Rush - Fly By Night (Mobile Fidelity Numbered Edition) Rush

Fly by Night marks the debut of Rush's legendary lineup of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, as well as the band's first major step toward progressive rock. Originally released in 1975, the platinum-certified sophomore album includes fan favourites such as Fly by Night, Anthem and By-Tor & the Snow Dog.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab presents the album in a numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set. 1/4" / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Sourced from the original analogue master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket and including a bonus photo print, this audiophile edition presents Fly by Night at 45RPM for the first time. Exceptional groove definition, an ultra-low noise floor and dead-quiet vinyl surfaces allow the album's rhythmic precision, dynamic range and intricate arrangements to emerge with remarkable clarity. The wider grooves also improve tracking and preserve high-frequency detail.

The album benefited from the continued partnership between Rush and producer Terry Brown, working once again at Toronto Sound, the studio where Brown had helped salvage the band's debut recordings. That growing musical chemistry is reflected in the album's coherent sound, greater confidence and expanded sonic palette.

Mobile Fidelity's restoration reveals exceptional instrumental separation, imaging and soundstage depth. Details such as Geddy Lee's detuned E-string, processed through a Fuzz-Tone pedal and repeated with an Echoplex on By-Tor & the Snow Dog, can now be heard with extraordinary realism.

Recorded while the band maintained a relentless touring schedule following the success of Working Man, Fly by Night captures the chemistry Rush developed on the road after Neil Peart joined in August 1974. More than simply a virtuoso drummer, Peart immediately established himself as the band's principal lyricist, bringing literary ambition that matched the group's expanding musical vision.

Peart contributed lyrics to six of the album's eight songs, including the title track, inspired by his first journey away from home as a teenager, and the J.R.R. Tolkien-influenced Rivendell, a gentle ballad notable for its lack of percussion and Geddy Lee's classical acoustic guitar performance.

Co-written by all three members, Making Memories grew out of a wrong turn taken while travelling to a concert during the band's pivotal 1974 tour. Its optimistic opening lines would come to embody the unity and determination that defined Rush throughout its career.

Two of Peart's most celebrated lyrical works appear here. Inspired by Ayn Rand's novel, Anthem channels themes of individualism and self-determination through one of the band's defining early hard rock performances. By-Tor & the Snow Dog, meanwhile, introduced the elaborate multi-part storytelling and fantasy themes that would become Rush hallmarks, even causing concern among record executives who questioned the band's move beyond straightforward hard rock.

With Fly by Night, Rush began a new chapter that would establish them as one of progressive rock's most influential and enduring bands.

Hybrid SACD

Also sourced from the original analogue master tapes and housed in mini-LP-style packaging, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD delivers the platinum-certified album with exceptional detail, presence and dynamic range, showcasing the first recording by Rush's classic lineup in definitive audiophile sound.