Published on Jul 8, 2001
Looking back at something always gives you a moment of clarity
which you should have seen coming.
For example, people shouldn’t have been surprised that Rush
would delve into concept album land (even if it only took up one
side) in 1976 with
2112. In fact, Geddy Lee and crew had been building to that
point, starting with the epic piece “By-Tor And The Snow Dog” on
Fly By Night. Their third album,
Caress Of Steel, could be seen as the “pre-quel” to
2112, even if it wasn’t nearly as strong an effort.
If “By-Tor And The Snow Dog” was Rush’s test to see if they
could indeed do a concept piece, then
Caress Of Steel has the boys happily showing off their new
knowledge – often a little too much. The twelve-and-a-half minute
piece “The Necromancer” has some beautiful moments, especially in
the closing segment “Return Of The Prince”, but the general
storyline is a little difficult to follow. (Yeah, like the
storyline in “By-Tor And The Snow Dog” came with a road map.) In
all, it’s not a phenomenal piece, but it’s enjoyable… even if
By-Tor is brought back at the end of this piece. (Why does
something tell me both songs have their roots in Ayn Rand
stories?)
The same can’t always be said for the full-side piece “The
Fountain Of Lamneth” – a piece which, like “The Necromancer,” has
sections which are absolutely beautiful, but shows that Rush was
still working on creating such long pieces which had a natural flow
to them. At times, if it weren’t for a signature guitar riff that
Alex Lifeson played, one might not realize that these six
selections were all tied together. (Yes, I know that the B-minor
guitar line from “2112” was used in certain passages to show the
songs were intertwined, but at least those selections flowed and
ebbed together.)
In a sense, it’s almost as if “The Fountain Of Lamneth” was
written to prove that Rush was more than just a hard rock band –
explained by the occasional dip into weirdness, especially noted on
“Didacts and Narpets” – what the hell was
that all about? By the time the listener reaches “The
Fountain,” the sixth and final “chapter,” they find themselves
ready for this piece to come to a merciful end. And, no, it’s not
that I’m against Rush doing concept pieces, but they just hadn’t
found their niche with this particular track.
Caress Of Steel shows Rush trying to grow as a band in more
than just the concept pieces. The three short selections range from
the powerful “rock-god” stance (“Bastille Day”) to the
introspective and beautiful (“Lakeside Park”) – to the just plain
silly and forgettable (“I Think I’m Going Bald”).
Caress Of Steel is a tentative step for Rush, one which
would lead to their masterpiece in conceptual work. This particular
album is probably the most ignored from Rush’s early period, and it
does have moments which are definitely worth checking out. But it’s
not the strongest outing from Rush.