Peart's "Anatomy Of A Solo" DVD

**benrand** · December 30th, 2005, 04:58 AM

I've been up since 2:30AM working. I'm fried.

I meant don't attribute more bad events than he's had. It's bad enoguh to go through what he did. It came out wrong. Sorry.

**PocketPlayer** · December 30th, 2005, 08:37 PM

It's easy to forget the limitations of a message board when communicating below the surface thoughts.

My gut feel about the question of why someone loses their stuff is simple...AGE! I can't overstate this fact enough...the body doesn't respond they way it did as a 25yo. You can keep mentally sharp, but the physical will not progress equally. There are exceptions, but they are, well...exceptions. As time goes on, your motivation changes--what was incredibly important at 25 can be ridiculous at 45 to some. SOme might call this maturity.

Also, rock drumming really started in the 70's for the most part. We are now seeing the case studies of those who can still play this music after 50--that is, those drummers from the 70's.
A rock gig is not a jazz gig. When I see Joe Porcaro play in his late 70's, he is not pounding out drumming that a leader for the next OzzFest is interested in. Certain art forms require more energy than others and thus allow for a greater lifespan. Do you think Travis Barker will be playing the way he does at 57yo?

Personally, I think Neil's contributions for the future lie in his mind, not his hands & feet. The man is incredibly articulate (written & verbal) and can teach well. He has so much to offer experientially. Communicating clearly is a gift as much as playing great. The thing is the man has something to say after an incredible life as a drummer in a band loved by millions worldwide. His view on life is interesting as well, and personal tragedy has given him a depth beyond most--he was pretty deep as it was.

Lastly, I must heartily agree--we all deal with pain differenty. To one, it pushes them forward, to another, it breaks them down. It is easy to judge others here--and we usually do based on how we would react to circumstance. It is hard to have a, "Seek to understand before being understood" attitude. In short, most people rarely "really" know what is inside a man. You could play in a band for thirty years and still yet not really know those you make music with and stood side-by-side with all those years.

How many really knew what Carlos was going through? The list goes on...

**Clintuplet** · December 31st, 2005, 02:36 PM

Wow!! Interesting posts. While I think Peart has maybe lost a little in the technique department due to age or whatever, I think Rush has suffered most in the creativity department. I think the band, for the most part, plays the old songs with good energy and Neil does well at adapting the old parts to the new kit, as witnessed on R30.(I've been wearing that DVD out lately) For me, it's in the newer material that Neil, as well as Alex and Geddy have become stunted in creating exciting, emotionally stirring music. As this post started out as being the subject of Neil's solo: What's up with his solo? It's meandering at best and is not the ESL solo which is the standard by which all other Rock drum solos are judged by. As Randy said, after about 'Grace Under Pressure' they lost the juice and since then have produced so-so to just plain bland results.

I remember hearing the devastating news about Peart's wife while on vacation in Toronto. Though saddened by the news, I was taken by how a city of that size gave such an outpouring of support for Neil during his time of loss.

[ December 31, 2005 11:10 AM: Message edited by: Clintuplet ]

**CO'D** · January 2nd, 2006, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by Steve Holmes:
Neil waiting so long to do instructional videos is something that kind of frustrates me. Had he done one in the late 80's when they started it would have been monumental. He's not really the same drummer anymore so the novelty of the whole thing is kind of lost on me. It's hard for me to watch him now. He has half the drums he used to have, his drums don't sound as good as they used to, and his attemtping to change his technique has almost mutated him instead of improving him. [ December 28, 2005 07:49 PM: Message edited by: Steve Holmes ]

Well put. And incidentally, I agree. People had been asking him for years and years to make an instructional tape. He should have. Didn?t he say in his Work In Progress video that he didn?t feel like he anything to say or something? Nuts. Imagine if he would have done one featuring the tunes of Moving Pictures, or Signals. I think a good many drummers would have chewed off an appendage to get a close glimpse of that. I?d bet it would have had some wide appeal too, it probably would have been for rent in Blockbuster (after they existed of course). Every Rush fan would want to see it.

Neil was a little too humble if you ask me.

Your comments on his kit, sound and playing as of late are spot on too. The whole bands approach seems restrained as well. Rush, ?dumbed down? comes to mind. Rush doing a bad Pearl Jam imitation, no solos, grungy guitar, no keyboards, etc. Maybe that?s a little harsh and too much of a generalization, but comparing the old to the new, well, you know.

**CO'D** · January 2nd, 2006, 10:58 PM

My favorite Neil...

Before age and Freddie...

neil d7

[ January 02, 2006 06:59 PM: Message edited by: CO'D ]

**Andy Edwards** · January 3rd, 2006, 08:11 PM

Here's my favorite shot of Neil

he was great in (unrest in the) Forest Gump

**CO'D** · January 3rd, 2006, 08:59 PM

**Henry II** · January 3rd, 2006, 09:07 PM

I'm not that familiar with Neil Peart's music, but, I find it odd that you refer to the evolution of "his solo" in the singular. Does that mean he has a solo that he plays the same way every time, but that also evolves over time?