Caress Of Steel

Record Store Day 2019 was kind of a bust. Sure I dropped over $60 on records, but overall, it felt like it came up short. Before calling it a day, I found one more record to add to the collection.

I love the early Rush records, but my collection is pretty thin...I mean, the Farewell To Kings album is really the only one that I've bothered to chase down. I'm not sure why my Rush collection has been so slow to come together, but when I saw Caress Of Steel in the used bins for $7, I knew it was time to make a move.

Caress Of Steel is Rush's third album, and their second one to be released in 1975...because bands in the 70's often would crank out two albums a year...and this record sees the band starting to really push the envelope with their two epics The Necromancer (over 12 minutes) and The Fountain Of Lamneth (around 20 minutes). Happy to finally have this in the collection.

Farewell To '77

A couple years ago, I went on a tear with a bunch of punk albums from 1977. Metal and Rock from that year took a backseat at the time, and I was all about The Damned, Sex Pistols, and Heartbreakers. This time around, rock and metal from '77 takes center stage.

The plan was to start working my way through my playlists of the late 70's, and then immerse myself into the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal explosion around 1980. I ended up having so much fun just hanging out in 1977, and really appreciating some of the albums that were released that year, that I decided that the NWOBHM could wait, and I started picking up some vinyl for albums that I was currently obsessing over.

I love early Rush, but I don't usually venture past the 2112 album from 1976, so it was a nice surprise to finally discover and appreciate A Farewell To Kings. Man, right alongside Nutz and Quartz, I was spinning these songs day after day.

Don't you love it when an obsession doesn't break the bank? An easy score under $10, which makes you wonder why people are dropping $30 on the reissues from a couple years ago.

Rush Live In '74

When I first got into Rush, I only bothered with those early days. I knew that things got sketchy for Rush during the 80's, as they fell in love with synthesizers, so I never bothered with anything post Moving Pictures. People seem to really dig the last couple of Rush albums, so I'm slowly venturing into that territory, and have downloaded both Counterparts and the remixed Vapor Trails albums. I'm surprised...they are actually rather good. However, there is no confusing the difference between "good" and "jaw-droppingly amazing", and mid-70's Rush absolutely demolishes the more recent stuff.

A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with a friend, and killing time in the record store. I was trying to convince myself that I shouldn't spend any money, and then I saw this live Rush album from '74. Knowing my indifference towards live albums, I'm not sure what it was that compelled me to buy it...well, other than my recent obsession with the band, and really that is the only reason that I need.

When I got the record home, and dropped the needle on the vinyl, I was very satisfied with my purchase. Damn, these songs sound so urgent, and Geddy Lee's voice is so raw...a perfect snapshot of a hungry band on the rise. At the time, Rush had only released their self titled debut, and were preparing the follow up, Fly By Night. With tracks only covering those two albums, and including three songs that Rush never properly recorded in the studio, this live album was well worth the money spent...even though I found it available online for $20 cheaper the following week. Damn.

Rush To The Moon

I've never gone over the edge crazy with Rush, but I do enjoy spinning their early albums now and again. Pretty much anything from the first self titled album, up through Moving Pictures is solid stuff. The recent reissue of their first album sparked some conversations with friends about how great the band is. Before I knew it, I'd been sucked into our own self-created hype machine, and found that I had pre-ordered a copy.

Listening to this piece of vinyl today, I'm glad I made the purchase. With Finding My Way's intro guitar riff that explodes with Geddy Lee's screechy scream, I was suddenly hooked...and that hook stayed planted in deep until the end notes of Working Man. Goddamn, sometimes I forget how great those early Rush albums are.

The first album was originally released on Moon Records, and limited to 3,500 pressed, before being re-released by Mercury later that same year. Let's be honest. When the originals are going for between $350 and $700 on ebay, the chances of me owning a piece of vinyl with this great looking logo on it are slim to none. Taking advantace of this reissue was the only way to make it happen.

I love box set vinyl, and was excited to add this to the shelf.

Truth be told, though, there really isn't much inside this box. In addition to the vinyl, we get a poster, some photo cards of the band members, a Rush family tree...nothing that probably couldn't have been included the regular album sleeve. Still, the packaging is solid and well done, and the vinyl sounds amazing.