RUSH — Fly by Night (review)

Album · 1975 · Hard Rock

4.5/5 · 2016-03-21
Unitron

Rush - Fly By Night

"Fly By Night" is the second studio album from hard rock/progressive rock band Rush. "Fly By Night" marks the first appearance of drum virtuoso Neil Peart in the band due to the departure of original drummer John Rutsey, who had left because of his diabetes and dislike of touring. Listening to the album, you can already hear a change in the music and lyrics.

The music is still rooted in heavy blues rock like the debut, but there is quite a bit more variation. An influence of folk music is heard in songs like 'Making Memories' and 'Rivendell', the former being a really nice catchy folk-rock tune. The latter, however, is an incredibly boring ballad that really goes nowhere. It actually makes me yearn for the filler of the debut. On a more positive note, heard here is Rush's first epic, 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog', which has a great deal of experimentation with guitar distortion and some really sweet guitar and drum soloing. Mix that with the catchy bassline and it's a winner. Towards the end of the song, there is some dark ambiance that fits in well after the middle jam.

While some of the experimentation works well, My favorite is easily the opening 'Anthem' which is a giant slab of heavy rock/metal that just hits you in the face. Lifeson's riffs on this song are absolutely killer, combined with Lee's raw vocal performance and Peart's chaotic drumming just makes this a real treat to listen to. Speaking of guitar, Lifeson cranks out catchy riff after riff in the first three songs on the album. Another one of my favorites is actually the previously mentioned 'Making Memories', it's simply just such a feel-good song for if you're feeling down.

Along with drums, Peart also took over many of the lyric-writing being responsible for such fascinating and interesting lyrics that would be characterized in following albums. The lyricism has almost entirely changed, with fantasy lyrics in songs like 'Rivendell' and 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' and more philosophical lyrics as heard in 'Anthem' and 'Beneath, Between, and Behind'.

Overall, while there are some awesome songs and good ideas on the album, I don't feel like it's as strong as the debut. It has some filler, and besides 'Anthem', I don't find it to be as addicting as the debut. Despite the filler and certainly feeling like a transitional album, it's still a great album and I recommend it to any fans of 70's hard rock. Also, that album cover is awesome. Hope you found this review helpful.

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more than 2 years ago
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Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I personally think it's the weakest of their 70's albums, but as I said in my review it does still have some great songs. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on it when you re-visit it.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Heard this one years ago and didn´t think much of it. I haven´t listened to it since, but I´ll definitely be revisiting at some time, to see if my opinion has changed.