The CD Odyssey requires one full
listen before I review, but sometimes after a single listen I don’t feel like I’ve
sufficiently grokked the record to talk about it. So it was with this next album, which I’ve
listened to three times over. Each
listen has been a better experience, which is how a good record should treat
you.
Disc 529 is…. Fly By Night
Artist: Rush
Year of Release: 1975
What’s up with the Cover? Owl!
How I Came To Know It: I’ve known the song “Fly by Night” since I was a
kid, and when I started building my Rush collection in the early nineties this
was one of the first albums I bought.
How It Stacks Up: I have 19 Rush albums, which I think is all of their
studio releases. Competition is fierce
at the top, but I’ll put “Fly By Night” ahead of most of their work so let’s
say…6th. Just behind “Caress
of Steel.”
Rating: 4 stars
1975 and
enter drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, and with his entry Rush became the band
that went on to worldwide fame. As much
as I get a kick out of the fun-lovin’ rock and roll of their debut album, it is
this new incarnation of Rush that made them interesting and durable and to me
this is the first of their great records.
The band’s
earlier sound is still present, particularly in tracks like “Best I Can” and “Making Memories.” “Making Memories” is positively
mainstream, and has a laid back feel that made me think of stubby beer bottles,
cut off shorts and cannonballs into the local lake (not that I ever cannonballed anyone – it always seemed more
rude than fun). These straight ahead
rock songs aren’t may favourites on the album, but I like them and as weird and
progressive as Rush gets, these songs show that they could play straight ahead
hard rock songs with the best of ‘em if they were moved to.
But of
course an album of straight ahead rock songs would bore this trio of musical
maestros, and so they welcomed odd-ball and book-worm Neil Peart into their
band for drumming excellence and lyrical inspiration. At the same time as Geddy
Lee and Alex Lifeson began taking the music down more interesting pathways.
The hit
that resulted was the title track, “Fly
By Night.” Like any great rock song it has a memorable introductory riff,
but the song infuses a much more interesting melody into what could be just
another summer anthem. As the song itself
says, almost self-referentially:
“Start a new chapter
I find what I’m after
Is changing every day
The change of a season
Is enough of a reason
To want to get away.”
Of
course they seamlessly change the song’s tempo and melody as Geddy sings these
lyrics, the kind of in-song gymnastics that would become their hallmark. It should be worth noting that while
undertaking all this sonic flexibility, they don’t forget to make the song catchy
in its own weirdly beautiful way.
Along
with a fresher sound, the album features the beginning of some wild and
fantastical topics. At its best, their
literary and fantastical references are wonderful. “Rivendell”
is inspired by the mythical Elven kingdom from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. What could have been a laughable piece of fan
fiction in the wrong hands is instead a beautiful depiction – musically and
lyrically – of a magical place of rest and respite. Lifeson’s guitar playing is gentle and
dreamlike and Geddy wisely sings it light and airy so it sounds relaxed
throughout. I won’t quote the lyrics,
because it is one of those songs that loses something without the dimension of
sound.
When
Rush goes too far, however, it can get ridiculous, as we hear on the ridiculous
“By-Tor & The Snow Dog”:
“The tomb of Hades, lit by
flickering torchlight
The nether world is gathered in
the glare
Prince By-Tor takes the cavern to
the north light
The sign of Eth is rising in the
air.
By-Tor, knight of darkness,
Centurion of evil, devil's prince”
What the
hell? I’ve heard this song many times
and while what it is about (a battle between some evil demon named “By-Tor” and
some mythical ermine-coated guardian called “The Snow Dog” it always makes me
laugh. Musically interesting, the lyrics
are too over the top, and pull me out of the moment. Also, with no frame of reference I don’t
really care that the Snow Dog triumphs over By-Tor. Somewhere in Neil Peart’s rough notes I
suspect the beginnings of a very bad short story. Please never finish it, Neil.
The
album ends with one of my all-time favourite Rush deep cuts, “In the End.” At 6:46, this song takes its time getting
going, delivering an entire verse in stripped down, slow-tempo as it draws you
in, setting you up for Lifeson’s kick-ass guitar rock riff and even a subtle
bit of funk guitar tucked in behind for the first couple of bars. This song is simple in construction, but filled
with fist-pumping energy, a heartfelt (and grounded) guitar solo and a vibe
that makes you want to go out and take on the world.
In some
ways, “Fly by Night” is a transition album for Rush, as they still hold onto some
of their more traditional conventions while also establishing their own unique
sound. However it is so good at blending
the two trends that to call it a simply a transition album would be to do it a
disservice. It doesn’t come out in the
top five of their records like I expected it to, but it comes damn close.
Best tracks: Anthem, Fly By Night, Rivendell, In the End
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