THE SPIRIT OF CARESS OF STEEL

[cygnadu]

All The World's A Stage is proof that Rush was overjoyed to be performing that show. Probably every show during that tour. After the nonperformance of Caress Of Steel, 2112 gave them needed and deserved validation. The band members seem almost ashamed of Caress Of Steel today. Each member has their reasons why. Personally, I feel they were simply hurt by the fact that they'd created the album that they'd long dreamed of only to have it scorned by the public. In hindsight they feel that they made a sub-standard album. Admittedly, a quick listen to "I Think I'm Going Bald" might cause the casual listener to liken the band to parody rock. But one only needs to read the lyrics to see that they were just as beautifully written as the execution and performance of the music. This album shows how masterful they were over guitar, drums, and vocals. (Vocals ESPECIALLY on "I Think I'm Going Bald" show a man who knew not only how to deliver that awkward chorus but deliver it with passion) Neil might also look back at that particular chorus and wince. I hope he doesn't. Because they obviously thought it was cool enough at the time to play their hearts out when they recorded it in the studio. That album is about an artist's journey of self-discovery and finding his path in the world. The youthful passion and masterful talent displayed on it are the perfect voice of that sentiment. The three had become one. They had become the epic band that they had hinted at becoming on Fly By Night. And they demonstrated the overwhelming joy that gave them through their playing. All The World's A Stage contains that same spirit only magnified by them rising from the ashes with 2112.

 

[Babycat]

This is my personal thought on Caress Of Steel:

I can't figure out for the life of me how this album failed. I don't know why the bandmates, the Management and the label thought it failed. To me, there's nothing wrong with it. I always thought the bandmates really liked the album and were concerned that everyone else didn't share their enthusiasm for it. I'm also aware now that there were a lack of sales, they made virtually no money out of it, and the subsequent tour was called Down The Tubes Tour. Yet I love this album, I love all the tracks and I love I Think I'm Going Bald. For me, none of the tracks are difficult to listen to. For an album that went quadruple Platinum, I always thought they'd done well.

Please don't flame me for my honest opinion on it.

[cygnadu]

I love the entire Caress Of Steel album. I loved it when I first discovered it over 20 years ago and I continue to turn the volume up to ten when I listen to it now. I was a drummer in a small town when I grew up. Neil Peart's playing pulled me into the Rush phenomenon - his imaginative lyrics kept me there. I am a child of the Star Wars generation and love sci-fi and fantasy. Rush in the seventies appealed to me both musically and fantastically with songs like The Necromancer and The Fountain Of Lamneth. Lakeside Park is beautiful and touching. Bastille Day is anthemic - made for navigating the road when you need to get somewhere and there's a lot of bad drivers in your way. I Think I'm Going Bald was humurous when I first listened but once I read the lyrics it took on a more bitter-sweet meaning. I'll defend Caress Of Steel all day long.

[Cyclonus X-1]

This is the Rush album I love the most, and what I love most about it are the Necromancer solos. Brilliant playing by Lifeson.

[Silas Lang]

I love every second of it. Pretty high up there as far as my favorite Rush albums.

[On TheRoad To Adventure]

I don't listen to it as much as their other albums, but I love Bastille Day. It's such a powerful melody. I knew those lyrics before I ever heard any of their music. My husband used to sing it before I married him and became a Rush fan myself. I also love Lakeside Park, because it makes me think nostalgically about my youth. Those are my favourites on the album.

[rushlady23]

CoS is my all-time favorite

[Bastille Dave]

I heard CoS when I was 9 years old back in '76 and I've heard it regularly since. For me there is so much nostalgia that I don't think I can give an unbiased opinion on it, other than I love that album from start to finish and eveything in between. Over the years I've come to grow with it, I understand more of the lyrics now than I did as a kid or a teen or even as a twenty-something year old. I also realize that the era it was created will never happen again and the album itself is a small piece of music history, as 2112 would forever change Rush's direction musically.

 

I wouldn't change a thing about CoS, and those who don't love that album are missing out on a wonderful musical experience.

[goose]

QUOTE (cygnadu @ Dec 3 2011, 01:34 PM)

I Think I'm Going Bald was humurous when I first listened but once I read the lyrics it took on a more bitter-sweet meaning.

The song gets bashed, but these kind of lyrics are the ones I appreciate most - addressing serious or personal subject matter with a playful sense of humor.

[goose]

QUOTE (Bastille Dave @ Dec 16 2011, 03:50 AM)

I heard CoS when I was 9 years old back in '76 and I've heard it regularly since. For me there is so much nostalgia that I don't think I can give an unbiased opinion on it, other than I love that album from start to finish and eveything in between. Over the years I've come to grow with it, I understand more of the lyrics now than I did as a kid or a teen or even as a twenty-something year old. I also realize that the era it was created will never happen again and the album itself is a small piece of music history, as 2112 would forever change Rush's direction musically. I wouldn't change a thing about CoS, and those who don't love that album are missing out on a wonderful musical experience.