Geddy Lee – Bass

Caress of Steel was released on September 24, 1975. By March 1976, it had sold around 40,000 copies in Canada. Although the band initially had high hopes for the album, it sold fewer copies than Fly by Night and was considered a disappointment by the record company. The album eventually became known as one of Rush’s most obscure and overlooked recordings, consequently being considered under-rated by fans.

Due to poor sales, low concert attendance and overall media indifference, the 1975–76 tour supporting Caress of Steel became known by the band as the “Down the Tubes” tour. That, in addition to the record company’s pressure to record more accessible, radio-friendly material similar to their first album – something Lee, Lifeson and Peart were unwilling to do – made the trio fear that the end of the group was near. Ignoring their record label’s advice and vowing to “fight or fall”, the following year’s 2112 album would ultimately pave the way for lasting commercial success, despite opening with a 20-and-a-half-minute conceptual title track.

Caress of Steel did not attain gold certification in the United States until December 1993, nearly two decades after its release. It remains one of the few Rush albums to not go platinum in the United States.

The opening track of the album is about the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution on 14th Juley, 1789. The bass part has a lot of classic Geddy Lee=isms – note the proximity of the bass part to the vocal melody. This happens a lot more in Rush tunes than I think people often notice.