Скачать или смотреть Rush ~ By Tor and the Snowdog ~ R30 Tour ~ [HD 1080p] ~ 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany

Recorded live on September 24, 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany from Rush's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour. This is from the Blu-ray version of R30, containing the complete concert, which was released on December 8, 2009 in the US, and in late 2013 in Europe. "By-Tor & the Snow Dog" is the fourth song from the band's second studio album "Fly By Night." It was recorded in January of 1975 at Toronto Sound Studios and released on February 15, 1975. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart.

"By-Tor & the Snow Dog" was their first multi-part song. It marks the beginning of a Rush tradition of extended story songs, in this case a battle between By-Tor and the Snowdog. It is arranged in eight distinct sections and marked a key point in the development of the group's songwriting:

I.) At the Tobes of Hades
II.) Across the Styx
III.) Of the Battle
i. Challenge and Defiance
ii. 7/4 War Furor
iii. Aftermath
iv. Hymn of Triumph
IV.) Epilogue

Rush's road manager Howard Ungerleider came up with the title at a party. "'Ray (Danniels, the band's manager) had these two dogs. One was a German Shepherd that had these fangs, and the other was this little tiny white nervous dog. I used to call the Shepherd By-Tor because anyone who would walk into the house would get bitten by him. Ray would go, “The dog is trained fine; don’t worry about it.” Well, the night of the party, we were sitting down eating our steaks when the Shepherd started biting my leg. I started screaming and calling the dog By-Tor (Biter). Now, the other dog was real neurotic, constantly barking and jumping all over you. And since he was a snow dog, I started calling the pair By-Tor and the Snowdog.”‘—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

The title of the first part of By-tor and the Snow Dog was a mystery to all three members of Rush. Geddy: “I don’t know what ‘tobes’ are. I assumed that Neil knew, and there must be such a place in mythology. I just went with it.” Alex: “I think the Tobes of Hades is kind of like the waiting room to Hell!” Neil: “Nobody knows what it means – that’s what I love about it. But it’s something that my friend’s father used to say: ‘It’s hotter than the Tobes of Hades!'”—Geddy, Alex, and Neil, Prog Magazine, Issue 35, April 2013. "Eth" is an Old English name, probably for demonic power. Styx was a river in Hades, the underworld. It is a good versus evil fantasy song. Lee later said: "We must have been high one day, imagining a song about these two dogs. And then Neil went ahead and wrote it." The song portrays By-Tor as the "Devil's Prince", who is coming to overthrow and enslave the "Overworld" (our world). So, he's evil, and looking to hurt, not help, mankind, and is a villain. Snowdog was portrayed as the "protector" of the Overworld. The song has the two characters fight with Snow Dog emerging victorious. He later deemed the track "a joke that got out of control".

“We must have been high one day, imagining a song about these two dogs. And then Neil went ahead and wrote it. But the guys at our record company weren’t happy. They signed the band that was on the first album, and they said, ‘This is not the same – what is this By-tor sh@t? You were talking about Working Man and now you’re talking about this crazy stuff.’ It was a bit of hiccup in the plan they had for us.

*On the back cover of the album Alex Lifeson is identified as "Snow Dog", and Geddy Lee is identified as "By-Tor". In this video Alex and Geddy playfully enact the battle on the stage, creating a high point of the song during the back and forth of the two.

One of the memorable riffs in the piece, during which the two dogs go at it, was originally part of Alex’s solo in the live version of “Working Man.” In the 1974 Rush ABC live version of “Working Man” Alex’s solo included one of the riffs that later shows up in the 1975 studio version “By-Tor and the Snow Dog.” This suggests Alex had developed the riff while playing “Working Man” live on their debut tour and wanted to find a permanent place for it, so he parked it in “By-Tor,” where it works great. In fact, it’s one of the most memorable parts of the song.

*This video is a shortened version of the song, with the song ending right after the battle between By-Tor and the Snowdog.

Neil Peart - Drum, Lyrics
Alex Lifeson - Guitar
Geddy Lee - Bass, Vocals

#MysticRhythmsLive