The record begins with "Anthem," a fiery-played rocker with Peart's first lyrical input. He lacked subtlety at this point; his Randian lyrics come across as pompous and hollow when too direct. (With "2112" and "The Trees," for instance, the lyrics work well because he's more clever.) "Rivendell" reminds me of a medieval minstrel's song. Gentle acoustic guitar accompanies Lee's most limpid vocals. I actually like this one, although many others don't care for it. I also enjoy the peppy riffs and catchy chorus of the title track, and the Zeppelin-esque "In the End."

I'd say the best song here is "By-Tor and the Snow Dog," a seminal progressive suite for the band. Although people say the instrumental interlude is aimless and boring, I like it a lot. The band uses their instruments in resourceful ways to convey the battle between By-Tor, the prince of the underworld, and the Snow Dog, a beasty-monster-thing. In that respect, it's somewhat like Yes' "The Gates of Delerium," but not quite as good. (On their live album All the World's a Stage, the band extends the instrumental section and makes it more interesting.)

Rush still required growth, some focus, but they were on the road to success.


An Excellent Second Album   July 29, 1999
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

With the introduction of lyricist/drummer Neil Peart to the fold, this album takes a different turn than their debut.

Lyrically, this album takes a stand (thanks to Peart) and musically it stands on it's own, instead of relying on Zeppelin-like riffs (again, thanks to Peart).

The album sees Rush heading into a more progressive rock direction and away from the blues rock that influenced the first release. Plus, the music is SO much more powerful here. The drums are air-tight, the guitars are heavy and Geddy's bass licks are in overdrive.

The album kicks off with four downright rockers before By-Tor's mid section shows the band taking their first stab at extended musical compositions.

The other half of the album is a bit more relaxed...sometimes a bit TOO much, like with "Rivendell" arguably their worst song ever. Peart's mythological lyrics may have gone a bit too far with that one.

However, Fly By Night, Making Memories and In The End show the band making music and breaking ground that is totally their own...not borrowed from anyone else. This trend would continue profoundly with the albums to come...

This album is a MUST for any Rush fan. A definite highlight of their entire catalog.


Neil Peart Joins The "Rush"   January 11, 2005
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This 1975 sophomore release from Rush is where Rush became the power trio we've known and loved for a long time: in other words, this is the first album to feature Neil Peart, and his entrance into the band contributed largely to the changes heard between the s/t debut and this album; Neil's entrance also foreshadowed the overall direction the band would take from here and on.

On Rush's debut, the music was fairly straightforward heavy rock, and the lyrics weren't necessarily anything unique (mostly love-oriented lyrics, which were very typical.) On the musical standpoint, the musings found on said debut were often compared to Led Zeppelin; this comparison is pretty silly, given that nearly all industry-writers think that nearly *every* hard rock band to land on the scene in the early-70s, or later, is derivative of Zeppelin. As if Led Zeppelin were the only hard rock giants to leave an indelible mark on subsequent hard rock bands? Come on, now!

However, on this second album, Neil Peart enters the scene. Noticeable changes are abound. Lyrics exhibited less of the typical "lovin'" attributes, and became a bit more philosophically-oriented. Time signatures strayed from straight 4/4 (and the like), and went into more exotic areas. The opening rocker, "Anthem" is a perfect example, as it features *both* these new attributes that became a part of Rush's trademark. The lyrics are Ayn Rand-inspired (Neil was a big devotee.) I personally haven't read much of anything from Ayn Rand, but if going solely by these influenced lyrical musings, I'd have to say that Ayn Rand herself must have been something of a mental case. The lyrics on here are a bit arrogant and pompous, but, Neil Peart seemed to love this woman's "philosophy", so to speak, so go figure. And I love the music.

Speaking of the music, we are already treated to Rush and their brand of time changes: this rocker opens up in a hard-charging, frenzied 7/8; listen to Alex Lifeson's intense descending riff on the pentatonic minor, and how Geddy Lee plays the same lick on his bass in unison with Alex. And to top it all off, Neil is playing in sync with these two on the snare, which helps to give the opening something of a regal atmosphere; it's almost like an odd-timed march. The energy displayed and exchanged between these three is quite intense. After the 7/8, it switches to a more common time signature. Other rockers like "Beneath, Between & Behind" display the same kind of intense energy. This is all excellent stuff. Indeed, Rush were just starting out, so these musings aren't exactly at their most fully-developed, and this is probably why so many people seem to think a bit less of these "pre-2112" albums.

On "By-Tor & The Snow Dog," Rush tackles their first epic composition. This would probably be called a mini-epic in comparison to their later juggernauts, since it's not in the double-digits in regards to the minutes in length, but we already sense the cosmic lyrics, instrumental jams (one in 7/4, and already featuring some mathematical techniques -- see if you can spot what I'm talking about; I'm not going to give it away), and multi-faceted atmospheres that were common in Rush's later epics. Songs like the famous title track, and "In The End" are Rush in their hard rock balladry musings, while "Rivendell" is a beautifully soothing, dreamy number which features Geddy Lee in one of his more mellow, romantic vocal phases, and he also plays the classical guitar on here. It's a beautiful track.

This isn't the more evolved side of Rush, and this aspect is undoubtedly the main thing that turns fans off about this. But, really, it's quite an excellent album. Recommended.


fly by night   May 18, 2005
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

this is a cool albem i like the song fly by night


7 out of 10   December 4, 2000
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

After the slightly derivative if energetic debut album, John Rutsey's battle with diabetes forced him out of the band. Luckily, a much more dynamic presence stepped behind the drumset in the shape of Neil Peart, who was destined to change this band's course forever.

Peart's style was immediately apparent on "Anthem", inspired by Ayn Rand's book of the same name. His heavy yet adept style on the skins is the thread that ties this album together. The great songs on this disc (1, 3, 5, and 8) are the most representative of the band's sound at the time. The playing is crisp and clean throughout, even if the mix and production are slightly muddy.

However, the band is just beginning to hit its stride, and "Fly By Night" lacks the consistency and breadth of scope that the band would later achieve. Peart's lyrics are already great, but the several tracks that he had nothing to do with make the album seem kind of patchy. "In the End" and "Best I Can" could have found homes on the first album, although both, especially the latter, are well played. "By-Tor" is poorly paced and unexciting, but is interesting as a historical piece, if nothing else. "Making Memories" is Bob Seger lite. "Rivendell" is ersatz Tolkien slop.

The larger point, though, is that this music is way above what the average band was putting out in 1975, and certainly ambitious for 22 year old guys. It is more of a forerunner than a truly great album, but is worth you time to purchase.