CARESS OF STEEL

For me those early Rush albums are all about that prevalent Zep influence and the hard-rocking riffs with thumping rhythm sections. Yet on their third studio release we see the protruding influence of progressive rock, given the band's admiration of Yes and very likely of other major acts of the genre. 'Caress of Steel' is no stylistic diversion from 'Fly by Night' or the debut album but it is a good attempt at a sophistication of the overall structure of the songs and the sound of Rush and we might see the album as the most consistent overall from the first three.

The first side is occupied by four tracks - three shorter songs in the style of the band's previous work, where we have the more straightforward rock riffs and typical song structures, and the 12-minute suite 'The Necromancer'. This is the first try for a more complex piece of music, and the song is indeed full of great ideas as it develops gradually, moving swiftly between the three different sections, which range from heavy to ominous. The second side features the side-long track 'The Fountain of Lamneth', which is another interesting entry on this rather solid album, but unlike '2112', the twenty odd minutes here are obtained by the joining of several shorter tracks (or ideas developed as such) that do not work as finely all the time. This is a rough epic, a format that the band would go on to refine on future releases. And with all of this mind, 'Caress of Steel' is a good album that is the first bold step towards the band's transition into more progressive musical territory, and at the end of the day, with its consistency it overshadows the previous two efforts.