Disc 26 is...Caress of Steel
Artist: RushYear of Release: 1975
How I Came To Know It: I've known Rush since I was a kid. Caress of Steel came to me late, as I began working on completing a collection of their studio albums. I think I got it around fourteenth of 18, maybe two or three years ago.
How It Stacks Up: What the hell was I waiting for? This is one of Rush's best discs, and totally unappreciated except by Rush fans. As I alluded to, Rush has 18 studio albums, and I've drilled through them all. Caress of Steel is one of the best. Definitely top 5, maybe top 3.
Rating: 4 stars.
Rush is quite simply one of the greatest, most technically gifted bands in the history of rock and roll. Caress of Steel is only their third studio album and they've already mastered playing together.
Whether it is the guitar solo in Bastille Day by Alex Lifeson, the drums of Neil Peart in Didacts and Narpets or the soaring vocals of Getty Lee in his prime, these guys are masters of their craft.
Moreover, the songs on Caress of Steel are high quality, including two monster tracks, The first, is The Necromancer - a 12:29 opus about heroes being kidnapped by a necromancer, and winning free. The second is the almost twenty minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" some crazy quest across mountains, seas etc. in quest of the mythic Fountain, only to find yourself.
Did I mention these guys are prog rockers?
So, this album has musical range, it has a range of themese (in addition to the fantastical ideas I've already noted, there are songs about Bastille Day, visiting a park as a child and...going bald. yes - there is a song about going bald. Not surprising, if you've seen Neil Peart recently.
Last year I was thrilled to finally see Rush in concert, and they were incredible. The only thing I found myself wishing was that Caress of Steel would get some love. It is one of Rush's best - certainly the most under-appreciated.
So - if you already have 2112, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, do yourself a favour and skip right to Caress of Steel. You can bone up on the other albums in time, but you'll regret not putting this hidden gem in your collection as soon as you can.
Best tracks: Bastille Day, The Necromancer
1 comment:
It's Geddy, not Getty. Minor quibble there.
Ironically, Caress of Steel was almost the end of Rush - the album was received so poorly and the tour was such a disaster (referred to unoffically as the "Down the Tubes" tour by Geddy and the Boys) that they almost quit.
"I Think I'm Going Bald" was actually written for Alex Lifeson, not Neil Peart. Apparently Alex was morbidly afraid of going bald early, and the other guys used to always bug him about it (Wikipedia does not agree with me on this, but I'm sure I read it in an "official" source somewhere).
Also, I'm pretty sure that Geddy Lee, not Neil Peart, wrote the lyrics for this one (the liner notes don't specify, though). Geddy used to contribute lyrics occasionally back in the old days - the last lyric written by him for Rush was "Different Strings" on Permanent Waves.
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