Fly by Night (album)
| Fly by Night | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Rush | ||||
| Released |
February 15, 1975 May 6, 1997 (Remastered CD) | |||
| Recorded | September – December, 1974 | |||
| Studio | Toronto Sound Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:38 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Rush, Terry Brown | |||
| Rush chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Fly by Night | ||||
| ||||
Fly by Night is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in February 1975. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart.
Music and lyrics
After John Rutsey retired from the band due to diabetes and dislike of touring, the band recruited Neil Peart as his replacement. As such, this album marks Neil Peart's first recording with the band. Peart also became the band's main lyricist, leading the band to adopt a more literary lyrical style that differed significantly from their self-titled debut album. The songs "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" and "Rivendell" are examples of the inclusion of fantasy themes into Rush's music.
"By-Tor and the Snow Dog" was inspired by a Rush roadie's story of staying at the house of Anthem Records manager Ray Danniels, where Danniels' German Shepherd growled at him and a tiny dog also owned by Danniels tried to jump on him. The band found the incident hilarious.
"Anthem" features lyrics inspired by elements of the philosophy of Ayn Rand, whose influence on Peart's writing would reach its apogee on Rush's 1976 album 2112. The autobiographical title track is based on Peart's experience of moving from Canada to London as a young musician (before joining Rush). The original hand-penned lyrics for both "Anthem" and "Fly by Night" include different or additional lyrics not sung in the original songs. The original lyrics to "Fly by Night" include a prologue which is not found in the recorded version of the song.
On the original vinyl release, the chimes heard at the end of "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" continue into the locked groove, and thus play indefinitely on manual record players.
Production
Fly by Night was recorded at Toronto Sound Studios on Overlea Boulevard in Toronto. Rush also recorded parts of their first album at the same studio. However, the studio had upgraded its equipment since that time.
Fly by Night is the band's first album to be produced by Terry Brown, who had remixed the band's debut album. Brown would maintain this role through 1982's Signals.
Remaster
A remaster was issued in 1997. It was remastered again in 2011 by Andy VanDette as part of the three-volume "Sector" box sets, which re-released all of Rush's Mercury-era albums. In addition to the standard audio CD, the album was also included on an audio DVD in the Sector 1 set, remixed into 5.1 surround sound.[1]
Fly By Night was remastered for vinyl in 2015 by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios as a part of the official "12 Months of Rush" promotion.[2] The high definition master prepared for this release was also made available for purchase in 24-bit/96 kHz and 24-bit/192 kHz formats, at several high-resolution audio online music stores. These masters have significantly less dynamic range compression than the 1997 remasters and the "Sector" remasters by Andy VanDette.[3]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Music Emissions | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| The Daily Vault | B+[7] |
Greg Prato of AllMusic said that the album was less straightforward than their debut album, and while it was not one of their best albums, it was one of their most important.[8]
Track listing
| Side one | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
| 1. | "Anthem" | Neil Peart | Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson | 4:26 |
| 2. | "Best I Can" | Lee | Lee | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Beneath, Between and Behind" | Peart | Lifeson | 3:00 |
| 4. | "By-Tor and the Snow Dog"
| Peart | Lee, Lifeson | 8:37
0:36 0:35 6:22 0:36 2:43 1:59 1:04 1:04 |
| Side two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
| 5. | "Fly by Night" | Peart | Lee | 3:20 |
| 6. | "Making Memories" | Peart | Lee, Lifeson | 2:56 |
| 7. | "Rivendell" | Peart | Lee | 5:00 |
| 8. | "In the End" | Lee | Lee, Lifeson | 6:51 |
Personnel
Charts
| Country | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| US | Billboard 200 | 113 |
Certifications
| Country | Organization | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| US | RIAA | Platinum (1,000,000) |
| Canada | CRIA | Platinum (100,000) |
Singles
| Information |
|---|
"Fly By Night"
(charted version is from 1976's live album, "All the World's a Stage") |
"Making Memories"
|
Formats
| Country | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Mercury | Vinyl | SRM 1-1023 |
| Canada | Anthem | Vinyl | ANR 1-1002 |
| Canada | Capitol | Vinyl | ANR 1-602 |
| Canada | Anthem | CD | ANMD 1076 |
| Canada | Mercury | 8 Track | MC8 1-1023 |
| Canada | Anthem | 8 Track | 8AN 1-1023 |
| Canada | Mercury | Cassette | MC4 1-1023 |
| Canada | Anthem | Cassette | 4AN 1-1002 |
| Canada | Anthem | Cassette | 4AN 1-602 |
| Canada | Anthem | CD | ANC 1-1002 |
| Canada | Anthem | CD | WANK 1002 |
| Canada | Anthem | CD | ANMD 1002 |
| Canada | Anthem | CD | D -108203 |
| US | Mercury | CD | 534624 |
References
- ↑ "Andy VanDette On Remastering 15 Rush Albums | The Masterdisk Record". themasterdiskrecord.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-23. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "12 MONTHS OF RUSH: 14 ALBUMS FROM MERCURY ERA FOR RELEASE IN 2015". Rush.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ↑ "Rush – new 2015 vinyl and hi-res reissues thread". Steve Hoffman Music Forums. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- ↑ Fly by Night at AllMusic
- ↑ solitaryman (2007-07-03). "Rush – Fly By Night Review from Music Emissions". Music Emissions.
- ↑ "Rush: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
- ↑ Thelen, Christopher (2001-05-12). "Fly By Night". The Daily Vault. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
- ↑ Fly by Night at AllMusic
