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Was Caress of Steel "drug-fueled"?


shaun3701
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LSD, for the most part, is an intellectual's substance of choice. Really smart people are irresistably drawn to it, because of the affects it has on the mind and imagination. That being said, the members of Rush are REALLY smart, and though they are too modest to say so, they are very much intellectuals. Given the time that COS was written and recorded, when I first heard the lyrics "draw another goblet from the cask of '43", I instantly knew what it meant. OF COURSE it refers to LSD!!! It is just silly to try to deny it.

 

Why all the 'instant recognition' to "the cask of '43" being about LSD? Is this some specific LSD thing I have no clue about? I always liked the sound of that line, assuming it's about wine.

 

I always assumed it was wine too, but apparently, 1943 was when the psychedelic properties of LSD were discovered.

 

Huh, I didn't know that. Well, I'll still hold onto the thought of the wine being just wine, instead of a veil for LSD - it's more salubrious for me that way! :P

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LSD, for the most part, is an intellectual's substance of choice. Really smart people are irresistably drawn to it, because of the affects it has on the mind and imagination. That being said, the members of Rush are REALLY smart, and though they are too modest to say so, they are very much intellectuals. Given the time that COS was written and recorded, when I first heard the lyrics "draw another goblet from the cask of '43", I instantly knew what it meant. OF COURSE it refers to LSD!!! It is just silly to try to deny it.

 

Why all the 'instant recognition' to "the cask of '43" being about LSD? Is this some specific LSD thing I have no clue about? I always liked the sound of that line, assuming it's about wine.

 

I always assumed it was wine too, but apparently, 1943 was when the psychedelic properties of LSD were discovered.

 

Huh, I didn't know that. Well, I'll still hold onto the thought of the wine being just wine, instead of a veil for LSD - it's more salubrious for me that way! :P

 

Wasn't it discovered in 1938?

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LSD, for the most part, is an intellectual's substance of choice. Really smart people are irresistably drawn to it, because of the affects it has on the mind and imagination. That being said, the members of Rush are REALLY smart, and though they are too modest to say so, they are very much intellectuals. Given the time that COS was written and recorded, when I first heard the lyrics "draw another goblet from the cask of '43", I instantly knew what it meant. OF COURSE it refers to LSD!!! It is just silly to try to deny it.

 

Why all the 'instant recognition' to "the cask of '43" being about LSD? Is this some specific LSD thing I have no clue about? I always liked the sound of that line, assuming it's about wine.

 

I always assumed it was wine too, but apparently, 1943 was when the psychedelic properties of LSD were discovered.

 

Huh, I didn't know that. Well, I'll still hold onto the thought of the wine being just wine, instead of a veil for LSD - it's more salubrious for me that way! :P

 

Wasn't it discovered in 1938?

 

It was originally synthesised in 1938, but its psychedelic properties were not discovered until 1943.

 

And Mika, that's the great thing about lyrics, isn't it? Any interpretation that moves the listener is correct! ;)

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Neil talks about LSD in one of his books- I "think" Traveling Music. Could be wrong. It was during his "pre-Rush" years. Can't remember if it was while he was still in London. Basically, he and a friend spent on carefully orchestrated night tripping to LSD. They stayed in, did it, and moved on. He is smart enough to have recognized that the illusion of mind expansion is just that- an illusion. There are no real truths to be discovered that way.
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Fountain of Lamneth is an amazing composition for such young musicians. I'm sure I'll catch heat for this, but --- I like it better than Hemispheres, 2112, or Clockwork Angels. It is my personal favorite among the concept pieces.

 

The rest of CoS --- I like Lakeside (preferarbly the live version) -- and the rest of it I don't really listen to. But I can think of any number of recordings by other groups that shout "DRUGS!" much more loudly.

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Fountain of Lamneth is an amazing composition for such young musicians. I'm sure I'll catch heat for this, but --- I like it better than Hemispheres, 2112, or Clockwork Angels. It is my personal favorite among the concept pieces.

 

The rest of CoS --- I like Lakeside (preferarbly the live version) -- and the rest of it I don't really listen to. But I can think of any number of recordings by other groups that shout "DRUGS!" much more loudly.

 

I listened to 'FoL' yesterday, and you're right, it's such an amazing piece of musical art for musicians that were so young at the time! They were, what, 22? And I agree with it being certainly one of, if not the, best epic pieces. There's a lot of mood changes going on in this song! I think the boys should be proud of what they created.

 

As for it being created under the haze of drugs - yes, there are certainly songs by other bands that scream of drugs much more than CoS. 'Tomorrow Never Knows' by The Beatles immediately comes to mind! My take is that sure, the Rush boys seem to have been using (lighter) drugs at the time, but I don't think they were the "key to unlock the door" - I think Rush was and is capable of coming up with great music without the need for a little 'inspiration'.

 

But who knows, really? What matters to me is that this is an album I'd never really given a chance until recently, and know that I'm exposed to the wonders within, am very happy to add it to my aural pleasures!

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I think anyone trying to link the "cask of '43" stuff with LSD is misguided. It's part of the subsection Bacchus Plateau, and Bacchus is the Roman god of grape harvesting; i..e, wine. Seems fairly obvious to me. :finbar: Edited by zappafrank
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