Caress of Steel - Album Discussion

Slim · March 16, 2022, 08:41:47 PM

I've been thinking about Caress of Steel recently. It's an album that divides opinion among Rush fans. In my own view, it's the first brilliant Rush album.

I don't think it's aged terribly well and it's not one of the very best records. But it's a big step forward from Fly By Night, which I see as being a sort of sharper, more refined sequel to the first album.

Caress of Steel is where we first see the trademark grace and drama.

Fishy · March 16, 2022, 09:26:04 PM

Took me a while to appreciate this album.. ITIGB is complete pants but the rest of the album is quite wonderful.. it's one of these without this there would never have been 2112/AFTK etc etc.... Def. a step up from the first/second albums....

dom · March 17, 2022, 01:06:04 AM

I'll listen to them both to again in the next few days but I believe the songs on FBN (bar Rivendell) are stronger than those on COS.

I think the arrival of Neil invigorated Alex and Ged's creativity thanks to his ability on the drum kit and the major improvement in lyrics.

This was lost a little in COS thanks to the laudable desire to experiment and push their boundaries. They pushed a little too hard imo. But perhaps they needed to stretch their limits to be able to come up with 2112 a few months later

David L · March 17, 2022, 07:27:04 AM

Spot on dom.
For me the production on CoS is a little 'flat' too. Bastille Day could've sounded immense (as on ATWAS) but is just so.....polite! The guitars need to be more forward in the mix with more bite IMHO.
FoL is a bit of a muddled concept but has a few good parts, nevertheless.
Standout for me has always been The Necromancer. That works as a concept piece because it has an intro, a middle (conflict) and a resolution/conclusion and the music is perfectly matched to that narrative.
I've always preferred Fly By Night. Better songs and By-Tor is awesome and beats anything on CoS. Of course, Rivendell is rubbish.

Rufus_the_dawg · March 17, 2022, 10:26:43 AM

Compare COS to Power Windows can they be the same band? When you put radio 3 on in the morning and the Tallis scholars are singing I love it, its from times long past. COS is 50 years old and its like a fantastic antique or film say Jaws. The similarities to power windows are few but both have a cinematic approach to writing music which I love.

Jonners · March 17, 2022, 12:42:13 PM

I really like it, and enjoy it still. One ofthe few albums by the band I can still listen to from start to finish

When I first heard it (remember, my first experience of Rush was MP, the AFTK, and then ATWAS in that order) it blew my mind. I was a burgeoning metal fan back then, in love with Priest, Motorhead and just getting really into Maiden so I loved guitars, drums, screaming vocals and vituosity.

So, COS worked for me. ITIGB is maligned, maybe due to its title rather than its subject matter, which i think is actually quite astute and cleverly written.

I subscribe to the theory that becaise the likes of the band, and Gene Simmons and a few others went "its a bit meh" that some fans do as well.

I listened to the AFTK 40th release the other day, and the COS songs on the live disc are outstanding. I would love a pro quality version of the necromancer to listen to live as well one day if it exists.

I love the cover, I love the album title, and I love the fact that if i listned to a shuffle of songs on my spotify (dont hate me!) account, I could transition from Middletown Dreams to the Necromancer in the space of 5 minutes and love each track equally

And, whoever said this, but Geds vocals are ace on this platter. Still dont touch the GUP live album IMHO where everything he does seems effortless, but still right up there with his best

pxr5 · March 17, 2022, 01:00:25 PM

I think Caress of Steel was the first Rush I heard. A mate was badgering me to listen to this "ace band" and he brought CoS and Hemispheres around to my house. So Bastille Day was the first song for me. I admit it sounded a mess on first listen and I left the albums for a while, before eventually giving them a try again. I fell in love with Rush then. I loved and still love Caress of Steel and it's definitely in my top 5.

David L · March 17, 2022, 01:23:21 PM

Quote from: Jonners on March 17, 2022, 12:42:13 PMI love the cover,

Doubt the band did. Second cover art to get screwed up by the wrong colour in less than 12 months - unbelievable!

Caress Of Brass

Rufus_the_dawg · March 17, 2022, 01:32:12 PM

yes the cover was the wrong colour if I remember right.

Jonners · March 17, 2022, 01:41:44 PM

Quote from: David L on March 17, 2022, 01:23:21 PM
Quote from: Jonners on March 17, 2022, 12:42:13 PMI love the cover,

Doubt the band did. Second cover art to get screwed up by the wrong colour in less than 12 months - unbelievable!

Caress Of Brass

Being a bit literal arent you?

What was wrong with FBN? Not supposed to be blue?

There is another "wintery" album cover that I like which is blue, Storm of the Lights Bane by Dissection.

David L · March 17, 2022, 02:15:16 PM

Quote from: Jonners on March 17, 2022, 01:41:44 PM
Quote from: David L on March 17, 2022, 01:23:21 PM
Quote from: Jonners on March 17, 2022, 12:42:13 PMI love the cover,

Doubt the band did. Second cover art to get screwed up by the wrong colour in less than 12 months - unbelievable!

Caress Of Brass

Being a bit literal arent you?

What was wrong with FBN? Not supposed to be blue?

Wrong type of owl

My bad. Should've said less than 2 years

Jonners · March 17, 2022, 04:08:17 PM

ah, the first album? not supposed to be pink, or was the bloke on 2112 a bit pasty?

Matt2112 · March 17, 2022, 05:13:41 PM

Dom is 100% correct on this.

I have plenty of time for CoS but consider it the weakest of their 70s-era albums; that said, whatever its flaws it also turned out to be critical in the evolution of their body of work.

Old Rush good, new Rush better.

David L · March 17, 2022, 05:41:49 PM

I first owned CoS via Archives. If you consider it against the debut, the difference is almost unfathomable. Of those two, CoS was most definitely more listenable. I've probably listened to 'Rush' less than a dozen times

Slim · March 18, 2022, 11:13:45 AM

I must say a couple of words in defence of I Think I'm Going Bald. Apart from being a spirited rocker, there's a lovely humour and maturity in the lyrics, a wistful and wry observation about the passing of time, that's matched by the quirkiness of the instrumentation.

Really distinctive and clever both lyrically and musically and a piece that, along with Lakeside Park and one or two others, shows just how far they'd come since the relatively modest beginnings of their first two records, and in such a short space of time - only seven months between the release dates of their second and (imo much more accomplished) third album.

That's an odd thought, isn't it? That a Rush album was only the current studio album from March to September one year.

For those who may not know by the way, the basic idea came from Kiss' Goin' Blind:

You're much younger, can't you see
There is nothing more for you and I
I'm ninety-three, you're sixteen
And I think I'm goin' blind