Neil Peart, Rush Drummer Who Set a New Standard for Rock Virtuosity, Dead at 67

Rolling Stone ^ | January 10, 2020 | Brian Hiatt

[tuffydoodle]

Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist for Rush, died Tuesday, January 7th, in Santa Monica, California at age 67, according to Elliot Mintz, a family spokesperson. The cause was brain cancer, which he had been quietly battling for three-and-a-half years. A representative for the band confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.

[tuffydoodle]

I did a search and didn’t see this posted.

[a fool in paradise]

New standard?

Performers today use tracks and not instruments.

[Drew68]

I did a search and didn’t see this posted.

From a different source:

Rush drummer Neil Peart dead at 67

That's OK. The legendary and toweringly influential Mr. Peart is worthy of multiple threads.

[cdcdawg]

GOAT? Has a pretty good claim to it.

[tuffydoodle]

Good grief. Maybe I spelled his name wrong in the search box. Sorry.

[monkeyshine]

Just heard the news myself a few minutes ago. I guess he died a few days ago but they withheld release. Sad. Prayers to his family, friends, fans and band.

I saw Rush play about 2 years ago - they played their favorites in reverse order of release so the show ended with their earliest album(s). I’d say album, but Neil didn’t play on their first album. However he played 2 of the songs from that album during the encore. AFAIK they had not played much from that album in other tours since Neil was not a part of it. Big of him, I’d say. Professional. One of the greatest has passed.

[Rastus]

I’m the poster of that thread and I don’t mind that you posted another.

[proust]

Oh no. I was lucky to see Rush live. He was the thinking man’s rocker.

[xp38]

It’s been posted

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3807195/posts

[TimeLord]

IRREPLACEABLE

[ifinnegan]

It was posted.

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3807195/posts

[MeganC]

The thing about musical innovators is that for generations who come after the innovator it’s hard to fathom what changed because you’ve lived in a world that was always so.

Peart was definitely a genius but his achievements came at a time when other people were also doing amazing things with percussion and it’s all hard to sort out who was really the most influential.

Peart innovated, for sure, but he will not be remembered with the innovators like The Beatles, Phil Spector (and his Wall of Sound technique), Phil Collins skillful use of gated reverb, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and etc.

They were giants and Peart stood on their shoulders.

[rlmorel]

Agreed. One of the most amazing percussionists whoever lived in my opinion, at least for rock ‘n’ roll

[proust]

Why is this news being moved to chat?

[dp0622]

Yeah wow this is sad.

New World Man has great lyrics. Tom Sawyer.

Great songs for great days.

[max americana]

I will place Neil at top 5. My Dad saw them in 75 and 78 (?) back in canada, and third with KISS, believe it or not. I said KISS? It did happen.

There’s an interview where Lee was interviewed and Gene Simmons thought they were gay because he “shared” his groupies with them and they refused. Lee Geddy stated he couldn’t believe on tour...the sexual appetite of Gene Simmons. He had 8 girls with him more than a few nights LOL

On my part, I saw them live with Primus.

[proust]

Primus is like bizarro world Rush.

[gibsonguy]

A damn good drummer one of the best

[DoodleBob]

GOAT? Has a pretty good claim to it.

I think it's fair to say that Mr. Peart stands in the annals of drummers much like Eddie Van Halen stands with guitarists. That is, there will never be a Jimi Hendrix ever again, but Eddie Van Halen's influence is arguably greater than that of Hendrix, even though Hendrix may be the GOAT.

Similarly, just like there will never be a Keith Moon or John Bonham in the world of drumming ever again, Neil Peart's influence is arguably greater than that of either Messrs. Moon or Bonham.

Please note I'm not saying Peart was BETTER than Moonie or Bonzo. That's a matter of opinion, though lots of drummers consider either of these legends to be the GOAT. And, to be sure, lots of people cop Bonham's triplet play or Moonie's manic style of playing (btw, Peart's fav for a long time was Moonie).

But contemporary drummers, for the most part, must be able to play in odd time signatures and with incredible dexterity and technical proficiency...and a lot of that has to do with Peart and Rush. To wit: nobody was writing or playing things like La Villa Strangiato or By-Tor and the Snow Dog or The Trees or Xanadu before Rush/Peart (with the possible exception of Billy Cobham and Mahavishnu Orchestra).

All that said, now is not a time for fighting, but for remembering. Thank you Neil - I hope you found God at the end.