Neil Peart

Neil Peart is my ALL TIME FAVORITE drummer. Incredible, imaginative solos, creative fills, and (I don't think this has been mentioned yet) some really cool patterns on Rush songs like Mystic Rhythms, The Body Electric, Scars (played with foot triggers and hands on kit, sounds like two drummers!) Leave That Thing Alone, and I could drone on and on...

How about that little gem off Caress of Steel, Didacts and Narpets? YEAH! Ellwood rocks!
 
Neil has been a very big influence on not only my drumming but also his approach to writing lyrics as well.Just listening to some of their 10-minute plus songs such as the "Cynus" series off of "Farewell to kings" and "Hemispheres" or "La Villa Strangiato" or "Xanadu" or even the groove at the intro of "Sundivisions" and you realize that this is no ordinary drummer.He even played all of his parts on Rush in Rio exactly.Now come on,that takes some skill to go back and play 20 year old songs perfectly.That is why he looks like he is concentrating ...it is because he is!! It must take some concentration to play a song exactly!! I also think of Peart as the definite drummer above John Bonham.The only track I ever really appreciated from Bonham was "Fool in the rain" and perhaps "Moby Dick"but Peart...well....he has a vast catalogue of great tracks.Even the great Buddy Rich said in the eighties that he though Neil Peart was the best drummer in the world.
 
being 39 ...i've been listening to Rush and been a big admirer of Peart myself....I've seen him many times live and witnessed the progression of his beautiful custom stained Tama kit from Moving Pictures all the way thru to his transformation to the DW's after his time w/ Freddie Gruber......

The fact that he DOES do each tune AS RECORDED live is great! Seeing what you hear on your CD live is what you're going for....right ?

And....his solos.....well....his solos are "orchestrated" ....his solos are very different from most other drummers ...(big surprise right ? :) ) anyhow.....

His solo has changed ....SLIGHTLY thru the years.......still a great piece of work!!

Great drummer.....great man........been thru a lot..........much much respect!!!!!

Great thread all!!
 
Neil has been my major influence since i first began drumming, though he wasnt number one on my list at the time. This guy is amazing, he certainly has done alot for music, as far as percussion goes.
 
Stu_Strib said:
Yes he is a machine, but like someone else said, that detracts from his playing. He's a great drummer, perhaps too great? hehe

Also, Live in Rio, man it was hard to watch him play...He looks like a 90 year old man fighting through arthritis.

I also don't share the same 'verve' Neil does for drum electronics. I heard him say something like electronics are the best thing ever, because you have every sound available....that's a slippery slope, because the next step is Pro Tools and a drum machine. How much would that suck to see Peart diminished to a Pro Tools engineer and drum machine sequencer?

well, I feel sorry for this...

to say all this, mr "stu", you should at least have taken some time to know the right name of the album...

and no, you didnt hear him saying "something" like you said you did. but it seems you´d be pleased if he some day moved to pro tools (wich, by the way, if he did, he would have done with the authority that only him could ostent - he owns nothing else to our legacy!) .

I´m sorry if I didnt catch what you mean, but in case I´m right, terrible sorry for you and your poor irony...
 
Pratt said:
hey, has anyone watched the yyz video on Neil´s page? its awsome, if you didnt, take a look!

go to it through

www.rush.com

Cool!! must have taken a long time to finish...
I saw rush in september last year in Stockholm, Sweden.. First conert in sweden since the mid -eighties! And of course i`ve heard the albums and yes he plays alot like the albums when he plays live.. but still, it`s impossible to compare! i admire his technique. A human metronome!!
and i`ve also seen Dennis Chambers and i can`t really see how one can compare Chambers and Peart like a few did.. To me they are two completely different drummers. I have difficulties comparing two drummers in generall for that matter.. But maybe thats just me:)
By the way: excuse me if my english is not that good.. I`m from Sweden and i`m not use to write in english:)

Cool forum by the way!!
 
Hammerhead said:
By the way: excuse me if my english is not that good.. I`m from Sweden and i`m not use to write in english:)

QUOTE]

dont worry hammerhead, my "brazilian" english isnt so good anyways, and still they haven´t kicked me out from here, hehe!!
 
Pratt said:
Hammerhead said:
By the way: excuse me if my english is not that good.. I`m from Sweden and i`m not use to write in english:)

QUOTE]

dont worry hammerhead, my "brazilian" english isnt so good anyways, and still they haven´t kicked me out from here, hehe!!

hehe, thanks, no i feel a lot safer around here:D
 
neil peart

neil is a great drummer. he's not extremely technical and his chops arent mindblowing, but his performances on odd time signatures with rush is so smooth and flowing that you cant even tell that it isnt standard 4/4.

anything to add?
 
Re: neil peart

craigwikert


neil peart

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neil is a great drummer. he's not extremely technical and his chops arent mindblowing, but his performances on odd time signatures with rush is so smooth and flowing that you cant even tell that it isnt standard 4/4.

anything to add?

I have seen Neil perform on their 21112 Tour years ago. That guy does have some chops. He plays a unique style to fit the bands music. I also heard him play some jazz for the Buddy Rich Tribute. Im not really into RUSH anymore but Neil can play.
 
Re: neil peart

oooh deff. Agreed. He's amazing. Like you said not technical but just good. Best performances in 2112, Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer, probably already know that. He's of my influeneces along w/ IMO the greatest rock drummer Johnzo Bonzo[john bonham]lol, but Neil is excellent...so is Rush.
 
I wouldnt say Neil Peart is not technical. He's very advanced, especially for the fact its in the context of a popular band.
 
Neil is semi technical, but he approaches the patterns and fills as to what would sound good within the context of the Rush tune. He explained that well on his DVD, as did Jamie Borden on "Rush licks"

I have all of Rush's albums, and they sound like a whole different band between 2112 and now. Neil has matured along the way. I really like his drumming on signals, hold your fire and the darker, "Test for echo"

He goes for a feel, and achieves it well.
 
Neils chops might not be "Technical" but there damn good and his composition and use of time signatures is extraordinary. A great example of this can be realized by counting the song Driven from Test for Echo.
 
Jason Dorn said:
Neils chops might not be "Technical" but there damn good and his composition and use of time signatures is extraordinary. A great example of this can be realized by counting the song Driven from Test for Echo.

Test for echo has a cool dark quality about it, and I really like the guitar intro to "driven."
 
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I'll add my Neil thoughts. I saw Rush twice back in the 1980s or early 90s. I was on the floor for one of the tours - the one with the big red balls. I'm trying to remember back.

1) Chops out the kazoo.
2) His mechanics are terrible. It was almost like he had casts on his wrists they were so stiff. He looked akward and uncomfortable but you didn't notice it in his playing.
3) I would always leave the concerts thinking "I could have stayed at home and listened to Rush albums." The drumming was a carbon-copy of the studio recordings.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's a great musician and I really enjoy Rush songs but after seeing him in concert, I was a bit turned off by Neil as a drummer.

On a side note, didn't he evolve from a drum corps drummer to the set?
 
The new Peart video Anatomy of a Drum Solo is coming out nov 1 the same date R30 should be released really looking forward to these videos.
 
I have been a Rush fan since 1978 and Neil has been a huge influence. After watching the Work In Progress DVD, I came away with the feeling that Neil truly does "study" drumming and music and that is what makes him as great as he is. At times I find his fills a bit repetitive, but I wouldn't trade his chops!! Neil brings out so much variation in his playing style that it kind of sucks to pigeon hole him in the genre of "rock." He is obviously so influenced by big band and jazz and swing that you have to believe he would make a similar impact in those circles as well. Listening to the Burning for Buddy CDs is testament to the fact he is not just a timekeeper. On the horizon, I see John Blackwell gaining the same kind of accolades as Neil. If you haven't seen John Blackwell play live, you have missed out on a one of a kind treat. Glad to be on this forum!
 
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