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Album Details
- Artist: Rush
- Album: Fly By Night
- Label: Anthem / Mercury
- Year of Release: 1975
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2007-10-03
RecommendIt was the 70's, and progressive music was peaking across the globe. It was the time of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and so many other classic contributors to music in general, so many of whom took a more classical sense of priority and creative direction towards their songwriting, creating what we now consider to be "prog", in it's various forms. And of course, whenever you're talking about prog rock, you're going to inevitably find yourself looking at Rush, the ageless Canadian trio who's musical journey speaks volumes both for the independent spirit of music and the ability to make a career out of it at the same time. Their early years were dominated by energenic studio albums and equally charged live performances. After their debut saw small but signifigant impact in their native Canada and more southern reaches, a sudden depature of their drummer made for an unwanted scare. Fortunately for the band we know now to be Rush, a fellow Canadian and globe-hopping intellectual skinsman would just fall into the spot he had no doubt been conceived to station.
The first product of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil "Proffessor" Peart as Rush was Fly By Night, much of which was already dreamed up between the bassist and guitarist and which newcomer Peart contributed to mostly as a lyricist, a post he continues to man to this day. Still showing their early influences on their sleeves, the guys run through some familiar territory across these eight tracks. The Zeppelin and Cream-influenced hard rock, heavy on groove and especially Geddy's free-wheelin' style of bass. "Anthem" swings the gates open swiftly, riding a snappy pace formulated by Peart's Moon-esque flourishes. Indeed the talents this then-young man possesed at the time are astonishing, and examples are given throughout. The band's first attempt at a literary epic, "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" is more of a half-baked concept of Geddy and Alex in some sort of duel-by-axeplay more than a big-brained dynamo they'd become more or less known for, but as a piece of music it showcases one hell of a sense of creativity. The time changes, structures, indeed all the tiny details behind their natural rock-n-roll spirit creates such a feel of ahead-of-their-time that you'd almost think they recorded this 5 years later.
Whether in the bittersweet beauty of the acoustic "Rivendell", the almost CCR-ish down-home feel of "Making Memories" or the title track's radio-ready hooks, it's clear to see Rush was already, two albums into their career, ready to crack the consciousness of millions of potential fans. It's frightening to think they'd only get better. In fact, the only way I can find flaws in this album is by lining it up side by side with their later works. As a stand-alone piece of music, Fly By Night should be seen as one of it's years most solid releases. Perhaps not a classic, but as any fan will tell you, one of the best from their early era.
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on 2011-07-14 CharlesMartel Said:
Having bought Rush's first album upon its release on the flimsiest of excuses, I can honestly say I was mildly piqued by the prospect of their follow-up album. In those days I was in my hard rock phase I suppose in that I was typical of a fair number of boys my age around the mid seventies. The band's self-titled debut album had been a mildly interesting, if not particularly innovative or adventurous exercise in the heavier end of hard rock. That merited, in my view at the time, their second album when it came out worth acquiring.
Was I to be surprised! This was an excellent, and in many ways significantly different follow up by Rush to their rather plain debut album. (It even had more colours on the sleeve as opposed to the blobs of black, white and red of their debut). It marked the beginnings of a distinct change in style, and one which ultimately set Rush apart from the many hard rock clones which proliferated around this time. It is worth taking a look at what had brought about this change as it was to define the future direction of Rush as a band and set them on a path they probably could not have imagined when they set out.
The principal change was the replacement of the original drummer, John Rutsey, with Neil Peart, largely, it is said, due to the health problems of the former. This completed the line up which was to take the band forward until the present day. Peart was of a different grain to Rutsey. For one thing, he took on the duties of lyric writing and brought with him a distinctive style in that department. Noble as the paeans to the hard working blue collar men of the first album may have been, Peart was less interested in the mundane. He began to write songs with a distinctly fanciful edge.
Straight away, the difference is there to be seen. "Anthem" is an altogether different track from anything off the previous album. The thundering, sometimes ponderous rock has gone, replaced by much lighter guitars, echo effects and multiple, atmospheric guitars which would become a Rush trademark. " Anthem" had a different feel to it, yes, but that was nothing compared to the outstanding track of the album, and in my view still is the best track Rush have ever written, even from a distance of thirty years on. " By-Tor and the Snow Dog " has all those classic hallmarks of some of the great Rush epics of later years. What makes this track stand out is the mixture of guitars. There is the snarling guitar as the protagonists fight; followed by the slow somewhat ethereal guitars (perhaps the protagonist dying); and finally the triumphal guitar (a funeral cortege perhaps) as the track reaches its climax.
The propensity for epic tracks with deep and meaningful themes which marked Rush for the rest of the decade may have begun with this album, but many of the other tracks are fine, steady rockers. "Fly by Night" is a typical example of the standard rock fare of the era, around three and a half minutes with the verse-refrain-verse-refrain-guitar solo-verse-refrain formula so beloved of many a genre. Only the pseudo-folk " Rivendell " lets the side down. And yes, you did read it right. Like others before them, Rush rather nauseatingly turned to Tolkein for inspiration at times. However, Rush would go onto bigger things. But they would seldom get any better than this.
It can therefore be said that "Fly by Night" is the first true Rush album in many ways. The first album sounded in places like a harder rock version of Led Zeppelin, and a lot sounded like Black Sabbath in their earlier incarnation. On this album, Rush took on a life and a character of their own.
Rating: 8/10
