Fly By Night
	Produced by RUSH and Terry Brown
	Released on February 15, 1975
	US CHART POSITION #113 . . . PLATINUM RECORD
	Find it at GEMM
SRM-1-1023 cover [high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 2.0: OWL, THE WORLD’S A STAGE. Three figures came riding from the North, ready to do battle with the notion that progressive rock was a dying art form. There was Geddy Lee, the renegade priest, singing incantations that could hurt or heal and fending off attackers with his flailing bass; Alex Lifeson, the guitar-slinging swashbuckler whose glowing steel was a beacon in battle; and Neil Peart, a mysterious mix of monk and magician, the Tolkien Moon of a new age whose sci-fi/fantasy spells and superlative stickwork would irreversibly alter/elevate Rush to progGods. John Rutsey was certainly a serviceable rock drummer, but Neil Peart was the missing ingredient to greatness. With this album, Rush charged from the shadows of Led Zeppelin’s heavy metal monolith and sought their own destiny in earnest. As the opening “Anthem” puts it: “We marvel after those who sought new wonders in the world they wrought.” There are still nods to the past--“In The End” is essentially an homage to Led Zeppelin’s “O’er the Hills and Far Away”--but songs like “Anthem,” “Fly By Night” and the (overblown) epic “By-Tor & The Snow Dog” owe their allegiance to no one. In finding their way, Rush makes a few missteps on Fly By Night; madrigals (“Rivendell”) and multi-part suites (“By-Tor & The Snow Dog”) are better left to Genesis and Yes, respectively. In harnessing the heavy heroics of Led Zeppelin for sci-fi/fantasy fans, however, Rush is ready for the task (“Beneath, Between, & Behind”). Caress of Steel got bogged down in big ideas, but Fly By Night strikes just the right balance of short, high-energy rock songs and mini-epics, making it a minor classic.

P2 22542 front cover [high resolution scan]	SRM-1-1023 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. ANTHEM    (Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson/Neil Peart)    4:10
2. BEST I CAN    (Geddy Lee)    3:24
3. BENEATH, BETWEEN & BEHIND    (Alex Lifeson/Neil Peart)    3:00
4. BY-TOR & THE SNOW DOG    (Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson/Neil Peart)    8:57
     I. At The Tobes of Hades
     II. Across The Styx
     III. Of The Battle
     IV. Epilogue
5. FLY BY NIGHT    (Geddy Lee/Neil Peart)    3:20
6. MAKING MEMORIES    (Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson/Neil Peart)    2:56
7. RIVENDELL    (Geddy Lee/Neil Peart)    5:00
8. IN THE END    (Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson)    6:51

CREDITS

GEDDY LEE -- bass guitars, classical guitars, all vocals, "By-Tor"
ALEX LIFESON -- electric guitars, six and twelve string acoustic guitars, "Snow Dog"
NEIL PEART -- percussion

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