Caress Of Steel - Rush

Enter the forbidding lands of the Necromancer... From the opening riff of Bastille Day to the *thump* of the ending chord of Fountain of Lamneth - this is a sensational album. Some detractors will point to it sounding dated and over rambling, not as good as the Prog of 2112 to come nor as Rock as previous cuts Fly By Night and the Eponymous debut. Surely then this album is a bridge between styles and marks a transition of lyrical control from Geddy (Bass, Vocals, Keys) & Alex (Guitars) to Neil (Drums), which would form the basis of future records. History: This album was actually composed entirely on the road during the Fly By Night ...  Read the complete review

This band don't just 'rock,' they 'wrowkk!' I still have vivid memories of waking one Christmas morn to see that the big white bearded guy in the red outfit had left me this album in my Christmas stocking, along with another Rush album, 'All the world's a Stage.' I must admit that at the time I was more impressed with the latter of the two. I found 'Caress of Steel' a big fat disappointment. I had heard the opening track before and loved it, but the rest just seemed a bit lame. Before I continue, I will just say a few words about Rush because there are always going to be people out there who wonder, 'Rush? Who the heck are they then?' ...  Read the complete review

Caress of Steel is an interesting one. Released in the same year as Fly By Night I see it as a kind of bridge between what went before and what was to come next. It retains the crunchy guitar sound of early Rush but ups the ante on the medievel lyricism. For the first time an entire side (in LP terms) is taken up with one song. And it's a dark one too. As a sort of precursor to 2112 (the next instalment the following year), The Fountain of Lamneth uses varying musical styles to narrate a story. I won't hazard a guess as to what it's about. I have my own imagination and it serves me pretty well but it's a deeply personal thing. What matters is the way ...  Read the complete review

My favourite Rush album - although many others tie for second! From the brilliant opener 'Bastille Day', often used to open Live sets, the album stamps it's authority all over music. The track has the screechiest vocals this side of 1975, but also the best riffs. The next track illustrates the Rush humour - a bit odd. 'I Think I'm Going Bald' is really thoughtful in it's own way, and also very bluesy in it's riffing. The next track 'Lakeside Park' written about a summer festival place in their home town of Toronto, is about as close to a ballad as Rush usually get - very sparkly guitar chords at the end ...  Read the complete review