here is my two cents about neil peart. he's one of the best rock drummers ever. i give him a 10 on drums. good lyric writer, too. i don't think he's overrated. there are better drummers out there than him, but he was real unique and special. peart was good on the cowbell, ride, 16th notes high hat stuff, odd time, really good double bass, good on the cymbals, some fast, proggy/fusiony fills. good on the snare with snare rolls. really good soloist, too. i don't care for the electronic drums on his kit. his drum solo on the exit stage left live album is probably one of the best drum solos ever, in my opinion. the only knock on him would be that he's not really that funky or soulful or swinging and a lot of his drum parts were too rehearsed and perfect. i don't think he would have fit in any other rock band. he was perfect for rush, like moon was perfect for the who. i also never liked the sound of his dw kits. it sounded too wimpy. his two old slingerland kits in the 70's and his first tama superstar kit sounded better. peart was kind of like eddie van halen. you were just waiting for the next wacky, impossible part they could pull off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TUn3xC3VPg
3:51 his best cowbell/electronic marimba work
the electronic solos, while technically difficult, were the most boring part of a Rush concert and I was happy to see him forgo any of them for R40.
Time Machine was my favorite kit, all the drums just worked together, R40 had thundering lows and not much definition or high end, Snakes and Arrows kit had beautiful mid toms, R30 again had some mean 16 and 18 inch toms. I know both R40 kits were sentimental to Neil and looked amazing. all I know about the Vapor Trails kit was that the crowd cheered as a sign of respect to Neil when the roadies pulled the tarp off at the Hartford 2002 show, his first show back.
As for the drums, Those TAMA's sounded the way drums should sound.
Le Studio made good instruments sound great.
All right, I'm getting in this action with my two-pennies worth on the subject matter. Let me start by laying the foundation of that I have seen RUSH live in concert on various tours, and that I own a great deal of their music that has been spread out over the course of many decades.
With that said, each period/release has its own gems that shine brilliantly-both musically & equipment[drum kit]wise. But for me personally, the year of 1982, saw as far as I am concerned, the greatest collection of songs assembled and, the ultimate pinnacle of sounds being brought to life by none other then the TAMA CAR drum kit.
Composition wise, the songs on Signals are absolutely stellar! Not a bad cut on the record. Lyrically?...C'mon man, think about some of those lines that were written - "The boy pulls down his baseball cap and covers up his eyes." To this day, I am STILL dreaming, and think about that song every time I wear a ball cap. Subdivisions, Digital Man, Losing It, The Weapon, Countdown, etc, etc, the list is endless.
As for the drums, Those TAMA's sounded the way drums should sound. How about those wooden timbales huh? The crack & whack of those puppies when first heard, instantly captivated me when they where struck. The Zildjian cymbals, just delicious in splendor & delivery. The overall look of the kit, well you know.
I'm sure Neil's DW drum kit sounds nice and all, but each time when I saw him perform live with it/them, I was not too overly impressed by them. Recording wise, the same. Maybe it was just shoddy mixing or soundboard work, but those kits never produced such sounds like the CAR kit did.
Gone, but NOT ever forgotten. The TAMA car kit & Zildjian connection, as well as the Boogie Nights moustache.
Exactly. Neil's platform,is on some electric motor gear track (The drum techs used to turn by hand). So the platform is not exactly concrete stable. Plus, the fact that most of the stands are threaded into the platform and do not have actual legs. Neil plays hard, but theres finesse/touch which is why he does not break many cymbals or heads.
I can't say I've liked any live recording mix after R30. The shows were great live, but they just never captured that energy on the disc.
nabavio sam rush in rio koncert i ostao zapanjen kako se peart nekako kruto drzi pri svirci
Is Neil’s health ok? I’ve notice that his nose is purple in recent photos?
While it used to be thought that that was a symptom of alcoholism, it's actually a skin condition similar to rosscea called rhinophyma and is most common in men 50 to 70.