RIP Neil Peart

[Hayley Croppers chopper]

i have only just picked this news up.

i get bored of drum solo's but not his, he was an incredible talent, his use of percussion set him apart.
what a terrible shame.
RIP

 

[Manx Blue]

Like many, I started listening to Rush in the early 80s when I was 10/11 or so.

Although I have always enjoyed a broad cross section of music being young, from Mozart all the way through to Metallica. My Heart used to swell with with pride when the likes of Rush, ACDC, Motorhead, Maiden, Van Halen used to get into the charts...bands for the marginalised amongst a sea of New Romantics (which were also fine in small doses!).

I'll let you into a secret, I have hardly any Rush studio albums. Exit Stage Left, followed by A Show of Hands and all the other live albums, gave me a sense of the individual and collective virtuosity of the band, and an appreciation of their live sound.

Listening to Rush, is like listening to an orchestra the size of an Imperial Starship, manned by just three people.

One of my biggest regrets, is never having watched them live. Having said that, if I had, and they had a rare off night, would my opinion of them deminished?

Neil Peart was the rock, an absolute titan of the band, the genre and of music. In my opinion he is and was the best drummer ever to have walked this planet.

The proof? The drum break in Tom Sawyer.

Rest easy big man.

 

[brummie blue]

One of my biggest regrets, is never having watched them live. Having said that, if I had, and they had a rare off night, would my opinion of them deminished?

Of course you can never say never regarding off performances, but I would say having seen them 25 times since 1980, I was never disappointed with a performance they gave. There may have been the occasional technical issue that was rectified in seconds, but the sound and 'show' was always impeccable, whatever the venue. The live albums give a good anthology of the ever changing music through the years, and they mostly varied the tracks on the albums to avoid repeating the same old numbers. The final R40 tour album and DVD release has ultimately proved to be a perfect send off for them. I'm glad I made the effort to see the shows in Toronto in 2015, and regret not trying to get to LA for the final show.

 

[chesterbells]

Of course you can never say never regarding off performances, but I would say having seen them 25 times since 1980, I was never disappointed with a performance they gave. There may have been the occasional technical issue that was rectified in seconds, but the sound and 'show' was always impeccable, whatever the venue. The live albums give a good anthology of the ever changing music through the years, and they mostly varied the tracks on the albums to avoid repeating the same old numbers. The final R40 tour album and DVD release has ultimately proved to be a perfect send off for them. I'm glad I made the effort to see the shows in Toronto in 2015, and regret not trying to get to LA for the final show.

Did you do that knowing they weren’t gonna bring R40 to Europe or do you live in North America?

He certainly didn’t go gently to the endless winter’s night.

 

[lefty goldblatt]

I never got the urge to see Rush live. The more they went on (from what I heard) they got heavier/louder, which didn't sit right with me.

Saying that, cooking brekkie this morning....

"Alexa...play La Villa Strangiato"

WOW

 

[brummie blue]

Did you do that knowing they weren’t gonna bring R40 to Europe or do you live in North America?
He certainly didn’t go gently to the endless winter’s night.

I'm in good old blighty, a lot of the media around the R40 tour had stories that Neil wasn't going to do a tour at all, never mind the North American shows, so I just decided to book it and go, flew in the day of the first show, had a two days in Toronto, flew home the day after the second show. Had the bonus that they where recorded for the live DVD. If they'd come to Europe I'd have gone again.

Subsequent interviews, especially the coverage in the film Time Stand Still, shows the band manager Ray Daniels, Geddy and Alex all pushing for 20 more US dates and a trip to Europe, but Neil said no, and judging by the state of his body after the North American dates he was right, he was a wreck. Neil comments that he wasn't going to do R40 at all, it was only Alex saying if they didn't do it now they never would because of his arthritis, so Neil reluctantly agreed.

In hindsight it was the right decision for me to go having followed them since my early teens.

 

[chesterbells]

I'm in good old blighty, a lot of the media around the R40 tour had stories that Neil wasn't going to do a tour at all, never mind the North American shows, so I just decided to book it and go, flew in the day of the first show, had a two days in Toronto, flew home the day after the second show. Had the bonus that they where recorded for the live DVD. If they'd come to Europe I'd have gone again.

Subsequent interviews, especially the coverage in the film Time Stand Still, shows the band manager Ray Daniels, Geddy and Alex all pushing for 20 more US dates and a trip to Europe, but Neil said no, and judging by the state of his body after the North American dates he was right, he was a wreck. Neil comments that he wasn't going to do R40 at all, it was only Alex saying if they didn't do it now they never would because of his arthritis, so Neil reluctantly agreed.

In hindsight it was the right decision for me to go having followed them since my early teens.

Indeed, and good for you pal.
As I’ve said before on here, I really wished they’d have come to Europe - just added one more week, ie 2 shows; one in Germany, one at Wembley Stadium or similar wouldve done the trick.