Review Summary: I will do the best I can to make sure I keep you guys beneath, between and behind this review; whether you live in Rivendell, or if you live with By-Tor and his snow dog, I will make this anthem of an album review, fly by the night, for you to enjoy.
Sophomore albums are essentially what make or break a band's career. You know, you look at albums such as Ride The Lightning by Metallica, Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? by Megadeth, Rio by Duran Duran, Nevermind by Nirvana, and even Killers by Iron Maiden. These are albums that made them superstars, or at least guided them towards that stardom. Some sophomore efforts have become some of my favourite albums of all-time: Hell Awaits by Slayer, Throwing Copper by Live and Discovery by Daft Punk, just to name a few.
However, some sophomore albums are not received...as well as they should've. Or, at least as good as the first. Ice On The Dune by Empire Of The Sun as well as Night Of The Stormrider by Iced Earth are perfect examples of this, when the general reception was not as good as the debut.
Fly By Night is just one of those albums that, like the debut, never really got the attention it deserves.
In that sense, this is a very underrated album, one that possesses the blues-rock influences on the debut, but has some of those progressive elements of future releases (as well as the song Working Man, found on the debut).
1975 was a GREAT year in the musical realm - Physical Graffiti, Sabotage, Wish You Were Here, Fleetwood Mac, just some REALLY fantastic albums at this time. So, Rush had some competition. I guess. I don't know.
So, the artwork is great. I mean, come on. It's got the owl and it's freaking badass and it's iconic. One of their best album covers, in my opinion. And it's a very '70's album artwork, too. Back when album covers were PURE and CREATIVE. Something today seems to lack immensely.
And the production is a bit of a step up from the debut, but by much.
Of course, how can I forget Neil Peart. Quite possibly the greatest drummer of all time, Neil Peart not only became an overall superior drummer to John Rutsey, but he also became the band's chief songwriter/lyricist. Along with Steve Harris, Chuck Schuldiner, Dave Mustaine and Mikael Akerfedlt, Neil Peart is probably one of the greatest songwriters/lyricists of all-time, although, if you ask Rolling Stone Magazine, they would say otherwise. Neil Peart's drumming is so freaking mind-blowing, I am not going to bother talking about, because, if I did, we would be here all day.
And, to the songs:
Anthem is one of the best openers you will ever hear from Rush. It's very raw and aggressive. Beneath, Between & Behind (that's a tongue-twister) and Best I Can are underlooked, little underrated track that packs a punch. The title track, Fly By Night, was featured on an episode of the amazing TV Show, Supernatural (s1 ep2 "Wendigo"). This, along with Working Man (s1 ep4 "Phantom Traveler") are the songs that got my into Rush. By-Tor & The Snow Dog is just pure freaking genius. It is their first real "epic" and their first suite.
BUT!!!
After the title track, the album comes to a screeching god-damn halt!
Those. Last. Three. Songs. Uh-oh.
Making Memories, Rivendell and In The End should NOT be on the album.
Not only are they pretty much the same god-damn song, they are very boring, repetitious and disjointed from the rest of the album, thus, creating inconsistency.
Overall, those three songs aside, this album is pretty solid. This album, again, demands more listens and sets up a sort-of template for their next few releases.
SCORE:
3.5 stars (7/10)
BEST SONG/S:
By-Tor & The Snow Dog
Fly By Night
Anthem
MY REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZAOL8-DRM
