Well, I must say I certainly meant to write this review quite a while ago. Let’s just pretend I managed to do that and press forward without another word on the subject, shall we? Today, we continue our musical journey through the illustrious fifty-year career of the Canadian progressive rock band known to us lowly mortals as Rush. This time around, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on one of the band’s markedly less-popular albums, especially at the time of its release. It’s the second of the pair that the band released in 1975, entitled Caress of Steel.

For those unfamiliar with Rush’s work or its chronology, you did indeed read that correctly. They released not one, but two full-length albums within the span of twelve months. I think it’s fitting that I’m reviewing Caress of Steel at this time of year, as the record was released on September 24th, 1975. The follow-up to Fly By Night will be 47 years old in just a few short weeks at the time of writing. I think the passage of time in this respect is simultaneously fascinating and alarming, but I digress.

As I alluded to a second ago, Caress of Steel is not exactly among the band’s biggest chart-topping releases throughout their nineteen-album discography. Far from it, truth be told. In fact, the album sold so poorly once it hit store shelves that it put the Holy Triumvirate in genuine danger of being dropped by their record label, Mercury. I could be wrong about this, but as far as I know, songs from this record were only played live in extraordinarily rare circumstances.

That could also partly be because two of the album’s five tracks are rather lengthy and complex, which probably makes them difficult to perform in a concert environment. Nevertheless, according to what statistics I could find on the matter, the album also faced considerable difficulty endearing itself to reviewers. I’m sure those scathing reviews didn’t help its sales numbers very much. The Rolling Stone Album Guide and The Encyclopedia of Popular Music both assigned Caress of Steel a final rating of two stars out of five.

Without having actually read any mainstream reviews of Caress of Steel, I can’t help but wonder why this album was so quickly and thoroughly panned. Well, I have one reason in mind that we’ll get to in a bit, but beyond that, I don’t think I fully understand the reception to this record. One might reasonably point to the darker sound and more fantastical nature of its tracks, but I don’t think that’s the entire explanation because this wasn’t the first time Rush ventured into those waters.

Just look at Fly By Night’s “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” for an example of what I mean by that. Perhaps a song entitled “The Necromancer” was scary enough by itself to turn people away from the album. I really don’t know. Perhaps I’ll be able to find that out over the course of this review, though, because this will be the first time I’ve listened to Caress of Steel in its entirety with the exception of its first track. Without further ado, let’s get into my usual, track-by-track review!

First up, we have “Bastille Day.” As its title suggests to some degree, this track is a historically-accurate discussion of the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. This is evidenced primarily by the lyrics, “See them bow their heads to die / As we would bow when they rode by / And they’re marching to Bastille Day / La guillotine will claim her bloody prize / Sing, o choirs of cacophony / The king has knelt to let his kingdom rise.”

For what it’s worth, I quite like this track. Rush wouldn’t exactly be my first choice for historically-accurate progressive metal songs about the French Revolution, or really any topic, as I would generally leave that to other notable bands like Sabaton. Still, this song is a good jumping-off point if you’re into this sort of thing. Some people say “Bastille Day” demonstrates the influence that Led Zeppelin’s music had on the members of Rush. I can’t really assess that claim either way because I’m not sufficiently familiar with Led Zeppelin’s work to where I could recognize their influence when I hear it.

The second track on Caress of Steel is the reason I mentioned earlier as to why this album may have sold as poorly as it did. This song is known as “I Think I’m Going Bald.” Yes, that’s right, there exists a song by three men who once had some of the most legendary hairdos in the entire progressive rock scene about the possibility that they’re going bald. What’s more, I would argue it could be interpreted as a parody of the song which inspired it.

The song in question is “Goin’ Blind” by Kiss. For a bit of background on how this came about, it helps to know Rush and Kiss frequently toured together during their respective early years, with the former often serving as an opening act for the latter. I’ve heard several sources (including Geddy Lee himself) say that there were times when the two bands didn’t exactly get along while on the road together.

That’s primarily because Rush tended to indulge in things like alcohol and other methods of partying and generally amusing themselves while on tour, whereas Kiss frontman Gene Simmons staunchly refused to do anything of the sort. It sounds to me like the Holy Triumvirate may have seen Mr. Simmons as something of a “stick in the mud” because of that, though I could be entirely off the mark in saying so. I can only speculate on what led the three men to write a song like “I Think I’m Going Bald.”

As you folks may well know by now, I am not typically one to question the judgment or the skills of this particular trio of musicians. Nonetheless, I would have absolutely loved to have been present at the band meeting during which they came up with this track. I’m sure I would find the discussion fascinating, provided it wasn’t too fueled by alcohol and/or a desire to pull a prank on Gene Simmons for fun.

I don’t really like this track, honestly, which is something you probably won’t see me say very often as I review the rest of the band’s discography. I think it’s something of a shock to find that I dislike a Rush song, though, given the circumstances, I would argue I’m justified in saying so. If “I Think I’m Going Bald” is indeed a parody to any degree, I’d say they should leave that stuff to “Weird Al.”

Moving on, we have a much more popular track from Caress of Steel. This one is known as “Lakeside Park,” which is about the titular park in St. Catharines, Ontario, where Neil Peart grew up. Mr. Peart worked at the park as a teenager, which I suspect is likely what prompted him to write the lyrics to this track. I think this is evidenced by the following lyrics from the chorus: “Lakeside Park, willows in the breeze / Lakeside Park, so many memories.”

Peart’s uncanny ability to transcribe his life experiences into well-written lyrics really shines in “Lakeside Park,” I would say. I even started to feel like I could relive the memories he had in the titular park alongside him as I listened to this song. I wish I could visit the park if I ever somehow travel to Canada. I doubt it’ll happen anytime soon, but if it does, I’ll make it a point to put Lakeside Park on my itinerary provided it still exists.

Next up, we have the aforementioned potentially frightening track, “The Necromancer.” This one was rather heavily inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, which may ring some bells among those of you who have both read any of Tolkien’s works and listened to Fly By Night. There’s a track on that album entitled “Rivendell” which shares a name with a location somewhere in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Returning to the topic at hand, “The Necromancer” clocks in at twelve and a half minutes in length and is arguably quite complex in terms of its composition.

During that time, it certainly does feature sounds and lyrics that I would consider dark and foreboding. Personally, though, I don’t see why that would make anyone dislike the song or the album it calls home. I would think dark and ominous soundscapes and lyrics are rather the point in a song about someone who seems quite skilled in the forbidden art of necromancy. The song also features what I consider to be outstanding guitar solos on the part of Alex Lifeson, which I think really helps set the scene.

That brings us to the fifth and final track on Caress of Steel, that which fills the entire Side B of the album. This one is known as “The Fountain of Lamneth.” Like “The Necromancer” and “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” before it, “The Fountain of Lamneth” is split into multiple parts. This track features six interconnected segments in total, clocking in at just under twenty minutes in length. As you likely know if you’re familiar with Rush’s entire discography, the band became fond over time of splitting lengthier songs into parts like the three I’ve named thus far.

Personally, certain lyrics from “The Fountain of Lamneth” really strike a chord with me (no pun intended). For example: “Remembering when first I held / The wheel in my own hands / I took the helm so eagerly / And sailed for distant lands / But now the sea’s too heavy / And I just, I just don’t understand.” This reminds me of how I often feel in life when I undertake a new venture enthusiastically and eventually become discouraged if it doesn’t go as well as I had hoped. That’s honestly just one of many reasons I thoroughly enjoy this track.

There you have it, folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my thoughts on Rush’s third album. I suspect I may well have quite a bit more fun going forward in this series now that we’re past the first few albums. Next time, I’ll be covering the band’s “breakout album,” 1976’s 2112. I sincerely hope you’ll join me again when that article is published.