As for drummers, there are tons of drummers at least as good as Neal Pert. A drummer isn't measured by how many notes he can hit per second. If he were, Carl Parmer would still have Pert beat. (hey, a pun!) At least, imho.
There was a 16 y/o who played for a band called Style Council who played like a tornado, as well.
But Stuart Copland, who I think recorded one snare roll, was a groundbreaking drummer. Of course the list goes on and on.
It's not so much speed, although Neil can be extremely fast. IMHO, Rush sort of redifined the "rythm section." For as long as I can remember, the bass and drums were sort of the backbone of the music. I feel that the Bill Bruford/Chris Squire team of Yes began to redefine it, but it was completely broken by Lee/Pert. While they still do "groove" together, in a lot of cases, the drums become more of an upfront instrument, rather than being used for fills. And his "style" and pacing is something else. There are fills he does that have always impressed me and I can only describe as "falling down the stairs! lol
On the other hand, I really like Carl Palmer too, and I don't think that there's anyone who's better or faster on the cow-bell! lol You're right, though. He can be extremely busy, as heard on Karn Evil #9.
There was a 16 y/o who played for a band called Style Council who played like a tornado, as well.
Not familiar with them, but I do remember another 16 y/o drummer that I first heard a long time ago... Simon Phillips.
Mark
PS We just liked Slow Ride better, and we couldn't play all the songs we knew.... They included about 5 more Aerosmith songs, the entire Led Zep III, IV, and Houses of the Holy albums, 4 or 5 Black Sabath songs, and others, including some Yes (not very good.... Just didn't work w/o a keyboardists!), Jimi Hendrix, and a lot of Rush. Nothing original, but we were just a bunch of high school kids, who liked turning it up LOUD! lol