main theme is an absolute killer, with a savage bass-drums combination, and the acoustic parts are very neat and back-up the lyrical themes. All the other themes work as intended, I think, even the Panacea section. The reason I love this song, though, is probably to be found in the ambitious lyrical exploration of the human condition (cheesy metaphors and all) and stunning, poetic lines ('My eyes have just been opened and they're open very wide/Images around me don't identify inside/Just one blur I recognise: the one that soothes and feeds/My way of life is easy and as simple are my needs'). I love this piece, though the criticisms of it are mostly fair.

The side-long suite begins with a gentle, hesitant, acoustic opening, accompanied by a soft vocals introducing the lyrical search and leading pretty neatly into the main, heavy Fountain riff with a drum battery from Peart and a tearing guitar part (accompanied by stunning, powerful lyrics [just my opinion, normal people may not like them]). Geddy Lee lays down a whirling bass part which hasn't grown old yet and provides his. Peart continues pretty neatly through this section of the song, having a semi-directed soft drumming style that reminds me of Bill Bruford's finest hour (Close To The Edge).

Didacts And Narpets is a weird section, beginning with a chaotic, hollow, rolling drum solo with shifting guitars and opposed vocals chiming in with an argument of sorts. The guitar returns and the whole group scream out 'LISTEN!'

The following section, under the melancholy title of Noone At The Bridge, complete with sailing metaphor, begins with a guitar part from Alex Lifeson that holds up almost the entire section, with Peart and Lee working around it very well. Peart is particularly stunning, and Lee does an impressive job holding up completely solo on vocals for a couple of moments, and giving life to the great 'SCREAM OUT DESPERATION, BUT NOONE CARES TO HEAR!' line (sorry for the capitals). At its end, Lifeson provides us with an interesting solo over a slightly morphing beat, and Peart fades the song out effectively with his percussion and some birdsong effect.

Panacea is perhaps the weakest section of the song, having more clichéd lyrics, even if I love them, and as an acoustic piece, it sounds poor and generic unless you pay attention to the subtleties, shimmering guitar (could be keyboards, I'm not sure) and throbbing bass, as well as Neil Peart's fairly nice drum additions at time.

Bacchus Plateau rocks in with a pretty standard guitar part, decent drumming and bass. The brief rhythm section solos are enjoyable, and Geddy Lee is perhaps taking a risk with his vocals, which sounds a little dubious if I try really hard not to like it. Lifeson's ending solo, while in keeping with the song, could probably afford to rock a little more. Nonetheless, the softness of this section is perfect as a lead up to the main theme driving in again.

A slight bulking up of the earlier Fountain theme slams in, with especially superb high vocals from Geddy Lee, and the guitar effect is very interesting. Alex Lifeson provides a solo (which feels more typical of him than the previous one) which works very neatly, and Peart's drumming is especially welcome. A minor escalation of the theme leads up to a reprise of the acoustics on the opening, continuing and rounding off the grand lyrical themes. A slow instrument hum concludes the song.

All in all, a much-loved song, with one of my favourite Peart performances (I'm not the greatest fan of his drumming elsewhere, but this is brilliant). The lyrics were really my thing, even if they might come off poorly with some listeners. Not a general epic masterpiece, but a masterpiece for me.

This is one of those albums that has a sort of personal resonance with me, which is fairly rare, and also not the most loved of Rush albums, but I feel that I can justify why I think it's so brilliant, and love it so much. What distinguishes this album, and 2112, from later Rush albums that I've heard, is that it is emotional, open and honest throughout, and conjures up images in a way that Moving Pictures never will. I can understand that this may not be the album for some people, but it's the album for me. Consequently, it gets the highest of ratings from me.

Rating: Five Stars

Favourite Track: The Necromancer (especially Into The Darkness)

Caress of Steel is right in the middle of RUSH's first five releases of what I call "Early RUSH". These albums are: Rush I (1974), Fly By Night (1975), Caress of Steel (1975), 2112 (1976), and All the World's a Stage "Live" (1976).

Caress of Steel, Rush's third album, was put out very quickly on the heels of their former release, Fly By Night. Both were released in 1975. This was not an uncommon thing in the mid-seventies. Elton John released four albums in two years from 1973 to 1974. This is just a reaction from the record company to "strike while the irons hot". Sometimes it is successful and other times it leads to disaster. I give Caress of Steel an honest 3 ½ stars. Caress has some good songs on it. The opening track, Bastille Day, is a Rush classic. So is Lakeside Park, a more melodic song with distinct mood-changes. The Necromancer is another epic multi-part song that continues to indicate Rush's progressive rock leaning's. But, Caress of Steel also includes an even more adventurous song, the six-part "Fountain of Lamneth". Unfortunately, it seemed to only drag the album down under it's own epic-length weight. Clocking in at almost 20 minutes, it was simply a matter of a little too much too early on. This was Rush's first attempt at an epic-lengthed concept story. You've got to start somewhere. We all know they pulled it off much better a little later.

Caress generated poor record sells, and subsequently, their record company and even the band's own management put pressure on them about the next album. The band was told if the next album failed, they might be dropped by the label. It was even "suggested" that they not make any more epic length concept songs, but just go back to the basics. Well, we all know that didn't happen.

The most underrated Rush album ever hands down. There is nothing about it I can criticize. Everything is perfect. The production, the musicianship, and the melodies are all perfect. While the last two tracks are the best, the 3 shorter tracks are incredible too.

The opening to the album, BASTILLE DAY, is an incredible Zeppelin- like song that has great singing by Geddy Lee.

That is followed by I THINK I'M GOING BALD, obviously about Neil Peart's hair situation. The lyrics are odd, but the music's still great.

LAKESIDE PARK is the last short song on the album, and is easily the best of the first three songs. I particulary like the drumming on this track, but Lifeson's guitars sound great here too.

THE NECROMANCER is arguably the best on the album. While it took me two or three times to love, it's great once you get there, and I look at it as a masterpeice.

THE FOUNTAIN OF LAMNETH is Rush first 20-minute epic. The acoustic opening contains Geddy Lee's best singing. I also love the solos by Lifeson.

Overall, this is just a superb album. Any prog, prog metal, or even hard rock fan will love this. Fans of Rush will love this, and this is a great place to start listening to Rush. A must own for anyone.

I really don't understand why this was so underrated, its a great album, start to end. The music is excellent, very interesting concept ideas, and very great songs. This album almost killed Rush's carrer, and they really almost broke up because of this album. The songs are very interesting, very good guitar parts, and Geddy sounds great the whole album, basslines and riffs are pumping, and the drumming is near excellent. The recording isn't the best, due to Rush being sort of a new band, so they couldn't afford the greatest recording equipment, but still a pretty nice album. Worth a listen, even if your not a big Rush fan. I will grade each song from a scale of 1-10. 10 being the best, and, of course, that leaves 1 to be the worst it can possibly be.

Bastille Day- This has to be one of the best songs, and its a classic. The opening riff is very catching, intresting, and the lyrics are very smart. It really symbolizes the French Revolution, Bastille Day incorperates the whole song on that day. Geddy wails at the top of his lungs, and it sounds great. The guitar is fast, loud, as with the drums being great. 10/10

I Think I'm going Bald- This a goofy, funny boogie rocker. This is an ode to Kiss's Goin' Blind but its dealing with Alex's oppsession of loosing his hair, so Neil made a pretty funny boogie rocker about it. The lyrics are a little stupid, but the music is really great. 8.5/10

Lakeside Park- Another classic from the album. Its really about a place in Canada that Neil Peart worked at and he celebarted with his friends there. He also talks about the 24th of May, which is Victorias day in Canada, so it talks about that, and really having fun with everyone you know. The music itself is very soft, and more of a ballad, but a very popular one. The basslines are pretty interesting, as with the lyrics talking of the things I have said above. 9/10

The Necromancer- Its not, personally, my favorite from the album. Its starts with a cheesy voice talking about 3 travelers, but after that, it sounds great. The lyrics are a little stupid as well, but the music is incredible. The amazing basslines and riffs flowing from Geddys Rickenbacher 4001 model are so incredible, it will melt you ears. The guitar solos are fast, incredible, showcasing Alex's ability to solo in this song. It ultimatly ends with a softer part, acoustic, and electric distortion, and with a very interesting solo. This song is an ending to By-tor and the Snowdog, and a pretty damn good one. Neil also does a few drum solos here and then. 8/10

The Fountain of Lamneth- This is probably the most underrated epic, but its incredible. It starts off as a little ballad, with Geddy singing very high, but its so soft, and incredible how high he actually sings. Then, after a few more chords on the acoustic, it goes very hardcore, rocker. The first set of lyrics incorperate a man trying to find The Fountain of Lamneth, or The Fountain of Youth, in other terms. Its very mellow and soft at some parts, but is very hardrock in the verse portion. There is a 1 minute drum solo after that, which is incredible, its really an amazing fact that this is underrated, but its really great. After that it gets dark, then very hardrock, then travels back to The Fountain section, and goes back to ballad mode. The whole song itself works great together, and its just a very interesting song. Very underrated, though. 9.5/10

This is an essential for any Rush lover, or any progressive lover.

Caress of Steel: Rush fans reject it, Non Rush fans praise it

My third Rush purchase, after buying 2112 and A Farewell to Kings, Caress of Steel showed me an early version of 2112, a proto-type of it; similar structure on the songs format.

Caress of Steel showed Rush fans a change on direction, bringing an almost 20 minutes epic thus leaving the Zeppelin-influence pretty behind; with this album and the next one, Rush managed to move further to the Prog territory that the band would be known-of with later releases.

This album is often rejected by Rush fans due to the loose conection between the different parts of The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth, both songs which showcase some of Rush's most creative ideas, however they didn't manage to make them as succesful as they would with 2112, hence why one became popular and the other not.

The Necromancer demonstrates a solid three part song, in which each part shows Rush's characteristics in making long songs. Part 1 shows a haunting and spacey Rush with a excellent climax, similar to that middle part from By-Tor and The Snow Dog from their previous; Part 2 shows Rush heavy signature, with powerful drumming, great melodic bass playing and some fiercful guitar solos; Finally Part 3 shows Rush's acoustic up-lifting side, with a quite melancholic melody in which will finish with a fantastic emotional guitar solo. The Necromancer is probably one of Rush's finest Prog songs in the creative point of view, while on the musicianship side they would later shine on epics like Cygnus X-1 or instrumentals like YYZ.

The Fountain of Lamneth has a bigger set of characteristic compared to The Necromancer, which will make it obvious, that all of these characteristics won't shine as good as in The Necromancer did. Yet, this one shows a bit more of virtuosity and complexity, which will be one of the basics for Heavy Prog, to be more specific, for Rush later epics. This song is the obvious route which Rush would take to make the famou heavy epic, 2112. Pittily at this stage Rush wasn't that capable of connecting seperate parts, and as a result many fans rate it low. I simply find it spectacular, despite the flaw of being a bit loose, even sometimes better than 2112, since 2112 has a obvious heavy-light-heavy-light structure, The Fountain of Lamneth varies more through gentler rock parts and more interesting passages than in 2112 overall.

The three songs left are typical Rush hard rock tunes in the likes of side two from 2112 and of Fly By Night, however oddly enough the ones in Caress of Steel seem to be the weakest of the bunch, thus making another flaw on the album.

4 stars: Overall one of Rush's most creative albums despite the stated flaws.

The Necromancer is the definite highlight of the album. The intro soundscape of deep slowed-down voice narration and backwards guitar squeals create a very dark and ominous atmosphere. Then comes a section of slow throbbing metal that reminds a bit of Zeppelin's darker work. The song gets even heavier later on with a devastating bass line complimented by excellent Sabbathy guitar solos. The individual sections of music are more early-Heavy Metal than Prog, but the song's epic structure and many diverse climates and themes definitely plants this song firmly in the Heavy Prog category. This is their best early epic by far.

The Fountain of Lamneth is another excellent epic. It is on par with the 2112 suite and only slightly less convincing thanks to a couple of lesser parts (the Didacts And Narpets section is pointless in my eyes). There is great guitar playing all over this track though: from quiet, lilting acoustic passages to heavy riffs and scorching solos. This is the Alex Lifeson show! All the best aspect of early Rush are displayed in this song.

Many people mention Bastille Day as one of their best early Hard Rock songs, but it fails to grab me. It may have worked better on the Fly By Night album. I rarely listen to this track, usually skipping all the way to The Necromancer.

Lakeside Park has a nice floating nostalgic feel to it, and is the best straight-forward rock song on the album. Still, it would have worked better on Fly By Night.

I Think I'm Going Bald sounds like a complete filler throw-away track and I skip it nearly every listen.

All in all, this album showcases the best AND worst of what Rush were about on their first four albums. It's definitely a step up from Fly By Night and foreshadows the complexity of future albums. I would recommend it to most Prog fans only for The Fountain and The Necromancer with the rest being non-essential take-it-or-leave-it material. I can only give this record 3 stars (really a high 2.5 rounded off).

'Caress of Steel' - Rush (79/100)

For the longest time, I've counted Caress of Steel among my favourite albums of Rush. It's far from being their best or most inspired (take your pick from any of the five albums that followed this for that accolade), but I'll never let up thinking that this was Rush at their most daring and risky. Even with two solid albums and an already-distinctive sound under their belts, underwhelming sales made their future look pretty bleak. The answer to this problem, of course, was to write music that would attract mass appeal. "Working Man" was a great rock anthem, even songs like "Fly By Night" and "In the Mood" were evidence of radio potential. That Rush decided to work against intuition and pack their third album with prog rock bombast at a time where the genre was falling out of favour is kind of amazing. The two ambitious epics packed into Caress of Steel pull no punches; in the face of commercial extinction, Rush didn't flinch. They stayed true to themselves, and refused to compromise where they wanted to go with their music.

What's more amazing still, is that I'm writing this at a time where Rush stands as one of the most profoundly successful bands in history. Even if they've never sought to strike FM waves and get popular, it happened anyway. Caress of Steel marks the first album where it truly sounds like Rush are getting truly comfortable with themselves. Fly By Night experimented with prog (see: "By-Tor & the Snow Dog") but never surrendered itself to the possibility that the band's future might lie in that approach. Caress of Steel still has some of the pop-oriented rock numbers that defined the first pair of albums, but they're dwarfed in significance by "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth", both of which rank among my favourite early Rush tracks. For the first time in their career (though far from the last), they had crafted a record with no weak links. Even the least impressive offering here, undoubtedly "I Think I'm Going Bald", serves an important role alongside "Lakeside Park" as an upbeat poppy contrast to the harrowing prog rock later on.

Of the three shorter pieces here, there's little doubt that "Bastille Day" is the strongest. It may not have been the nigh-unbeatable opener that "Anthem" was, but the fusion of energetic rock with the aristocratic pomp of its bridge section is particularly clever. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is decidedly less iconic; I can see why the tongue-in-cheek rocker doesn't get discussed much, but it's enjoyable and to-the-point. While there isn't much more than that to be said about the token pop song "Lakeside Park", it does strike me as a really effective use of time. In three minutes, Rush manage to transport the listener to a specific time and place; I've never been to Lakeside Park (and haven't visited Toronto in several years) but I get a crisp mental image of the place through their lyrics. It's a pleasant song for summertime. If the rest of the album were just like that, it probably wouldn't leave much of an impression, but it would be the perfect thing to put on when I needed a pick-me-up.

When it comes to the epics, Rush weren't so experienced with longform composition at this point. Yeah, "The Necromancer" is leisurely, maybe a little self-involved. "The Fountain of Lamneth" is a greater part episodic than naturally cohesive. But both of them are amazing. They're both rare cases of music that provide a gateway into another reality. Rush's vision of high fantasy is Tolkien-inspired to the point of feeling like a cheap knock-off (in a sense, they paved the way for generations of power metal bands) but it doesn't matter. Regardless whether the content isn't original, Rush make you believe in it. The gloomy psychedelic distortions in "The Necromancer" paint a grim picture of a wasteland where nothing grows. "The Fountain of Lamneth" is even more successful in this way; the epic revolves around a young man's search for immortality. The suite not only conveys his physical journey, but his emotional arc as well. When we first meet the hero, he is restless and confident ("In the Valley"). By the reprise, he is world-weary and tired, discouraged with the realization that reality often fails expectation. The music and lyrics work together to create a mental image just as vivid as "Lakeside Park". From a point of technical structure, Rush didn't create the sense of a completely coherent start-to-finish epic until the year after with "2112" (which stands among the most perfect prog epics ever) but the rough edges here are easy to overlook. Rush are all-too eager to take the listener on a journey, and I'm all-too eager to oblige them.

On a personal note, "The Fountain of Lamneth" had a powerful significance to me in my late childhood. I was having a tough time adjusting to my own realization that my dreams seemed made to be broken. I wanted to escape, to find my way beyond the nagging circumstances of my situation and, speaking now in hindsight, have what at the time was hideously implausible. Like the hero of "The Fountain of Lamneth", I struggled with the dissonance between reality and expectation. However, his final consolation struck a heavy note with me. "Still... I am." Instead of finding what he set out for, his quest awarded him the gift of perspective and maturity, to be thankful for the life he has himself. Even if the string of masterpieces reaching from this to Signals in 1982 might make Caress of Steel look primitive in comparison to some of Rush's other work, the album will always hold a special place with me.

My opinion of CARESS OF STEEL has changed quite dramatically over the years. It went from an underrated slice of Rush to agreeing with the general consensus on this record. After testing out how prog rock worked in Rush under ''By-Tor'', Rush went full blown prog on CARESS OF STEEL in the hopes of scaling the heights that Genesis and Yes have done previously.

The bait of CARESS OF STEEL is the two major epics that take up the bulk of the album. Of the two, the sidelong monster ''Fountain of Lamneth'' is the weaker of the two. The piece sounds like it wants to be very Genesis, but is trying to back off at the last minute. The trouble is this backfires on the band anyway, mostly because the music is much mellower than what the band has tried. It's not that Rush had trouble writing softer material (they got better at it over time; hear ''Different Strings'' off PERMANENT WAVES), it's that ''Fountain of Lamneth'' is a tiring, exhausting listen (and for a second less than twenty minutes), and it doesn't help that the music sounds like it was rejected from Ken Burns's Civil War documentary series. ''Didacts and Narpets'' is the only saving grace of the epic for it being so goofy and out of place within context.

The other epic here is ''The Necromancer'', an epic with references to Lord of the Rings (cliché) as well as Rush's previous epic ''By-Tor and the Snow Dog''. The piece sounds much more like Rush as a hard rock/prog rock hybrid, yet ''The Necromancer'' is not a cohesive epic. It sounds like three unrelated pieces linked as one giant track very weakly; the announcing in the segues (whoever is doing it) is laughable, and it's very poor in trying to tie the music themes together.

Even Rush attempting their failsafe music (at this point), hard rock with prog spicing, doesn't convince simply because they sound like they're running out of ideas on what to do with the shorter tracks. ''Lakeside Park'' works the best here even if the chorus is forgettable, but the pangs of prog are strong here. I just got sick of ''Bastille Day'' (and the chorus is getting more dreadful each listen or thought there of) the same way I got sick of ''Passage to Bangkok''. As for the bald song, the humour would have worked better in KISS or Alice Cooper.

This album certainly has lost its lustre over the years. I can give credit to Rush for trying to go full throttle on the prog, but the music lacks the dynamics that their later works have exuded to the point where CARESS OF STEEL is merely a historical document.

What is wrong in admitting Caress of Steel as a fine Rush album?

Released in the same year as Fly by Night, Caress of Steel introduce a considerable change of pace in the band's music so far. Until this album, the band released albums with straightforward hard rock alone, but, as i said before, that starts to change here with the suites The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth.

Those two songs incorporate many progressive rock elements, such as the subdivision of the song in chapters, having each a different central theme from the other, though they all are connected by the overall song theme. Also, both suites have a completely different mood from the three initial songs, considerably inspired by space rock.

Bastille Day, I think I'm going Bald and Lakeside Park sound more like the other songs from Rush's first two albums, but, quite frankly, they are not very special. This, allied to the fact that the rest of the album is not easily absorbed, may be the reason why Caress of Steel is so badly considered among Rush fans.

The highlights go to The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth.

3.5 Stars really.

This is another good release by Rush, musically comparable to the previous album, "Fly by Night." The only reason I rate it lower is because it falls far short of the type ambitions the band was obviously trying to achieve.

The first three songs are all classic Rush tunes (with the exception of "I Think I'm Going Bald," which is in fact just as good), none of which would have sounded out of place on the previous release. "Bastille Day" is traditional hard rock with lots of stop-and-go action and more of Neil Peart's trademark Franco-Canadian heritage celebration. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is another one of Geddy Lee's good old-fashioned rockers with much less convoluted lyrics; it's good for a chuckle the first time around, and a decent song in general. "Lakeside Park" is probably the best of these first three tunes, a hard-rocking tune that turns into a ballad at the end, where Alex Lifeson multi-tracks his guitar to sound very nifty. This is a sound that would later become typical of Rush.

"The Necromancer" is probably the best song on this album, not a straight forward rock tune like the previous three, but rather a showcase for the band's instrumental skills. With only a few short lyrical passages over its 12 minute length, it relies on extended guitar solos to carry it. Divided into three distinct shorter sections, the song does not drag despite it being essentially a collection of jams. Lifeson's solos do not disappoint, they are both technically proficient and melodic. Though the cohesion of the three sections isn't that great, it is forgivable, and nowhere near as much of a burden as it will be on the following song.

"The Fountain of Lamneth" is where this album starts to fail a bit. Don't be fooled by it's great length - the song is little more than five separate and unrelated songs played one after another with absolutely no transition. The cohesion of this would-be-epic is destroyed by the fact that it doesn't feel at all like one piece of music, save the reprisal section at the end. All six parts of this song are good, even the drum solo self-indulgence of "Didacts and Narpets." The 3rd, 4th, and 5th movements could all stand alone as great tracks, among the best on the album. The fact that they insist of being considered part of the same entity, while there is nothing bonding them, is what cheapens them for me.

In all fairness, this album is in the same league as it's predecessor, "Fly by Night." It is only held back by the failure to realize their ambitions at crafting these epic length numbers. This was something that bands like Yes and Genesis had perfected years before with tunes like "Close to the Edge" and "Supper's Ready," but Rush would not compose a comparable piece until the "Hemispheres" album.

Well, at least one can't say Rush lacked ambition. While most young prog bands tended to work on their composition skills for three or four albums before tackling a sidelong epic, Rush only waited till they'd done two albums before jumping into the murky waters of side long epics. Of course, they also decided to add a song that was "merely" twelve minutes long. These two songs take up easily over half of the album. The rest of the album is three hard rock songs, put at the beginning of the album. One of those songs is called "I Think I'm Going Bald." So, two songs over ten minutes, one of which is nearly twenty. Three hard rock songs, one of which is called "I Think I'm Going Bald." The lyrics are also typically bad Peart, and sometimes even worse. Oh, and the production here has taken a turn for the worse. I swear the band actually recorded this album underwater. And yet, I give the album four stars...my, my, the times they are a-changin', brother.

Okay, let me justify my position. I'll start with the hard rock songs, as they're bunched into the beginning of the album. These three songs are three of the best straight up hard rock songs Rush ever did. Bastile Day is a powerful way to open the album. The introduction to the song is creative (and integrates quickly strummed acoustic guitar) the riff is memorable, the chorus is well constructed, and the melody impressive. Songwriting is beginning to become easier for these guys and it shows. Oh, and the lyrics are about Bastille Day, which is the celebration of the storming of the Bastille prison during the French Revolution. Not great lyrics, but not awful.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" on the other hand has completely horrendous lyrics. In a band where all three members of the band had long hair and facial hair...it's a song about the fear of growing old. But the fact that this group of twenty something's approached this topic in THIS fashion...well, it's not good. But the song is musically strong. The riffs are good, the melodies are interesting, and Geddy screams a lot. Classic Rush.

Lakeside Park is another classic Rush song. A bit nostalgic, with some more well constructed riffs, melodies, and pretty good dynamics. The song has softer parts contrasted with harder parts. Rush was getting really good at writing these types of songs. They probably could have stuck to this style and still been succesful and interesting.

However, all that goes out the window with the next song, "The Necromancer." Reading this title scared me silly. Peart writing about a necromancer? It was silly when Peter Hammill did it, and he's ten times the lyricist that Peart ever will be. But the song works. The lyrics are actually pretty minimal, mostly consisting of a slowed down voice narrating the story. To some people, this is in bad taste, and it is a pretty silly idea. But it helps keep the words to a minimum, as the band explores some interesting musical ideas, riffs, and progressions. I wouldn't say that the song is a prog rock masterpiece, or that it flows all that well, but the band didn't embarass themselves, and with such an ambitious first try, it could have been easy to do just that.

The Fountain Of Lamneth is less succesful, but I think that's mostly because of the length. And the fact that it has more lyrics. I always cringe when Geddy sings in early Rush, but not because of his voice: it's because of the lyrics. And these are typical Peart fantasy nonsense, too blunt to be captiviating, but too serious and in your face to be ignored. The song has some great moments, and flows better, in a sense, than The Necromancer, but it's not as good. However, I will say that it is, again, not a complete embarassment.

So, three hard rock classics, and two decent to great progressive songs help make this album interesting, at least, but why do I consider this album essential to a prog collection? Simple: the production. I mentioned that the production was awful earlier, and it is very awful. But there's something about that production and the mood of these songs that work. It's murky, dark, and blurs the edges around a lot of the harder material. It makes the more difficult and arty sections in the prog songs difficult to discern and confusing. However, it works to the album's advantage. There is something dark and moody about those hard rock songs as a result of this botched production, something that makes them seem like more than "just" rock songs. They aren't, but the mood of the songs changes to a much more darker feel, even in "I Think I'm Going Bald." And the longer songs benefit the most from the production. Without a distinct edge to the instruments, it makes them feel more unworldly and strange. The lack of production sheen makes the album feel like it was recorded underground, underwater, or somewhere else mysterious and far away.

Okay, I'm perhaps overstating the appeal of the awful production. But I do feel like it does benefit the album. So in many ways, the album is accidentially essential. Besides, isn't it fun to hear a bunch of ambitous long haired guys try to become progressive and almost make it? Sure it is!

This is by far one of my favourite Rush albums. Caress of Steel is the album that almost left Rush broke, before they had thier big 2112 comeback, but personally I think this album is where Rush should have struck it rich. This album was considered a disappointment to their record company. It sold one of the lowest numbers of copies of any Rush album. Why is this? I believe the reason why is that Rush were doing what they loved at the time, and not necessarily worrying about commercial success. Rush had the guts to put out what THEY wanted, and I respect this album because of that. This is real Rush fans album. All the songs sound rocky and raw. I feel Caress of Steel is unique from all other Rush albums, and it is a great addition to any prog collector.

Rush in translation, but they aren't King James...

This is Rush, as they interpret their idea of progressive music. That is to say hardly complex hard rock, with boring moments that rely way too heavily on their hard rock influences.

To be fair, this album shows more of what was to come than Fly By Night, but the musicians are still in their fledgling stage, and this translates poorly. The album opener Bastille Day is almost a direct replica of Anthem, only with more emphasis on guitars and the solos they play. This is hardly progressive. No, this is more of the same, only longer.

I Think I Am Going Bald is dirty hard rock, and I don't much care for it. Geddy is not a great vocalist, and neither Pert nor Lifeson tap into the deep breadth and array of possibilities their respective instruments could offer. Not only that, but I feel like the lyrics are weaker than before, even without open references to Lord Of The Rings to make me frown. The entire first side is made up of a collection of competent rockers that slightly showcase Alex over everyone else. I remain unswayed by Pert as he relies on basic and simple rock patterns to get the rhythm across.

Lakeside Park is up next, and is an example of what I mean when I say that Rush haven't fully come together as a band mesh, yet. The players don't contour to each other fully, nor do they even seem to care about each other when it comes to facile fills or weak frills here or there. The songs are slightly more complex than before, but there lacks a real blazing standout like Fly By Night had. the Necromancer is just too long. End of story. It plods along, and hardly goes anywhere.

The album again feels the need to muddle itself with a boring moistening of atmosphere instead opting to weight the listener down with rather repetitive hard rock, that guises itself as real progression. They still cling so very tightly to their influences, and nothing is overtly memorable, and oddly interchangeable. Some interesting moments within the two epics conjure enjoyment, but I still am unable to tap into any real emotional movement. The spoken word segments are gimmicky, and I dislike it.

The Fountain Of Lamneth is perhaps the only shining moment, and even it is terribly bloated and full of meandering musical ideas that never build tension or superlatively release in an enticing fashion. I do enjoy the first couple of minutes, and it is the most noticeable sign of what was in store for Rush in the very near future. A lot of the riffs don't evolve, and many of the melodies are second rate. Pert seems to think he has mastered the drum kit, so he decides to add some banal drum "solos" and fills incoherently throughout the final track. This irks me, and damages the song's flow. The song, which is already choppy and amateurishly sloppy to begin with.

The material is of a more consistently enjoyable rate than before, but there is a lack of any real highlight moments. The band hasn't become a mesh, yet, and this is the latter period of their formulation stages. Still lacking in a valid atmosphere, and relying on that simplistic hard rock. Rush concede to their influences one last time.

Best Moment - The Fountain of Lamneth

Worst Moment - All of it is consistently mediocre

**1/2 Steely stars

By this point in their musical career, Rush was beginning to find their own unique voice. They were still clinging onto the blues-rock of the past, imitating many greats of the time, but it was pushing the envelope in several ways. One noticeable aspect of this album are the two lengthy tracks, a direction Rush would take for a few more amazing albums before contenting themselves to shorter fare indefinitely. Why this album is so maligned I do not know. Surely it is not as strong as what the band would do in the future, but for a fledgling Canadian trio, this is a step in best direction.

"Bastille Day" Heavy riffs with a solid low end and stupendous drumming from Neil Peart make up this excellent first track. Singing about a major event of the French revolution, Geddy Lee's voice shrieks and squeals, and Alex Lifeson's guitar is good and crunchy. The arrangement is a good one, particularly toward the end.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" A throwback to the blues-rock music Rush began with, this is a real weak point on this album. It tries to wax philosophical about aging, but comes across as goofy. Lee's vocals are at their worst here, screeching and sounding like a harpy as he does. Lifeson's lead guitar tone sounds just as bad.

"Lakeside Park" Here is a good standard rock song, nothing flashy and nothing ornate, but still solid. The acoustic guitar adds a much needed layer to what is otherwise very thin music. It's a more laidback track, simple in terms of composition, and so it's easy to follow and enjoy.

"The Necromancer" The opening narrative, spoken through a deepening effect, doesn't come across as silly as it might have. It does set the tone for a lengthy and Pink Floyd- like song. I can honestly hear David Gilmour and Roger Waters singing over this music (Animals and Dark Side of the Moon come to mind). In that respect, Lee's vocals seem unbecoming, but not terrible at all. After a second narrative bit, Lee shrieks over alternating stark emptiness and heavy blows from the band. The guitar solo erupts over one of Lee's most graceful bass lines ever- it is no doubt a highlight. A riff during the second half, especially with the subsequent soft clean guitar music, reminds me of "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes. The acoustic music that follows is a victorious change from the heavier, darker music of before.

"The Fountain of Lamneth" Lifeson's gentle acoustic guitar with Lee's likewise soft-spoken singing begins this beautiful epic track. The main riff that comes next is one of the best parts of this work. Peart flies off the handle with a drum solo punctuated by strange vocals and guitar blasts. It's definitely one of Rush's stranger moments. The next bit that fades in is very similar to the "Nimrodel" introduction from Camel. Lee's vocals are at their most astringent, however. In the next part, Lifeson treats listeners to a pleasing classical guitar with electric guitar swells and Lee singing in a heartfelt way. After that, there's some heavier music (nothing particularly spectacular by this point but good nonetheless). Wonderfully, Rush returns to the main riff of the song, completely with the light, almost jazzy vocal section. The piecemeal song ends as it began, with gorgeous acoustic guitar, yet with one concluding swell.

Caress of Steel is an amazing album featuring 3 more mainstream tracks and 2 prog epics. This album features excellent riffing by Lerxst, drumming by Peart, and singing by Geddy.

Caress of Steel begins with the 3 more mainstream songs Bastille Day, I Think I'm Going Bald, and Lakeside Park. The album then takes a sudden change of styling to a more progressive song called The Necromancer, featuring complicated parts, yet simple. Then starts Fountain of Lamneth, which is a prog piece that never ceases to amaze me! It starts with an acoustic guitar and Geddy singing and then onto a rock-ier part still using progressive rock drumming and such, until they get to a weird part where Geddy screams random words into the mic with excellent timing by Lerxst and Peart on a very complex time signature.

Caress of Steel is a true progressive album, no matter how muck rock is included. It's recommended to every prog new-comer and Rush fan!

4/5 for the fact that it's Rush, it rocks, and it rocks hard.

One Of Rush's Greatest

On Caress Of Steel Rush started exploring Progressive ideas more in depth than on earlier releases. The result was a great often overlooked Rush album.

1. And 2. Bastille Day and I Think I'm Going Bald never really stuck out to me but are decent songs. 3/5

3. Of the three shorter songs on the Caress Of Steel, Lakeside Park was the most worthwhile listen. Starting out with a great drum fill, the Guitar comes in with a memorable riff and Geddy Lee's vocals come in shortly afterwards. Following that a mellower Flanged Guitar solo comes in. After that returning to it's exuberant mood and following around the same pattern with some altered chords throughout the song and finally ending in a peaceful way. 4/5

4. Now for the Necromancer. In the beginning a deep spoken word intro with dark Guitar and Bass parts add a mystery to the track that wasn't heard on the first two Rush albums. The backwards and ambient sounding backwards guitar helps add to this effect. The songs slowly, but surely starts getting heavier until Geddy's vocals come in at around the 2:30 mark. As his vocals start dying down the music keeps progressing in a heavier direction until another deep spoken word interlude at 3:50. This is where Rush's trademark heavy sound comes in. This lasts until about the 5:30 mark until a Funky guitar solo ensues. At 7:00 an odd sound effect ushers in an even heavier part. This ends very abruptly at the 8:35 mark and a much softer sound with another deep voiced narrative arrives, and a very happy and satisfying conclusion end the song on a good note. My favorite Rush song and definitely deserving of a 5/5.

5. The soft sound of the ending of the Necromancer continues during the start of The Fountain Of Lamneth. The vocals and guitar form a partnership that make the opening seem very sad. As the song continues it gets heavier and then dissolves into Lakeside Park type flanger part followed by another heavy part. Another flanger part ensues after that and progresses into an odd part with Neil Peart creating a fast drum solo and vocals and guitar fading in in an odd way. After the weirdness is over a slightly dangerous sounding part that reminds me of a hurricane comes into play a heavier part with the same backing guitar comes and then falls back into the part that it came from. More soft parts continue for a couple minutes and then a more typical Rush sounding piece sneaks up on us. The sound reverts back to what it sounded like earlier in the song and then it revisits the star and ends. That was pretty hard to review but still 5/5.

So ends my first review. I give the Caress Of Steel a 4/5. The first two songs brought it down from a five but the last 3 songs are definitely worth a listen.

Often discarded as a failure, I don't judge this album very far below the other early albums. The 20 minute song-cycle that made up side two of the original album is not in the same league as 2112, but still it has its fair share of interesting parts. Bastille Day is a very immediate and steady opening track, not of the roaring intensity of Anthem but still, fun enough. I never cared much for Lakeside Park or Going Bald, but immediately after, the high point of the album announces itself: "The Necromancer", a song that seemingly never made it into their live set or onto compilations but that I regard as one of their best of the early years.

This was actually one of the first Rush albums I really connected with. My fondness for it has dwindled since I discovered it (and them, really), and, like Trespass, I consider this a sort of transitional recording. It was instrumental in the group's development, but it isn't really...well, it isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. This seems to be the situation with most 'transitional' progressive albums. One of the few exceptions I can think of is A Wizard, A True Star by Todd Rundgren, when was his magnum opus, but that's a different story entirely.

Rush was still in the 'Led Zeppelin' phase, if you know what I mean. They had more of a blues-influenced sound than a jazz and metal influenced one, which worked for them, but it wasn't a perfect fit. Like I said before, this is the first time where they really adopt those ideals.

"Bastille Day" -

The album kicks off with a very anthemic-sounding track, filled to the brim with heavy guitar riffs, complicated Bonham-like drumming, and Geddy's intense singing. The instrumentation AND composition are both commendable here. Not completely flawless, but definitely commendable. It builds, too...it gets particularly good towards the end.

Rating: 8.7/10

"I Think I'm Going Bald" -

Disappointingly enough, this track sounds like the very worst of Rush combined with KISS (who they were touring with while writing for the album), and is one of the central reasons that this album isn't as good as a lot of their later material. The musicianship is good, like always, but not great. A letdown, unfortunately. The guitar is...blech. That's all I can say about it. It certainly doesn't live up to the excellent title.

Rating: 5.5/10

"Lakeside Park" -

Here we have another conventional rock song. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch, although it isn't really a very good song when compared to a lot of their more consummate stuff. Unlike the previous two tracks, the music is very...very uninteresting, at times. No speedy finger-picking and speed-of-sound drumming, and even the vocals are sort of bland. Not a masterpiece, but not awful. Better than "I Think I'm Going Bald"....

Rating: 6.5/10

"The Necromancer"

Rush's first classic epic song; better than "By-tor and the Snow Dog", although following the tale of the same character. It begins with a heavy, dark tone, with some interesting, very deep-voiced narration accompanying Lifeson's guitar. This section almost reminds me of Dark Side of the Moon, and in a good way. I'd say that the first few minutes are arguably some of the best in any Rush song. It builds (not dramatically), but it builds, and does it well. It's a great track.

Rating: 10/10

"The Fountain of Lamneth"

For a long time, this was my absolute favorite Rush song. It truly is verging on impeccable, as the beginning would suggest. Lifeson's acoustic guitar together with Geddy's uncharacteristically (yet perfectly fitting) soft singing is absolutely breathtaking. The following section is highlighted by a fantastic drum performance from Peart, some screeching (best word I can use to describe) riffs from Alex Lifeson, and some of Lee's most unconventional vocals. As it continues to build, there are a lot of highlights (such as the reprise of the main riff towards the end), and some less than satisfactory part (the more 'hard rock' section of the song). Finally, the song and album both conclude with some more resplendent acoustic guitar and more calming vocals...it couldn't possibly end on a better note. Had every song on the album been more like this one, Caress of Steel would be legendary. However, the future had a lot in store for the trio, and this was only the beginning.

Rating: 10/10

After two albums of relatively straightforward material Rush decided to follow their calling by expanding their composition into something different and although progress is generally a good thing it takes time to adjust and create masterpieces.

By this time the band had already mastered the 4 minute format with compositions like Bastille Day and I Think I'm Going Bald showing this clear improvement. The latter has received mixed reactions from the audience but as long as your mind is set at a straightforward rocker then this performance should definitely do the trick. Lakeside Park isn't really anything too spectacular for my tastes and the track usually passes by unnoticed without making me feel one way nor the other about it.

The band plays it really cool during the album's two longer performances and it's easy to assume that they are really competent in compiling this type of 10+ minute material. Unfortunately once the listener tries to break down the compositions into different sections it becomes clear that Rush is not yet there in the song writing department. I have really tried to enjoy the two longer tracks on the album but it's clear that the comparison to 2112 is non-existent and have it not been for that composition and other great 10+ minute pieces that the band had offered its audience over the years then I would most probably have given these two a bit more credit. The sound production and mixing definitely leave a lot to be desired of but these are far from the biggest flaws that this material can be blamed for. Although I give The Necromancer an advantage the composition takes a lot of time to take off, but once it does we actually get 3 exceptionally groovy minutes of music. It seemed that Rush just didn't know how to make the transition work to the next section since the music just fades and we get another narration. This might have worked if only the next part of the song was anything to write home about, which is really not the case. Towards the 7-minute mark we get another sloppy transition to the upbeat instrumental section that could have easily been worked into the previous part of the song's structure. This part incidentally reminds me a lot of the Yes track Heart of the Sunrise. The outro section almost makes me believe that I experienced something quite spectacular since it's a very deservingly nice melodic ending to a disjointed mess of a composition.

The Fountain Of Lamneth suffers from the same problems as The Necromancer but on top of that we also get almost double the track length which makes things feel tedious after about ten minutes. On a plus side, the main riff featured throughout the composition is quite memorable but it doesn't really justify me listening to this mainly acoustic performance just to get a few glimpses of it here and there.

No matter how I twist and turn my words this album will still remain a fans only release since Rush has both done better and more dynamic progressive rock classics towards the second half of the '70s. Caress Of Steel was definitely a step forward in the right direction that would rightfully payoff once the band finally achieved their breakthrough with the next release.

**** star songs: Bastille Day (4:37) I Think I'm Going Bald (3:38)

*** star songs: Lakeside Park (4:08) The Necromancer (12:29) The Fountain Of Lamneth (19:58)

Rush are GODS.

There's not much to say. The period between the mid 70's to the early 80's, Rush released some of the music that would make me think of music in a complete;y different way.

Their first real monumental release was Fly By Night, but I don't have that album (at least not yet), so I will start with Caress Of Steel.

With 3 amazing short songs and 2 monumental epics, this album really has it all. I never realy understood how good it was until I listened to it for the second time, and it really is some achievement, especially for 1975.

1. Bastille Day - The first ever power metal song in my opinion. Geddy's vocals are just phenomanal. The lyrics are also amazing and tell a great story (something about France). The instrumental sections are really something.

2. I Think I'm Going Bald - A very comical song. Very funny (although the best song about male patern baldness is Bald by The Darkness). Great chorus.

3. Lakeside Park - A nice laid back moment of the album. Great song with an amazing chorus.

4. The Necromancer - This is the first epic of the album and it really does take you on an epic journey. This song is the continuation of the story of By-Tor (By-Tor & The Snow Dog on Fly By Night). The song really does take you places, with the narration (that sounds like adam09 who made those parodies of John Petrucci on You Tube.) The first part is very calm, followed by a more aggresive and rock paced middle section with an overjoyous conclusion.

5. The Fountain Of Lamneth - The biggest epic of the 2. Just under 20 minutes long, this piece is amazing. The riff in the 2nd and last part is amazing and is one of the first ever real polyrhythym sections in a song. The rest is very epic, with an amazing drum solo as the 3rd part. The lyrics are also amazing, telling of an epic story of a fountain on top of a mountain that has a substance named Panacea that gives you long lasting life. Really is something amazing. I wish I was a child of the 70's, then I would have been able to listen to this music and be more in love with it than I already am.

CONCLUSION: The first of a string of masterpieces. If you don't have this album, then you should be buying it now.

And heeeere comes the artsiness. Oh sure, a third of the album is "normal" rock songs, but the rest is devoted to a couple of long, multi-part, atmospheric compositions of ... *ahem* ... varying quality. It's almost as if the band changed its mind in the middle of the recording sessions of what kind of band it wanted to be, and I can only imagine how confused the band's established fans were upon buying this. It doesn't help, either, that one of the decisions of Peart and company was to completely erase the strong production values of Fly by Night. The sound is very airy, almost of a demoish quality, and only the clever arrangements betray that this is, in fact, a finished product.

Even worse, the songwriting is clearly on a decline. Of the three regular songs that begin the album, only one of them meets the standard set by "Anthem" - the bitchin' opener "Bastille Day." Oh sure, I can complain that the song would be tons better if the instruments were less "dead" sounding, but I cannot deny the quality of that riff and that chorus. But the other two songs ... ergh. Well, ok, "Lakeside Park" is an alright soft number, though quite overrated - I think that the high esteem that it receives from many fans is a product of its placement between a couple of duds. There are lots of good songs that feature a wistful look back at one's childhood, but this isn't one of the better ones. It's still ten times better than "I Think I'm Going Bald," though, which sounds like it should have taken fifteen minutes to write (both lyrically and otherwise). Man, I'm not a Rush fan, but even I can't really believe that they'd run out of ideas this drastically so soon.

After "Lakeside Park," we enter "artsy" territory with "The Necromancer," a three part epic that introduces Rush The Mediocre Prog Band (whereas "I Think I'm Going Bald" showcased Rush The Mediocre Rock Band). The piece does have its good attributes, I'll give it that, like the menacing slide guitars at the beginning, or that part near the end where the band enters an intense jam, or that funny "happy" part near the end, but the rest of the piece doesn't please me at all. The lyrics are based on The Lord of the Rings (Frodo and Sam journeying towards Mordor in The Two Towers), but they end up sounding like generic gothic Dungeons and Dragons fantasy crap, and the music is often as dull as could possible be. There are some good solos, but the "dark" mood that envelopes the piece just sounds completely ridiculous, fake and stupid sounding to me, and that hurts things a lot.

Much to my surprise, the second half of the album isn't anywhere near as unenjoyable as "The Necromancer." This side is taken up by the 20-minute side-long "The Fountain of Lamneth," and while it has its problems, I generally enjoy the piece more than not. I can hear its weaknesses easily (and that's not even accounting for the lyrics); the structure is very reminiscient of Genesis' "Supper's Ready" (pleasant acoustic opening, introduction of a "main theme" that pops up at the end and in places in between, in this case), and it becomes insufferably boring at a few points, but still ... I mean, for starters, the "I am born ..." acoustic opening is extremely pretty. It even features some of Geddy's most timid and "vulnerable" singing, which should make it a relief for bashers of his voice. And dang it, I LOVE that guitar line that pops up every so often; it's fairly simple, but the 'epic' sound it produces is genuinely great. That line also gives birth to one of the greatest stretches of 70's Rush, with the great alternation between the "My eyes have just been opened" vocal melody and the "yet my eyes are drawn" chorus. The drum solo with the screaming is kinda stupid, as is the way it ends in that loud "Listen!," but the section into which it leads, "No One at the Bridge," is quite nice. This section has quite a great guitar line, even if it is highly derivative of classic Genesis; the band had successfully expanded its skill set from good Zeppelin imitations to good Genesis imitations. Later is another solid acoustic number in "Panacea," which is quite pretty (if not very memorable) and soothing, even if the lyrics are distractingly stupid. Of course, the "Bacchus Plateau" chunk could leave for all that I care, but the reprise of that great opening theme ("The Fountain") closes things in a beautiful fashion, leaving me with a good feeling about the piece as a whole. And so, while the piece has many flaws (aside from what's already mentioned, the flow is a bit of an issue at times), "The Fountain of Lamneth" is still a perfectly reasonable, acceptable, and even enjoyable side-long piece.

All in all, this will never be one of my favorite Rush albums, as the weaker features are just way too distracting for me to ignore. But, the stretches of beauty, rare as they sometimes seem, ultimately make the album at least passable and somewhat worth my while. Rush has done better, but they've also done worse.

The progressive era of Rush could have very well started with this album. Of course, that is up for debate but I truly believe the golden age of these Canadian musicians began with their third offering, "Caress of Steel." A mixture of hard rock a la Led Zeppelin with their fantasy-like, Tolkien-esque sound combine to produce a very solid release. I consider it to be a key turning point in their career as they started to develop into one of the more famous bands in the genre, making more complex compositions as displayed in "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". However, as important as "Caress of Steel" was to Rush's development, there still are minor flaws that made me consider it unfit for five stars.

"Bastille Day" is straightforward rocker, but not quite to the likes of their first album. This song is more in the prog realm, although not entirely. Still pretty good. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is the weakest track in "Caress of Steel", in my opinion. It's humorous and catchy but other than that, there is not much going on. "Lakeside Park" is easily the best of the shorter songs. Pensive lyrics and a "dreamy" atmosphere makes the song one of the best, if not the best, song on the album. We now make our way to the 2 epics.

"The Necromancer" begins with a deep voice, a narrator of sorts. The song is dark, overall, featuring Lifeson's trademark guitar and the great rhythm section of Lee and Peart. "The Fountain of Lamneth" is also in the same vein as "The Necromancer", only longer. We encounter a cimmerian and gloomy atmosphere with "The Fountain...", with the shrieks and wails of Geddy leading the way. It tends to get slightly uninteresting as the song progresses, but overall, a great 20 minute closer to the album that paved the way for Rush's success.

I would recommend this album to anyone curious to explore Rush and those who have an interest in raw, aggressive prog . I would also suggest to go chronologically from there, so one can experience the development of such an acclaimed band as this one.

An excellent addition, indeed.

1. "Bastille Day" - 8/10

2. "I Think I'm Going Bald" - 7.5/10

3. "Lakeside Park" - 8.5/10

4. "The Necromancer" - 8/10

5. "The Fountain of Lamneth" - 8.5/10

40.5/5 = 81% = 4(-) stars

The general theme regarding Caress is that this is the album where Rush finally start to sound like Rush. The operative word here is "start".

And that is being generous.

Going by my own subjective opinion, this may be a 3-star album. However, going by the rating anchors, I would have to say that this is mostly for collectors/fans only. I'm not a Rush fanboy, and by extension, I don't think I would buy this album again if given the chance. So...2-stars from me, for whatever that may or may not be worth.

First off, it would be hard to characterize the A side as "bad" music. Grating (particularly Geddy's delivery), uncreative, or simple, perhaps, but not bad. In fact, Bastille Day clearly rocks hard, and most of us can agree on that. In addition, the Necromancer has some very good jams and grooves, although it could have benefited greatly from some simple editing.

Lamneth is simply and completely forgettable to my ears. If this were 5-10 years earlier, or a debut album, I could give it some major slack (ala Sabbath's first shot), but this is 1975 and Rush's 3rd crack at this. They had plenty of good inspiration to draw from! More was clearly expected, and Lamneth failed to deliver. It's repetitive, simplistic, and just rather difficult for me to make it through.

If you can't get enough heavy prog, this album may sound downright awesome to you. If you like some variety and symphonic build-ups, then don't expect a whole lot.

It would be do or die for Rush after this, and clearly, they did, and then some. Just not yet.

i know the album recieved bad reception by critics but in my opinion, that doesn't make it a bad album. i actually got into the album cuz it featured two multi-part epics called The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth. i only could get into 4 songs on the album. Bastille Day: the opening track for the album. i only liked it when the verse of the song came up. i just like the song from the 1st verse t00 the end of the song. 9/10. I Think I'm Going Bald: in my opinion, its an ok song. not much really of this song seems t00 stand out for me. its an ok song but really hard t00 get into. 6/10 Lakeside Park: this is wat mainly got me into the album. the guitar is the main stand for me. it has some great sounding guitar, and especially the guitar solo for the song. 9/10 The Necromancer: a multi-part epic for once. definitely epic in almost any way. 12 minutes long, great guitar playing for the song. the 3 solos for the song is what really stands out. 10/10 The Fountain of Lamneth: another multi-part epic and i love it. i gotta tell yuhh, a 19 minute song by Rush, that's a way t00 end off the album. there's a part of the song called Didacts and Narpets. its a minute long and its an amazing drum solo by Neil Peart. and i like the rest of The Fountain of Lamneth. 10/10 44/5 = 88% - 4 stars

THOUGH IT'S JUST A MEMORY, SOME MEMORIES LAST FOREVER...

Here, their progressive aspiration is more evident. Yet, the sound is still raw and underdeveloped. The atempted prog songs, The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth, prove it. Clearly they have a hard time with the transition between the different themes and sequences in the songs. Of the two, The Necromancer is my favorite. The mythologic theme is divided in three dintinctive moods, intertwined by a narration passage - a poor way to get the pieces together. The last part is the best, the singing and the guitar echoing perfectly the brightness after the battle and victory against the forces of evil.

Among the first three, standard hard rock songs, the opening track, which drives you right into the album, is the clear highlight, with its French Revolution theme, great guitar riff and very good solo, a very well crafted song.

The Fountain of Lamneth displays very vividly the limitations of Rush in the progressive sound. Like The Necromancer, t doesn't sound anywhere like a whole piece, but a bunch of short songs instead. Some of them would work better alone (cause then you could just skip the weaker parts). Part III, No One at the Bridge, is in such cause. As usual in Rush, its strength are guitar riffs and solo. Were it a single tune, it would be a great one.

All in all, not a bigger improvement compared to the previous album, as it is still considerably erratic. Interesting document of the transition times with one of the best songs in the whole band's catalogue - Bastille Day. Their atempt in progressive sound still falls short, as they don't actually sound progressive. Thus, Caress of Still is not exactly a must-have. Another 3-star rating.

Caress of Steel is without a doubt the must unjustly underrated album in Rush's discography. Critics hate this album with a passion, but I never understood why. There are plenty of good songs on here, one of which inspired the original band name of Dream Theater (Majesty was inspired by the outro of "Bastille Day"). This was Rush's first attempt at an epic over 10 minutes long, with "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth", and both are much better songs than they got credit for. "Bastille Day" shows some of the magic from the first two albums, and "Lakeside Park" is quite a pretty tune. The only song on there that is not really my cup of tea, at least lyrically, is "I Think I'm Going Bald". It's not a bad tune at all, but it's still my least favorite on the album. Nevertheless, Caress of Steel does not deserve all the criticism that it got all these years. It's not as good as 2112, but it's certainly not as bad as the critics make it out to be.

3.5 really

One note on the title before we get into the content. For the longest time, I didn't really get the title, and I guess I had never really put any thought into it because it seems obvious now. You have two words representing the two styles of the album, also representing the two epics of the album. "Caress," being the softer side and applying to "Fountain," and "Steel" being the harder side and applying to the "Necromancer". At least, that's my take on it.

Let's do the shorter songs first. "Bastille Day" is just plain awesome, and it rivals "Anthem" as their best short hard rock song, at least from the 70's period.

I used to like "Lakeside" a lot more than I do now, but it's still enjoyable, and if you're a fan of Geddy's voice, you'll love the singing? "Lakeside Park, willows in the breeze, Lakeside Park, so many memories". Works for me.

"I think I'm going Bald" just doesn't do it for me. The music is a step back to the style of the debut, and the lyrics are tongue and cheek. It's kind of like "Are you Ready Eddy" on "Tarkus". Some like it and say it's lightens the tone, but I just don't think it's necessary.

On to the Epics, "The Necromancer" is the heaviest song in their catalog, and I agree with the Sabbath comparisons especially in the "Under the Shadow" section of the song. Although the song isn't as memorable as some later Rush epics, which I like better, it still works. I could have done without the narration, which I rarely like in any song, by any artist, but I loved it when I was 14 years old, so who knows?

The side long track "The Fountain of Lamneth" is really the highlight of the album. Some claim that it sounds disjointed, but I think it works quite well. The only section that feels a bit out of place is the one minute drum solo, but it only lasts one minute, so there's not much room to complain.

Compared to "2112" and "Hemispheres" (Rush's other side long epics), this one's a lot different. Those two share the same structure and are much more aggressive than "Lamneth," which is much more lethargic and almost dreamy in nature. Although there are clear divisions between the sections, they are all similar and without a track listing in front of you, they all kind of blend together. It sounds very Rush, but at the same time, it sounds like nothing else they created before or after.

Overall, you have their softest and hardest pieces of music, you have two epics, a great hard hitting rocker, an average rocker, and a throw away track. Wouldn't be my first Rush purchase, but shouldn't be overlooked either. More at www.rushmusicreivews.com

Caress Of Steel is an awkward album in Rush impressive outputs of albums.

It is an awkward album because it has one leg in Fly By Night and the other leg in 2112. A clash of styles which has been it's downfall in my estimation, at least. I have had it since 1990, but never given it much time.

The three short, backwards looking tracks Bastille Day, I think I'm Going Bald and Lakeside Park opens the ball. Bastille Day is good, I think I'm Going Bald is really bad and Lakeside Park is also good. Actually, Lakeside Park is a more taster of the in the far distance albums like Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves. I really like this song.

So far, so much looking to the past.

The future of Rush is the long final two long tracks The Necromancer and The Fountain Of Lamneth. The latter one is almost 20 minutes long and is no doubts pointing towards 2112. It has the same sound, the same structure and everything about 2112. It is though the least known and the least popular of the Rush epics. I myself has never paid much attention to this epic at all. But I gladly admit I have been wrong all along. This is indeed a good epic worthy of the Rush brand.

The twelve minutes long The Necromancer is a mini Rush epic and another often ignored Rush song. Well, at least in my home. I also gladly admit I have been wrong again. The Necromancer is a very good track and the highlight of this album.

Caress Of Steel is a transitional Rush album. But it is also a good Rush album and perhaps a bit underestimated. I think it deserves a lot of respect, Caress Of Steel.

3 stars

After such a promising album as Fly By Night, the band decided to experiment with their art rock flourishes; with mixed results. The result is well crafted, yet incomplete compositions that need work and some tracks just need a good dosage of editing. The band had reached their most commerically unacceptable album and possibly the worst selling of their whole cataloge, but that's just being a bit harsh on such a noteworthy album.

1.Bastile Day - From the looks of it, one would never know why the band had reached such a low-point. The opening to this album is such a heavy art metal rocker that doesn't need an introduction. The French revolution is now popularized by this one track, as the song has some of Alex Lifeson's best riffing, Geddy Lee's loudest vocal and bass, and Neil Peart's most grooving drum rhythms. Excellent lyrics and time changes make this an almost proto-progressive metal track. Astounding for the span of four minutes. (10/10)

2.I Think I'm Going Bald - A last grasp at the Led Zeppelin-clone era of Rush, this is easily the worst track off of the whole album. The song is extremely disjointed and awkward. The band were trying to play a laid-back and funny track, yet the end result is laughable, to say the least. Rush does this without knowing; play extremely seriously without knowing it, and it's the main downfall for the energetic and disjointed track. (2.5/10)

3.Lakeside Park - The band easily got back on track with a truely excellent and care-free track. The song has beautiful vocals from Lee, whose basslines are unparalleled, and a turely hypnotic guitar line. Lifeson does well with overdubs, and his acoustic and electric guitars are very trippy and almost psychedelic. Peart's drumming is excellent, as his odd beats are fluid and very natural. Lyric is not as fantastical and whimsey as many of their longer stories, but it's coherrent about the youth of Peart. An excellent track to play in summertime. (10/10)

4.The Necromancer - This is easily the oddest song of the bunch, mixing Tolkien fantasy lyrics, dreadful narration and amazing instrumentation. Lyrically, the narration is as bad as it gets, yet Pearts lyrics aren't as fluid or noticable on epics such as 2112 or Xanadu. Instrumentally, it's a different story. There is so much energy in this symphonic metal track, as Lifeson plays possibly the best riff of his career, and as Lee has the best basslines anyone could ever hear. The youth is here, but the songwriting definatly needs adjustment. (8/10)

5.Fountain of Lamneth - When I first heard the track, I thought "What the hell is this?" which soon led to "This is the greatest epic ever!" which led to "It's a decent Rush song." The main problem is that all of the mini-songs in the track do not blend well with each other and are structurally flawed (unless your a pothead, of course). The instrumentation is amazing, as Lee and Lifeson showcase their amazing talent on their instruments on this post- psychedelic era progressive metal track, and Peart adds an exellent, yet stoned, drum solo with odd vocal overdubs. The lyrics aren't very good, but I think that the band would get better at writing epics in the future. (8/10)

Though most of the songs are good, it's a very inconsistent album. With one throwaway, two amazing and two "need improvement" tracks, the album is varied in quality. The album gets a 3 stars, as it's essential in the history of Rush, yet it's unessential musically. Pick of later albums before you decide to check this one out, as it takes time to grow.

Here is where we start seeing RUSH emerge from the shadow of their influences. The first half of this album is, unfortunately, rather lackluster. DREAM THEATER famously got their original name (MAJESTY) from MIKE PORTNOY describing the sound of the finale of "Bastille Day". When I bought this, I was essentially a DT fanboy, so I must have listened to that song probably five or six times within the first hour or two of owning the album. I absolutely could not hear it. It sounded too much like FLY BY NIGHT-era songwriting, little glimmers of the Rush we all know and love without the full assertiveness of their musical or songwriting prowess. The next two tracks fair no better; "I Think I'm Going Bald" is probably Rush's second worst song (After the miserable "Dog Years").

Just when I thought things were going terrible came "The Necromancer". I have to admit that my first brush with this song was as a cover DT did in probably the mid-90s. I thought it was one of theirs at first and it became one of my favorite tunes by them, but someone corrected me and told me that it was a cover by Rush, prompting my purchase of this album. And I say that it is in this song that Rush finally emerges. It has all the traits of a classic Rush epic, with shifting time signatures and tempos, difficult instrumental sections, a strident rock feel to it and great lyrics to boot, even featuring a return of By-Tor. This is one of Rush's best epics and is criminally overlooked, I feel.

Side 2 gets more play in discussion due to it being their first side-long epic but, as others before me have said, they really hadn't mastered the form of that kind of girth yet. Unlike "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" or even "The Necromancer", a track on the same album, "The Fountain of Lamneth" does not feature sections that actually link together. It is not that linking sections sound impossible to be crafted, simply that they weren't. Instead, we get an annoying fade-out/fade-in between each and every section. That aside, the individual sections aren't even that great, feeling like four stronger short tunes and a lackluster drum solo. However, it must be said that these short sections are all individually better than any of the short tracks on this album. So, the epic is a step forward, even if not a great one.

Three-stars. If nothing else, check out "The Necromancer".

Hey, they are getting progressive on this one! And the result is very good. This is one of their strongest albums. Opening track Bastille Day rocks really nice, but the real gem is the twenty minute long, epic The Fountain of Lamneth. From their tree one-side long songs this is best. Great song from the beginning to the end. A-side is also great, but I think i'm going bald and Lakeside park are not that great songs. But don't let em ruin this wonderful album. If you call yourself Rush-fan and you don't own this album, you are not real fan. And if you are not Rush- fan, buy this anyway.

Well, not my favorite Rush disc. Not by a long shot. This just has a huge unfinished feel to it that I can't get past. Also, the sound just isn't very clear, at least not on the disc I have. In terms of content, the shorter songs like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" don't grab me and the longer epics feel like they are rough drafts of something that is coming later but never arrives. The longer songs show the potential of where the band was heading on 2112, HEMISPHERES, etc...but potential is the key word here. This is sort of like "Rush, Take 1". I will allow this 2 stars for music and bump it up a star for potential. SO 3 stars. Not great, not bad, but acceptable. At least it is better than FLY BY NIGHT or SIGNALS.

The sudden dark turn of this album may have shut some people off on giving this one a spin but I truly believe that this is one of their absolute best. This album is complex and dark which was a drastic change from Fly By Night which was very light in its sound. But from the first song (Bastille Day) to the ending epic (The Fountain of Lamneth) this album is their first 100% prog album and is fantastic. Some people like to make fun of I Think I'm Going Bald cause the lyrics are honestly pretty stupid but the melody and riff i remember a lot from that song and does get into my head. With The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth Rush gave the 10+ min epics a more full on try which ended up the latter song taking up the entire second side of the LP (remember those?). But each song is honestly memorable for what it is. 4 and a half stars. Highlights: Bastille Day, Lakeside Park, The Necromancer and Fountain of Lamneth.

its not hard to see why some folks would see this as inconsistent or pretentious or bombastic. yes, it is all of that - and thats what makes it a 4-star.

remember, this was 1975. remember, this was only Rush's 3rd album. remember Fly By Night's inspired pieces like By Tor...remember that this is Peart's view of the world. that should put things in perspective.

personally, i started of with Moving Pictures and Power Windows and yes, THAT Rush. when i discovered that Rush were not always THAT Rush, by discovering 2112, i was intrigued.

besides "Chronicles", which was the only compilation available on CD at the time, doesn't really do justice to Caress Of Steel by including Bastille Day and Lakeside Park. but then again, what else would they do? this album has only 3 other songs - The Necromancer at 12:30 and The Fountain of Lamneth at 19:50 and they were too lazy to edit enough to capture the essence (like they did with 2112 since it was, after all, 2112!). also, maybe they didn't think it would be much good marketing if they included a song with an absurd title like " I think I'm Going Bald"...

like i said at the beginning, Caress Of Steel is inconsistent, pretentious and bombastic. and it was meant to be exactly that.the Rush that we would come to know over the years in various forms, moods and textures always retained those key elements.

Rush had abandoned their unbridled Led Zeppelin worship and plunged into uncharted prog metal waters on Fly By Night, so when the first song on Caress of Steel - Bastille Day - is yet another Zep tribute, it bodes ill for the rest of the album; the song is saved by just enough technical flair and an interesting shift from the verse to the chorus, but it still feels like one of their early Zep-influenced numbers with a pinch more progressive influence added.

Sure enough, Caress of Steel represents an awkward compromise between commercial rockin' out and progressive metal excess. Both aspects of the album are critically flawed;; the band don't really seem interested in the shorter songs, whilst the prog epics suffer from Rush's compositional chops not quite keeping pace with their ambition.

Of the shorter songs, Bastille Day is the Zep imitator as mentioned, I Think I'm Going Bald is an equally unoriginal and uninspired riff on Goin' Blind by Kiss, and Lakeside Park is entirely forgettable. As for the prog pieces, the Necromancer pads out its running time with an overlong narration at the beginning and takes a while to build up steam, though it's a fun journey as it meanders about between the narration sections. The Fountain of Lamneth, similarly, pads out its runtime with far too much filler and compares poorly to the sidelong epic on the next album, 2112, which it occasionally sounds like working sketches for.

Ultimately, Caress of Steel is what's called a "transitional" album, that being music reviewer code for an album which tries to go for two different sounds at once and fails to accomplish either of them. It's not flat-out bad - most of the songs have segments I enjoy, in fact, it's just that the connecting tissue between those elements isn't quite there yet. Probably worth a listen if you're a major Rush fan, but don't expect it to supplant 2112 or its successors in your collection any time soon.

The third album shows RUSH starting to find their uniqueness as a power trio somewhere between hard rock (think of DEEP PURPLE without organ or other keyboards) and prog rock (they must have been listening to bands like Yes, Kansas and Genesis at the time - there's even a side-long multi-part epic). There were some hints of it all in Fly By Night, but the step forward is very visible between these two albums. Geddy Lee's singing still sounds too pushed at higher register but he can sing with serene emotion too, as this album finely demonstrates.

This album would be almost great if it was as good as the best parts, but it's quite uneven. 'Bastille Day' is a strong, if not very original hard rocking opener, but the next one is a total filler both for music and banal lyrics, 'I Think I'm Going Bald'. Also 'Lakeside Park' comes close being one with its repetitive structure, but I like its mood. 'The Necromancer' is a three - part and 12-minute epic with naive fantasy. What irritates me there is the mutated voice that sounds ridiculous.

The second side is RUSH's attempt to do a massive epic à la 'Supper's Ready' - and it succeeds quite well. It may not reach the highest pantheon of prog epics but it's clearly the best thing RUSH had done that far, and even if they were to do many better prog compositions, I appreciate this among them. There's a lot of dynamics as the epic keeps changing from edginess to delicacy. The fourth movement 'Panacea' is a beautiful acoustic ballad, and the epic ends with cathartic peace, coming to a full circle.

At this point RUSH used no keyboards at all, but Alex Lifeson does wonders with his guitars; the sound of this album is colourful and warm, somehow nicely aged and ageless at the same time. Someone said it's the most underrated RUSH album. I agree! 3½ stars.

This was one of the albums of Rush I collected earlier on. It is severely underrated by many in the community and outside of it (if you exclude Test For Echo and Roll the Bones). If you listen well enough, it will grow on you as an album. Particularly, the sound on the album is much more obscure than the successor 2112 as it tops it in the category of obscure. Thus, the album attempts to capture sound that predates it by several years, having missed the boat for classic prog. It's partially sad that none of these songs get played anymore, although 2112 would not have happened without this album.

Bastille Day hails the fervor of the previous albums Rush had done, while trying to live up to Anthem. I must say it tries very hard, with a deafening solo and screaming from Geddy. French Revolution lyrics are the mood. The song sets the pace of the album, but that pace seems to change immediately after. Some themes in the tune sound familiar as well, or maybe it's just me. This is a good song if you're a fan of hard rock.

I Think I'm Going Bald is a rather funny piece from Rush, as the members lament the idea of getting old, a rather progressive theme to a kind of rock song. The solo is particularly good, but aside from that the song sounds like it was brought over from their first album. The song seems just silly compared to the rest of the album, but a treat to listen to.

Lakeside Park is a nice piece of a place near where the band grew up. The phaser usage by Lifeson adds a nice touch to it. Peart adds some good drum fills and his beat is overall well. Geddy tones down his singing for once, which is a nice breather, because this singing doesn't come back until The Fountain of Lamneth. Its good to hear live. After all the three songs are done, then the listener comes to the good parts of the album.

The Necromancer is my favorite off the album, though as obscure as the song may seem. We get some eerie guitar swells and synth-encoded voice before we are introduced to the Necromancer. This opening section is definitely blues-influenced, but the lyrics are really creepy if you can understand of what's being said. Then the second section had some nice growling from Geddy and a bunch of gaps in the music, but after a solo the music rockets into a frenzy. The solo played on top of this is probably one of Alex's fastest, longest, and most furiously recorded solos. It just rips off the board. And when it ends, fades in the most melodic riff you could possibly hear in a Rush song; it just sounds too good when listening to it every time. Claiming victory, By-Tor (yes, the guy from the other album) returns to save the three talked about in the beginning. The tale is strange and not full of lyrics, but overall it's an awesome song that begs to be heard.

The Fountain of Lamneth is truly one of Rush's first epics, not only in style but in sound. Acoustic guitar and chord arpeggios is a primary basis for most parts of the song. I just find the main riff from In The Valley and The Fountain to be weird sounding, especially the first time listening to it. The main theme of this song seems to be about life and climbing the social ladder, but since the members said they were smoking a lot of dope at the time I'm finding it hard to believe. So yeah, when you do figure it out, put your own meaning to it; it's that kind of song. The drum solo early on in the song is killer; can never see Peart play that fast again. No One At The Bridge tends to be a little repetitive and elongated with Lifeson abusing the phaser a bit. Panacea seems to be the point where the character has/is starting to achieve the goal; it's somber and I think it pulls a bit from Rivendell, not that quietly though. Bacchus Plateau (whatever name that is) is decent in terms of guitar riffing and shows a collapse of the character, and some good protested singing from Geddy. The lyrics here do sound rather sad when you think about it. Then we quickly transition back to The Fountain where the album full circles, mostly sounds the same, but showing determination from the character. Then it truly full circles with the acoustic ending exactly the same, but with some philosophical fragmentary sentences thrown in. The way it sounds could make a listener cry if they opened their heart to it. WAY Underrated, as it created the framework for 2112.

In all honesty, it's hard to pin a rating, just because of a track or two that fell short. But it has become one of their albums I listen to the most... The lyrics are all prog in print. It's not music that should be listened to in the background, and should be given individual attention so it may shine as a masterpiece. Same goes for most music, but I am rather easy to please.

(EDIT 10/2019: I was kind of wrong here. I Think I'm Going Bald, and some parts of Fountain of Lamneth bring this down to a 4.)

Like a boy going through the awkward passage between childhood and adulthood, Caress of Steel shows us the awkward transition between the excellent blues rock of Fly By Night and the excellent prog rock of 2112. I had a hard time rating this album. It was a necessary album in the bands transition. However, looking back on it, it seems that they couldn't quite find their sound yet. Some fans might dismiss this album entirely if it weren't for "Bastille Day", one of Rush's necessary rockers. The album features three rock songs and two long progressive songs.

Nearly everyone agrees that "Bastille Day" deserves the credit it gets. The song is driven by Alex Lifeson's powerful guitar work and it ends with a very melodic guitar passage, almost unexpected given the borderline metal feel the song provides. The next two songs "I Think I'm Going Bald" and "Lakeside Park" often divide fans on whether or not they are good or "just mindless filler". I tend to lean towards the first choice. The former is a somewhat humorous song about growing old featuring some fun guitar solos by Lifeson. The latter is a Led Zeppelin influenced song that is probably the lightest out of the three, but it is still a fun song to listen to.

We now come to the two epics of the album. The first of these is "The Necromancer". The song features spoken word throughout the song. It feels rather strange and out of place, and Rush epics just don't feel right without keyboards or synths. However, Lifeson provides excellent guitar work throughout and a rock section is provided in the song. I'm surprised some didn't just take this part of the song and made it a single song like they did with "2112: Overture/Temple of Syrinx". Overall, it is an enjoyable song and showed the band to be going somewhere.

However, Fountain of Lamneth, which takes up one side of the disc, drags the album down with it. The song represents a side of prog I do not like: Incredibly long songs that have some good ideas, but is incoherent and ultimately uninteresting. It does not matter to me how long a song is. Even if it is thirty minutes long, I will listen to it if it keeps my attention (such as their "Cygnus X-1" epic). The song features primarily acoustic guitars, which I don't have a problem with. However, amidst the random ideas, Rush seems to forget that they are a rock band. Sure there is a drum solo and a couple of repeating electric guitar riffs, but they are washed away in a sea of blandess.

I wanted to give this album four stars, since I enjoyed the first four songs very much. However, Fountain of Lamneth, takes up nearly half the album and is one of the main features of the album. This drags it down two stars (and the Necromancer wasn't perfect either). However, got the lesson they needed when this album did not sell as well as they thought it would. This caused them to focus more, which lead to the creation of five fantastic albums afterwards.

It would be one more album before Rush perfected their prog rock approach, but they had already attained a high level of general songwriting ability with Fly By Night, and it shows on Caress of Steel. Two of their best early songs can be found here, "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park", the first a fast-riffed rocker with the whole band exhibiting their ability to function as a very tight, uniform rhythm section that's actually quite progressive itself, and "Lakeside Park" being a masterfully nostalgic tribute to partying/hanging out that has an obviously weed-inpsired guitar part complimented perfectly by great soft but fast drum fills. In between these two songs is "I Think I'm Going Bald", a song that might sound lightweight when compared to some of their later greats, but I think it sounds great on this album, especially in it's exact spot on the album. In fact, the track order is a great strength of the album in general. After "Lakeside Park", things slow down to a (fortunately) drawn out ominous psych-space intro to "The Necromancer" that is somewhat reminscient of Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs." The second part of the track accelerates considreably to a throttling intense repeating thing that I can imagine may have inspired bands like Metallica. The piece doesn't end as well, with the third section, "Return of the Prince" having music and lyrics that clash harshly, to it's detriment, but it's not enough to completely ruin the song. Their first side-long suite, "The Fountain of Lamneth" isn't as consistant as "2112" or "Hemisphere", but none of it's bad, and there are some great moments, such as the pleasant "Panacea", and the winding "No One At the Bridge." (I love that decending bass line Geddy adds to Alex's ominous, twisting guitar part on that section.) I agree with the fans of Caress of Steel that it's one of their most underrated.

Listen!

The power trio find their way on "Caress of Steel", a genuine turning point for Rush. The band are heavy and proud of it channelling Led Zeppelin and Kiss in places but injecting massive dollops of prog into the mix. The prog comes in the form of the two epics that are rarely heard outside of this album. I heard this album again to review after a long break but I have just listened to two ordinary Rush 80s albums and in contrast this album is like a jolt in the arm. There are no synths and the production is not as processed, and it is all the better for it.

The lengthy tracks are fabulous prog classics and Rush hold nothing back in their compositions. This rehearsal for "2112" is killer rock from start to end. Lifeson's riffing is awesome and indispensable on tracks like the brilliant 'Bastille Day' and wonderful 'Lakeside Park'. 'I Think I'm Going Bald' is like Led Zeppelin but lots of fun in any case. However, it is with 'The Necromancer' that it really takes off into full blown prog territory.

'The Necromancer' features some incoherent ideas with a mystical narration and many time sig changes and weird lyrics driving the story. Lifeson's lead breaks are extraordinary, especially at 7:30 when he just unleashes a tirade of guitar licks. What a difference here in the 70s when I just heard his restrained jangly 80s work. Lifeson is a brilliant guitarist and he is on fire on this song. Terry Brown continues to narrate the tale of three weary travellers who meet up with a wizard like Necromancer who leads them into the shadowy darkness, casting a spell that holds them captive.

The track is divided into three distinct sections that flow together seamlessly. 'Into The Darkness' has a "Lord Of The Rings" style narration and after some inspired musicianship moves onto 'Under The Shadow'. Now the travellers enter a medieval dungeon concealing the terrors of the unknown. Then we move to the next section 'The Return Of The Prince' that has a gentler musical texture ending the epic with an uplifting happy ending where the travellers are freed from the clutches of the Necromancer by Prince By-Tor.

On side 2 the whole vinyl record is swallowed up with the monster epic 'The Fountain of Lamneth'. The music is adventurous moving from soft to hard hitting in sharp abstract bursts. Lifeson swaps acoustic guitars for metal distortion as the mood gets darker. The drum solo from Peart is a blistering performance, but one cannot underestimate the power of Lee's high soprano voice and he is definitely in full voice in these early years. There are 6 parts including 'In The Valley', 'Didacts And Narpets', 'No One At The Bridge', 'Panacea', 'Bacchus Plateau' and 'The Fountain'. One of the best Lifeson solos is found on 'No One At The Bridge'. It is a grandiose piece of music that has some nice musical passages and lyrics.

The lyrics speak of the human condition including "Images around me don't identify inside, Just one blur I recognise, the one that soothes and feeds, My way of life is easy and as simple as my needs". But I particularly like the section after Peart's drum solo and Lee just screams out "Listen!" Perhaps he is telling us to listen to this new Rush sound that would permeate all the albums to follow until the 80s. The next few albums to follow would be Rush at their greatest.

Overall "Caress of Steel" signifies the golden era of Rush. It was a beginning of greatness for the band and one cannot help but to admire the bombastic approach to rock the band had in these early years. The epics are well worth checking out but also 'Bastille Day' and 'Lakeside Park' are killer making this an excellent album to indulge in. It reminds me of "Hemispheres" in a way having only a few songs with some epics, but they are all good and so it is a successful epiphany for the band branching into uncharted waters. The trio are at their most inventive and work well together to produce some amazing prog rock on "Caress of Steel".

The third Rush album shows real progression and a valuable attempt at leaving their hard rock influences and addapting a more progressive sound. Hovever , as some reviewers have already stated , I don't think they were up to the challenge at this point of time. Both epics do not sound cohesive at all, as the band was still struggling to find their sound.

The shorter songs of the album are average Rush material and with the exception of Bastille Day being a concert favourite there is not much more to be mentioned about it . The three of them are simple 70's hard rock songs and while that's not bad per se , those 3 songs are pretty uninspired.

That being said, I cannot award this album more than two stars. Sorry guys!!

Their debut album and Fly By Night set them in stone as some heavy rockers, but Caress of Steel furthers the Rush sound by adding some prog to the mix. In this way the album is very much a transition album for the band. But like many transition albums, there is often a lacking in focused songwriting, as the band tries to conform to their new identity, and this is no different. Still, this is much stronger musically than their previous two efforts.

'Bastille Day' and 'I Think I'm Going Bald' are straight up rockers and shows Rush hasn't veered too far away from their hard rock roots established in the first two albums. While there's nothing really progressive about either, they do contain some of the band's greatest riffs and melodies.

'Lakeside Park' is a nice tune with a killer riff and a strong rhythm. This song clearly means something to the band, and they do a great job of conveying this musically with a strong nostalgic undertone.

The real stars of this album are 'The Necromancer' and 'Fountain of Lamneth,' which is Rush's first attempt at longer songs. Both of these songs are undoubtedly prog, and definitely have their moments. 'The Necromancer' has some amazing guitar work from Alex, including a very dazzling solo at the end. 'The Fountain of Lamneth' has a constant stream of great riffs and melodies in its 20-minutes of length. But, both these tracks exemplify the troubles Rush had in crossing over from simple hard rock, to prog. The songs are sloppy, and don't flow very well. The Fountain especially has some great sections, but they don't feel connected to each other and the song feels more like a suite if anything. However, even with these flaws, these two songs are still the highlight of the album.

Overall, I don't think Caress of Steel deserves all the criticism it gets, especially by the band, but I understand why it does. There are many good moments, but most of them are simply structured poorly. Fortunately, Rush would rectify this and put out some more consistent prog rock epics in future albums.

6/10

A perfect album? In a word, no. A flawed masterpiece? Not even that. And yet, Rush's 3rd album has always intrigued me in a way that not many Rush albums do. It's off kilter and certainly a little uneven, but I think that Rush manages to show flashes of brilliance that reach highs they would never again venture towards.

"Bastille Day" has all the makings of an instant classic (which indeed it has turned out to be); it's got a hard driving riff, great performances all around, and of course a healthy dose of historically based, intellectual lyrics delivered in the wailing tones that only Geddy Lee can deliver. It seems to me that Lee hadn't quite mastered his formidable voice yet here; there's still a bit of shrieking and über-wide vibrato that hasn't been quite polished off yet, but there's something to be said for such a raw delivery, and it certainly has its own charm.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" is fun but completely forgettable, which I think is basically all that needs to be said. "Lakeside Park," too, is nice enough, but contains some of the worst cheese ever penned by everyone's favorite Canadian power trio ("although it's just a memory, some memories last forever" ?ugh) and it certainly doesn't stand out to me as one of the better tracks in Rush's catalogue.

Why then, do I rate Caress of Steel so highly? Well, because I would argue that the final two tracks on the album are two of the most interesting Rush ever recorded. "The Necromancer" may be a bit disjointed as a track, but the playing throughout is superb, and the pacing overall is very nice. Alex Lifeson has an unfortunate tendency to be overlooked in the face of the two larger personalities of his bandmates, but it is clear from this track that from a musical perspective Lifeson is every bit the master that Peart or Lee is. As a matter of fact, I think that "The Necromancer" contains some of his very best playing. Lee's vocal performance here is probably the best on the album, too, and Neil Peart is, well, Neil Peart. What else can one really say?

"The Fountain of Lamneth" has to be one of the more forgotten songs in Rush's catalogue, especially with the similarly long "2112" so visible as Rush's flagship epic, but man oh man, is this a good one. It's got an opening that contains some of the gentlest, most tender vocals Geddy ever recorded, and every section is incredibly evocative and atmospheric, creating a feel that Rush would never capture again, even on "2112." It's even got a rare Peart drum solo, which lasts just long enough to be cool but doesn't overstay its welcome. Does it have the same stadium-pounding drive of "2112?" No. It's subtler, calmer, and it "rocks" far less, but I'll still take it over "2112" with a gun to my head.

The most impressive thing about these latter tracks, though, is that it never feels as if Rush's reach exceeded its grasp. Are there brief moments of inconsistency? Sure. Are there unfortunate spoken word passages? Yes. But these songs have a charm to them that is totally missing from the perfectly polished later releases from this excellent band, and I think there's something to be said for that.

In closing, then, Caress of Steel is far from a perfect album. It lacks the power and punch of 2112, and it lacks the through-and-through compositional prowess of "Farewell to Kings" or "Moving Pictures." That said, however, it's still one of my favorite Rush albums. Is it a masterpiece? No. But I will argue to the ends of the earth that it has a place among every progressive rock collection, and especially among the collections of anyone who calls him- or-herself a Rush fan.

4/5

My favorite classic Rush album

Caress is an album which I ignored in my earlier years preferring the immediate gratification of later stuff. As I cycled back through the pre-Permanent Waves stuff again recently I realized how powerful Caress is. It's more fully realized than Fly by Night, just plain more interesting that 2112, and more emotional/less cerebral than Hemispheres. And it kicks ass. I can now understand why the band were so mystified when Caress bombed, if I made an album this good I'd be crushed as well to see it get panned. I do think it is the album that perhaps takes the longest to assimilate, I saw a fan write a forum quote that spoke to this: "You aren't given CoS. You earn CoS." Maybe.

What I love about the album is three-fold, the sound, the vibe, and the consistency. Regarding the sound Caress basks in this warm glow, very hard to describe but I find the feel of the drums and guitar in particular to be the most natural and pleasant they ever achieved. Geddy's voice is incredible here, heartfelt on the mellow stuff in Fountain while at the peak of his power on the crazy high stuff. Regarding the "vibe" and the fantasy themes one could call them a bit airy fairy I suppose, but I rather enjoy getting lost in these tales and the boys deliver it without apology, it's obvious to me they believe in the material. And it's damned consistent. You have the perfect opener in Bastille Day, their longtime concert favorite, followed by Bald which recalls the joy and fun of the debut, but both just slay me. Then you have a breather with Lakeside Park which is an odd Rush track, sentimental, somewhat out of place, but it works all the same. Last you have the double whammy of Necromancer and Fountain, 32 minutes of pure progressive hard rock beautifully balanced with serene acoustic sections of introspection. Sound effects, narration, blistering leads, cosmic banshee shrieks, Shire-like folk sections, and anthemic heavy overloads. What the hell is not to like here? I don't understand why it was panned at the time, nor do I understand low ratings now. While other Rush epics are more musically complex and rock harder, none have the same combination of mood, fantasy, and musically delivered thc contact-high as Caress. This is a nearly perfect musical experience that is sadly overlooked.

Oddly, despite ignoring the album for years myself it seems to appeal much more now than some of its chronological neighbors. The progression of musical themes and pure youthful energy are so invigorating. The ideas seem fresher than 2112 or Farewell To Kings, less forced than the mighty Hemispheres. No deductions for me, no weak spots, something I can't say with the others. This album for me is the true Rush early classic.

This third album is Rush heading very quickly in the direction of the fantastic 2112. Once again a marked prog jump from the previous album where Rush heads solidly into prog territory. The first Rush album was a credible rock album over shadowed by other acts of the 70's doing hard rock music. The second album begins the Rush identity and makes Rush an act to watch. This album puts Rush firmly into prog territory and starts to establish them as a world class act. Bastille Day - a good, strong album opener - anthemic. I think I'm going bald - silly rocker which is not part of the Rush thing as far as I'm concerned. Lakeside Park - I always enjoy the softer side of Rush The Necromancer - very different to previous Rush tracks, almost epic but it kind of stumbles in parts. The spoken lyrics are kind of too cartoonish for my taste for this kind of thing. Kind of like Goofy telling a tale. The Fountain of Lamneth - a musical patchwork quilt however there are parts of it that I enjoy very much. Interesting drum work by Peart.

I prefer the previous Rush album personally as a whole although there is no doubt that progressive wise this is an advancement for the band. My head tells me that I should enjoy this album more that the previous two efforts but I find it very patchy in places.

"Caress of Steel" probably as the RUSH most controversial album in their career before they get some recognition as great rock band, a fact which happens only when they released their first masterpiece "2112", and the moment when they "bet" in his own musical conception... a really heavy- progressive rock. The atmosphere created by Peart lyrics are the "propeller" of new approach. Already in the first track "Bastille Day" a dramatic and "theatrical" theme (like a "Operetta") with some martial rhythm passages, passing by the "Lakeside Park" and "diving" into the nebulous world of "The Necromancer" , a theme full of new musical elements; the first part "Into the darkness" sounds like a Pink Floyd's reminiscence, the second part "Under the Shadow" brings a initial more "hard-prog" theme where Geedy vocals are the great attraction leading the music to an explosive and pulsating conclusion with drums and guitar fantastic performance and finally "Return of the Prince" a "fast ballad" commemorating the victory of light , again Geedy vocals stand out. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" a long track divided in 6 parts, and the most visible in all of them is RUSH's search for another textures ... Starting from the intricate theme "In the Valley" a heavy-prog piece with a soft intermediary passage, crossing the fingering electirc guitar in "No One At the bridge" with Geedy's very impressive vocal interpretation , the meditative song in "Panacea" with beautiful classical guitar moments. My rate is 4 stars !!!

I really do not understand what people have against this album. For me this is Rush first real prog album and it definitely ranks higher in my book, than Neils, Ayn Rand fanfiction.. err, i mean "2112". All kidding aside though, this is the album where the group definitely gained my interest and made me a fan. There is still a touch of Led Zeppelin in the first two songs, but "Bastille Day" is still one hell of an opener that really makes you feel as if you are a part of a screaming mob, on their way to make dog food of Marie Antoniette during the French Revolution. "I Think I'm Going Bald" never really interested me but "Lakeside Park" is real nice with a dreamy theme that befits the nostalgic lyrics about Neils youth. "The Necromancer" continues on the dreamlike theme, with an intro that actually reminds me of the song "Solar Winds" from fellow Canadian Devin Townsends album "Ziltoid The Omniscient". Townsend seems to be a big fan of Rush so it is no surprise if it was here he found his inspiration. I dont particulary care for the fantasy lyrics, though and obviously Neil didnt either since he stopped writing them completely after this album.

"The Fountain Of Lamneth" is Rush first real epic wich tells the story of a man in search of the titular fountain since he believes it holds the meaning of life, only to in the end realize that it was the dream of the fountain that was the meaning of his life. (See what nice lyrics Neil can create when he is not writing about Hobbits or how awesome Capitalism is!) It is slightly weaker than their later epics. The songs actually consists more of a series of individual segments that have been patched together rather than one coherent song and most of it is in 4/4 believe it or not. Yet, it overcomes this trough the beauty of these segments alone, and some very good lyrics.

Caress Of Steel is not Rush magnum opus. That title is reserved for the latter album " Hemispheres" in my opinion, but it is a strong album well worthy of a buy.

I am tempted to call this album a masterpiece based on the fact that, for me anyway, it holds some of the strongest moments Rush ever put on tape, which is saying a lot.

Anyway, it is kind of inconsistent depending on how one chooses to view it. There are short tracks and long tracks which have quite a different vibe to them, and there is a really weak track called "I think I'm Going Bald". I never understood what's so interesting about that song, interesting enough to place it among the other tracks that is. Because even though "Bastille Day" is also a basic rock tune spiked with some technical playing, it is far more rewarding, not only lyrically but also the general vibe.

The down-to-earth vibe of the first two songs then segues into a nostalgic vibe on "Lakeside Park", a very nice ballad with some fine lyrics and playing, even though Geddy refers to it as "a lousy song". Well... in this case I couldn't disagree more with Geddy, Lakeside Park is simply great.

After Lakeside, the album changes direction completely as it launches into two lengthy, progressive tracks. The first one, "The Necromancer" is very Tolkien-inspired and fantasy-esque in it's story. Sure there is a slight "amateur" vibe over the song, it feels as if they are trying something without being quite sure where the end result is going to be, but that's the charm with this song imo. There is a very youthful and dreamy vibe over it all, and there's some extremely nice playing on here as well, from the heavy drumming during the guitar solo to the poppy ending chord sequence. The story in itself is quite nice but fades in comparison with the album closer.

I cannot possibly even begin to describe how much "Fountain of Lamneth" means to me emotionally, the story might be one of the finest I have ever heard (only second to "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" I guess, but that's a discussion for another day), soaring way above 2112 and Cygnus X-1 Book II because of it's looseness, personality, surrealism and just plain more visionary approach. On this song Rush blend the youthful and adventurous with the serious, poetic vibe. In a way this song materializes what Peart is writing about in Cygnus X-1 Book II, the perfect blend of Dionysus and Apollo.

At first listen one could argue that even Fountain sounds a bit amateur-ish due to the fact that the different parts don't often segue into each other, rather they fade out and fade in. For me, the lyrics bind together the story well enough, as soon as I read through those a few times the fades never bothered me again. The story is, again, the most vivid I've heard from Rush and one of the best I've heard from any band, and analyzing it is not something I will try to do here, but imo that is the single most enjoyable thing about this album, trying to figure out what they are communication through this piece and how that reflects upon oneself. Listening to this song always feels like a revelation to me, it's a 5/5 to end all 5/5s.

In conclusion, this album is by far the most interesting Rush album I've heard, but really not the most consistent. It is a must for anyone who is spiritually alive I'd say, the absolute minimum being reading the lyrics for Fountain of Lamneth, it is an experience everyone should have in my opinion. In that sense, it is an essential album and deserves 5 stars, but when zooming out of "Fountain" (where I often get stuck in when talking about this album, as you've noticed by now) it isn't actually a masterpiece as a whole compared to say "Relayer" or "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". So in the end I'd go for that this album is an "excellent additon to any prog rock music collection". That is a statement I can truly support.

In my opinion, "Caress Of Steel" is one of the most underrated albums in all of progressive rock.

The album begins with the familiar sound of "Bastille Day", a great heavy prog riff that makes me smile every time I hear it. It contains real power in Alex's guitar, Geddy's raw voice, and Neil's powerful drums. The lyrics really put the song in place, during the chorus along with Geddy's bass notes in the chords that add interest. with a luxurious solo by Alex transforming into into a harder bluesy solo, with great moments where the backing stops as the guitar carries on. The interlude before the end includes great rhythmic precision as heard in all the Rush albums which is then followed by, as Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater put it, a "majestic ending".

The following track "I Think I'm Going Bald" is generally thought of as a more mediocre song by fans, but I'd still say it's pretty good. The heavy bluesy feel is heard right from the start in the intro, with a great delayed pick slide that leads you into the 1st verse. The lyrics here aren't really up to par with the other Rush songs but I guess some one has to make a song about going bald! Despite all this, on a good Lifeson solo with some incredible licks. It makes a great song to play along to.

The next track "Lakeside Park" is also a little average but still pretty great as songs go. Everyone has those sorts of childhood memories of a place where they loved, and this is Rush's version of theirs. It has a special kind of atmosphere to it and reminds myself of places from my earlier childhood. There are some real moments of "Light and Shade" (as Jimmy Page would put it) in the song and the album. It ends on some beautiful harmonics which add to the sentimental side of the song.

Here is where things really start to get interesting and with more progressive sounds: "The Necromancer". (You'll need to listen to this in a quiet place to really experience the beauty of each instruments parts.) Neil Peart's narration of brilliantly profound lyrics kicks of the song, describing the scene with a mystical guitar backing and eerie, droning guitar fills coming up throughout. The Tolkien-esque imagery is further described in detail by Geddy Lee's singing. This is followed by another guitar solo with other overdubs thrown in, making it brilliantly intricate. This end section 1 "Into The Darkness" and is followed by "Under The Shadow" with yet more precision in guitar, bass, and drums all playing the same riff/rhythm at the same time. Geddy's powerful, raspy voice describes excellent pictures of the Eye Of Sauron - another reference to Tolkien's works. Another guitar solo next with a signature tone of a sort of wah-wah effect trying to scream out with a bit of a fuzzy sound. Then, my favourite part of the song 7 minutes through with the sound effect groan and, guess what, another guitar solo! Eventually these great licks lead into Part 3 "Return Of The Prince". It brings back the character of "By-Tor" from the previous album ("Fly By Night") and also a similar riff to that as in "Baba O'Riley - The Who". It tells the story of how the evil eye has been defeated by "By-Tor" in a joyful, and almost medieval tune. The piece ends with another brilliant guitar solo, playing notes in a different key to the backing to produce yet another unique sound!

Finally, we reach the song "The Fountain Of Lamneth". It begins with a sumptuous acoustic guitar by Geddy's soft vocals on top in Part 1 "In The Valley". This leads into a heavier, more upbeat part with strong guitar riffs that cascade down into these soft clean chords without any musical disruption. After a few verses, in kicks the intriguing 1-minute "Didacts And Narpets" with bold opposite instructions (a little like "Us And Them - Pink Floyd") as Neil goes berserk on the drums, proving some of his greatest skill. Leading into Part 3 "Under The Bridge", a beautiful transition takes you into this hypnotic music of strange chords and fantastic imagery of a slightly inexperienced boatman caught up in a storm, with lyrics that fit perfectly. After a few verses and another excellent solo, birds are heard calling out on the final Emadd9 chord, introducing us into "Panacea".

This is another lovely relaxed acoustic part that works extremely well with Geddy's soft voice along with the soft harmonics and gentle, slightly sexual lyrics. Alex's power chords then lead into Part 6 "Bacchus Plateau" with more excellent lyrics by Neil Peart and a brilliant sweet guitar solo with precise trills by Lifeson led in by a lovely bass line by Lee. Then after a fade out, a familiar yet distant riff from "In The Valley" becomes "The Fountain". This part is essentially the same except for the lyrics describing having reached The Fountain Of Lamneth and the phaser on Lifeson's guitar to add a little more interest. Then another indulgent solo takes place with extraordinary bends and different scales to the backing as done in previous songs. The song then ends exactly how it started but with different lyrics. A chord is then played, notifying the listener that the song is (unfortunately) over, as well as the album.

A(-). A must-have for any Heavy Prog (or Progressive music in general) fans.

Bastille Day - **** I Think I'm Going Bald - **** Lakeside Park - **** The Necromancer - ***** The Fountain Of Lamneth - *****

3.5 Stars

In my opinion, this is the first true progressive album by Rush. Though Fly By Night had some progressive elements in the song "By-Tor and The Snow Dog" the band never really solidified itself into the genre until this album was released.

Side One Bastille Day is an awesome song. It has a heavy guitar, along with incredible bass and drums to support. Along with the musicianship, it has fairly good lyrics. Overall, it is my favorite song on the album. I Think I'm Going Bald is definitely my least favorite song on this album. The instrumentation is alright, however the lyrics give no justice to the musicianship. In all honesty, this is probably my least favorite song that Rush has ever written. Lakeside Park is decent. It has kind of bland guitar and bass riffs throughout, however some of Neil Peart's drum fills in this are just flat out awesome. The lyrics also lack the depth of some of the other songs on the album, however i enjoy listening to the song. The Necromancer is a great effort. The musicianship is on point, and the lyrics have some depth to back it up. However it becomes evident when you listen to this song that Rush really hasn't found it's sound yet (The beginning sounds very floydian). But overall, I really enjoy this song.

Side Two The Fountain Of Lamneth is great. Once again the musicianship is incredible, with an interesting subject matter in the lyrics, however it is evident in this song as well that Rush has not quite hit it's stride. I consider Rush to have written 3 Epics (The Fountain Of Lamneth, 2112, and Cygnus X-1: Book II) and this is by far the worst of the three. Not to say that this song is bad, because it's not, however in the other two songs Rush had really established its sound, which in turn makes it much better.

Overall this album is a great listen. If you are a fan of Rush, or even just Classic Prog in general, I would highly suggest that you give this album a listen.

It was really hard for me to enjoy this album and several attempts took place before I was ready to say:well this is very solid record. The most exciting thing about the album is that it contains the elements that were later used on more notable Rush albums. There's a bit of 2112, A Farewell To Kings and obviously Hemispheres. Of course three first songs are nowhere near progressive rock but from thrilling Bastille Day to mellow Lakeside Park they're just good for the start. The Necromancer is a 3-part saga that includes some typical Lifeson guitar style. From moody a bit anxious melodies to nearly heavy metal solos. I think it's a little masterpiece even if some parts of the song sound like a total improvisation. The Fountain Of Lamneth another epic, this time 20 minutes long, seems less chaotic than previous tune yet not so condensed as Rush's next work (2112). It's not so easy to get in that mood but the sloppiness of this one is just an illusion. You have to listen to it with attention then you'll find many interesting moments there. I treat this song like every classic Rush epic suite and it's one of my favourite of their whole catalogue. Caress Of Steel is for those Rush fans who enjoy the most their 70's progressive period. If you totally love 2112, AFTK and Hemispheres and want some more, Caress Of Steel is for you, because there are elements that built those fantastic landmark albums. Give CoS a chance.

I feel like this album is somewhat overlooked in the Rush pantheon, despite its importance to the band's development. After all, this is the album, "By-Tor" aside, where they embrace prog rock and also the last Rush album that would not feature keyboards until "Vapor Trails." However, the album is largely ignored in the grand scheme of things, even by the band itself (I am baffled as to why "Bastille Day" isn't a concert and radio staple). This can work to a potential fan's advantage, however, in that there is a whole album of great Rush music to discover that hasn't been tainted by radio overexposure.

As previously mentioned, this is the album where Rush clearly threw their hat into the prog ring, considering that the album only has five songs, including the 12-minute "Necromancer" and the sidelong, 20-minute "Fountains of Lamneth". However, the band still clearly owed allegiance to the Cream/Zeppelin style they had cultivated throughout their two previous efforts, as the first three songs (and the heavy sound and lack of keyboards on the epics) make clear. This is most obvious on the awesome opener "Bastille Day", which features a great Geddy vocal and some of the awesome ensemble playing the band is known for. "Lakeside Park" is also a pretty good rock ballad (NOT power ballad, though), with some fairly restrained singing and an awfully pretty melody. I'm actually impressed that they managed to do a song like this without any use of keyboards. Unfortunately, "I Think I'm Going Bald" strikes a bit of a sour note--Peart clearly wasn't sure if he wanted to do a comedic song or a serious rumination on aging, so the lyrics sit somewhat awkwardly in the middle. The song still rocks quite a bit, though, so I don't hate it or anything.

The epics, while still a bit primitive, are quite interesting. OK, so the deep-voiced narrator on "The Necromancer" is kind of hokey and doesn't actually help the song in any way (and the lyrics aren't too hot either), the parts where the band plays are ace. And then there's the big cookie, Rush's first sidelong piece, the 20-minute "Fountains of Lamneth," which I honestly find to be fantastic and an underrated gem of 70s prog. Sure, the sections don't flow together that well (lots of fade-ins and fade-outs), but it never really becomes a distraction. I also really like Neil's lyrics for the piece, even if they might seem like cliche fantasy and aren't exactly "high art," they work perfectly for the piece. The very beginning and end feature some shockingly beautiful, almost vulnerable singing from The Gedster, and the main theme ("Yet my eyes are drawn towards the mountain in the east...") is one of Rush's greatest ever. There are plenty of other great moments throughout the rest of the song, too, particularly the fun drum solo "Diadects and Narpets" and that cool riff that comes in at 13 minutes in. Great, great piece and one which I wish had gotten more live airings.

In total, an unjustly forgotten album that might have a few flaws--as previously mentioned, the epics don't flow quite as well as I would like and "I Think I'm Going Bald" doesn't fully work, and it's also a bit strange how the band suddenly morphs from a hard rock band to a prog band 3 songs in, but "Caress of Steel" is still an album that I find myself frequently returning to. All three band members sound fantastic, as expected, but they're also really starting to gel as songwriters here. It might not equal the greatness of 2112, but that masterpiece would not exist without Caress of Steel.

CARESS OF STEEL is the album by RUSH that I have put the most effort into listening to in order to appreciate more. Upon my first listening of their third album I was somewhat underwhelmed since my exposure to classic RUSH was well after these first albums were released so of course it's hard not to compare this to the series of masterpieces that would soon follow. Apparently others were underwhelmed as well explaining the lackluster sales when released and the range of opinions ever since. All this dedication and persistence has paid off for me. For a long time I would have rated this a 2 star album and I spent many years ignoring this release altogether but in the last couple of years I have decided to explore this album a lot more since I was inspired by the many differences in opinion that it has received.

The first thing everyone notices upon first listen is how different the two sides are. The first side is old RUSH with the Zeppelin-inspired hard rock tracks "Bastille Day," "I Think I'm Going Bald" and "Lakeside Park." These songs were always inferior for me when compared to the first album and the hard rock anthems on "Fly By Night." But after accepting them for what they were, my attitude changed towards them. The second side is RUSH's first major experiments with long epic progressive tracks in the forms of "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain Of Lamneth." These two tracks are very interesting in how you can hear snippets of future masterpieces in the making. There are chord progressions that remind of tracks on 2112. There are nylon classical pieces that remind of A FAREWELL TO KINGS, etc. These two sprawling works are not quite as good as the more refined classics on the next four albums but nonetheless they have really grown on me.

Although this album is not perfect and really a training ground for the albums that follow it is still a decent album in its own right that has taken me very many listens to appreciate as much as I do now. This will hardly ever trump any of the albums from 2112 to Moving Pictures in popularity but I simply can't imagine any RUSH fan's collection complete without this album that provides a glimpse into the evolution of their sound. For that reason alone I recommend this album but I have also grown to really enjoy all the songs on it. I would highly recommend to listen to this periodically as it has a quirkiness that tends to alienate initially but does reward after perseverance. I am not at all disappointed in taking the time to get to know the intricacies of this album. I have had a hard time deciding if this is a 3.5 star album or a 4 star album and even now it seems like it's somewhere in between, but this is RUSH and I love this band so i'm gonna go for the 4.

Caress of Steel is a lovable but flawed album, and a bit of an outlier in the Rush catalog.

The music here is very similar to Fly By Night, prog-related hard rock with the signature elements of early Rush, including Zeppelin-esque blues riffs, Geddy wailing like a mad-man, giant tom-fills, so on. The difference is that they are beginning to try their hand at becoming a full-fledged prog band and making a few mistakes.

Don't be tricked by the long track lengths here. The Necromancer is a trio of atmospheric mostly-instrumentals, about 4 minutes a piece, unrelated except by the Tolkein lyrical matter. Likewise, The Fountain of Lamneth is a collection of six short songs, each of which could stand alone as its own song. True, the last track is a reprise of the first, but you're not a getting a Suppers Ready or a Close to the Edge here. The music isn't bad at all, it actually sees them exploring more stylistic ground, but true prog rock this is not.

The shorter songs on the first side are very good, with the exception of I Think I'm Going Bald which sounds like a weaker number from their first album. Bastille Day and Lakeside Park are both classics.

All in all, this album shows Rush more willing to experiment, but their attempts at writing multi- part epics are not successful. This is something they would not pull off until their 5th album, A Farewell To Kings.

3/5

"Caress of Steel" is known as the album that nearly killed Rush. With problems such as production issues, style changes, and a promotional roller coaster, Rush heard much criticism during this time, which is still felt by listeners today. When discussing this album with others in the past, all I heard were negative remarks, which I quickly bought into. Basically skipping over this album, I would always listen from "Fly By Night," then to "2112." After some time, I decided to give this album a second chance, which I am glad I did.

Like "Meddle" is to "Dark Side of the Moon," Rush could not have released "2112" without releasing "Caress of Steel" first. The opening track is a continuation of their bluesy old selves, influenced by bands like Led Zeppelin. The wild shriek of Geddy Lee, powerful drums of Neil Peart, and guitar doodling of Alex Lifeson are prominent in this song, and is easily the song that most fans relate to off this album. Following this song are two other shorter songs "I Think I'm Going Bald" and "Lakeside Park," which I feel are also influenced by their two previous albums, but are less significant. As great as the first three tracks are, what I love the most about this album are the final two tracks, containing their most controversial songs "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth."

So many considered the drastic shift in musical style from the first half of the album to the second to be detrimental to the band, and the reason why Rush almost fell apart. The first half is traditional Rush, a mix of blues, punk, classic rock, and even hints of classic metal. The second half, on the other hand, was considered entirely revolutionary during this time, and to some ahead of its time. Taking on a more progressive, psychedelic, and experimental approach, these two songs totaling over 30 minutes in length sound like a mixture of early Genesis, early Yes, and King Crimson. Known for biting off more than they can chew, Rush attempted the next "Close to the Edge," using prolonged chord progressions, odd time signatures, and improvisation. Overall, I felt like Rush in their youth made an excellent attempt at progressive rock after taking this shot in the dark.

While both songs' lyrics may be hard to understand and are challenging to the listener in multiple ways, one can appreciate the musical knowledge behind the band. I love to listen to the chord progression and time signature changes in both "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth," traits that are still lacking in some of the most popular and most knowledgeable of rock bands. Being based on two separate concepts or stories, I love the use of each instrument in helping tell the story. The slower sections reminds me of journeying across the land, while the harder and faster sections help me picture a battle scene, or an intense action sequence. Lee's vocals are moving, especially in the beginning and end of "The Fountain of Lamneth," which help the listener to understand the feelings behind the characters in each song. While to some these songs may be considered excessive, to hear these attributes coming out of kids from Canada is absolutely astounding. With the time and effort put into these songs, it is absolutely necessary for the length of the second half of the album to take over part of your day.

Although "Caress of Steel" may not be considered the best progressive rock album of all time, it definitely is looked upon as an influence to modern progressive rock and metal bands today. The use of instruments in telling the concept, the musical knowledge, the unique vocals, the bluesy guitar, and unbelievable drum work are reasons for listening to this album. I highly recommend giving this album another listen.

Easily a 4 star rating.

The right path.

This album is not considered a masterpiece of the band, and certainly does not reach the heights of "2112", "Moving Pictures" and "A Farewell To Kings". However, it is still an interesting album and is considered a classic. With this album Rush decide to follow the difficult path of achieving commercial success with long compositions (there are two long suites, one of which almost twenty minutes long). Unfortunately, the result will be very poor in terms of sales, so the record company imposed to the band a less innovative approach for the next album: the reaction of the band was a big disappointment, but in the next record again will be a long epic (the successful "2112") and Rush proved to be able to get good commercial results recording long epics or songs full of complex musical structures. For sure not all the songs are great. I Think I'm Going Bald is a rock ballad built around a classic, and banal, guitar riff. All stuff already heard. Things are not much better with Lakeside Park, nothing more pleasant but ordinary song, with references to the most melodic ballads by Led Zeppelin.

The Necromancer is the first epic of the album, and is, in my opinion, rather hard to digest. It is a very dark piece of music, and very heavy in the middle section, with lyrics written by Peart that obviously refers to Tolkien, but also with many allusions to the vicissitudes of the three members of the band (the "three travellers" are probably Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart) . The introduction is perhaps the most successful, with the band intent on creating a suggestive and gloomy atmosphere. The final part seems genuinely out of context from the rest of the song. In my opinion not a very successful one.

The situation is different for the other two tracks on the album. Bastille Day is a fantastic heavy ride where the band plays with heart and without brakes. In my opinion this song is one of the most representative in the hard rock genre. Definitely good too, is the long and final epic The Fountain Of Lamneth unjustly underrated by many, that is a kind of anticipation of the next "2112". The middle section of the epic, in particular, is really inspired, with a beautiful interpretation of Geddy Lee in the most melodic and quiet parts, where finally the singer shows the hidden potential of his voice.

If you are a fan of Rush's classic period, "Caress Of Steel" is an album that I recommend to count in your collection.

Best song: Bastille Day

Final rating: 6/10

Rush-Caress of Steel

Rush will always remain a favorite band of mine, they were in a sense the band that got me into progressive rock. I decided to show some love to an underrated gem in Rush's discography and one of my all time favorite progressive rock albums.

I can understand that this album is a bit hard to digest, on one side you have three shorter hard rock tracks and on the second side you have two prog epics. The opener 'Bastille Day' is one of my favorites, with some great driving riffs. 'Lakeside Park' is a lighter feel-good song, it sounds very peaceful and makes a nice balance between styles. 'I Think I'm Going Bald' may seem odd at first, but taking as the joke it was meant to be, it's pretty good.

The first epic on the album 'The Necromancer', is a continuation of the epic from the previous album, 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog'. The song features many heavy to soft transitions that would characterize much of Rush's later works. It also shows the appearance of spoken word, which would show up again two albums later on my favorite Rush song 'Cygnus X-1'. The second epic is the nearly 20-minute 'The Fountain of Lamneth', where Neil Peart shows some of his best drum work around the 5-minute mark. Again, this epic shows much of what Rush would later use in more critically acclaimed epic like '2112' or 'Xanadu'.

Overall, this is my favorite of the classic Rush albums and should not be skipped. This is the album that shaped them into the prog rock band they are known to be today.

So many reviewers are saying that Caress of Steel is so underrated. Others say it feels unfinished and unpolished. I agree with both. It is probably the least sold of all of their albums. The first time I had heard this one is when I bought the "Archives" 3 disc set which was all three of their first albums in one set. Out of the first three, this was my favorite. I enjoyed the debut album "Rush" even though it wasn't prog at all, I was disappointed in "Fly By Night" and I loved this one, especially "The Necromancer".

"The Necromancer" suite (the fourth track) is the one of the best Rush songs ever and should be considered one of their classics, but it is usually ignored. It clocks in at over 12 minutes and is the tightest that the band appears on this album. In my opinion, it is the reason to get your hands on this album. Amazingly hard in some places, especially the 2nd movement. That tempo shift in the middle of that movement was the loudest and most thrashing guitar solo that existed at the time. Even now it holds up to anything current. What an amazing song, and up to that point, their best attempt at hard, progressive rock to date. Outstanding.

Other than that, the first 3 tracks are shorter songs, the first 2 being great rockers and the 3rd is a more mellow song, not a lot of progressiveness here, but still good enough and somewhat similar to side 2 of "2112" (which was their breakout album and next in the discography). "Bastille Day" could be compared to anything on the debut album except a little more hard and slightly more progressive. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is possibly more like a radio hit along the lines of the song "Fly By Night". "Lakeside Park" is a reflective song and less interesting of the three.

The last track is another longer suite also centered around a theme/story. This one is probably the reason why people feel the album is unpolished and incomplete, because that is what I felt when first listening to the album. However, you can understand where the "2112" suite came from when listening to this because there are some similarities, even though it isn't as good. There are a lot of heavy and mellow passages. The drum solo that makes up the 2nd part of this suite is awesome, but short. Unfortunately, it still adds to the inconsistent feeling of the suite. I believe the main part and best part of this suite is in the 3rd part which has a great slow guitar solo. The fault in this particular suite that I think discounts the opinions of most people who listen to this album is the suite ends without any kind of explosive climax like most of their long pieces and the suite never returns back to the amazing sound of the 3rd part. The 4th part, "Panacea" however is a beautiful acoustic ballad, but unfortunately is the last highlight of the album and there are 2 more underwhelming parts to the suite that end the album. This is probably why most consider the album not on the same par as the other heavy masterworks that the band would produce subsequently. To make matters worse, on the Archive collection (which I owned on 8 track) the suite is presented out of order and intermixed with other tracks. I didn't even know it was a suite until I got the vinyl version.

Anyway, I love this album despite it's flaws and it remains one of my favorite Rush releases, mainly because of "The Necromancer". But there are enough other redeeming qualities that make it worthwhile in my opinion. I find it an excellent addition to my prog collection and will rate it at a strong 4 stars. The best is yet to come though.

I think most hardcore Rush fans are aware of Caress of Steel's infamous reputation at this point, but I'll give a small rundown of it for the uninitiated. Essentially, this is Rush's darkest hour commercially and critically; the tour to support the album was even called the "Down the Tubes" tour by the band themselves due to poor sales and concert attendance. As you'd imagine, the group must have thought the end was near and that they'd have to disband at their label's insistence. After all, they were completely unwilling to heed any advice about becoming more commercial and accessible, eventually paving the way for what would become the super-successful 2112 and its highly ambitious title epic. But for all we know about the latter record, is Caress of Steel really as bad as critics once proclaimed?

Hell no. Granted, I can actually see why they might not have taken to it at first; playing progressive rock in the 70s, while commercially sound for some bands, was also like painting a huge target on your chest for music critics. And one look at the Caress of Steel must have been very striking back then: five songs? Two epics, one of them 20 minutes? For comparison, the longest song they'd made up to that point was "By-Tor and the Snow Dog," at a mere eight-and-a-half minutes. It may not have helped either that the lyrics were starting to become more impenetrable and complex, especially on the side-two epic "Fountain of Lamneth." But the more you dig into this album, the more fascinating and ambitious it starts to become. I'm not going to say this was just too forward-thinking for the critics back then, but I am of the idea that Caress of Steel was the true beginning of what we would come to know as "classic Rush" for the rest of the 70s and early 80s.

The tracklist is very much a tale of two sides. That is to say, a merging of two styles: tracks 1-3 are more in a riff-heavy hard rock vein consisting of tighter, leaner arrangements. Tracks 4-5 are the lengthy epics that focus on weightier topics and consist of several different sections spliced together. With such a short tracklist, I suppose it would be smart to tackle both parts of the album separately and start with the shorter tunes. For starters, "Bastille Day" is one of the best openers Rush ever conjured up; the hard punk-ish riffs meld perfectly with the bombastic solos and varied drumming, while Neil Peart's lyrics are just as grand as the music itself. It's a wonderful mix of the heavy and the grandiose, a great way to usher in this new phase of Rush. Finally, Geddy Lee's shrill vocal style works really well with the aggression of the song and gives it even more personality.

The other two songs, however, serve as more of a farewell to Rush early Cream/Zeppelin-inspired stuff, consisting of more bluesy riffs and simplistic lyrics. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is Peart's tale about how it might feel to grow old and watch the world around you change, so at least it's a bit more deep than the title suggests. But at the same time, it's definitely the weakest song here; the simple rock riffs and lack of variety make it stick out like a sore thumb against the more nuanced material here. "Lakeside Park" is a nice little trip down memory lane with Peart giving us a glimpse into some of his childhood; the riffs are also a bit more varied here, combining distorted and clean guitar tones to great effect.

Then we reach the real reason this album tanked: the epics. Interestingly enough, this section of the record is where I can give the most pros and cons at the same time. So let's get the negative out of the way: first of all, you can tell the band were still trying to find their footing as far as lengthy arrangements go. Instead of the smooth transitions you hear in future epics like "Xanadu" and "Book II: Hemispheres," both of Caress of Steel's epics feature choppy transitions that usually involve awkward fade-outs and tonal inconsistencies. This is especially prevalent on "The Fountain of Lamneth," which really could have done with some more editing in the studio. And it's a shame, because the individual sections are fantastic (trust me, I'll get to this). On the positive side, however, "The Necromancer" - whose lyrics are entirely based on The Lord of the Rings - fares a bit more smoothly; the shifts between tremendous metal riffs and foreboding soft passages is incredibly effective, and the middle section might just be the beginning of progressive metal as we know it. Seriously, that main riff is every bit as heavy as Black Sabbath's doom riffs were at the time. And again, "Fountain of Lamneth" does feature incredible moments, especially in the more Genesis-inspired soft passages like "No One at the Bridge" and "Panacea" (check out the Steve Hackett influence in Alex Lifeson's guitar work here!). It's also nice to hear how "In the Valley" and "The Fountain" tie into each other to give thematic unity to the overall epic.

Caress of Steel occupies a weird place in Rush's discography. It could effectively be considered the real beginning of what we know as Rush's signature style, but it's also a transitional wave goodbye to the band's less sophisticated past. But just know: whatever crap you've heard over the years about this record, you'll likely find it better than what those people have said. It's flawed, but those flaws are part of what gives it its unique character. It's clearly a stepping stone for a young band, but one that showed a band already poised to take over the rock world? even if people didn't realize it quite yet.

3 and a half stars rounded up to 4.

Caress Of Steel has always been that controversial album in Rush's early catalog. This was Rush's "self indulgent" album or more accurately the album that took them from hard rockers to successful fusers of hard rock and prog. The transition didn't happen overnight and COS shows this transition. This would be the first record, from here on out, that Neil would handle the bulk?if not all of the lyrics. Rush pulled out all of the stops on COS. Determined to display their Yes and Genesis influences, they produced a somewhat uneven album riddled with some ideas that didn't age very well and a side long epic that just misses the mark. The dark and gloomy cover depicts the music perfectly even though the color wasn't what the band intended.

But COS is still a very good record nonetheless.

Bastille Day kicks this album off with a classic hard rocker about the French revolution. They nailed it with this tune. One of their best.

I Think I'm Going Bald. Goofy title that turns out to be a nice introspective on aging. A hard rocker that would have benefitted from better production. To me the lyrics save this one in a big way. I heard a Rush tribute band play this tune and it sounded killer. This recording just lacks balls.

Lakeside Park. Another Rush classic that reminisces about Neil Peart's youth on Victoria day at a lakeside amusement park he used to go to as a kid. Amazing melodic guitar work that sounds to me like a cross between Roye Albrighton and Steve Hackett. A wonderfully crafted song.

The Necromancer. Rush's 1st attempt at a serious epic. Starts off with some spoken word narration which was a decent twist but sounds very dated now. A short story of 3 travelers who were captured by an evil necromancer and then were saved by Prince By-Tor. A fun song with some great melodies and some very hard rock that ultimately fails. Not their best work conceptually but they created some great instrumental atmospheres and you can see where their chops and dynamics are taking shape.

The Fountain Of Lamneth is their first side long epic. Here Rush attempts to make a story that 20 minutes would not be enough time to give it the quality it might deserve. They still do a pretty good job of telling the story of a man's desperate attempt to reach his goal by rejecting conventional wisdom and ultimately finding out that the end wasn't as wonderful as he thought. There is some great music here and the epic is bookended nicely but not all of the parts are great and the story is rushed (!). The album Clockwork Angels will take this basic idea much further. Still some great melodic guitar work, drums and passionate vocals are to found.

My biggest complaint about this record is the production. Rush were establishing themselves as a very hard rock band with their first 2 albums. COS sounds softer, more subdued even during the harder parts. It lacks bite but somehow, in retrospect, serves this record in a strange way, making it darker and gloomier?giving this album a character of its own. This production and the coherent storytelling will be seriously rectified on their next release.

Rush - Caress of Steel

"Caress of Steel" is the third studio album from hard rock/progressive rock band Rush. With the addition of drummer Neil Peart on the previous album, Rush's music and lyrics had gotten more complex while still primarily playing bluesy hard rock. "Caress of Steel" takes the complexity to the next level, featuring not one, but two epic tracks exceeding the 10-minute mark. This album shows Rush become the progressive heavy/hard rock behemoth they're known as today.

"Caress of Steel" expands upon what Rush was experimenting with on "Fly By Night", as there are full epic song-structures as heard in the last two songs, folk-rock influences in 'Lakeside Park', while also getting heavier. The opening two songs 'Bastille Day' and 'I Think I'm Going Bald' are pure killer heavy rocking songs, especially the former which opens the album with heavy speeding riffing. 'Lakeside Park' continues with some of the folk sounds from the previous album, but it sounds much more focused then the experimentation with it on its predecessors. It's actually one of my favorites from the album, and it's nice and calm yet rocking at the same time.

The first of the two epics and my favorite song on the album, 'The Necromancer', is actually part two of the story from the song 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' from the last album. 'The Necromancer' and the following epic really set the standard for future Rush epics, having different parts all having their own distinct sound. The beginning opens up with spoken word and later gets a bluesy Pink Floyd-vibe to it.The second part shows Rush at perhaps one of their heaviest moments. There's some killer Sabbath-esque sludgy guitar, and Lee's menacing vocals and screams sure makes this part sound like proto-doom metal. What better contrast to sludgy guitar can you have but a great blistering guitar solo. The song ends on an uplifting note with some joyful folk guitar and a solo.

The final song on the album is the 20-minute behemoth, 'The Fountain of Lamneth'. This is an six-segment epic full of variation, going from heavy riffing, menacing melodies, beautiful classical/acoustic guitar work, and more. One of the most amazing parts of the song is part two, 'Didacts and Narpets', which is basically a drum solo with chaotic drum rolls and guitar blasts.

Overall, "Caress of Steel" is a perfect combination of different sounds, and really shows Rush doing all that they do best; heavy blistering rock and complex hard rock epics. A true underrated classic, and one of my favorite Rush albums. "Caress of Steel" is not only a fantastic album, but it led to many future Rush albums with it's approach to balancing out hard rock and heavy progressive epic songs. This is a great starting point for someone getting into 70's Rush, and also essential listening for any fans of classic hard rock.

When I talk to my friends and family members who grew up listening to heavy metal and hard rock music through the early 70's, I'll always ask them for stories about the heavy music back then. They'll say that among the 70's metalheads, Led Zeppelin were overrated, Deep Purple was the best thing ever, and when I ask them about Caress of Steel, they say it was one of the most awesome albums when it came out (2112 pretty much blew their minds, but let's focus on this one). Apparently something like "Bastille Day" was absolutely insane in 1975, let alone a song like "The Necromancer" or the twenty minute "The Fountain of Lamneth".

Too many people judge Caress of Steel from the standpoint of 2112, and forget to realize that without the pioneering done on this record, 2112 might not have happened. Even if you completely take away all historical importance from this album, it's still a pretty awesome record. 2112 this is not, but this album has a sense of unbridled aggression in tandem with a value of beauty that rarely showed up on other Rush albums. You've got the sheer anger of "Bastille Day", the down-to-earth beauty of "Return of the Prince" and "Lakeside Park", even the carefree rocker that is "I think I'm Going Bald". Even if the songwriting had yet to fully blossom, the musicianship here is top notch.

The A side of this record is the best part, as it has not only "The Necromancer", but it opens with freaking "Bastille Day". "Bastille Day" is one of Rush's most aggressive tracks of the 70's featuring a set of riffs that'll more than destroy your face hole and a rhythm section that still rivaled work from 10 years later. Oh yeah, and not to mention Geddy's wicked vocals! This album is one of the best Geddy's voice has seen, with both a great use of range and an ear splitting aggression that makes you bang your head and grit your teeth. Even the silliest song on the album, "I Think I'm Going Bald", has a gritty, heavy, riff happy feel to it that makes it an enjoyable song. "The Necromancer" is really freaking awesome, it takes a long time for it to grow on you, but just listen to the section called "Return of the Prince"; you can thank me later. "Return of the Prince" is my favorite part of the whole record, this song sings to your soul; just beautiful.

Side B of Caress of Steel is home of one twenty minute epic track entitled "The Fountain of Lamneth". This part of the record is great too, but it does take a while to get going. This song is sort of a blueprint for "2112", it's split into a handful of different movements with different intensities. The song also stretches the legs of Rush's narrative songwriting, which is something I adore about this band. The song is generally strong, but it suffers from a lack of continuity. Each section is separated from its neighboring section by too much silence or interluding. Don't get me wrong, long tracks are always the best when they are written flawlessly, but I can't help but feel as if "The Fountain of Lamneth" would've benefited from being separated into six different songs. All that being said, "The Fountain of Lamneth" is a definite high in Rush's career, and it marked a point in which they were exploring more and more musically.

The strengths of "The Fountain of Lamneth", however, are extremely evident, and naysayers should keep listening, as there is some musical gold found here. The soft, acoustic-led passages are all amazing, and Geddy's soft singing is a perfect conveyance of the narrative lyrics. The most aggressive sections of this song are quite progressive in nature and they show off Rush's early dexterity in handling tight musical situations. The best sections of "The Fountain of Lamneth" are definitely "Panacea" and "Bacchus Plateau" whose upbeat natures are just fantastic; I wish they were longer. As a whole, "The Fountain of Lamneth" pales when compared to "2112", "Hemispheres" or "Natural Science", but one must remember this was accomplished at a relatively early stage in Rush's career, and the song stands on its own as a true work of art.

The musicianship is fantastic, as it is on every Rush album. Neil's drumming began to really take shape on Caress of Steel, as was his lyricism. Neil makes frequent use of outstanding fills and unique rhythms, and they helped prove that Neil would soon be heralded as the greatest drummer of all time. Geddy's bass was also taking shape into the heavy, loud, and gritty tone that would dominate the later 70's Rush records. His tone is still somewhat hollow, but it is much louder than on the previous albums and Ged allows his Ricky to flex its muscles. His playing is also more pronounced, using many more bass fills and quick runs. The furious bass playing of "Bastille Day" rips through your ears with its complex fills and gritty attack. The rest of the album also features this style, and it's quite interesting listening to Geddy's bass tone caught in the middle of the early 70's and late 70's Rush eras.

The star of the show for this album is Alex Lifeson. The gritty, gain-choked guitar tone present on this album is much more suited here than it was on 2112, actually. All of Alex's guitar solos are fantastic, especially those on "Bacchus Plateau" and "Return of the Prince". The riffs Alex plays are all heavy and driving; another thing that makes this album a bit unique. When Alex isn't playing sweet melodies, he's playing heavy, almost metal tinged swinging riffs that propel things along in an awesome fashion. I've always loved Alex's playing on this album, it really is top notch.

Caress of Steel really shouldn't be judged in comparison to 2112. Why so many people do this I know not why, but the album really isn't a mess, it's not annoying, it's not weak; it's just a necessary step Rush had to take. In my opinion, the results are fabulous, the album is home to some brilliant musicianship and lyricism. Sure, "I Think I'm Going Bald" might be Rush's second most ridiculous song lyric-wise, but there's also "The Necromancer", "Bastille Day" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". It's safe to say the good totally overtakes the bad here. I wouldn't recommend this be a newcomer's first Rush listen, but it definitely deserves some attention. In the end, Caress of Steel is a very strong album deserving of more recognition and praise than it gets.

"But they're marching to Bastille Day La guillotine will claim her bloody prize! Free the dungeons of the innocent The king will kneel, and let his kingdom rise!"

Originally written for The Metal Archives

Rush' first attempts at epics

Not often cited by fans, "Caress of Steel" is the first RUSH album to feature a 20 minutes long epic and to clearly exposes the band's entrance in the progressive world, already well occupied by their British elders. Composed only a few months after the release of "Fly By Night", this third studio opus was a bit experimental and risky for the Canadians. Still based on catchy hard rock and slightly on early heavy metal, the songs become more complex by incorporating more and more rhythm changes, however the result is not well mastered yet.

One word about the cover art: for the first time, it was conceived by artist Hugh Syme. Since then, he designed the covers of all the band's albums. The line-up is not the only stable thing in RUSH's universe...

As you may guess, the French revolution is the theme of "Bastille Day", the "Caress of Steel" referring to the guillotine. As "Anthem" from the previous record, this track is a powerful and aggressive opener, with a fast riff quite devastating for the time. This song will become a concert favorite. "I Think I'm Going Bald" is a heavy rock'n'roll with some cool variations and sonorities, as a kind of AC/DC-meets-LED ZEPPELIN. Describing a place near Lake Ontario where Neil Peart used to go, "Lakeside Park" is a sweet romantic ballad with pretty acoustic guitar moments. Enjoyable. Inspired by Tolkien, the mini-epic "The Necromancer" offers various atmospheres. The beginning is a little floydian and resembles space rock, then turns into an oppressive ambiance. It also contains a heavy metal jam. Epic and not very common! The result is not extraordinary but remains pleasant.

Also based on heroic fantasy themes, the 20 minutes long suite "The Fountain Of Lamneth" was RUSH's most ambitious composition at the time. However, the overall lacks coherency, unity, and is still a bit immature. Starting with a soapy acoustic passage, it alternates cool riffing accelerations and soft pastoral pauses. This epic contains nice instrumental sections and even display glimpses of "2112" though, nonetheless the main problem here is that the flow is not mastered enough, resulting in abrupt transitions. After all, maybe "The Fountain Of Lamneth" was a necessary draft for the future heavy prog suites to come...

For sure, "Caress of Steel" is uneven and not well balanced, but contains good passages. If you enjoyed "Fly By Night", you'll enjoy this disc too. RUSH is just entering the progressive world at a time the Britishs has already vastly explored the genre. Therefore the album won't sell much and will cause the band to tour in bars, on the edge of bankruptcy.

So, is this the end for our Canadians? What new progressive musical ideas could they possibly offer in 1976, at a time punk was emerging?

Unless the musicians combine their punchy heavy / hard rock with the complexity of their rhythmical structures...

REVIEW #6 - "Caress of Steel" by Rush (1975)

The second of two albums released by Rush in 1975, and the one following the moderately successful "Fly by Night", this album represents a major shift towards conventional prog rock by the band. Some prog themes had been given rise thanks to the inclusion of new drummer Neil Peart, but "Caress of Steel" is the album which veers away from the shorter, more commercially-friendly songs the band had put out on their first two albums. A failure, it nearly had the band dropped from their record label, as it sold poorly and its accompanying tour was also a wash. Nevertheless, the album has gained a cult following by many die-hard Rush fans over the years, with some claiming it's their most underrated album. Bassist Geddy Lee has also made known that the band was "pretty high" during the recording of this album - which may explain the crazy concepts and ambitious nature of some of the tracks on this album.

The album starts off with a conventional hard rock song titled "Bastille Day" (4/5), and is about the French Revolution. A rocking song, made better by the wailing voice of Lee, it is a surprisingly good and catchy track with an interesting theme. No problem there, but the following track is a complete 180 degree turn - "I Think I'm Going Bald" (1/5), a song inspired by Canadian Kim Mitchell and the KISS song "Goin' Blind", it is uninteresting and the humor does not appeal to me. This track certainly would have been a better fit for a B- side than on an actual studio album. One of the worst Rush songs in my opinion, this is just one I have to look over, for I know this band is better than what this song conveys. The last "short" track on the album is "Lakeside Park" (3/5), an early favorite at Rush concerts. About the nightlife of a 1970's Ontario town, it is a very soothing and comfortable song that provokes the nostalgia of careless teenage life. The lone single off the album, and not looked upon favorably by Lee, it is a good track, and that's about it. What comes next is the first ever prog epic by the band, "The Necromancer" (5/5), coming in at over twelve minutes. With fantasy themes inspired by Tolkien, it is split into three parts - a build-up, a very heavy middle part, and an acoustic closer. There are many bright spots on this song, ranging from the inclusion of narrations by Peart between the three parts and the jamming of guitarist Alex Lifeson, to the inclusion of the third part "Return of the Prince"; the prince being By-Tor from the previous album who now as a hero, slays the evil antagonist of the story. All in all, a very solid song and worthy of playing over and over again.

The epic "Fountain of Lamneth" (5/5) occupies the entire second side. The longest song on the album at one second shy of twenty minutes, it is based upon the journey from birth to death, or rather an allegory. The protagonist is searching for the fountain, which can be an analogy for the mythical fountain of youth. Detailing birth, adolescence, love, heartbreak, aging, and death in six parts, this song is certainly ambitious. A rather pretentious song at times, it is very well thought out and has very good passages, ranging from soft acoustic parts to jamming guitar passages and even a drum solo by Peart. The beginning and ending parts are also book-ended to possibly symbolize the endless circle of life or the return to nothingness at death. An interesting concept, and a definite thumper, this track is indeed an underrated masterpiece - overlooked and now serves as the first true epic the band would create.

"Caress of Steel" was not well received by their label, Mercury. Demanding that the band create a more commercially friendly album, they threatened the band with dropping them - into sheer irrelevancy. However, the band decided to ignore the label's demands, and went to creating a similarly ambitious album with another twenty-minute piece, and no truly radio-friendly songs. Thankfully, that album was "2112", and it propelled the band to stardom. A great story of perseverance, and a lesson to everyone of being resilient and never giving up, without the band's stubbornness, we would see Rush as another obscure prog rock band, sucked up by the sands of time. I can see how fans love this album - it has pretty good examples of prog, and the epics are pretty strong, but this album simply is hampered by the awful second track. A great listen for hardcore Rush fans and those who want to delve further into the seemingly endless abyss of 1970's prog.

OVERALL: 3.6/5 (C-)

When I first heard Rush I was just a little boy in the 80's, maybe 7 or 8 years old. My brother, 7+ years older than me was already a Rush fan. He was and still is a fan of Power Windows, and I also can recall he owned from Permanent Waves onto Hold Your Fire. One day, he got hold of a copy of Caress of Steel. My young, impressionable mind was surprised, almost I can say startled. Was this the same band that played "The Big Money" and "Force Ten"? Was that the same vocalist that sang "Tom Sawyer" and " The Spirit of the Radio"? Everything sounded so heavy, so dark; a song called "The Necromancer" felt so satanic and blasphemous!

More than 30 years have passed, and my way of thinking has obviously changed. Although I cannot say Caress of Steel is a favorite from Rush's catalog, I do not share the same maligned opinion many have towards this album. It's true we do not have here a real progressive rock album. Rush was still in its formative stage, breaking away from its hard rock cocoon, but it would be only a few months when they would finally find their musical niche. This album marked their final sprint towards their (perhaps unwilling and unknowing) goal of Prog.

For that reason, we cannot expect a masterpiece here. There are very good moments and bad moments in it. On the good side, we have the two epics, the above mentioned "The Necromancer" and side two's much criticized "The Fountain of Lamneth". I personally don't find any significant faults in any of those. "The Necromancer", with its interesting story featuring the very By-Tor himself as the hero, has one of the best guitar solos in Alex Lifeson's repertoire. A real shredder hightened by the mad bass track and crazy drumming. And while it's true that "The Fountain" lacks cohesiveness and abounds with pomposity, I justify it with a simple lack of maturity and experience; perhaps the "By-Tor & the Snow Dog/ The Necromancer" experiments were successful only by chance. Whatever the case, I still find this epic quite enjoyable, its instrumentation a successful enterprise of precision and ability.

On the negative side, "I Think I'm Going Bald" is a sad regression to the debut album. Its melody is very similar to the classic (but not very good) "In the Mood" . Pitiful, uninspired lyrics, found Neil Peart with writer's block, so this what he came up with. But what the hell, this was the 70's! "Bastille Day", although a concert favorite is not exactly my darling; I find it a little dull and repetitive. "Lakeside Park" is an ok, kind of sweet and sentimental song if you lived in the time and place of the story, but not the brightest star around.

3.5 stars for trying, rounded to 3 because of the aforementioned songs.

By early to mid 1975, the Canadian Prog trio Rush already had two albums under their belts (Rush and Fly by Night). Their debut (simply entitled Rush) did ok by record company standards but Fly by Night was a little different. They (the band's record label) were not too thrilled about it. Their record label was not buying the music that they were making as they pretty much wanted Rush to be a top 40 radio hit rock band. The band did not want to as they simply refused to conform to their record company demands. We then got yet another "odd recording," Caress of Steel was the result. With 1975's Caress of Steel, the band had pretty much arrived at a low point (in terms of sales and reception from critics and the record company). It was not doing so well. They even half-heartedly and jokingly dubbed their Caress of Steel tour the "Down the Tubes tour." However, it was not the case with everyday people listening to the band's music as the band was also gaining somewhat of a devoted and loyal following (this didn't become as evident until the next album). This album has tended to be somewhat of a divider between Rush fans though. Some love it, some hate it. How do I feel about it? Let's see. On to the actual review of the recording, 1975's Caress of Steel.

1) Bastille Day - The album opens up with the heavy and raucous track with Lee belting out the lyrics soon after. The bass, the drums and guitars are in full effect and I find it to be yet another perfect example of early Progressive Metal(I believe Rush to be the Fathers of the genre but it is certainly debatable) You could tell that the band was working hard to perfect this track. It has a great and memorable melodious chorus and ending. One of the tracks that made me fall in love with this band's music. 10/10

2) I Think I'm Going Bald - This track follows Bastille Day and it is yet another loud and raucous rocker. Although the lyrics are a complete cheesefest the metalhead in me is quite fond of the rocking nature of this song. Though a bit on the underdeveloped side I still enjoy it somewhat. It is my least favorite track on the album. 7/10

3) Lakeside Park - With this track we get something that sounds a little similar to something off of Fly by Night but also different, more refined and more melodious with Lee's bass carrying the song (for me at least). The ending to this track is absolutely outstanding with Lee sincerely singing the following lines: "Everyone would gather, on the 24th of May, sitting in the sand to watch the fireworks display. Dancing fires on the beach, singing songs together, though it's just a memory some memories last forever." You could tell that the band was trying harder. It's not super complex but I love this track. 10/ 10

Now we get to the most controversial part of the album. The part where some tune out. For me however, it's what makes the album quite an experience. On with the following 2 tracks no??

4) The Necromancer - When I first heard this Rush epic I was instantly amazed by it as I had not heard anything like it (not even by Pink Floyd, the band that pretty much started my Prog listening adventure). This track begins in a rather dark and foreboding manner with some Gilmouresque solos from Alex (It reminds me a bit of a track off of The Wall or Animals by Pink Floyd (this album was released a good 2 and 4 years earlier respectively though)) before becoming an explosive and very heavy track (Led Zeppelin and even Black Sabbath eat your hearts out). The band goes bonkers for a bit (with some piercing playing by Lifeson, Lee and Peart) before it calms down. The ending to this track is absolutely gorgeous. I find it to be yet another perfect example of early Progressive Metal. Rush are the Fathers of the genre I tell you.10/10

5) The Fountain of Lamneth - This track is the mammoth of the album and I adore it. Starts off with some beautiful acoustic guitar work from Lifeson before becoming yet another explosive track. Peart afterwards delivers a thunderous drum solo that I quite enjoy. The track then becomes a haunting number when it heads to the No One at the Bridge portion. The band delivers some fantastic work on this portion of the song (very, very epic). Personally, I find this track to be an absolute work of art. I knew that when I first heard this track I knew I found my type of music. I love, love, love it. 10/10

Overall, despite what the band says about it and despite what the record company and critics say. I find it to be an ambitious work of art that should be in everyone's prog collection. Highly recommended especially for those who like heavier progressive music. 5 stars!!

Rush's second album "Fly by Night" had some hints of prog but "Caress of Steel" is where they truly dove headfirst into progressive rock. This is definitely their most underrated release, with a lot of people saying the epic tracks are too long but I've always really enjoyed this album.

"Bastille Day" is the album opener and what an opener it is! The energy in this song is incredible with it's instantly memorable hard rocking guitar riffs and amazingly tight rhythm playing from all 3 of the guys. The intensity lets up a bit for the choruses and the bridge but kicks back in for Alex Lifeson's awesome (as usual) solo. Killer track and one of my favourite short Rush songs.

"I Think I'm Going Bald" continues the hard rock theme with it's meaty guitar lines and lyrics that are sometimes humorous but witty and relatable for probably anyone who's over 20 or so. Another very solid song.

Track 3, "Lakeside Park", is a much more laid back affair with mostly clean guitars and sentimental lyrics about the carefree times of youth. Another theme that's very relatable for almost anyone. Stellar playing on this song too which demonstrates Rush's ability to take it down a few notches when they want to while still retaining great hooks and musicianship.

"The Necromancer" is the final track of side one and the first epic song of the album, clocking in at 12 and a half minutes. I think I've loved this song since the first time I ever the amazingly beautiful and melancholic guitar intro. Probably one of my favourite riffs ever. The narration sets a very bleak and foreboding tone before the drums kick in. After a couple minutes we get to a cool start/stop riff with nice guitar fills, then out of nowhere explodes a completely blistering extended solo from Lifeson. The rhythm underneath then switches to a great fast bass riff with the always superb drumming from Neil Peart to anchor it. The final section of the song is very uplifting with major guitar chords fitting the theme of the triumph of good over evil.

Side 2 is taken up by the band's first side-long track, "The Fountain of Lamneth". Even diehard Rush fans seem to be divided on this track and it is the main point for the controversy about this album in general. I won't go into a lot of detail describing it since there are so many parts to it but in my opinion this song is just about as good as "2112" with a great variety of moods ranging from very gentle, pastoral passages to melancholic and heavy as well. Above all however there are a ton of awesome guitar riffs. My favourite is probably the one that first appears at 5:20 and sounds like it could be taken striaght from an Opeth song (obviously the other way arounf though!). There are a few sections of the song that I'm not crazy about but there are very few prog epics I've heard (and I know quite a few) where I can honestly say I love every part. This one would not be in my top 5 favourites or anything but it's still very good.

Overall, this album gets much more flak than it deserves. It's not my absolute favourite Rush album but I still love it and I think anyone who is into prog should disregard the low rating here on PA and at least give it a chance.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

Here I am finally grappling with Rush, the progenitors of Heavy Prog. Very considered by fans of progressive in America, little considered in Europe (in Italy, at least). But just for this, I take care of Rush: I listened to them very carefully, trying not to be influenced from the evaluations of european critics.

This is the third album by this canadian group. The first that tries an evolution into prog. The first song "Bastille Day" (4:36, vote 7,5) is a good example of hard rock, Black Sabbath debtor. The second track maybe is the worse of the Lp. Not a really bad song but... a confuse song that goes nowhere ("I think I'm Going Bald", 3:35, vote 6). The guitar riffs (Alex Lifeson) are the best sound, in my opinion, produced by the record. The players are all very skilled, but what lacks so far is the musical writing, the composition. The third song is the slowest, almost a ballad, and it is definitely lacking in music ("Lakeside Park, 4:07, vote 6,5). The voice (Geddy Lee) is coarse and I confess that makes me regret Robert Plant. So far the rating would be two stars.

Here comes "The Necromancer", twelve and a half minutes, divided in three movements. A short suite. Maybe this long piece could take higher the rating... but after a recitative, the music starts, with a certain inertia and a good guitar arpeggio. Then the song stops again, in fact it is hard to take off, but here comes an instrumental part heavy rock and roll, rather forced. Finally with the guitar solo the mini suite can melt, and then you can also hear the great work on bass and drums (Neil Peart). Then comes a piece at high speed (speed rock?), with guitar virtuosity and great repetition. The problem in my opinion with heavy metal are precisely the forced and repetitive steps. Then the third movement begins, with another recitative, and with an acoustical passage. This mini suite in the complex is rather blurry. Vote 7+.

Average side A: 6,81. Vote side A: 6,5.

Side B is entirely occupied by "The Fountain of Lamneth" (19:50), suite divided into six movements, which starts slowly with a piece of acoustic guitar, then comes a hard rock part, followed by a tour de force on the drums, which finally takes place, leaving room for a moment of silence. Another movement, another forced hard rock part, another silence. I dont understand suite with a break between a movement and another. Then comes an acoustic ballad, maybe the best piece on the entire album. Then a silent pause again, following by an electric ballad and then by a powerful hard rock. Acoustic tail. What do I think about the suite? Alternates some moments of high quality and few moments of low quality, on the whole does not take of. Vote suite and side B: 7,5

This Lp does not convince me, it did not succeed (in my opinion) despite the great effort and great performance of the three musicians. The quality of the musicians and their high ambitions also allow the album to be more than dignified. It has opened new paths to prog, and is therefore a forerunner of the albums to come, which are definitely better achieved, have a much clearer focus.

Medium quality side A and side B: 7 Vote album: 7. Rating: Two (and a half) Stars.

Despite being one to praise bands for being ambitious and trying something out, even if it doesn't quite work out, I still feel like there's a limit to how much credit I can give. To make things clearer, let's just say that I completely understand how this album was a flop both critically and commercially. After the slight leaning on prog found on certain songs in Fly By Night, Rush clearly thought that they could go so much further, creating an album in which 2 of the songs are 10 minutes or over, one of them almost 20. The issue with this is that the band seemed to be lacking ideas in the music department, with songs that while capturing more of the sound that Rush was to have, didn't change the fact that the songs sounded very uninspired all thoughout, the biggest offenders being the two epics, which both lack cohesion and sounded heavily padded.

The best song on the album is also the opening song, Bastille Day, and even it doesn't really match up to previous albums in terms of quality. It's a short, energetic song embracing a more metal tinged sound, but I personally find the riffs to be lackluster and everything to just sound kinda flat. The melody for the chorus is quite nice, and the solo is alright, but nothing here stands out to me, it's just an average song. I Think I'm Going Bald somehow manages to miss the one thing that has made Rush consistently great, even during weaker releases, incredible instrumentation, with the majority of the song sounding extremely bland, with awful lyrics and easily one of the most poorly executed solos that Alex Lifeson has performed within Rush's career, with nothing seeming to come together quite right at all, the mixing especially being off, with the guitar coming through really scratchily in places, further diminishing the enjoyment to be found here. Lakeside Park is also nothing particularly bad, although once again, I do find it to be quite unimpressive, defiitely being one of the weaker mid paced tracks Rush has put out, feeling very by the numbers in essentially every way, although Neil Peart does add some nice flair to aspects of the song. The worst part of the album is undoubtedly the final 2 songs however, and I'll talk about both of them interchangeably, as they both feel very similar to me, and both have the exact same problems. These songs both have some aspects os them which are great, such as the slow, atmospheric section of The Necromancer or the insane drum solo in Fountain Of Lamneth, but these are quickly replaced with either generic, or straight up bad sections that display next to nothing of any merit. This is especially present in the Fountain, as the back half of it is mostly comprised of slow passages that lack any sort of decent melody or beauty, being boring to a painful extent, especially when factoring just how long the song is. There's also the issue where even riffs that by all means should sound really great to me, just don't, the placement in the songs and the common lack of cohesion is what I say is to blame, with each song feeling like a variety of concepts and riffs loosely strung together, giving no moment any particular impact at all, no matter how good it could otherwise be. I just cannot enjoy anything to do with these in the slightest, and considering how much of the album they take up, it reflects the album extremely poorly.

While some people enjoy this album, and I cannot fault them for that, I personally find this album to be an absolute black hole of entertainment, and never has 44 minutes felt so long to me than when trying to actively listen to this album. The shorter songs lack the punch that their others tend to, and their more progressive compositions fall flat on their faces, easily being some of the most boring prog music I've heard. I'm very glad that Rush managed to bring out so many excellent albums past this point, but this album is one that I don't really plan on ever returning to.

Best tracks: Bastille Day

Weakest tracks: I think I'm Going Bald, The Necromancer, Fountain of Lamneth

Verdict: I genuinely cannot think of a single person that I would recommend this album to in good spirit, I find the best track on here to still be somewhat dull, and for almost the entire rest of it to be stuff that I honestly never want to hear again. To me, this is boring to a painful extent.

This is the most underrated and misunderstood Rush album. First of all, I want to say that I've been a big Rush fan for a while. With most bands, It's not super difficult to pick out a definitive "best" album for them, but with Rush, it's different. For me, Rush has at least 10 albums I could easily consider to be their best, and really, there's not a bad Rush album. The first time I listened to Caress Of Steel, I really liked it. I'd heard Bastille Day on a compilation album before, but not the rest of the tracks. I was honestly kinda shocked to see that the general consensus online was that it's a bad album. A lot of Rush album ranking lists place Caress near the end of the list. A lot of people in their review, including Rush themselves, consider Caress to be one of their least favorite Rush albums. I get it though, Rush started out as a hard rock Zeppelin-esque band that didn't have many progressive tendencies. When they decided to try something new and more prog-like with Caress Of Steel, it was met with mixed receptions due to the pre-established audience the band had, as well as just general inexperience with creating progressive music. The album's sales and following tour nearly killed the band, and their record label wanted them to keep making their standard hard rock, no more prog. However, Rush essentially took what they learned from Caress Of Steel and tried to do it better. Boom, 2112 becomes Rush's breakthrough album and a huge success, launching Rush into a series of very very good progressive rock albums. So a lot of the complaints surrounding this album are logical and understandable, but I feel like people don't give Caress Of Steel enough credit. Caress Of Steel is a very good Rush album, definitely different, but very good. MUCH better than people give it credit for. The album opens with Bastille Day, a 4 and a half minute hard rock song similar to the stuff Rush did on their first and second albums. It's a good song, If I hadn't known the album name, I probably would've said it was from one of those first two albums. As far as an early Rush rocker goes, it's pretty standard, which is why this is most people's favorite song off the album. This is the one Caress Of Steel song that gets added to the "Best Of Rush" playlists and compilations. Next up is I Think I'm Going Bald, which is also a relatively short rocker, not too far from the first two Rush albums. However, it's the cheesy lyrics and just general unusualness of the song that throws a lot of people off. It's not a Rush song I listen too often and it's definitely the worst song on the album, but I still like it. It's got a goofy charm, especially with the way Geddy delivers the lyrics. But instrumentally, it tends to be a little generic and uninteresting. It's an alright song, but one a lot of people aren't too fond of. The last "regular song" on the album is Lakeside Park, an excellent 4 minute song with some more acoustic and phaser sounds that a lot of people will compare to Zeppelin, which I think there's nothing wrong with. I really like this one, it invokes feelings of nostalgia and fondness for the past, and just overall has a good mood. It adds variation to the album with the instrumentals, and it's overall a very good song. Even people who dislike the album will consider this to be among the great Rush songs. Again, this one feels like it could be on one of the first two Rush albums. A lot of fans were probably pretty confused when Caress released, because the last two tracks are full on prog rock epics, nothing like the shorter hard rock songs of the first two albums. However, the first three tracks, with the possible exception of I Think I'm Going Bald, are really great classic Rush tracks that resemble exactly what fans were used to at the time. It's really just the last two songs on the album, which are admittedly most of the album lengthwise, that people were frustrated about since they tend to be much longer than the standard 5 minute rock songs. They also have more grand themes, they're divided into parts, etc. They're definitely progressive rock songs, but in the style of the early Rush albums. So I understand not liking the change of genre between albums, but it's really only these last two tracks and they still sound like good old Rush! But lengthwise, they are pretty ambitious and lengthy for a band that typically didn't exceed 5 minute songs. You have to take into account though that the members of Rush were really into some prog bands like Yes, so it makes total sense that they would want to do something like this. Another complaint a lot of people have is that Rush just wasn't ready for such long tracks, and it shows in the music. I can understand this, they don't seem to be as refined as the other widely accepted "legendary prog epics," but they aren't that bad. The Necromancer is a 12 minute Lord Of The Rings/fantasy-inspired epic about an evil being that lives in a tower and terrorizes the people. Prince By-Tor (from the Fly By Night song, By-Tor And The Snow Dog, nice to see a familiar character despite the fact that he's the good guy now) eventually slays said evil being during the climax and is hailed as a hero by the people. The song is divided into three parts. Part 1 - Into The Darkness fades in and almost instantly paints a picture in your mind of the mood and setting of the song. Part of this is do to the excellent spoken and sung lyrics written by Neil Peart that really help set the mood and setting, but a lot of this is also due to the instrumental work done here. It's very atmospheric and I feel like it merges with the lyrics very well to create said atmosphere and setting. Neil and Geddy's rhythm section holds down a slow and heavy moving backing to the song that kind of conveys a feeling of dread and darkness while Alex's guitar work sounds like squealing creatures in the distance. This is one of the first times Rush went with this more atmospherical approach to music, where the sound of instruments and the way they're used tell a story just as much as the lyrics. This kind of music is often found in progressive rock and classical suites. Overall, the first part of the song is excellently done. While many may find the spoken part a little strange, I think it fits with the song perfectly. Everything just meshes together just right here. It almost feels like the opening to a movie. Part 2 - Under The Shadow starts with some kind of swirling sound in the background, almost as if the camera is panning over towards the tower where the Necromancer dwells and we're hearing the sounds of spirits in the air. Of course, the spoken part returns to help convey this message instead of leaving the music alone to do so. Some may criticize this use of a spoken part, as the instrumental parts and lyrics should be the main things telling the story, but I'll let it pass in this situation. The spoken part feels like a narrator reading from an ancient story, which fits the song well. However, I can understand this being perceived as unfitting for a song, or maybe a musically immature way to convey a message. I'm fine with it though. Neil's drums come in with a jarring pattern that's soon accompanied by equally jarring guitar and bass riffs that vary off a common riff theme. Geddy's piercing lyrics come in to complete this sonic image of a violent creature in this tower. I can just imagine it moving in uncanny ways and acting very foreboding and threatening. Again, picture painted perfectly. The riff keeps progressing until it unleashes into a bass/drum jam with a screaming guitar solo over it. In my mind, this really depicts some kind of battle between Prince By-Tor and The Necromancer, the rhythm section sounds like things are moving along, something's happening. The guitar solo playing over this sounds like something, presumably the necromancer, is screaming as if it's being stabbed. The music then plays some final-sounding descending notes before stopping, as if the necromancer is dead. Nope. Some kind of distorted growling sounds come out of nowhere, and the band comes back in full blast. Alex is playing a very fast guitar solo while Geddy plays this galloping frantic bass line. The death was a fake-out and the true battle is just beginning. I've heard some criticize this part of the song for being too long and drawn-out, but you have to interpret the music here to really understand what Rush is trying to get you to see here. This is a frantic, violent, and difficult battle against the necromancer, it's the climax of the song. Finally, the soloing comes to a stop and the band plays some very final-sounding instrumental parts, as if the last blows are being dealt to the necromancer before it's finally defeated. I feel like this segment could've ended a little better, it definitely sounds like the death of the necromancer, but it just isn't as strong as it could be though. Rush would get better at this in the near future, for example, the ending of 2112. Overall, another very very good segment of this song that does a fantastic job of telling the story. Part 3 - Return Of The Prince is a very victorious-sounding finale to the song, introduced with fading in major guitar arpeggios and spoken words explaining By-Tor's return after winning the battle. The song soon breaks into an acoustic guitar-infused Lakeside Park-esque part that sounds pretty similar to the stuff on the first two Rush albums again. Not too much to say about this part, it wraps up the song nicely. I feel like the acoustic guitar and drums aren't super interesting in this part, but Geddy and Alex have some good Bass and Electric Guitar parts going on here. However, after Geddy finishes his lyrics, this part of the song starts to feel a little repetitive. I think it could've used a little more variation in song structure here instead of just fading out after a while. I also think it would've made much more sense for Geddy to sing about "By-Tor slaying his foe" at the end of Part 2 instead of during the beginning of Part 3, which sounds like a celebration. I think it's just the way it's worded, it sounds like he's currently slaying his foe even though the battle technically already ended musically and we've already started the victorious finale. So taking that into consideration, Part 3 isn't quite as good as the other two parts of the song, and I can see why people would have complaints here, but it wraps up the song as a whole pretty well. The Necromancer overall is most likely the best song on the album. It's well balanced, does some really awesome instrumental things, and it it tells a cool fantasy story and portrays it well through a combination of the music, spoken parts, and lyrics. It also pairs really well with By-Tor And The Snow Dog from Fly By Night. I think it could easily appeal to people who are more into prog as well as the original Rush fans who loved the first two albums. This song, along with The Fountain Of Lamneth often get overlooked by Rush songs, and they're both great hidden gems from the Rush catalogue. Alright, now time for the final track from Caress Of Steel, the one that takes up the entire second side of the vinyl release. At a whole 20 minutes long, The Fountain Of Lamneth was a very ambitious song for the band to write at the time. While 2112 is around the same length, this was the first time Rush would attempt something like this. Making a good 20 minute prog song isn't easy, but this was Rush's first attempt. I personally really like this song a lot. (maybe more than 2112, don't kill me.) Many think Rush didn't quite get it right with this song, and it wouldn't be until 2112 when they did get it right. I can see that, The Fountain Of Lamneth isn't perfect, but it's still a great piece of music, and one of my favorite Rush tracks. Part 1 - In The Valley opens with a very nice acoustic guitar introduction, with some more calm vocals from Geddy. This sounds similar in style to some of the classical guitar work Alex Lifeson would do on later Rush albums, and it's very nice. The lyrics seem to portray new life, the birth of the unidentified protagonist. I think this song is up to interpretation a lot more than The Necromancer, which is cool because it could mean something totally different to different listeners. A lot of music is like this, this isn't unique to this song at all, it's just something Neil Peart is really good at, and this is one of the first times he really began writing like that for Rush. Many later Rush lyrics are really thought-provoking and up to interpretation in some situations, so it's cool to see the writing style shift. Drums, bass, and electric guitar come in via a pretty flawless transition. It doesn't feel very jarring at all, a very natural transition out of the acoustic part. This grander musical part goes on for a short while before another nice transition into what isn't technically part 2, but more like the second part of part 1. At least musically it sounds like that, because the song opens and closes with a similar acoustic part that isn't listed as its' own part. There's a short rest before a very interesting and mood-changing chord is played afterwards to introduce the next "subpart of the first part." This is where In The Valley really begins for me. We've gotten the introductory stuff out of the way and all that, and the main core of part 1 is here. After said interesting chord change, we get some instrumental parts that actually sound similar to 2112, despite it not existing when this album was recorded. It's interesting to kind of see how Rush's sound evolved into 2112. Geddy comes in with vocals that still depict the start of a life, but this time in somewhat of a more violent manner. After the verse, Neil leads us into a softer acoustic part by Alex that makes up one of the most interesting parts of the whole album. I think the chord choices here are really good and definitely paint the picture of a shadowy valley, as the protagonist looks up at the mountain, lit up by a brilliant golden sunlight. At least that's what those chords make me think of. Overall, this part of the song is just great both instrumentally and vocally, the contrasting styles alternating between the softer acoustic-sounding part and the distorted more violent-sounding part are really nice. Definitely one of my favorite parts of this song and album. Part 2 - Didacts and Narpets is where the song gets a little weird. I've seen lots of criticism of this part. It begins with a drum solo by Neil that essentially lasts for the whole segment. It isn't a very long part, however. The drum solo stays interesting while it's the only instrument playing, and then it becomes background as Geddy and, believe it or not, Alex, come in with vocals. This part is designed to emulate adolescent conflict with authority. The drums constantly moving in the background over and over represent repeated conflict. Alex is saying things such as "Stay!" while Geddy responds with phrases like, "Go!" or whatever contradicts Alex's part. Alex represents authority figures and Geddy still represents the protagonist, although he's no longer young, he's grown up and it presumable in his teenage years now. These vocals are accompanied by guitar and bass parts, which pretty much only show up when the vocals do. This part ends abruptly with both Alex and Geddy shouting "Listen!" at the same time, ant the drums stop. This obviously represents how each side is set in their ways and is trying to get their own way. This whole part is about conflict. And while it could be more interesting musically, it resembles conflict well. However, it's one of the more controversial parts on the album, and a lot of people aren't a fan. I think it's fine. It's also interesting to hear one of the earliest Neil Peart drum solos, as well as some rare Alex Lifeson vocals, which hardly ever happen. Those are just things a Rush fan would find interesting though. Overall, a weaker point of the album, serves its purpose well, I'm fine with it. Part 3 - No One At The Bridge starts with clean guitar arpeggios fading in with a phaser effect on them. You can hear ocean waves in the background. This, plus allusions to the sea in the lyrics portray a feeling of uneasiness, like rocking in a ship out in the middle of an ocean at night. This part of the song represents loneliness, uncertainty and confusion, and just feeling lost. Later parts in the lyrics even invoke a feeling of desperation, as if the protagonist has made mistakes in his life, he's lost now, and he doesn't know if he can go further. This is a powerful part in the song, and one of my favorite moments on the album. I just feel like it's overall done very well. Lyrics here are powerful. The guitar solo here is also really awesome. This part actually feels kind of similar to part 1 of the necromancer, so it's got that atmospheric vibe going on. I especially love when the guitar solo transitions from the instrumental verse part of this part of the song to the chorus instrumental, that chord change is powerful. Overall a really solid part of the song. Part 4 - Panacea opens with really fantastic classical guitar by Alex, and beautiful mellow vocals from Geddy. This is the softer middle part of the song, the ballad. The lyrics get a little confusing here. Well, not necessarily confusing, it's just the transitions that don't exactly make things clear in The Fountain Of Lamneth. Like I said before, most of this song is allegorical and up to interpretation, but it can sometimes be a little unclear how the protagonist got where he is in each part of the song. It's kind of like if a movie left out the text on screen that tells you what happened between two scenes that were separated by a considerable amount of time. Nevertheless, this is a good ballad, and a nice soft middle to the song. Part 5 - Bacchus Plateau feels similar to some of the Rush stuff on the first two albums. It's got a steady tempo and drumming with some distorted chord work from the guitar and a standard Geddy Lee bass part. Not too many complaints here. The short bass solos and the longer guitar solo are great, and Geddy's got some really good vocals here. I actually think The Fountain Of Lamneth has some of the best Geddy Lee vocals ever to be honest. This part feels kind of similar to Part 3 of The Necromancer as well, it's got that same sort of feel. The lyrics here imply another time skip in the story, the protagonist now seems to be near the end of his life, he's much older now. Not entirely sure what the lyrics really mean here. A solid part of the song, maybe a tad bit boring, but the solos and things keep it interesting. I really do like the way the solos flow here. Part 6 - The Fountain opens with the same guitar part we heard at the start of the song in the second part of In The Valley. It's kind of neat having this musical motif come back at the end of the song as the protagonist is reaching the fountain and coming to conclusions about his life. The Fountain he reaches is not what he was expecting, he feels desperation again as he's discovering this. The Valley's theme returns again with Alex soloing over it. I've always interpreted that as the protagonist returning to the valley from the mountain. Nothing too new here other than lyrics and the guitar solo, we've heard this music before in the song. Some may consider that poor songwriting or laziness to just recycle part of the song again, but it works fine. This song is sort of structured in a way so that the beginning and end are the same instrumental part, implying that the protagonist has gone on this journey throughout his life, or "up the mountain" and now he's coming down back into the valley near the end of his life. The song finishes with the same acoustic guitar part we heard at the very beginning, but with different lyrics to represent the end of life instead of the beginning. I'm assuming the protagonist dies here, again, up to interpretation, but it just sounds very final and mellow. Geddy's singing here is great. And The Fountain Of Lamneth Ends. Overall The Fountain Of Lamneth is an awesome song, and I really like it. A lot of people will say that it isn't as good as 2112 because Rush was still trying to figure out how to make a prog epic, but I feel like Lamneth is equally as good. I may or may not like it more than 2112. I think most of that has to do with the general atmosphere of the song, and not necessarily how good of a composition it is overall. There are some flaws, it's not perfect, but I really like it. So overall, Caress Of Steel is a great Rush album in my opinion. I understand why it failed and why people have complaints about it, but I wish more people would give it a chance and appreciate it for what it is instead of what they wanted the next Rush album to be. It's the precursor to 2112, and while not perfect, It's a very enjoyable listen. I was hesitant to rate it 5 stars, I know most wouldn't consider it a masterpiece of prog rock music, but I love this album. I think everyone who's interested in this kind of music should give Caress Of Steel a go, they may find some real hidden gems here. Overall one of my favorite albums, despite its flaws.

Review #75

With this album RUSH started to experiment and improvise with some progressive elements that they didn't have in their first two recordings; "The necromancer" and of course "The fountain of Lamneth" are quite long for the average songs the band were making before and contain very interesting and obscure lyrics by PEART.

The first three tracks of the album are in the same vein of the "Rush" and "Fly by night" albums, so there was nothing really new in their style coming from those; "Bastille day" has become a favorite in RUSH concerts and compilation albums. Probably this is not an absolute masterpiece and it is probably not 100% Progressive Rock but it is an introduction to the three following albums: the absolute masterpieces "2112", "A farewell to kings" and "Hemispheres".

SONG RATING: Bastille Day, 5 I think I'm going bald, 3 Lakeside Park, 4 The necromancer, 5 The fountain of Lamneth, 5

AVERAGE: 4.4

PERCENTAGE: 88

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

Rush produced a low-key but respectable debut with their 1974 self-titled album, emerging as an energetic (if slightly derivative) blues-hard rock power trio from the Great White North. With the departure of original drummer John Rutsey, the band thrived with drummer/primary lyricist Neil Peart joining guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, following up their debut with 1975's Fly By Night, a minor hit that represented a major shift in the band's sound. The songs became tighter, more complex, signifying a deeper sophistication in both the music and Peart's literary, deeply humanistic lyrics. It also included the first of what would be known as their 'epic' tracks, the rollicking battle cry of the nearly nine-minute "By-Tor & the Snow Dog".

Rush toured relentlessly in 1975 to promote Fly By Night, returning to the studio that summer to record their next album Caress of Steel. The album erupted like a declaration of principles of sorts, as it represented a dramatic shift towards more long-form conceptual pieces, moving the band deeper into the progressive spectrum. Three-fourths of the album's 45-minute length were taken up by only two tracks: the epic "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" ? the latter of which took up the entire Side 2 of the album!

Caress of Steel was released in September of 1975, and the results were pretty disastrous. Sales were dismal, the ensuing tour was poorly attended and saw them playing smaller and smaller venues. Critical reaction to the album was entirely disappointing as well. Even retrospective critiques remain pretty harsh; Caress of Steel is often dismissed by all but the most ardent of Rush fans. Album tracks like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" would remain in their set-list for a while (showing up on the 1976 live album All The World's A Stage as part of their 2112 Tour), but the "epic" tracks would be almost immediately forgotten, except by band devotees.

The album is far from the disaster that history has made it out to be. Make no mistake, it has its missteps and a few moments of failure, but at least those moments stem from misguided ambition rather than inertial stagnation or lackluster ho-hummery. There are moments of greatness and hints of greater successes to come. Of their entire 70s output, it ranks high on reach but lower (yet not low) on execution; probably the least essential album of their catalog until 1987's Hold Your Fire.

Casual fans evaluating the album would peruse the track listing and most likely not even bother with the record; it has no discernible "hits" or "fan favorites" (although the aforementioned "Lakeside Park" and "Bastille Day" would show up in compilation albums like Chronicles; the latter song would also appear in other collections like Retrospective I and Gold) and, with two tracks clocking at longer song-lengths than usual, would not present itself as one of their more 'accessible' records.

The album has its strengths, even if you have to cherry-pick quite a bit to find them. I find "The Necromancer" to be a little too watered-down Tolkien and a lot too watered-down Rush. It feels hollow and musically lacking at times, while the lyrics are second-rate Dungeons and Dragons mixed with somewhat embarrassing narration from an over-modulated Neil Peart. I do enjoy the feel of the Meddle-era-Floyd "Into The Darkness" opening, and it ends pleasantly enough with a triumphantly melodic outro and some tasteful soloing from Lifeson, but the track feels unfocused and a structurally haphazard.

I much prefer the 20-minutes of "The Fountain of Lamneth". The seedlings of later classics like "Xanadu", "Natural Science", the "Cygnus X-1" two-part exploration, and portions of "2112" can be found here. Divided into six parts, the song details the journey throughout an entire life, from the explosion of birth, the natural rebellion of the learning process, doubt and abandonment, joy and acceptance, and finally death. Some sections are more interesting and more evocative than others, but the piece holds together fairly well and remains one of their more experimental and challenging efforts of the era; there's certainly nothing close to this in the previous two albums, and it provides the springboard from which Rush would delve deeper into long-form progressive works. It's not classic Rush, but it's good Rush with flashes of even better Rush.

The remaining three tracks are the more traditional Rush-sounding songs. "Bastille Day" opens with Townshend-like guitar intensity and Plant-like piercing vocals as the band erupts into a howling rocker, one that would have fit right at home on Fly By Night. "Lakeside Park" is a pleasant, breezy tune, a straightforward mid-tempo bit of childhood reminiscing from Peart. While the song is rather a routine bit of sweetness, it acquits itself as a reasonable album track.

And finally we get to "I Think I'm Going Bald", which is the most bugfork tune on the entire album. Almost a novelty track of sorts, it was allegedly inspired by Kiss's "Goin' Blind" (Kiss and Rush toured extensively together in 1974) and with its bluesy rock backbone it could almost have sprung from their no-frills debut album. Making the connection of going grey and losing hair with that of lost dreams of youth, or some such nonsense, the song is messy, absolutely bananas, utterly pointless, and full of the posturing bravado that Rush seemed to pulling away from with their overall sound and ethos, and yet I somehow kind of love it, warts and all.

Caress of Steel is an appealing curiosity for those seeking to chart the band's transition from traditional early 70s blues-rockers to the progressive hard-rock superstars of the late 70s. While casual fans would have little use for it and even some deeper fans might view it as a lesser effort (which, in light of their entire 'classic' catalog, would be in my opinion an accurate assessment), there is still much to pick out of and enjoy from the record.

The follow-up to Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, was released just seven months later, in September 1975. Caress of Steel was meant to be Rush's big, breakthrough commercial success, but it suffered from lackluster sales. I love Caress of Steel, but I can understand why it didn't do as well as the band and their label had hoped.

The album opens with three short songs: "Bastille Day" is Rush's last gasp of Zeppelinism, though it is enjoyable; "I think I'm Going Bald" is a goofy, groovy hard rock track; and "Lakeside Park" is forgettable and inoffensive. These songs feel tacked-on, in comparison to the pair of epics that follow.

"The Necromancer" is the more cohesive of the two long tracks, but it has issues. Narration is difficult to integrate unobtrusively, and the frequent, down-pitched narration on this song is distracting. Storytelling through lyrics alone is difficult, so I understand the desire to add context, but the song loses all its momentum during the narrative breaks. Once the band get into the real meat of the song, it's great, featuring some of the best soloing of Lifeson's career. This song is also something of a sequel to "By-Tor and the Snow Dog", with both characters being mentioned in the song's final movement. Continuity between the two is also evident in similar soloing in both songs' midsections.

Where "The Necromancer" felt like one big, cohesive song with pacing issues, "The Fountain of Lamneth"?Caress of Steel's 20-minute closing opus?feels more like six separate songs slammed together. The song's internal divisions all have hard, clear demarcations where the music simply stops for a second or two. Despite its disjointed nature, this song's music is more consistently enjoyable. The melodies are stronger, the riffs are less weird-for-the-sake-of-weird, and arc of the song's drama and intensity makes sense.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2020/04/27/deep-dive-rush/

"Caress of Steel" put Rush against the wall and made the band's continuity questionable, after its meager commercial repercussion and a promotional tour that went unnoticed.

Although the band maintained its influences related to classic rock, as with the warrior "Bastille Day" and its unbeatable riff, or the nostalgic "Lakeside Park", they also begin to sail in progressive waters with two songs that occupy most of "Caress of Steel": the hypnotic and fantastical "The Necromancer", the best achieved composition of the album, standing out clearly Lifeson's guitar solos that go through its three parts, and Geddy Lee's active bass; and "The Fountain of Lamneth", one of the longest songs in the band's discography. And this last song, in spite of its promising acoustic beginning and Neil Peart's fleeting and incisive drum solo, fails to coalesce in all its development as a fluid structure, and perhaps that is the main point that works against not only the song but the album as a whole and its relationship with the record label.

Becoming a cult album over the years, in part perhaps because of the guilty indifference it suffered at its release, and in part perhaps also because of that mysterious character of lost gem and, separating the wheat from the chaff, "Caress of Steel" has above all the merit of having been the fundamental basis for the release of "2112", the band's first international mega-hit. And the end of the discussion with their record company...

3 stars