Rush - Caress of Steel - first listen!

[Trane]

I like pretty much all Rush, except there was this one hole, and also I've really never listened to the first album, but I've heard several of the songs in concert a lot. There are probably one or two songs on there I've never heard actually, but that doesn't bother me too much.


There are some other albums I've surprisingly never heard, which I should probably also have a listen to - like Jethro Tull's "This Was," (again, know most of the songs from concerts and live albums, but still...) and the first two Yes albums. The horror!

Well, Not listening to early of debut albums fropm prog bands is definiotely dodgy.... Sure most of them are not up to par with their later masterpieces, but debut albums from caravan, Tull, Genesis, Rush or even Yes, they've all got some classic tracks...

In Rush's case (I bathed in Rush when I was 10 to 17), their debut is indeed not very good, and I only enjoy Working Man

But in Tull's case, This Was is a stupendous album... certainly in my top 5, ahead of what many consider classic 70's Tull albums (like APP, MitG, SFTW or HH)

Caravan's debut is filled with absolute should-be classics, like Love Song With a Flute, A PlaCe Of My own, the fantastic Cecil Rons, and of course Where But for a Caravan Would I Be... If you haven't yet >> jump for it.

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oh, BTW... I never really could get into CoS, despite the fact that I'm of French Culture (Bastille day) and partied in all the Ontario Lakeside parks in the area

[JSS]

One of my favorites. Sounds like a long lost world to me. I heard most of this before 2112 and what came after, so I loved it without any comparisons. The Necromancer remains one of my favorite Rush tunes. The second half (what used to be known as Side 2 in dem dere olden days) took a little bit longer. I gotta be in a special mood for it.

One of the best things on this album is the first section of Fountain Of Lamneth. That was one of the first things I learned to play when I got my 12 string. I remember picking one in a guitar store and playing that bit, and the owner of the store, who was sitting behind the counter with an acoustic lap steel started playing along. Really sounded nice.

What they said. Except I cringe at the Necormancer narration.

And this:

I think "No One at the Bridge" is one of the very most moving things they ever did. And although Alex's humility is admirable, the guitar solo goes far beyond being a Hackett rip.

This album is their most wildly diverse musically. So many different textures in the arrangements long before they integrated keyboards. The music summons up all kinds of vivid visual images in my mind. It probably takes longer to get into when someone's just exposed. But it's also the only Rush album that always seems fresh when I revisit it.

[Mikhael]

Not much fond of the narration, myself. However, I thought the music was wonderful, fresh, and they were reaching outside of their boundaries at the time. The opener kicked butt, that's for sure! I cut some guitar teeth on this album, learning several songs. Not because I was doing any meaningful studying, but because they were fun to play along with. I even learned "Panacea" on my classical, just because it sounded pretty.

Some have kicked at ITIGB, but I think it was just an early example of the quirky Rush humour coming out; I don't mind it, and listen to it with that spirit. Overall, I thought it was a step up from the second album; at least there wasn't anything that horrified me like "Rivendell" did. Lots of youthful energy, a good recording, and the band finding themselves; a definite precursor to 2112, although in some ways I like this record better. The songwriting was more mature than FbN, and Geddy was starting to calm down on the shrill voice a bit (a *bit*), and becoming more melodic in his vocals.

[JIF]

I remember reading on the Rush website(in the FAQ section) that Alex's guitar work on No One At The Bridge was inspired by Steve Hackett. I think Bacchus Plateau has the same influence(isn't that the section where Alex does some tapping?).

[at least 100 dead]

Dusted this one off, what with all the talk about Rush back on the road. This was the first Rush album I ever got after all my musicianly friends had been urging me to “check out the Rush drummer, man”.

Bastille Day – great opener and pretty good lyrics from Neil, actually (5/5)
ITIGB – fun little rocker (4/5)
Lakeside Park – a fistful of wistful; the chorus is kinda meh, but still (4/5)
Necromancer – goofy narration or not, the music is cool, especially the stoner rock of the first part (5/5)
Fountain – really dig this suite for the most part, particularly “No One at the Bridge” and the bookend sections (4.5/5)

On the whole, I like it a lot more than 2112, which is kind of a dour mess. "Genius of Ayn Rand"? Puleeze Neil!

[N_Singh]

The wolf shrieks and bad metal moments are insufferable. A Fairwell to Kings can't come soon enough.

[nosebone]

Always liked bastille day.

That's about it.

[Adinfinitum]

The first song I play on guitar whenever plugging into my Marshall amps or testing out any digital model is play Bastille Day (prefer ATWAS version since I heard that first). While 2112, AFTK, PW and MP are my favorites (and Alex has always been a top 5 influence on me as a guitarist), COS is a pretty good album. Heck, if it wasn'for this album and the Down the Tubes tour, we wouldn't have gotten 2112 (Rush's FU to the record company and the start of doing things their way as opposed to trying to placate others).

[Mr. Toad]

My favorite. Best work they have ever done. 'nuff said.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I like it a lot more than 2112, which is kind of a dour mess. "Genius of Ayn Rand"? Puleeze Neil!

Certainly. Those "epic suites" were hardly more than fragmented potpurris of varying hard rock guitar tunes anyway, and to that extent "Lamneth" works better than "2112" to my ears. I still prefer side 2 of FtK and most of Permanent Waves, though.

[ytserush]

Definitely a favorite of mine....

[Fracktured]

I didn't get into RUSH until 2112 came out, so I went back and bought the first three. I always liked Fly By Night better than Caress. I thought myself that the writing was a bit weaker and maybe more immature on Caress. None the less I still enjoy most of it and play it once in awhile which is more than I can say for several of their post Signals albums.

[Liquid Tension]

Loved it when it when I first bought the album and still do...

[Pekka]

Loved it when it when I first bought the album and still do...

Same here. I always took the B-side as a collection of songs and was disappointed when I bought the cd version and found out they weren't indexed as such. "In The Valley", "The Fountain", "No-One At The Bridge" and "Bacchus Plateau" are great songs, the latter is a particular favourite of mine. Would love to hear The Posies covering it.

[progholio]

Loved it when it when I first bought the album and still do...

Me too! I still have my copy i bought in the 70's from the Peaches Records cut-out bin.
I hold those first 3 Rush records in very high regard (oh hell, pretty much all of them for that matter).

[Progatron]

caress of steel.jpg

[chalkpie]

"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" - Pratt

[polmico]

^Ach! Good catch! I’ll give it a listen tomorrow. Great tune.

[flowerking]

[Oddly, in some ways Fly By Night sounds more polished than Caress of Steel - maybe not the sound quality, but the compositions and execution.]

Yeah, thats my thought too. CoS just sounds rushed (no pun intended) or maybe half developed. The two epics show where they want to go but as song writers they hadn't gotten there yet. And unlike the OP, I just don't care for I Think I'm Going Bald. Bastille Day is a fine rocker, similar in style to Anthem. But the gem of this album is Lakeside Park, in my opinion one of the best of their early pieces.

[JKL2000]

I agree about FbN sounding a bit more polished than CoS, possibly because the title track is such a well-crafted, obvious hit song.

[Paulrus]

Yeah, thats my thought too. CoS just sounds rushed (no pun intended) or maybe half developed. The two epics show where they want to go but as song writers they hadn't gotten there yet. And unlike the OP, I just don't care for I Think I'm Going Bald. Bastille Day is a fine rocker, similar in style to Anthem. But the gem of this album is Lakeside Park, in my opinion one of the best of their early pieces.

I've always felt that Fly By Night is the gem of Rush's early hard rock period (I actually prefer it overall to 2112.) IMO it's just a better crafted and produced set of songs.

I get the sense with CoS that they felt they were ready to evolve. In some ways they were, but the songs -- especially side 1 -- don't hold up by comparison. And the overall production lacks FBN's sizzle, which is odd since you'd expect the same team to improve on the previous effort. But perhaps time was their enemy.

[JKL2000]

It’s probably been mentioned previously, but the narration on CoS doesn’t help at all. Narration rarely does, really, IMO.

[Fracktured]

This is my least favorite RUSH album. Can’t explain why. Maybe I find it too cheesy sounding. It was more mature than the first album but the first was so rocking and I enjoy Fly By Night better than 2112.

[yesstiles]

I love Side 2. I like "Lamneth" better than "2112." And I love Alex's tone on this. I also am not a fan of the narration in "Necromancer." I would kill to have a version released with the narration removed.

[Rick L.]

I love Side 2. I like "Lamneth" better than "2112." And I love Alex's tone on this. I also am not a fan of the narration in "Necromancer." I would kill to have a version released with the narration removed.

Anyone in particular you would kill?