Caress of Steel

Caress of Steel
Studio album by
Rush
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1975 (1975-09-24)
RecordedJuly 1975[1]
StudioToronto Sound (Toronto)
GenreProgressive rock[2]
Length45:04
LabelMercury
Producer
Rush chronology
Fly by Night
(1975) 		Caress of Steel
(1975) 		2112
(1976)
Singles from Caress of Steel
  1. "Return of the Prince"
    Released: October 1975[3]
  2. "Lakeside Park"
    Released: November 1975[4]

Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, Fly By Night, and marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progressive rock. Caress of Steel is considered Rush's first progressive rock album.[5] Songs such as "The Necromancer" furthered Rush's advancement into narrative-driven, fantasy-based compositions, while "The Fountain of Lamneth" was their first prog-rock "epic" to span an entire side of vinyl. Other tracks like "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park" became staples of the band's live setlists.

Though the band members were initially proud of their work on Caress of Steel, the album proved to be a commercial and critical nadir for Rush as the album's darker sound and fantastical compositions failed to find an audience and confused some of the band's peers, while poor sales put the band in danger of being dropped by Mercury. The mediocre reception impacted the band's gigging opportunities, leading them to dub the supporting tour the "Down The Tubes Tour". Despite being more positively viewed by the band's fans in retrospect, Ultimate Classic Rock noted that the album is still considered "the black sheep of their catalog".[6]

  1. ^ Popoff 2020, p. 204.
  2. ^ Prato, Greg. "Rush Caress of Steel - AllMusic review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "Return of the Prince single".
  4. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. ISBN 9780862415419.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference caressofsteelucr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "When Rush Delved into Prog with 'Caress of Steel'". September 24, 2015.