R.I.P. Neil Peart of RUSH

My first experience with Rush was Spirit of Radio--on the radio, of course. I still have the tape, in fact, from '93 (I've written about this tape several times on the board), my first official fling with rock and metal. Spirit was about two or three songs in. I remember thinking, "this song is gonzo, what am I hearing??" I couldn't believe the activity in the drum section, how it would pop and smack and glide from beat to beat, and it was unlike anything I had ever heard. Later on my youth pastor at the time would suggest the band to my parents, who were afraid of my drifting into the Forbidden Genre. They all felt Rush, a band with a squeaky-clean and mellow image, would be allowed into my listening habits. So I purchased Counterparts and went from there, totally loved that album on first listen. Then came Chronicles through Columbia House, a two-tape collection that I loved so much that I made a custom case for it to display on my dresser. Then I slowly started collecting their oeuvre and found myself immersed.

Eventually, as I learned guitar, I would jam to them. Not that I knew or even know now a single Rush song by heart. I would just jam randomly to the rhythm of the music, maybe try and mimic a Lifeson melody or lick. But, as someone who is more passionate about rhythm playing than lead, just tricking out to Peart's syncopation made for some of the highest forms of creativity I had ever achieved. I loved the idea of him being my drummer.

No one sounds like Rush, and no one plays like Peart. There's never been any proper argument to this. They were the Robert Altman of rock 'n roll (I could probably think of another director but for several reasons he springs to mind). Totally self-contained yet never adhering to the laws of a vacuum. Each musician brought this vibe to the table and Peart's was the legacy foundation that they needed for completion. It was this part of the craft that made them undeniably unique and transcendent of any genre. What this means now is something I never thought I'd witness in my lifetime, nor prepared myself for: Rush is over. An era has ended.

Dio was the first "big" passing for me. This one is even more remarkable. All my heroes are passing on, and losing Peart feels heavier, with more of that achy feeling. It's weird.

SwordHeretic, thanks for posting that. What a profound tune. I'd never heard it before now. It's more than fitting, like an anthem to the event, like the tail end of A New Hope right before the end credits.

FF, that Nobody's Hero number has my most endeared Peart lyrics, with or without the song background. It's a powerful tune.

And Toho...now's the time, my man. You gotta invest in Counterparts. Don't just listen to me; the whole board I think agrees that it is Rush's strongest and most emotional album of their postmodern (as I call it) output. We're pretty confident you'll be pleased.

"To taste anew the fruits of life,
The last immortal man!"

Rush fan since "Fly By Night" was new. I spent months studying/practicing "La Villa Strangiato" to be able to play it proper and correct when that album came out. I can't play it all the way through anymore . An amazing player and a unique personality. My reading habits changed in the late 70's due to his lyrical contnet. Didn't buy into most of the philosophy aspects, but cherish the varied perspectives gleaned. RIP

Corplhicks, you really need to check out their last 3 albums, especially Clockwork Angels. Heaviest album in their whole discography.

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Corplhicks, you really need to check out their last 3 albums, especially Clockwork Angels. Heaviest album in their whole discography.

I was going through my Rush collection yesterday, and realized I still don't own Clockwork Angels. Need to get this one.

Gilbert wrote:

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Corplhicks, you really need to check out their last 3 albums, especially Clockwork Angels. Heaviest album in their whole discography.

I was going through my Rush collection yesterday, and realized I still don't own Clockwork Angels. Need to get this one.

Yes you do, it's a great album. I'd rank it right up there with all their best.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Corplhicks, you really need to check out their last 3 albums, especially Clockwork Angels. Heaviest album in their whole discography.

I was going through my Rush collection yesterday, and realized I still don't own Clockwork Angels. Need to get this one.

Yes you do, it's a great album. I'd rank it right up there with all their best.

Good suggestions all around; I'm looking forward to exploring the post-Counterparts albums this week. I've been neglecting those for too long.

Gilbert wrote:

I got into Rush after purchasing Counterparts back when it was released, and immediately fell in love with the album.

I was shocked later, when I read reviews that this was the worst in their catalogue.

I actually like Counterparts quite a bit, I prefer it over most of their other 90s era albums I've heard, like Roll the Bones, Presto or Test For Echo.

...and yes, Clockwork Angels is a great one. An excellent way for them to go out.

My local rock radio station KLOS has been playing Rush tributes. It’s a good way to hear some deep tracks I never heard. I definitely am interested in looking more into their catalog. It’s unfortunate I didn’t before. Ghost of A Chance is one of the songs I heard that I like!

Fat Freddy wrote:

I actually like Counterparts quite a bit, I prefer it over most of their other 90s era albums I've heard, like Roll the Bones, Presto or Test For Echo.

"Nobody's Hero" is a great song on that one.

I was exposed to them at a young age. My older brother had some of their albums. We live near Detroit at the time so they were kind of "local" and everyone his age loved them (this would've been the mid 70's and I was probably 6 or 7 years old). I never thought much about them until one day I looked at the Archives album my brother had. It was an LP set of the first 3 albums. When I opened it up I noticed only 3 members. So I asked my brother "Where is everyone else?". He asked "What do you mean?". And I said "there are only 3 people in this band so where are the other guys?". He said "They are THAT good. There are no other guys and those 3 guys can do more than a lot of bands with 5 people".

My own first Rush tape was Moving Pictures from Columbia House. I loved it! After that I went back through the catalog to find more and ordered Waves on vinyl. That became my favorite Rush album for years.

I lost interest in them around "Pressure" as it was just too keyboard heavy for me. I wanted to like it but didn't. It had some decent songs but I never played it. Then "Power Windows". Same - too keyboard heavy for me. I still don't care a whole lot for that era but I do love "Show Of Hands" as it covers the best songs from that era.

A couple of years ago (during the reissues) I picked up Hemispheres as I had never heard that one. Loved it! It was like hearing a new Rush album for me and I think that one is my favorite. I was also missing "Farewell" and found a cheap used copy on vinyl and picked it up too.

I got back into them during Counterparts as it was a return to the rock sound. Picked up "Bones" as well.

glassprison wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I actually like Counterparts quite a bit, I prefer it over most of their other 90s era albums I've heard, like Roll the Bones, Presto or Test For Echo.

"Nobody's Hero" is a great song on that one.

Yep, I mentioned that track in particular a few posts back. The lyrics are particularly poignant in light of Neil's passing.

mikeinfla wrote:

I lost interest in them around "Pressure" as it was just too keyboard heavy for me. I wanted to like it but didn't. It had some decent songs but I never played it. Then "Power Windows". Same - too keyboard heavy for me. I still don't care a whole lot for that era but I do love "Show Of Hands" as it covers the best songs from that era.

As I said earlier, I'm far from a Rush expert but it seems like their first decade (i.e. the debut album thru Grace Under Pressure) is their sweet spot for me. I can take or leave much of what I've heard from after that stretch (tho as I previously mentioned, I do enjoy Counterparts and Clockwork Angels)...  I still need to get Hemispheres and Caress of Steel to complete my collection of that era.

I actually traded off my CDs of Hold Your Fire (waaaayyy too much synth, it was very plastic sounding), Presto and Roll the Bones just a few months ago, cuz they never got any play and were just taking up space on my shelf.

Just heard about this today for some reason. I check news feeds on my google app all the time and this was the first day I saw something about this. Sad news indeed, RIP to a true rock legend!

Rush music sales increase by over 2000 %

mikeinfla wrote:

Rush music sales increase by over 2000 %

Always sad that it takes a death for this happen, but good for the band.

I haven't really said anything on here involving Neil's passing. Neil, I would state was just different. I'm not surprised about his privacy regarding his health. If one ever read, "Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road", one gained huge insight into how he ticked. Neil came off a double tragedy of losing both his daughter (tragic car accident) and then his first wife to cancer, who had by all intents and purposes given up after their daughter died. His travels were cool, but without disparaging him, I would say he was not the most approachable person and his view of society was not a real positive one. Having said all that, he's another musician/pop culture figure that is gone from my childhood. It's the shitty thing about getting old. If you're that generation which called the 80's their decade, we are seeing those who within that pop culture era pass exponentially faster. The one positive thing about Neil's passing, he's now reunited with his first wife and daughter.

mikeinfla wrote:

Rush music sales increase by over 2000 %

We've seen it time and time again: nothin' moves product like a dead rock star.

mikeinfla wrote:

Rush music sales increase by over 2000 %

Although i have never been the biggest Rush fan, i found myself listening to their cd's quite often, for the last week.

metalinmyveins wrote:

mikeinfla wrote:

Rush music sales increase by over 2000 %

Always sad that it takes a death for this happen, but good for the band.

I haven't really said anything on here involving Neil's passing. Neil, I would state was just different. I'm not surprised about his privacy regarding his health. If one ever read, "Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road", one gained huge insight into how he ticked. Neil came off a double tragedy of losing both his daughter (tragic car accident) and then his first wife to cancer, who had by all intents and purposes given up after their daughter died. His travels were cool, but without disparaging him, I would say he was not the most approachable person and his view of society was not a real positive one. Having said all that, he's another musician/pop culture figure that is gone from my childhood. It's the shitty thing about getting old. If you're that generation which called the 80's their decade, we are seeing those who within that pop culture era pass exponentially faster. The one positive thing about Neil's passing, he's now reunited with his first wife and daughter.

yeah, he seemed to be a pretty private guy and rarely did meet n greets. That was left to Geddy and Alex. I did read a tribute somewhere online (can't remember where now) that a guy ran into him in the mountains of West Va while he was riding. The guy stopped off at a little place and saw a man eating outside at the only table. He said "May I sit?". Neil responded "Please do". He then asked "Are you?" and Neil said "Yes". The mainly talked about motorcycles and little about music. He said Neil was pleasant and at the end asked him which direction he was headed. He said "that way" and Neil said "Good, because sometimes when I meet people at these little places they end up following me and I have to lose them".

I take it he was someone who just wanted to play his music and be left alone. Nothing wrong with that at all. A private and shy man who couldn't understand all the fame.

mikeinfla wrote:

I take it he was someone who just wanted to play his music and be left alone. Nothing wrong with that at all. A private and shy man who couldn't understand all the fame.

Limelight pretty much says it all.

This is kind of cool. He plays the entire album and plays all the instruments himself.

Oh yeah I was reading on another forum that Clockwork Angels is out of print and is hard to find in stores. Some guy said he went to several different stores to get in and no one had it. So I checked Amazon and they do have new copies of it but they are in the UK.

Neil Peart was like Jimi Hendrix for the drums, there is a before and after, and nothing was ever the same after Neil Peart.

The man was also a great lyricist, which is often overlooked. His early lyrics dealt with sci-fi and fantasy lyrics which was not unusual for metal/prog bands of their early, but as he got older, he wrote lyrics that were more personal, dealt with human emotions, dreams, human frailties. He was an amazing talent and he will be missed.

mikeinfla wrote:

I was exposed to them at a young age. My older brother had some of their albums. We live near Detroit at the time so they were kind of "local" and everyone his age loved them (this would've been the mid 70's and I was probably 6 or 7 years old). I never thought much about them until one day I looked at the Archives album my brother had. It was an LP set of the first 3 albums. When I opened it up I noticed only 3 members. So I asked my brother "Where is everyone else?". He asked "What do you mean?". And I said "there are only 3 people in this band so where are the other guys?". He said "They are THAT good. There are no other guys and those 3 guys can do more than a lot of bands with 5 people".

THIS is the ultimate compliment! The raw definition of a power trio. I also got into them in the mid-70's because of an older brother. Was a dream come true to finally see them on the Moving Pictures tour.

RUSH's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have thanked everyone who has paid tribute to Neil Peart.

Peart died on January 7 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The iconic RUSH drummer was 67 years old. The band announced his passing on January 10, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

On Friday (January 17), Lee and Lifeson took to social media to write: "Our most heartfelt thanks go out to family, friends, musicians, writers and fans from around the globe for the incredible outpouring of love and respect for Neil since his passing. These touching tributes help to lessen the pain of this terrible loss and remind us all to celebrate his remarkable life and our connections to it."

RUSH's final show took place at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.