Neil Peart

IMO I see that Neil has IMPROVED as he's gotten older and probably wiser. His "groove quotient" has improved and his chops have gotten more precise and clean.

It used to bug me when they would go from one section of a tune to the next it would change tempo, speed AND feel.

I like the smoother way they've matured at the segues and changes by grabbing both ends and pulling them to straighten them out a bit. (if you know what I mean)
 
i really can't the fuss going on about neil peart being the greatest or one of the greatest drummers ever all around the net. this is just my opinion so please people don't start getting angry.

i've watched him a lot but he never ever got me interested with his playing. I thought it was empty and shallow playing. I can't feel anything with his playing. Maybe he has good technique but he never coordinates his solos. He just does one thing, stops and does another thing. It's like a series of moves you study at home. No improvisation at all.

I just can't really understand people can even compare him with the legends like Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, John Bonham, Dennis Chambers, Elvin Jones and so on. I think it's an insult to these legends to call Neil Peart the greatest drummer.
 
i really can't the fuss going on about neil peart being the greatest or one of the greatest drummers ever all around the net. this is just my opinion so please people don't start getting angry.

i've watched him a lot but he never ever got me interested with his playing. I thought it was empty and shallow playing. I can't feel anything with his playing. Maybe he has good technique but he never coordinates his solos. He just does one thing, stops and does another thing. It's like a series of moves you study at home. No improvisation at all.

I just can't really understand people can even compare him with the legends like Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, John Bonham, Dennis Chambers, Elvin Jones and so on. I think it's an insult to these legends to call Neil Peart the greatest drummer.

He's "one" of the greatest drummers of all time.

In fact...Modern Drummer considers him a Drum God.

That's NOT "hero worship", as some like to call it.

It's just fact.

And please stop comparing NP with others. It's really not how to appreciate him.

He's his "own" drummer, just like the others are.

You know what the word "unique" means?
 
i really can't the fuss going on about neil peart being the greatest or one of the greatest drummers ever all around the net. this is just my opinion so please people don't start getting angry.

i've watched him a lot but he never ever got me interested with his playing. I thought it was empty and shallow playing. I can't feel anything with his playing. Maybe he has good technique but he never coordinates his solos. He just does one thing, stops and does another thing. It's like a series of moves you study at home. No improvisation at all.

I just can't really understand people can even compare him with the legends like Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, John Bonham, Dennis Chambers, Elvin Jones and so on. I think it's an insult to these legends to call Neil Peart the greatest drummer.

if that's how you feel that's quite alright. We all have our own opinions. I don't judge Neil on his solos any more than I judge Dennis Chambers on his. I'm more interested in how a drummer plays with a band than how he plays on his own. A drummer can be a great soloist but if he can't groove with a band then so what, right? Neil does a splendid job in the context of the band. I wouldn't call Neil a groove drummer in the way I would DC, Gadd, Garibaldi, Jeff Porcaro, etc but it doesn't matter. Neil's style fits Rush and that's all that matters.

Speaking for myself I would never compare Neil with Buddy, Weckl, Jones or DC. Comparing him with Mike Portnoy would make more sense. I wouldn't compare Bonham to Buddy either. There is no such thing as THE GREATEST, be it bass, drums, guitar, whatever. It's a mythical title. To call someone ONE OF THE GREATEST makes more sense. But hey, that's just me!
 
Comparisons. Seriously people. Neil is my biggest drum hero. I know he can't do what Dennis Chambers or Vinnie or Virgil can do, but remember new drummers in the 80's and even early 90's were being measured against Neil. In the 80's (some of you were a mere twinkle in your dad's eye) Neil was pretty much the only drummer using multiple effects in his music (and yes, he did use all of his kit; I hate reading that he didn't here). Check out the video, "A Show of Hands" and the song Territories specifically. He did some cutting edge stuff for the time. Most of you can copy his stuff, and then say, "oh, no big deal, I'm just as good!" Keep in mind, HE INVENTED THESE PATTERNS to nicely fit the music. And prog rock music for most of his career was very electronic and stiff feeling. He's just stuck in his ways. People say the same thing about Lang, but give me a break, he is ground breaking. Funny thing is (and I hope this happens so drumming continues to evolve) in the future, people are going to say all this same negative stuff about Virgil Donati (sorry fanboys). So drumming evolves, tastes change, and influences die. Welcome to the art of drumming.

Oh yeah, Mediocrefunkybeat, I have no idea where you arrived at the conclusion that Rush has not majorly changed their style. Compare Fly by Night, Signals, Hold Your Fire, Presto, and Counterparts. 70s....80s.....90s....2000s. They changed.
 
Funny thing is (and I hope this happens so drumming continues to evolve) in the future, people are going to say all this same negative stuff about Virgil Donati (sorry fanboys). So drumming evolves, tastes change, and influences die. Welcome to the art of drumming.
I don't want to get into the value discussion regarding Neil Peart as much as I want to continue to express my concern for this thought out there that drumming evolves every time it changes.

I just don't see that.

Some of the greatest drumming in the history of the world occured in the 1930s and 40s. It didn't need 70 years to evolve. It was already there, and still is. How about that Dave Tough guy who pushed the stylistic envelope in the 1920s? That stuff is still as good as anything right now/ this minute. Buddy Rich with Artie Shaw and Sid Catlett with everybody in the 30s, Kenny Clarke with Bird in the 40s, Elvin Jones in the 60s, Bonham with Zep in their era. Are people really serious when they say drumming has evolved from that?

Innocently yes, I think I know where guys like Zumba are coming from. Much of the discussion appears to be of a technical nature, with much of that coming from improvements in equipment as much as actual changes in the way we drummers make music evolve. With all seriousness, has there really been that much evolution in American music over the last 30 years, as much as there have been ocassional changes in styles?

What many of these people do is present a perception of individual style. And that's a really good thing. But it's usually not evolution.

When I listen to the so called evolution curve of drums these days, I personally really don't hear so much beyond some tricks that guys perform at clinics, that are outside practical music concepts. Even these so called revolutionary grooves that everyone raves about have been performed in some variation or the other as non western music for hundreds if not thousands of years. In jazz, yeah I do hear some new ideas being exercised from time to time by some very great players. But much of what they are doing are new creative slants on what are really the same old styles of the past. Even when a true eternal groundbreaker like say a Jack DeJohnette looks like he's gonna break out the true rise up the evolutionary ladder, necessary commercial considerations to play with all star tours etc get in the way. The same can also be said for Stewart, Blade etc.

Maybe a certifiable blue chipper like Hoenig can do it. But he will still have to be surrounded by like minded musicians willing to do more than push the envelope of stuff done before. As much as I love that stuff, you still can't help but hear Paul Motian with Bill Evans. And until I quit hearing that, the evolution hasn't ocurred there either.

When Kenny Clarke and Max Roach elevated the importance of left hand and bass drum independence in such a way that it has been incorporated into all necessary playing of today, that was a certifiable evolved revolution, and has stood the test of time. Really much of what we worship now are new concepts based on old ideas already used by fusion guys 40 years ago, and in the case of guys like Lenny White you didn't even need 2 bass drum pedals to do it. On that note, it's also interesting to me to see so many people now going back to one pedal, which is why people usually don't always claim evolution until time has passed to see if the so called evolution was really a just a fad. Now I'm not saying that's the case with that. But it's all still very new.

Like him or not, Neil Peart's got the magic, even if some of us think the whole he's a god thing is kinda silly. I only wish we would think twice when we throw out the word evolution for every little thing. To me, that's a word you keep in your wallet to use when it really is that.
 
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Hello, All.

Even drummers such as Neil Peart plus others have to learn and practise something new everyday, I do.
Every head is a different world, has a different opinion and different approach, that is part of life, that We must respect.

Cheers,
 
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That is the problem, the idolatry that goes into modern music making. And in Rock Band you can be Slash, Joe Perry or Jimmy Page or whomever for five minutes.

You can go see any number of great drummers, Brian Blade, Jeff Watts or Paul Motian in a club, have a good talk and shake their hand. It was when that aspect of music was lost in rock that the notion of a musical experience went down the drain.
 
The fact that the man can play his licks today the same as he did when he was in his 20's really shows the need for us drummers to respect the man. Not to mention he COMPOSES the songs, he is INVENTIVE and writes great LYRICS.

Listen to "Faithless" from Snakes and Arrows and you will see what I mean. And for those who think they have not evolved, compare this song with Tom Sawyer.
 
That is the problem, the idolatry that goes into modern music making. And in Rock Band you can be Slash, Joe Perry or Jimmy Page or whomever for five minutes.

You can go see any number of great drummers, Brian Blade, Jeff Watts or Paul Motian in a club, have a good talk and shake their hand. It was when that aspect of music was lost in rock that the notion of a musical experience went down the drain.

With Rock Band, now we will have many young drum stars. Listen to the young drummers today, its all about speed, beats per minute, making double bass sound like gas being emitted from their arse holes. No musicality. And these new "JAZZ" drummers. The same crap over the decades. It all sounds the same, fast notes slapped around a 4 piece. My 7 year old son and 9 year old daughter can do that.
 
With Rock Band, now we will have many young drum stars. Listen to the young drummers today, its all about speed, beats per minute, making double bass sound like gas being emitted from their arse holes. No musicality. And these new "JAZZ" drummers. The same crap over the decades. It all sounds the same, fast notes slapped around a 4 piece. My 7 year old son and 9 year old daughter can do that.

I don't know who you're listening to but I think you need to rethink your future before you become just another old man shaking his head saying, "kids these days."

If you like Snakes and Arrows great. There is nothing wrong with that. Rush is a respectable band. The point is that too many people over 35 listen to nothing but the same stuff they listened to when they were 16. I loved Bonham when I was 13, then I outgrew it. I saw Rush four times 1976 through 1981. Then I out grew it. I still love both those bands and can listen to Hemispheres and enjoy it. But I don't spend my days with that music as a big part of my life anymore.

Where I live, that is all people listen to. Festivals and clubs have these tributes bands of everyone from Chicago, Zep, Floyd, Tull, Billy Joel, the Eagles. People need to get over the music. It's not music anymore. It's all a big marketing scheme. And they are even starting jazz tribute bands where the guys cop some of the lick on the recordings. It's not pretty.
 
I don't know who you're listening to but I think you need to rethink your future before you become just another old man shaking his head saying, "kids these days."
Ken, I don't really think it's that. Drum forums and youtube have an entire community of middle aged guys who are mad about a lot of stuff. And I'm not talking about very serious players like Steamer, the polite and ageless soak it all in guys like Gruntersdad and mikeii, or interesting guys with a sense of humor like Jon Cable. There really are a lot of older guys who show up to these things angry, when to me that doesn't make a whole lotta sense.

Until recently I personally got all riled up about this personal attack junk, but then it was explained to me by a truly great older musician that older guys who are never present as players but position themselves as top end critics are usually not part of the life anyway. So this is their way of being around. They also are big with using musicality as a comfortable catchphrase, throw their kids and their ages into the mix and lecture in the exact same place about how the younger guy has growing up to do when it's them who are frustrated. I've seen it all and I'm over it.

Not that long ago, I was on another forum where I was in a really nice debate with an older 30 year pro that I thought a lot of as a person and a musician. We disagreed about something, so I thought it would be cool to see the whole both sides thing, and while doing so, learn stuff from this guy. I should also say that HE was totally cool with the idea.

Well, 2 or 3 posts into it some middle aged self proclaimed wing man joined in, telling me what a young punk I was for having the nerve to debate this 30 year vet, the youth of today, their arrogance, growing up to do, etc, etc. Then it just turned into a discussion about me and him, when the original discussion was going great. I even told him that I wasn't going to roll in the mud with him, and he kept trying to bait, sort of like this guy here. Then I just left the board, and when I came back a few days later and he was still at it. Oh well.

Well, upon investigation, I found out this guy was barely out of his 20s himself, had played maybe 12 gigs in his life, worked in random sales jobs, and his myspace was unlistenable. It was obvious that he had only joined in to bring attention to this fantasy he had created. It was no different than those guys who go on computers thinking they're Star Trek characters.

So again, I wish this guy well. I guess we all have our roles. He thinks just respecting Peart's career isn't enough. You have to consider him a god, and if you don't see it that way you're a heretic. Well I just don't see it that way, and if anything, my growing up has helped that perspective not hurt it.

I'm off this discussion for the time being. Thanks.
 
I don't know who you're listening to but I think you need to rethink your future before you become just another old man shaking his head saying, "kids these days."

If you like Snakes and Arrows great. There is nothing wrong with that. Rush is a respectable band. The point is that too many people over 35 listen to nothing but the same stuff they listened to when they were 16. I loved Bonham when I was 13, then I outgrew it. I saw Rush four times 1976 through 1981. Then I out grew it. I still love both those bands and can listen to Hemispheres and enjoy it. But I don't spend my days with that music as a big part of my life anymore.

Where I live, that is all people listen to. Festivals and clubs have these tributes bands of everyone from Chicago, Zep, Floyd, Tull, Billy Joel, the Eagles. People need to get over the music. It's not music anymore. It's all a big marketing scheme. And they are even starting jazz tribute bands where the guys cop some of the lick on the recordings. It's not pretty.

Nah, the smart kids today listen to Chicago, Zep, Floyd, Rush, police ET. AL.
Why? Because it was original and good. It was about musicianship and quality. It is still music, music so good it still sells over and over again.

I for one don't see my kids ever buying or downloading a Slipnot album ever! And thats a good thing.
 
Nah, the smart kids today listen to Chicago, Zep, Floyd, Rush, police ET. AL.
Why? Because it was original and good. It was about musicianship and quality. It is still music, music so good it still sells over and over again.

I for one don't see my kids ever buying or downloading a Slipnot album ever! And thats a good thing.

Yes, it was good music. My library is full of all of it.

The young people where I live have a hard time finding places to perform because the culture is so steeped in the classic rock tradition, as though music stopped happening after 1984. So they started to have concerts at some of the monthly studio rental warehouses to be heard and make some money for rent.The Fire Marshall ended up closing some of them down because they were not zoned for that.

Today there is so much music that never gets heard because people have their heads and arse stuck in 1978. (The year Rush did their first headlining tour of the states, if I recall correctly)

I was getting e mails from Neil Peart recommending Porcupine Tree as I remember correctly, when their new album was coming out. Soundgarden, Radiohead, Tool, The Mars Volta, Muse, Stone Temple Pilots, Galactic, Green Day, Chili Peppers, Incubus, Primus, Coheed and Cambria, Soullive, Dream Theater. Have any of the bands done anything remotely interesting over the last ten years or so, or are we living in a musical vacuum?
 
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Yes, it was good music. My library is full of all of it.

The young people where I live have a hard time finding places to perform because the culture is so steeped in the classic rock tradition, as though music stopped happening after 1984. So they started to have concerts at some of the monthly studio rental warehouses to be heard and make some money for rent.The Fire Marshall ended up closing some of them down because they were not zoned for that.

Today there is so much music that never gets heard because people have their heads and arse stuck in 1978. (The year Rush did their first headlining tour of the states, if I recall correctly)

I was getting e mails from Neil Peart recommending Porcupine Tree as I remember correctly, when their new album was coming out. Soundgarden, Radiohead, Tool, The Mars Volta, Muse, Stone Temple Pilots, Galactic, Green Day, Chili Peppers, Incubus, Primus, Coheed and Cambria, Soullive, Dream Theater. Have any of the bands done anything remotely interesting over the last ten years or so, or are we living in a musical vacuum?

Well...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

NP and Rush ain't broken.
 
It would we interseting to hear an Rush song stating the condition of the internet today, it would be a sharp contrast to "Virtuality" from 12 years ago.
 
Posts deleted for the usual reasons. Telling someone that they shouldn't question a drummer who is better or more experienced than us would lead to some very short conversations, and personally insulting another forum member will earn you a quick escort to the exit. Play nice or take it elsewhere.
 
Posts deleted for the usual reasons. Telling someone that they shouldn't question a drummer who is better or more experienced than us would lead to some very short conversations, and personally insulting another forum member will earn you a quick escort to the exit. Play nice or take it elsewhere.

Telling someone that a certain drummer doesn't appeal to them, on a thread that's dedicated to said drummer, over and over and over...is insulting.

Demanding to "play nice" should be directed to ALL. Not just to ONE individual.

I'm more than happy to comply, DB.

I hope I have some company. And, that we can get back on topic. NP deserves nothing less! ;-)

Thanks!
 
On the other hand, it's a 'Discussion' forum. That's what it's for. Discussion. That means at least two sides.
 
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