Caress Of Steel

Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Rush, released in 1975. The album shows more of Rush’s adherence to the standards of progressive rock. Long pieces, pieces broken up into parts, and solo passages of speed and agility are all included. The album is often considered notable for the inclusion of the band’s first epic piece, “The Fountain Of Lamneth”, which runs to nearly 20 minutes and comprised the whole of side two of the original vinyl release. Intended to be Rush’s breakthrough album, it sold fewer copies than their previous record and was considered a disappointment by their record company, with the tour becoming known as the “Down The Tubes Tour”.

Despite its relatively poor sales, the album charted higher in the US than Rush’s previous release Fly by Night (as stated in the liner notes to Rush’s The Spirit of Radio Greatest Hits 1974-87 album). The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1993. The next year’s follow-up album, 2112 would pave the way for Rush’s commercial success with its own 21-minute epic.

Originally, the album cover was supposed to be in silver hue to give it a “steel” appearance. A printing error resulted in a copper color for the album cover.[1]

Some cassette printings of this album had “Didacts and Narpets” and “I Think I’m Going Bald” switch places (possibly due to cassette tape length and to balance out both sides), and all of the movements of “The Fountain of Lamneth” were listed as separate songs.