This morning I'd like to remember one of the premier drummers in modern rock music; some would argue he was the best ever in that genre, and it's hard to disagree with them. I'm speaking, of course, of Neil Peart, of Canadian band Rush.
Neil became famous for his extended drum solos as part of Rush's live performances. If you search YouTube, you'll find many of them there. I've chosen one for this morning, from a song titled "Malignant Narcissism" on their 2007 album "Snakes & Arrows". Here's a live performance from the band's 2007 tour to promote the album.
As a bonus track, here's "The Main Monkey Business", an instrumental piece from Rush's final tour, R40 Live, in 2015. By this time Neil was on the verge of retiring, due to chronic tendinitis and shoulder problems. You can see the stress and tension in his face on this recording; but he didn't let that interfere with his sheer professionalism and musical talent. You can hear how his performance seamlessly meshes with the other two members of the group, with no sign of the pain he must have been feeling.
Neil retired from the group at the end of the R40 tour in 2015. He died of glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in early 2020. He left an indelible mark on both rock music in particular, and the percussion instrument world in general.
Peter
thank you so very much for posting these.... I played drums for many years, and after I got the AC/DC and Led Zeppelin out of my system, it was Rush that I found waiting. I used to practice to their albums, learning the fills and the timings.
ReplyDeleteI miss Neil, someone I never met and never had the chance to see live, but with whom I shared a certain kinship. The world became a diminished place without him in it.
Mike in Canada
I think I saw RUSH live either 5 or 6 times over the years. Including one show well after they'd become popular at an unfortunate choice of venue in LaCrosse, WI that only had about 100 people in attendance. Knew they were special from the first time I heard them, but never had the musical knowledge to even begin to appreciate the depth of the well of talent there until after they were gone.
ReplyDeleteWas lost, musically for about a dozen years afterwards. Tried listening to all kinds of stuff, from classical, through old Norse and Irish singing, up into metal. Found a lot of good and even great music that I'd missed while listening to RUSH, but nothing that dug its hooks in like they had.
About the time news started swirling about a disease in some town in China, got introduced to a band made up of 5 Japanese women who dress funny that seemed to resonate in a... familiar way. I've seen them perform in the US 3 times since October '22 and got up in the middle of the night back last November to watch a livestream of the last show of their 10th anniversary tour in Yokohama Arena. I'll be the first to say that they aren't RUSH, but their sound has dug its hooks into me in the same way.
Tendinitis and shoulder problems were the least of Peart's problems by 2015. The reason he had that cap on for the last several years of his career was the loss of his full head of hair to cancer treatments he was already receiving for the brain cancer that ultimately took him from us.
ReplyDeleteThe Professor was arguably the greatest drummer of all time, and a true maestro.
Watching earlier tracks when he was still only playing an 8- or 10-piece drum kit only underlines his virtuoso status.
Seeing him do 20 minute solos on 100+ piece kits should dazzle people as long as they exist on viewable media.
No blasphemy whatsoever intended, but to the same extent guitarists scrawled "Clapton is god", where drumming was concerned, "Peart was god."
My neighbors might not like Rush as much as us, they can move.
ReplyDeleteIntroduced my youngest to Red Barchetta last week. Good times.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter
ReplyDeleteO/T and FWIW
“Reality vs Armchair Fantasy – T72 takes out M1”
https://youtu.be/_q5oufQTSOM
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/03/10/reality-vs-armchair-fantasy-t72-takes-out-m1/
In comments
"Like the comment about how to make a dozer out of a Chinese copy Komatsu – “Lift the radiator cap and run a Komatsu under it” "
as a bass player I always enjoy videos like this to see others' technique. Geddy Lee is just awesome (as is the whole trio).
ReplyDeleteI guess it's generational. When I think of a power trio, it's still Cream, not Rush. And, while he used a much simpler drum kit, I still think of Ginger Baker as the best ever.
ReplyDeleteA solo (Toad): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDDPn4k10WU
or as part of the long piece (Spoonful, live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH_YhoULx4A
Neil wasn't just the drummer, he was also the primary lyricist for the band.
ReplyDeleteVery cerebral guy, check out some of the in depth interviews and documentaries.