Intended to be Rush's breakthrough album, it sold fewer copies than their previous record and was considered a disappointment by their record company. The subsequent tour became known by the band as the "Down The Tubes Tour", as they feared the album's poor sales might mean the end of their career. Pondering the album's poor initial reception, Geddy Lee states in the 2010 documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage that they were "pretty high" during the recording sessions for Caress of Steel.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1993. The next year's follow-up album, 2112 would pave the way for Rush's commercial success with its own 21-minute epic.

Originally, the album cover was supposed to be in silver hue to give it a "steel" appearance. A printing error resulted in a copper color for the album cover.

Some cassette printings of this album had "Didacts and Narpets" and "I Think I'm Going Bald" switch places (possibly because of cassette tape length and to balance out both sides), and all of the movements of "The Fountain of Lamneth" listed as separate songs.

All songs written by Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, except where noted.

Rush's Led Zeppelin influence is still prominent on this record, most obviously in the song "Bastille Day" (which discusses the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution), though it is apparent on all three of the shorter songs on the album. "Bastille Day" reappeared on the "R30" CD and DVD as part of the instrumental R30 Overture. Reportedly, Dream Theater's core members John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy and John Myung named the first incarnation of the band Majesty after a comment by Portnoy suggesting this song's ending was "majestic".

"I Think I'm Going Bald" was written for Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell, who at the time was the frontman of the band Max Webster and a close friend of the members of Rush. It is also stated in the book Contents Under Pressure, that the song "I Think I'm Going Bald" was written as a homage to KISS' "Goin' Blind".

Mentioned in the song "Lakeside Park", May 24 is Victoria Day, a Canadian holiday. Lakeside Park itself is a park in Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, Ontario, where drummer and lyricist Neil Peart grew up and worked during the summer as a teenager.

A necromancer is one who practices necromancy, a type of divination involving the summoning of Operative Spirits to discern information about the future. "The Necromancer" starts with heavy influence from J.R.R. Tolkien's literary mythology. The Necromancer was a pseudonym used by Tolkien in The Hobbit for the character Sauron. The song departs from the story of the book as Part III sees the return of By-Tor from Fly by Night, this time as a hero and not a villain. "Return of the Prince" was also released as a single in some countries. Also in the introductory prologue to the song, the "three travellers, men of Willowdale" is a reference to the band itself, an allusion to the band's home in the suburb of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario.

On the inside gatefold of the album, just below the lyrics to "The Necromancer", the Latin phrase "Terminat hora diem; terminat auctor opus" appears. This translates (loosely) to: