Rush - Caress of Steel
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Free Music Notes for Caress of Steel
Free Music Review: Dark Music!!!!!! And so good!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Rush has always been one of those bands that just does their own thing, (despite what the critics or the record companies suggest), and this album is no exception. When Neil Peart joined the band in the summer of '74, he brought a new approach to writing songs (intellectual lyrics, and epic-length songs)that irritated critics and some fans. Though Fly by Night sold reasonably well, the band was headed in an entirely new direction, and re-defining itself quickly. Fly by Night was released in 1975, and later that same year, Caress of Steel followed, and the latter proved to be a dismal failure, after it was said that Caress of Steel would be their "breakthrough" album. A tour followed, dubbed the "Down the Tubes" tour, and Rush was done. Or were they? We all know what happened the following year when they released 2112 (again shaking off the pressure from critics and fans to create a more mainstream, radio-friendly album). To put it into perspective, think of Fly by Night and Caress of Steel as 2 warm-up albums for their breakthrough album (2112). With these 2 releases, we were introduced to one of the greatest lyricists and drummers in the business (Peart), and these were a springboard for great albums to come for the remainder of the decade. When it comes to Caress of Steel, the most appealing part of the album (besides the obvious creativity with songwriting) is its darker tone and mood. Even the song, "I Think I'm Going Bald" is somewhat dreary at times. It's an upbeat song in general, but listen to it again, and you may find it to have a certain darkness to it. I'll list the songs and rate them:
BASTILLE DAY: A raw, fast-paced rocker with in-your-face singing/screaming that's sure to delight any metal fan. (9/10)
I THINK I'M GOING BALD: Great 12-string solo by Alex on this one. It's a song that's meant to be funny, and shows a different side to the band.(9/10)
LAKESIDE PARK: A nice song about an amusement park that Neil worked at as a teenager, and has a catchy drum intro and fills throughout that give the song its identity. (8/10)
THE NECROMANCER: By far the DARKEST song ever recorded by the band, and my all-time favorite. It starts out with a vivid narration leading into eerie guitar sounds that establish the fact that it's going to be a very different type of song that will keep one's attention. This song is a 3-part epic that transitions nicely. I often think that this song could be easily integrated into a session of D&D!!!! (10/10)
THE FOUNTAIN OF LAMNETH: Such an interesting piece of music!!! The first part, "In the Valley" starts with acoustic guitar with soft vocals by Geddy, followed by a super-fast drum part in part 2 "Didacts and Narpets". The rest of the parts (3-6) alternate with dark and heavy-sounding stuff, and soft, melodic stuff which gives this song a feel of one that has 6 songs within 1 song. This epic is so varied and doesn't transition well, but perhaps that's what makes it unique. (7/10) I recommend purchasing this CD, because it's one of those acquired tastes that any Rush fan will appreciate, as well as one who craves something different. If dark music is your thing, then this CD is for you!!! P.S. Caress of Steel to Rush is what Led Zeppelin III is to Led Zeppelin: Both are albums that were initially thought of as very subpar, but have grown in popularity as the decades have passed.
Free Music Review: The best of the first era? You decide.
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, even if you decide this album isn't for you, you'll be able to get a kick out of Mr. "Prigles"' reviews which very rarely seem to be about the music and are really just written by a disgruntled non-listener (out of envy for Rush's skill, I suspect.)
And back to our review... This album is crunched down into five songs; three 'short' songs and two epics (Well, one's more of a mini-epic....) Probably the most overlooked Rush album, or hell, one of the most overlooked albums I've seen (And I own almost EVERY Jethro Tull and B.O.C. album, but those are stories for other times.) Here's how it breaks down:
1. BASTILLE DAY: 10/10: Music isn't supposed to be precisely reflective of history, but this is as close as you can get when crunched into singing a song in such a short amount of time. It's a classic song that sticks out among Rush's massive catalog. By far, though, this is not the only reason to buy the album.
2. I THINK I'M GOING BALD: 7.5/10: This is where people get really divided. You either love this one or you hate it. But, nonetheless, it's the closest to the Led Zeppelin-ish rock style that they drew some of their earlier stuff from. Sounds like something off off Led Zeppelin II.
3. LAKESIDE PARK: 9/10: Another favorite that Neil Peart wrote about his home town. Like they say in the song, some memories last forever... I guess you can't help but remember your home town.
4. THE NECROMANCER: 8.5/10: And now we get into the big stuff... We start out first with The Necromancer, which shifts between "darker" instrumentals to harder rock sounds (Sort of like how Cygnus X-1 on Farewell to Kings would do two years later), and then, later on in our story, wouldn't ya know it, everyone's favorite dark knight (well, in the Rush continuity, anyways), By-Tor pops up! This time, though, he's the... good guy? "By-Tor used to be the bad guy, so what gives?", right? Well, that's for another time.
5. The Fountain of Lamneth: 10/10: Rush's first 'true' epic. While 2112 tells a story, this one tells two; one of the average person's struggle to live their life, which I'll get to shortly, and the other, more apparent story, of the man journeying to find the Fountain of Lamneth. The latter follows with the adventurer being allured by the Fountain of Lamneth, setting sail (I'm not sure how Didacts and Narpets fits into this one...), being lured off by a woman calling herself "Panacea", before returning to his journey before falling short of his ultimate goal.
Similarly, it also tells the story of a person's life; from birth (the very beginning) through young adulthood (Didacts and Narpets - it's an anagram of "Addicts and Parents;" enough said.), to the trials of loneliness through the tumultuous process of becoming an adult, followed by lust, then ultimate disappointment with oneself, and ending where the goal is in sight, but dying just short of it. Life is cyclic. Throughout most of your life, a constant goal for your life is in mind; you formulate it at your birth and generally see the final result of it at the end of your life.
Overall: 9/10: An excellent album, a fan favorite, but often overlooked by others. Most people tell you to start at 2112, but I suggest starting here, because it has something for everyone.
Well, pretty close to it, anyhow.
Free Music Review: The most underrated Rush classic of all time...
Hit: 5 Stars
When Rush recorded "Caress Of Steel", drummer Neil Peart noted that "we went in serene and confident, and emerged with an album that we were tremendously proud of as a major step in our development". Unfortunately to him, the record sold poorly, mainly because of how they set out the whole procedure. The record companies urged them to record more "saleable"-like songs, i.e. shorter compositions which would garner them more airplay, and the ensuing tour became more known as the "Down The Tubes" tour.But I believe that this album is truly a spectacular underestimated venture which displayed their sense of edgy hard rock with a fascination for science fiction out of Peart's hands. It did also produce such well-renowned songs like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park", and other very complex projects like "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain Of Lamneth", which ultimately display Neil's keen interest in science fiction and ancient literature. "Bastille Day" is literally linked to the faults of the French Revolution, starting off with a phrase coined by Queen Marie Antoinette - "if there's no bread, let them eat cake". "Lakeside Park" is an actual place, located in St. Catharines next to Lake Ontario, where Neil spent his years of youth reaching adolescence, and attempts to transform the local events in the shape of a poignant ballad. "The Necromancer" is based on the works of Tolkien, where three travelers (Frodo, Sam, and Gollum) make their way south to the land of the Necromancer (i.e. Sauron), being rescued by the imaginary character of Prince By-Tor. "The Fountain Of Lamneth" is the longest piece, almost reaching the 20-minute peak, in which the unknown character seeks the way to the Fountain, and in the end he realizes that once he's reached it, he ultimately finds himself at the same spot from where he started.
The only song which looks at an otherwise direction is "I Think I'm Going Bald", which lyrically does not obviously deal with the central concept; it's more of like what would happen many decades later after experiencing all the previous ventures. Also the cover concept, designed by Hugh Syme, who since then has been responsible for designing all of their following album covers, attempted to use the graphic picture on a steel background, which instead became copper, which ultimately affected the nature of the title, which resulted in its selling poorly.
"Caress Of Steel", I presume, is their most underrated album of all time. Listeners of today might not get the original potential of the musical quality, yet anyway there would be some who'd simply fall in love with their sense of hard rock of the times then. Geddy, Alex, and Neil were really trying hard to make a name for themselves, which did not live that long with this venture, yet they did return "with a vengeance" with the outstanding "2112".
Free Music Review: Rush - Phase 1 - CARESS OF STEEL
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the third album in the first phase of Rush. This is also the first album that sees the longer epics begin to emerge. Like By-Tor from the previous album, CARESS contains longer than average radio play songs, with one clocking in at 12 minutes and the other at 20.
BASTILLE DAY - Again, Rush starts off this album with an absolutely crushing rock tune, and again this is still played live by the band. The 70's sound Rush is back with a vengeance, and they show that they are going no where, though the record companies at the time did not understand the band and they were thinking of dropping this band from their label.
I THINK I'M GOING BALD - this is the song that Rush used as a response to Kiss' "Goin' Blind". this is more of a fun song for Rush, and anyone who has seen an interview of the band knows that they never take themselves too serious and this is a prime example of just fun rock'n'roll from Rush.
LAKESIDE PARK - Another classic Rush tune, even though it is one that Geddy does not care for much. This is a very bouncy and happy Rush song, before the two Epic tales begin to finish out the album.
THE NECROMANCER - The second story of By-Tor, and this first Epic track on this album. This also bears some roots in Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in that the Necromancer was a character type from the trilogy. The song starts with "Into Darkness" and flange chords on the left and reverse volume swells from the right as Geddy and Neil hold the groove. "Under the Shadow" picks up the pace and has music hits as Geddy wails within the spaces. "Return of the Prince" rounds out this trilogy, as the Lord of the Rings. This is also a return to classic Rush grooves with a mid paced ending to the tale, the end of the story and the outro solo from Alex.
THE FOUNTAIN OF LAMNETH - The end of this album starts with acoustic guitar a Geddy's soft singing on "In the Valley" for the first minute before the whole band kicks in with the rock groove and Geddy's trade-mark wail. "Didacts and Nerpets" is the drum solo, with Geddy vocals and band hits. kind of a funky little section. "No one at the Bridge" is very ballad-like and Pink Floyd sounding section, with Geddy Banshee vocals and a great Alex guitar solo. "Panacea" an acoustic ballad with clean guitar doubling in the right channel. This is a very beautiful cut from this track. "Bacchus Plateau" Rush is back in gear with this straight ahead rock groove. "The Fountain" this song revisits the themes and melodies from earlier, and bring this song as well as the album it's finally notes.
All in all, this is a fun album, and this is a great prequel to the classic and epic 2112.
Free Music Review: Rush's wrongfully jeered masterpiece third album is still superb 32 years on
Hit: 5 Stars
Rush's third album Caress of Steel was released in September of 1975, just eight months after their sophomore effort Fly by Night.
Over the years, this album was reviled by many fans yet it still holds up very well today. I first got this on cassette in August of 1990 but was later irked when the track listing was tampered to accomodate the cassette format in those days. Thank God, CDs follow the original vinyl album sequence.
The rocking "Bastille Day" starts off the album in a lightning sort of way. Next was the somewhat hilarious "I Think I'm Going Bald" (which followed In the Valley on the original cassette issue), which some say is a reworking of In the Mood from the debut musically. The song has a superb Alex Lifeson guitar solo. "Lakeside Park" is one of my favorites on the album. Geddy Lee's vocals aren't too bad on here and his bass playing was superb as always. "The Necromancer" closes the first half and was the band's first ten minute plus epic. The first part was dark with drummer Neil Peart (pronounced peert not purt) doing the haunting narration at the beginning and superb drumming on this track with awesome musicianship from all three members.
The song that took up all of the second half of the album was "The Fountain Of Lamneth", the band's first 20-minute epic and one that doesn't disappoint. The track is split into six parts. The first part In The Valley, starts off soft then gets explosive, then back to soft and gets explosive again, then back to soft and then explosive again. Progressive or what? Part two is Didacts And Narpets, a drum solo with explosive vocal effects (strange that this piece was before Lakeside Park on the original cassette due to time constraints). The mid-tempo No One At The Bridge is is great and had one of Geddy's best vocals with a powerful scream at the end as neil bashes the drums and Alex's solo just being a burner. The Panacea section is the most soothing part of the epic with classical guitar and Geddy singing in a low octave (a style he would adopt in later years). The Bacchus Plateau section rocks and the concluding The Fountain picks up where In The Valley left off and concludes like it began with the soft acoustic reprise of the intro.
The album was dedicated to Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling who died in June of 1975 of a heart attack. Unfortunately, this album tanked when released as fluff like The Bay City Rollers, Captain and Tenille were hijacking the charts.
However, the album has since gone Gold and is now regarded a classic, especially with the 1997 remaster which restores all of the original album artwork and Bob Ludwig's remastering just startling!
Highly recommended!