RUSH - FLY BY NIGHT: A Band Reborn With Arena-Prog Chemistry
What a difference a drummer change can make. Changing aband's percussionist often reshapes their sound but when Rush brought in NeilPeart to replace John Rutsey, it altered more than the band's groove. Peartalso brought a love of words that made him the band's main lyricist overnightand a sense of relentless intellectual curiousity that fueled the burgeoningmusical ambitions of guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee. Fly By Night was the first albumtogether for what would become the definitive lineup of the band - and itshowed they were interested in more than the usual power trio theatrics.
The band's sonic and conceptual makeover announcesitself on side one, cut one with "Anthem": Peart paraphrases Ayn Randto create a 'we do what we want' manifesto for Rush 2.0 and the telepathic,heavy-yet-melodic interplay of Lee and Lifeson goes through a dramaticarrangement full of time-signature turns. It's all driven by Peart's drumming,which is tight, aggressive and crammed with mathematically complex fills."Best I Can," a solo Lee composition, harkens back to the debut albumwith its plain-spoken 'gotta be me' narrative but it has new fire andcomplexity thanks to the refurbished band's chemistry. "Beneath, Between& Behind" offers a first taste of Tolkien-inspired fantasy narrativefired by a stop-start arrangement and "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" goesfor a full multi-part fantasy epic. Thelatter was inspired by stoned joking about the dogs owned by Rush manager RayDanniels, mutating into a concert showcase that communicated its good-vs.-evilnarrative via fierce jamming, guitar FX and a quick but potent drum solo.
Side two goes for a softer, more melodic counterpoint tothe first side's hard rock fireworks. The title track kicks things off incharming midtempo style, unleashing a wanderlust narrative blessed with asingalong chorus as the band applies its power to pop hooks for the first time."Making Memories" shows the band turning their life as a prolifictouring act to continue the previous track's open-road romanticism, this timewith a acoustic-layered arrangement that gives it a campfire song vibe."Rivendell" goes full Tolkien in its lyrics for a plush ballad withelegant slide-guitar effects from Lifeson. "In The End" offers aclassically-style 'gentle then heavy' closer, conveying its romantic narrativewith an arrangement that dramatically shifts from plush acoustic soundscapes toan intense yet gently-paced power ballad driven by an ever-twisting Leebassline.
Fly By Night is a transitional album, as shown by the shared lyric-writing duties and the experimentation with different arena rock subgenres, but it all hangs together beautifully because of the commitment the band shows to their sonic explorations. They would get more ambitious and delve deeper into progressive concepts soon but this record remains a joyful portrait of a band finding itself, looking out eagerly to the creative vistas that lie ahead as they teach themselves to harness the power of their chemistry.