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Rediscovering Rush – Caress of Steel IV

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Some thoughts from the future:

There was a noticeable gap between the last two posts, as the family went to Canada on vacation for a couple of weeks - I remarked on it at the time, but perhaps hadn't quite grasped the significance of what that trip was about to mean to us all.

Still, I remember vividly listening to 'Caress' on the flight over, and again in the hotel in Vancouver as we tried to rediscover our equilibrium and banish the jetlag.  Maybe it was because of that that this review feels odd to me - I'm happy rediscovering 'Fountain' for sure, but at no point do I try to review it as a whole - and I think that's why my optimism was misplaced; I genuinely did enjoy finding it again, but I've scarcely listened to it since, and I think that's partly because there's so much other good stuff out there, and partly because, for all my enthusiasm, it really doesn't quite hang together as a coherent whole.

I put it away when I'd finished writing that post, and I doubt I've listened to the whole thing more than a couple of times since.

I did, however, buy a vinyl copy of 'Archive' some months back - replacing my original with another UK pressing was a joyful moment, and I definitely did listen to all of it then, so I know for sure I've heard it all the way through at least once since 2005...

 

Rediscovering Rush – Caress of Steel III

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The Fountain of Lamneth

I: In The Valley

I have no idea what to expect, here.  There must be a reason why I don't remember listening to this - I generally give everything a fair listen, but this is all (with one short exception) completely unfamiliar to me.  I'm afraid my heart sank when I heard the opening; why would they do a Stairway to Heaven track?  However, it very quickly redeems itself, and resolves into a terrific Rush riff, and a veritable mini-epic.  The two vocal styles really clarify the story (we're going to hear that device again, as I recall) and the story is clear - the tale of a life, the 6 ages of man.

Love the ending - crisp, clear chords, very Rush, very effective.  My spirits are suitably uplifted.

II: Didacts And Narpets

(Presumably 'parents' is not a cool word).  Wow.  All together now: Heeeere's Neil!  This puts a huge grin on my face - fills and rolls which still get an airing 30 years later, originated here.  Fantastic, if a little too King Crimson.

III: No-one At The Bridge

Part three is the 'troubled twenties'; unsure of what life will bring, our hero feels adrift and aimless - gone is the certainty of youth, to be replaced by a nameless dread.  Ditch the sound effects, and this will be a great song.  It's interesting that there was obviously not enough confidence in the ability of the music to give the nautical feel, so we have seagulls and waves, just in case we don't get it.

But I love this, and not just because it's a tightly put-together song.  Long, long ago, in a flat in Edinburgh, I taught myself to play this: the rippling low-end arpeggio, and the sudden shift to chords.  It took me ages to transcribe from sheet music, but was (and is - I still play it whenever I pick up a guitar) deeply satisfying to play.  The weird thing is that I barely remember the recorded original, but of course I know it intimately.  To hear it again after all this time is shocking - I thought the chorus had more power chords in it, and the voice more panic - probably that's just the way I did it.  Now I hear it again, I notice two things - it's just fine the way it is, and my left hand is unconsciously fingering the 'sea swell'.  Cool.

As we near the end, the bass goes practically subsonic, a very powerful effect, and Alex lavishes a glorious solo all over it.  Love it.

IV: Panacea

OK, I gots to know:  is this the Canadian pronunciation of 'panacea'?  'Cause it set my teeth on edge, and I needed three listens to appreciate that this is actually a mighty fine song.  The redemptive power of love is a hackneyed concept, but this is beautifully done, from the 'Farewell to Kings' opening to the sumptuous chorus, I'm right there with it, and find myself humming it for days afterwards.

At this point, I should mention that the production on this whole album is excellent.  I hear it particularly here, where the mix of instruments and voice is just about perfect - the drums are almost inaudible in places, subsumed to the common good, and it's a little jewel of a song as a result.

V: Bacchus Plateau

(or: Days of Wine and Roses - so much of this whole side has been done before, but it all sounds fresh.  Impressive work, guys)  I'll ignore the fade in (as you know, I'm not a fan), and concentrate on the song.  Take this section in isolation from the rest of the song, and - although it's very much a Rush song - you could just imagine someone like The Byrds having a hit with this - all 12-string and harmonies.  The first time the chorus hits, it's a wondrous resolution of the early tension (like all the best music), and because it feeds on Neil's middle-age wannabe status, it's probably the strongest of the six parts here.

Quite exceptional bass and guitar work, too - once again, I love the solo.  We're firing on all cylinders here, but I have to deduct a mark for fading out.  Sets up the finale beautifully, both lyrically and musically.

VI: The Fountain

And here we are - journey's end; life's end and it appears we go out the world backwards.  Part 6 is, of course, part 1 in reverse, but where 'In the Valley' was a little cumbersome lyrically, this has been well-tempered, and flows nicely - musings on spirituality, even a hint of Buddhist reincarnation.  Certainly the drum fills have been reincarnated from the first section, although I think that's a different solo.  Nice staccato ending again.

And then we complete the reverse journey with a recapitulation of the opening, followed (to my surprise, as I was about to switch off) by a reverse chord.  Neat.

You know, if this was split into six songs, and didn't suffer from a ) being on  'Caress of Steel', or b ) being a 'concept', this would be some of the best-loved early Rush stuff. 'Panacea' and 'Bacchus Plateau' in particular are really strong songs, and deserve a wider audience.  Much to my surprise, this is probably my favourite so far.

Summary:

I always thought this was the weakest Rush album.  I think I was wrong (although don't ask me to make that call just yet) - I'm going to have this in the car from now on, principally because I love the whole sweep of 'Fountain of Lamneth'.  If you haven't heard this, or have forgotten about it, do yourself a favour.  If you have, and you don't like it, try just listening to side 2 - there are definite weaknesses in side 1, but they are easily compensated for by 'Fountain.'

As always, just one guys opinion. Your mileage (kilometrage?) may vary.

Rediscovering Rush – Caress of Steel II

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Bastille Day

No problem here - this is another of those well-loved Rush classics.  Great riff, fantastic drumming, creative instrumentally, and those lyrics - just your average rock 'n' roll song about the social implications of the French Revolution...

If I had to find fault with it, it would be nit-picking - the king has knelt, Neil - we have a perfectly good past tense in English; no need to invent your own one - but that's it, really.

An observation, though - they're getting really good at these dramatic staccato chords, something which is one of the real early Rush hallmarks, but there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  No problem here, but it would be easy to get carried away.

Hm, another observation - I'm finding it hard to find interesting things to say about songs which are extremely familiar to me - I really like this song, but there are only so many ways I can say that.  Still, this album's off to a cracking start; where next?

I Think I'm Going Bald

Oh dear.  Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

All I remember of this is that it's terrible.  A ridiculous title, and I seem to remember that the song's not much better.  What were they thinking?  Still, before I criticize it any more, I suppose I'd better listen to it...

Well, what do you know?

If I might be permitted a little advice from 30 years in the future?  Guys, this is a pretty damn good song - a little too 'early Rush' for some, I fear, but a good thing to have on an album where you stretch the boundaries of the 'new Rush' - it kind of bridges the gap, and will help to bring people with you.  Just one thing - change the title.  Call it, oh, I don't know 'Peace of Mind' or 'Tempo Fugit' [sic] or 'The Terrible Revenge of the Green Slimy Thing'.  Call it anything; just don't call it that.  Please.

There truly is nothing wrong with this song - heard in the context of the first album, it would be a fine thing indeed - still showing those Zeppelin- and Who- based influences; perhaps trying a little too hard to be witty (witty is not something this band does well - at least not yet), but honestly, it's pretty good.  Listen to it someday; you might be as surprised as I just have been.

"I'll still be grey my way".  Amen to that, brother.

Lakeside Park

Sentimental; nostalgic - how old are you, Neil? 50? 60? Come on, keep this stuff in the notebook and bring it out when you need to boost the retirement fund.  Frankly, I used to like this song; it's kind of inoffensive, and has some nice lines, but listening to it now, I get the vision of a man who can't wait to be middle aged (see song with ill-advised title above).  And it doesn't feel right.  This song does not go with this album.  It might have fit better on the second side of 'Fly by Night', but I'm not even sure about that.

And here's a thing - how easy is it to sing something like this, when it's not your memories?  I had never thought about this before, but I reckon Geddy doesn't sound all that convinced by what he's singing.  I may be wrong, but  I just get some odd feelings about this.  I've been listening to these on average three times through before committing my thoughts to keyboard.  Third time through, I skipped this one - first time I've done that.

I realize some of you may love this song to death.  Sorry.

The Necromancer

I really had to scratch my head to work out what I was going to say here.  Musically, this is terrific stuff - Alex' solos are quite breathtaking in places, and the whole thing more or less hangs together - I'll come back to that 'more or less' in a minute, if I may.  So what was wrong? Why did I come to the end of this and still feel unsatisfied?  I'm actually delighted to have rediscovered it, because there are musical ideas in here that I hadn't remembered, and I can really see where the seeds of '2112' are.

And the problem isn't that some of these ideas get reused in other, later, songs - that, to me, is one of the marks of greatness; the ability to learn from your earlier efforts, and improve on them.  No, the problem is only clear to me when I pay closer attention to the lyrics - in fact, to the way the lyrics interact with the music.  It just doesn't work.  It doesn't work on two levels, possibly three.

Firstly there's the treated voice introducing each section.  It took me a while, but eventually I realized where I had seen it before.  It's 'Winnie the Pooh', isn't it?  'Chapter One.  In which our Heroes set off to find the Necromancer, but it doesn't look good for them'  I can't figure out the purpose of having this spoken - it just removes all the drama from the sung lyric.

Secondly, the sung lyric just doesn't bring anything to the party.  We already know what's going to happen, and then Geddy sings it to us.  This is bad enough in the first two sections, but it's the third where this really doesn't work. After we're told about Prince By-Tor's victory (and incidentally, is this the same By-Tor?  Or is it a common enough name in Ontario?) we hear it set to music, and that leads me neatly to...

Thirdly, the music does not fit the lyrics at the most crucial point of the song - and this is what I meant by 'more or less' earlier; we hear the three heroes despair and sorrow; the music is perfect for this, then suddenly, there appears to be an almighty battle going on.  Where did that come from? What's going on?  Have they escaped and are battling their way to freedom? Once the exhilaration of the battle is over, we're told that a mighty deus ex machina has swooped in from another song entirely, and won the battle for them.

Then Geddy sings about it, by which time we're struggling to remember what it sounded like.

Don't get me wrong, there are some terrific things going on here, and as a dry run for what came after, this is extremely useful - the idea of the introductory passage is properly relegated to the lyric sheet by the time we get to '2112' (as I recall), and the music is allowed to help the lyrics tell the story.  In the final analysis, this is a fascinating piece of Rush history - a bit like growing up in public - and I'll happily listen to it again, but I'll try not to pay too much attention to the lyrics.

Rediscovering Rush – Caress of Steel I

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Caress of Steel

History:

Not much to add, really - I owned this as the third part of 'Archive'; I played it least, and I'm not sure why.  I know it has a reputation as the weakest of the early albums, and perhaps I agreed with that - perhaps I just went along with what people said.  I know that 'Bastille Day' and 'Lakeside Park' apart, I have not heard any of these since the mid Eighties (but I can still play part of another of them on the guitar - more of that later.)

I'm looking forward to finding out why I didn't like it.