Lost a rock legend. RIP Neil.

Damn.

I’ve loved Rush’s music for decades. Pearl was a superb lyricist, and perhaps the greatest drummer of all time. Also a good author.

Rest In Peace.

Damn.
 
If I may quote myself:
Another, especially mighty, musical icon of our generation has passed away: Neil Peart, drummer for Rush, died of brain cancer Tuesday at age 67.

How awful, and how young. What a loss to our musical culture and civilization. I'm grateful for all their music, even the pieces I never fully understood.

Rush spoke so deeply to so many of us about so many topics from vital to superficial. Their range, breadth, and depth of lyric content and meaning, and musical complexity both rhythmic and melodic, was unequaled.

So much enjoyment from their music, for so long. What an enduring and prolific career all three of them had, and may their music inspire and entertain many future generations.

I saw them in concert at Red Rocks, in Colorado, one summer night in the early 2000s, in a completely perfect performance and evening. We even enjoyed Nature's light show of thunderstorms and lightning in the distance over Denver, which added to Rush's lasers shining off the amphitheatre rocks. I haven't been to see a Red Rocks concert since, not after that perfect evening.
 
As a non-musician, I ask this purely out of ignorance: what makes a drummer great?
 
G-Man said:
I saw them in concert at Red Rocks, in Colorado, one summer night in the early 2000s, in a completely perfect performance and evening. We even enjoyed Nature's light show of thunderstorms and lightning in the distance over Denver, which added to Rush's lasers shining off the amphitheatre rocks. I haven't been to see a Red Rocks concert since, not after that perfect evening.
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That might have been the concert I was thinking of attending, with a friend. But it fell through, for some reason I can't recall now.

RIP :(
 
schmookeeg said:
As a non-musician, I ask this purely out of ignorance: what makes a drummer great?
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I’ve been a drummer for almost 30 years. Neil is phenomenal- I could only hope to one day have his technical skill, creative mastery, imagination, and delivery. The guy was an icon, a true artist.

RIP
 
He was an incredible talent and innovator. The loss of virtuosos like him and Keith Emerson reminds us how quickly life moves on.
 
This one hurts, feels kind of personal. :mad2:

I was a 16-year old kid in 1979 who didn't really have an interest in music - until I heard 2112. It was a transformative experience, like a sonic slap upside my head. It wasn't so much the lyrics, it was the SOUND - it was unlike anything I'd heard! Before long I owned every Rush album up to that point in time and couldn't wait until their next release (which was Permanent Waves). I was lucky to see them live in OKC (1981) and Odessa, TX (1984).

Rush will dominate my playlist for the next few days. :rockon:
 
If you guys haven't seen it yet check out "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" on Netflix a very well documentary on the band. I don't think anyone would argue that Peart was the greatest Rock n Roll drummer of all time.
 
schmookeeg said:
As a non-musician, I ask this purely out of ignorance: what makes a drummer great?
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Well, outside of having the skill to accurately play the rudiments, seamless technical rhythms, and general musical knowledge that any good musician would have, there's a more intangible aspect to how they compose their drum music. Many percussionists want to throw as many notes/crashes/speedy double-pedal base riffs into a song as possible. A large part of what makes a drummer (or any musician, really) great is knowing when to play forward in the song, and when to sit back. Being able to compliment the other musicians in the musical piece is one of the most important aspects of a great musician, and often one of the most difficult to master. Most every song/section of music has a theme or story to tell, and using the wrong drums, or volume, playing style can ruin the story. One of the other things that stands out for me with great drummers, is their understanding of how different time/notes/rhythms intertwine, and how to work time changes into music to where you have difficulty with the mathematical part of how it all lined up. Neil (and Rush) was an absolute master of integrating multiple time changes and non-standard (4/4) time signatures and making them flow easily. Their music is often not as pleasant to dance to, since those time changes often cause disruption to a typical sway/waltz/rock time signature, but that's not really what their music was about.
 
Thanks. I wonder if your description is why I never got into Rush's music. I used to blame the singer's high-pitched voice.

I also now understand when people accuse me of talking in a foreign language when describing technology issues. :D The woosh of your technical description parted my hair to the opposite side.
 
schmookeeg said:
Thanks. I wonder if your description is why I never got into Rush's music. I used to blame the singer's high-pitched voice.

I also now understand when people accuse me of talking in a foreign language when describing technology issues. :D The woosh of your technical description parted my hair to the opposite side.
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Oh, for sure the voice is polarizing. I stand in the camp where I can appreciate the talented musicians in Rush, and like a few of their songs, but listening to an entire album in succession isn't something I'd relish. Geddy Lee's voice grates on me after a while, too.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Oh, for sure the voice is polarizing. I stand in the camp where I can appreciate the talented musicians in Rush, and like a few of their songs, but listening to an entire album in succession isn't something I'd relish. Geddy Lee's voice grates on me after a while, too.
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Geddy is one of the top bassists in the world, but I don't think anyone would ever rate him highly as a vocalist. In a way, it's a bit strange. Rush's musicianship is superlative, and Peart was an impressive lyricist, so it's surprising that the band didn't seek a top-notch vocalist in their early days. By the time the band really took off, Geddy's voice was almost a trademark for the band and there's no way they could have ever brought on someone else.
 
Half Fast said:
Geddy is one of the top bassists in the world, but I don't think anyone would ever rate him highly as a vocalist. In a way, it's a bit strange. Rush's musicianship is superlative, and Peart was an impressive lyricist, so it's surprising that the band didn't seek a top-notch vocalist in their early days. By the time the band really took off, Geddy's voice was almost a trademark for the band and there's no way they could have ever brought on someone else.
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True, and adding to that, his voice becoming a trademark may have been what made them stand out in some respects, as superior musicianship doesn't always prevail. There are tons of local bands which never make it "over the hump" to mainstream radio despite being far-superior, musically, to other artists/bands.
 
SoonerAviator said:
True, and adding to that, his voice becoming a trademark may have been what made them stand out in some respects, as superior musicianship doesn't always prevail. There are tons of local bands which never make it "over the hump" to mainstream radio despite being far-superior, musically, to other artists/bands.
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Good point. In my younger days I loved The Dregs (aka The Dixie Dregs) and they were incredibly talented musicians, but as a purely instrumental band they never really hit it big.
 
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