The Importance of By-Tor and The Snowdog

[ThinkingBig]

People forget how important the long song with the goofy title on Fly By Night is.

 

Fly By Night being the first RUSH (with the lyrics and drums that would define them for 4 decades) album. --

 

1. FIRST long format "story" song.

 

2. FIRST song with that Cinematic/visual quality that becomes a RUSH signature -- no one has to tell us it's a battle going on during the long musical bridge. We hear and see the mythic creatures doing battle.

 

3. FIRST time the triple drum break shows up. There's a pattern of the triple break combos that show up in the instrumentals over the years -- alternating bass/drums in patterns of 3 (La Villa, yyz, Malignant Narc) Even though By-Tor has a lyric section, the mini-epic is really also the FIRST instrumental experiment with the long musical bridge that tells the story within the story -- the battle.

 

4. Most importantly -- the first time Neil uses Roman Numerals in a song. Priceless. Neil hits those drum break "to the atom". Perfection.

 

 

Listening to a live version yesterday -- from R30 -- hearing them play a song they wrote in their 20s with passion and chops - Amazing!!

 

I truly hope their last tour (if there is one) features the epics, starting with the first epic battle between Price By-Tor and the Snowdog.

[Maverick]

People forget how important the long song with the goofy title on Fly By Night is.

 

Fly By Night being the first RUSH (with the lyrics and drums that would define them for 4 decades) album. --

 

1. FIRST long format "story" song.

 

2. FIRST song with that Cinematic/visual quality that becomes a RUSH signature -- no one has to tell us it's a battle going on during the long musical bridge. We hear and see the mythic creatures doing battle.

 

3. FIRST time the triple drum break shows up. There's a pattern of the triple break combos that show up in the instrumentals over the years -- alternating bass/drums in patterns of 3 (La Villa, yyz, Malignant Narc) Even though By-Tor has a lyric section, the mini-epic is really also the FIRST instrumental experiment with the long musical bridge that tells the story within the story -- the battle.

 

4. Most importantly -- the first time Neil uses Roman Numerals in a song. Priceless. Neil hits those drum break "to the atom". Perfection.

 

 

Listening to a live version yesterday -- from R30 -- hearing them play a song they wrote in their 20s with passion and chops - Amazing!!

 

I truly hope their last tour (if there is one) features the epics, starting with the first epic battle between Price By-Tor and the Snowdog.

 

Of course there is a "last tour." They just finished it.

[Narps]

I listened to the live All The Worlds A Stage version yesterday while on my hike. I have to admit when I was much younger I really didn't appreciate the song that much. I would "put up with it" just to get to In The End that followed it. Damn it sounded great! I had chills and then goosebumps on top of those. The studio version really never did it for me either. Part of my "problem" is I heard the band first from All The Worlds Stage. Spoiled in a sense. Lakeside Park, In The End and By Tor really are "heavy" on that record. When I backtracked and picked up the studio versions they kind of disappointed me in a weird way. You are correct. Very important piece of music that I have grown to appreciate over the years.

[Citizen of the World]

I loved the first Rush album, but was not sure what I thought about the group. When FBN came out and I played By-Tor I was hooked. Still my second favorite song after La Villa. Love the ESL video of the song. They play with such intensity but still managed to throw some of their trade mark silliness into it. Love the way Neil spins his drumsticks between each hit of the drums.

[sitboaf]

People forget how important the long song with the goofy title on Fly By Night is.

 

Fly By Night being the first RUSH (with the lyrics and drums that would define them for 4 decades) album. --

 

1. FIRST long format "story" song.

 

2. FIRST song with that Cinematic/visual quality that becomes a RUSH signature -- no one has to tell us it's a battle going on during the long musical bridge. We hear and see the mythic creatures doing battle.

 

3. FIRST time the triple drum break shows up. There's a pattern of the triple break combos that show up in the instrumentals over the years -- alternating bass/drums in patterns of 3 (La Villa, yyz, Malignant Narc) Even though By-Tor has a lyric section, the mini-epic is really also the FIRST instrumental experiment with the long musical bridge that tells the story within the story -- the battle.

 

4. Most importantly -- the first time Neil uses Roman Numerals in a song. Priceless. Neil hits those drum break "to the atom". Perfection.

 

 

Listening to a live version yesterday -- from R30 -- hearing them play a song they wrote in their 20s with passion and chops - Amazing!!

 

I truly hope their last tour (if there is one) features the epics, starting with the first epic battle between Price By-Tor and the Snowdog.

All really good points. Well done.

Yes, By-Tor marks the beginning of Rush as "prog" or "art rock", which would define them over the next few albums.

By-Tor is significant in one more way, though: they tried another arty song on FBN called "Rivendell". Let's be glad the band agreed with us and recognized By-Tor was a better way to go!

[losingit2k]

People forget how important the long song with the goofy title on Fly By Night is.

 

Fly By Night being the first RUSH (with the lyrics and drums that would define them for 4 decades) album. --

 

1. FIRST long format "story" song.

 

2. FIRST song with that Cinematic/visual quality that becomes a RUSH signature -- no one has to tell us it's a battle going on during the long musical bridge. We hear and see the mythic creatures doing battle.

 

3. FIRST time the triple drum break shows up. There's a pattern of the triple break combos that show up in the instrumentals over the years -- alternating bass/drums in patterns of 3 (La Villa, yyz, Malignant Narc) Even though By-Tor has a lyric section, the mini-epic is really also the FIRST instrumental experiment with the long musical bridge that tells the story within the story -- the battle.

 

4. Most importantly -- the first time Neil uses Roman Numerals in a song. Priceless. Neil hits those drum break "to the atom". Perfection.

 

 

Listening to a live version yesterday -- from R30 -- hearing them play a song they wrote in their 20s with passion and chops - Amazing!!

 

I truly hope their last tour (if there is one) features the epics, starting with the first epic battle between Price By-Tor and the Snowdog.

 

:goodone: I agree! All though shorter. I have always felt By-Tor was their first Epic Rush Song. Soon to be followed by FOL and The Necromancer and ultimately 2112 and the other Epics.

[goose]

Love the stuff on the shelves!

[Bastille Dave]

I though "Working Man" was their first story song, about a guy waking up and going to work everyday and drinking a beer when he gets home, pondering his place in the universe. Classic storyline. :cheers: Little known fact: they actually included guitar parts of B&TSD into Working Man when they played it live back in late '74/early '75.

[OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan]

It's important because it's the first song that totally kicks ass in every way.

[ThinkingBig]

I listened to the live All The Worlds A Stage version yesterday while on my hike. I have to admit when I was much younger I really didn't appreciate the song that much. I would "put up with it" just to get to In The End that followed it. Damn it sounded great! I had chills and then goosebumps on top of those. The studio version really never did it for me either. Part of my "problem" is I heard the band first from All The Worlds Stage. Spoiled in a sense. Lakeside Park, In The End and By Tor really are "heavy" on that record. When I backtracked and picked up the studio versions they kind of disappointed me in a weird way. You are correct. Very important piece of music that I have grown to appreciate over the years.

 

I agree, those songs all sounded better live.

 

Fly by night, album-wise is a primitive or simple mix -- hollow, flat. The chops are there, but the mix doesn't showcase them -- but LIVE -- wow!!

[ThinkingBig]

I though "Working Man" was their first story song, about a guy waking up and going to work everyday and drinking a beer when he gets home, pondering his place in the universe. Classic storyline. :cheers: Little known fact: they actually included guitar parts of B&TSD into Working Man when they played it live back in late '74/early '75.

 

 

By "their" I meant RUSH as we know them.

 

Working Man is certainly a slice of life character, like Analog Kid. But simplistic, raw. Trying to be Zepp / WHO, still discovering who they are going to be.

[analog guy]

And then they started seguing it into Xanadu.... that's almost too much epic for one person to take.