CARESS OF STEEL

To most Rush fans this remains to be one of the hardest albums to digest. I recently purchased the digital remaster, which prompted me to review this album. Let me go ahead and get any negatives out of the way. "I'm Think I'm Going Bald" would have to be, in my opinion, the weakest link on the album. I mean that only by the fact that it sort of stands by itself when taken in context with both the theme and mood of the rest of the album. I'd have to say that as a stand alone track, it well represents the band's tongue in cheek approach and comedic wit often displayed thoughout their career. But now that that is out of the way, let's get to the meat of the good stuff. "Bastille Day" represents Rush's constant ability to comment on social and political concepts in a structured and inteeligent way. C'mon, a rock song about the The French Revolution? Not often a subject tackled by the most politically aware musicians. "Lakeside Park", beautifully written, arranged , and gives a nod to the better times in life not often addressed in prog. Which now brings us to the two more epic tracks on this CD, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". For any sci-fi fantasy fan, you can obviously recognize the Tolkein influence to the storyline of "The Necromancer". Musically, this track from beginning to end is astounding; the multi layered guitars, Geddy's ability to translate angst in his vocal style, to the spirit lifting theme of Return of the Prince. Classic! "The Fountain of Lamneth", is a bit tougher to just review when considering all probably went into the concept. Lending ideas from Greek mythology, Coronado's search for th Fountain of Youth, a take on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for No One at the Bridge, which Geddy's vocals towards the end just drip with sorrow and anguish, well done. So, as a whole, the album gets a weird rating from me. I only put the 2 star rating based off of the fact that if you're not a Rush fan, then this album probably isn't for you, and it's still a tough one for most Rush fans at that. I can only encourage anyone to sit down and really listen to everything going on in this album and I believe you'll come out with a different perspective than the one you started with. Enjoy!

G