In the February issue of Stereophile, writer Brian Damkroge includes Caress Of Steel in his "Records To Die For" feature. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!"Caress of Steel, Rush's third album narrowly edges out their fourth, 2112, as my R2D4. The sparse arrangements showcase their playing; in particular, Alex Lifeson's chord-based guitar style is shown off far better here than on their later, more complex albums. With Caress and 2112, Rush exploited the album format with longer, more developed operettas than were possible with their later focus on radio-friendly singles. Yes, 'I think Im going bald' is woefully out of place, the lyrics a little pretentious, and Geddy Lee's vocals are an acquired taste, but the music and sound are incredible. Rush at their very best."
I agree. This is one of my favorite albums. Put the head phones on dim the lights and you can feel yourself in the forest with neil.
ReplyDeleteI agree too! This album was a little ahead of it's time. But, again that's why I enjoy listening to RUSH...the band has always been forward thinking!
ReplyDeleteI look at this album the way I did with "Led Zeppelin III".At first it was hard to get into, but over time, it is the one album that I reach for when I think about a band at it's finest.
ReplyDeleteI was listening to Caress of Steel yesterday afternoon and it remains one of my favourite Rush albums; The Necromancer is sheer brilliance. A classic album
ReplyDeleteI group and listen to Rush albums a lot based on the season of the year. I think Caress of Steel is young and crisp and a great representation of where the guys were early on and showed a lot of potential. I love cranking up Caress when it's late fall/early winter and starting to get a cold nip in the air. Something about the album just screams winter-time to me, much like FBN does.
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