This is a nice little bit to hear (my first time). Just a laid back chat (fragment) with Alex. Really neat to hear him say the words "The Fountain of Lamneth" and "The Necromancer" out loud! The party line defense of Caress of Steel is pretty fresh here, "it was a necessary step for us." But the discussion of Caress is a bit extended, relatively speaking. Alex goes on about how much the band likes the album, how management understood why they did the album but wanted them to include some more accessible material on the next album. And about how the record company hated the album.
I've always thought that Alex was the biggest defender of Caress. Indeed, it is a monumental guitar album in my opinion, so that makes sense. I think Neil was always pretty clinical saying it was a necessary step for them to take. And Geddy saying the same, but with a bit more disdain baked into his telling. Even in more recent years, 40+ years on, Alex is more affirmative in saying the record was good and brave.
Long live Caress of Steel, my desert island record.