Caress of Steel:

Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975 by Mercury Records in the United States, Anthem Records in Canada, and Atlantic Records in Japan. Its total length is 45:00. The band's lineup included vocalist and bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart.

Rush's previous release showed a move to a more progressive rock sound. Continuing that trend, Caress of Steel had two long epic conceptual pieces that made up about 33 minutes of the album. The record company would blame these long conceptual pieces for its failure to sell, and later encourage the band to ditch this writing style, thankfully they did not.

The album was largely a dissapointment as it did not crack the Billboard 200 chart like the previous two records. It has since gone Gold in both the U.S. and Canada, but it did not attain Gold status in the U.S. until 1993, nearly two decades after its release. The strengths of this album are the heavy progressive style, the guitar and bass work, the impressive vocal range of Geddy Lee, and the two epic songs that are innovative and compelling. The weaknesses of Caress of Steel are the moments where Rush loses it's focus of their progressive style. Here are my thoughts on each track.

1. "Bastille Day" 4:39 (4.5/5)

"Bastille Day" opens with a very heavy guitar riff from Lifeson. Then Geddy comes in with his usual immense amounts of personality you can hear in his high voice. The bass work is also a very nice complimentary piece. Neil does his job as usual on the drums. The guitar solo is great to listen to as it has varying tempo and demonstrates Lifeson's skill throughout. "Bastille Day" is an excellent way to start off an album.

2. "I Think I'm Going Bald" 3:42 (2.5/5)

"I Think I'm Going Bald" has a really great guitar riff to begin the song off. But, then you hear Geddy begin to sing about going bald. It's so cheesy, especially considering the heavy progressive lyrical style of the rest of the album. The guitar solo is really good though, but the lyrical style of the song is just laughable. Instrumentally, I think it is actually a pretty good song. It definitely would be a better fit on their first record.

3. "Lakeside Park" 4:10 (3.5/5)

"Lakeside Park" is definitely a peaceful and catchy tune from the band. I like Geddy and Alex's simple, but effective riffs throughout the song. Neil has some really good moments on the drums as well. Alex's guitar interlude on this track is played so soothingly and with grace, it is so calming and really puts you in a good mood. Lifeson also has a short solo that is pretty good in the song. I like "Lakeside Park" and it is certainly a track that has grown on me.

4. "The Necromancer" 12:34 (5/5)

"The Necromancer" is one of the weirdest tracks you will ever hear from Rush. It has a weird distorted narrator voice that tells us about the three travelers and their quest to destroy the famed J.R.R. Tolkien character "The Necromancer." The song has a slow buildup full of strange guitar effects that build tension for the listener. Then, Lifeson plays his first solo in the song, before the narrator tells us more information about what is happening in our story. Neil comes in on the drums and plays a nice little interlude to one of Alex's best guitar riffs ever. Then, Geddy demonstrates his excellent vocal chops and tells how the three travelers have lost to the Necromancer.

Then, Alex plays another excellent guitar solo, while Geddy jams on the bass in the background to accompany his guitar solo. It is a demonstration of masterful playing from the two of them. Then Lifeson plays his third guitar solo that is full of speed and energy and further proves why Lifeson is one of the greatest guitar players ever. Then, the song slows down again with a soothing guitar riff from Lifeson, and the narrator tells us the conclusion of the Necromancer's defeat by the victorious Prince Bi-Tor.

Lifeson plays his fourth guitar solo that is full of soul and yet again shows the guitar god he is becoming with every song. I love "The Necromancer," its one of those tracks that never gets old because you pick up something new from it every time you listen to it. I didn't like it that much upon my first listen, but with every listen it has moved higher and higher on my favorite Rush tracks list. It may be one of their weirdest tracks in their discography, but it is also one of their best.

5. "The Fountain of Lamneth" 19:57 (5/5)

"The Fountain of Lamneth" begins with a calming acoustic guitar riff and calm vocals from Geddy Lee. the drums in this song are absolutely fantastic and combine with a very catch bass riff from Lifeson and a catchy bass line from Geddy. Lyrically, it's one of Rush's best tracks in their entire discography and demonstrates the excellent story telling of Neil Peart in his lyrics.

Neil performs a drum solo right after the first part of the song concludes and as usual his drum solos are actually fantastic to listen to unlike most other drummers that could only dream of performing drum solos of his caliber. Then Geddy demonstrates his terrific vocal range during a part of the song that focuses on his voice while the instruments play very simple and non-distracting parts in the background.

Alex Lifeson then performs an excellent solo that is so catchy and melodic and really shows off his ability to demonstrate emotion through the playing of the guitar. In the middle of the song now is the calmest part of the entire album as Geddy sings calmly accompanied by an acoustic guitar riff.

Geddy's singing is absolutely beautiful and yet again demonstrates how dynamic as a vocalist he is. Then the track becomes more upbeat with some catchy drum playing and a really upbeat guitar riff from Lifeson. I love how the band plays so well together during this part of the song, it really sounds like a catchy radio tune and it's just one part of the song. Alex plays one of the most beautiful and melodic solos you will ever here to end this part of the song that would have been great by itself on any Rush album.

Then, the song again goes back to the tempo it had at the beginning of the song. Then Lifeson plays another solo with tons of soul and emotion. This guy is insane with so many solos of varying tempo in one song. Rush shows their ingenious songwriting with this entire track. It ends with a calming acoustic guitar riff and beautiful singing from Geddy. This is a track that needs to be listened to many times to gain a full appreciation of it. It is one of the most underrated songs in the entire Rush discography and is in many ways as good as "2112," Rush's most acclaimed epic. "Fountain of Lamneth" is one of the best Rush songs in their discography.

My Verdict:

Rush's Caress of Steel is really what I consider to be Rush's first truly progressive album. There is a complete stylistic shift to a progressive sound. This album is one of Alex Lifeson's best albums and really develops his signature guitar playing style that he is now known for. Geddy Lee has very good bass lines and vocal melodies throughout the entirety of this record.

Neil Peart's drum playing is fantastic and the lyrics he wrote for the record are certainly abstract, but are ingenious and make you actually want to look into each song's meaning except for "I Think I'm Going Bald" of course. The album does have had some flaws though with a couple of tracks that certainly won't wow anyone.

Caress of Steel is a record that is more of an acquired taste, it's definitely not for radio play and takes many listens to truly appreciate its brilliance. Caress of Steel may not be mainstream, but it is certainly a great album that is consistently underrated in the Rush Discography.

Grade: B