A Farewell To The Professor - Rush's Neil Peart

Probably the most air-drummed drummer of all time. Not a bad epitaph for Rush's Neil Peart, who died this week from brain cancer, aged 67.

And this weekend, air drummers all over the world will have put on Tom Sawyer or Xanadu in tribute to the man they called The Professor. I know I did.

Peart was an inspiration to drummers and even wannabe drummers, who were drawn to the music of Rush for its anthemic qualities.

This was especially true in Rush's early career in the late 1970s, when their music was epic in its scope.

Spirit Of Radio...The Trees...Xanadu...YYZ...Tom Sawyer...Closer To The Heart...2112 - all classics

Neil's drumming provided every teenage fan's dream of what a drummer could be.

He showed you didn't have to sit back there and just keep the beat. His musicality on the kit meant that Rush songs became known as much for the drum fills as the guitar licks.

The introduction to 2112 is just one example of how Peart's drum patterns provided much of the drama and became the focus of attention as each song developed.

Peart's character was in keeping with the band's status as outsiders - a Canadian trio playing progressive rock like no one else. He was so untypical of the drumming fraternity - camera shy and thoughtful, a man of few words. He left the joking to his bandmates Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.

As a trio, they were the perfect blend and showed how, in the rock idiom, a three-piece band is often the most dynamic and cohesive musical unit.

Peart shunned the limelight offstage, but came alive as a working musician and lyricist, in a career that began in the progressive rock and fantasy land of albums like 2112 and A Farewell To Kings, but which later matured to address more personal and social issues.

It was rarely plain-sailing for them, particularly with some parts of the music press, who were too cool to admit they liked the band. And Peart caught flak from the UK's NME in the late 70s for expressing an appreciation for the philosophy of right-wing author Ayn Rand. But for fans of the band, the fuss over that couldn't obscure the power and majesty of Rush's music.

As a Rush fan, you were definitely outside of the mainstream. None of my friends were remotely interested at the time, but I was a fan of their first live album All The World's A Stage, which featured excerpts from their recent breakthrough album 2112, as well as earlier songs like Fly By Night and Lakeside Park.

So I took the opportunity to see them live at Hammersmith in 1978, in their full prog rock pomp, playing 2112, Xanadu and their early prog classics. The show was later released as part of the Different Stages CD package.

This interview sheds some light on the recording of A Farewell To Kings, their studio follow up to the breakthrough album 2112.  The second live album, Exit...Stage Left, reflected their evolution from the 70s to the early 80s (shorter hair, no more silk kimonos) and is probably the best of the early live recordings.

Later on in their career, the Rush In Rio DVD showed how much their music meant to people all over the world. The South Park send-up was so good that Rush incorporated it into their live shows as the intro to Tom Sawyer.

If you haven't seen it and you're a fan, check out the documentary Beyond The Lighted Stage for the full story of how Rush defied expectations and became one of the biggest bands in the world.

This, I'm happy to say, is a proper obituary of the man, with insight from their many interviews, by the British writer Philip Wilding.

And here's a rare televised interview with Neil himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=311&v=q_mKr28G7og&feature=emb_logo

A perfect example of how much Rush meant to their fans, is the Foo Fighters doing 2112 at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins tweeted their own tributes to Neil (shown here).

As many have said, it's a great shock when your heroes die suddenly. But if Neil was looking down now, he would surely see millions of people of all ages air drumming to his songs.

RIP Professor - thanks for the music

 

 

ALSO ON THIS BLOG:
Vinnie Colaiuta - Master of the polyrhythm

What Mike Shrieve did after Santana