Neil Peart's death at 67 hit me like a ton of bricks. Like Tom Petty, who died a short while back at 66, Peart's death made me reflect on my own mortality. I'm 64 and I grew up listening to guys like Peart and Petty since their beginnings and hearing of their passings saddens me to no end. I was a casual fan of Rush, but a colossal fan of Peart, who I considered to be the best rock drummer of all time. Believe me, I am not alone in that assessment.
I remember when the first Rush album came out, with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and a drummer named John Rutsy. It was in 1974 and I was in college. I bought the album after hearing "Finding My Way" on a progressive FM radio station. As it turns out, that song was the only one on the album I liked. I found the rest of the album to be uninspired and poorly recorded. I was really into hi-fi and the poor production of the recording really turned me off.
I was unexcited about the band and passed on seeing them when they toured my area to promote the record. I had no idea at the time that John Rutsy would leave the band due to his complications with diabetes. Later that same year, 1974, a shy, but humorous Canadian, who'd been living in London, auditioned to replace Rusty. As the story goes, Peart arrived in a beat up Ford Pinto, wearing shorts and flip-flops, with his drum set stored in rubber garbage cans in the back seat. Guitarist Alex Lifeson was not impressed at first, believing Peart to be too wild, "like Keith Moon." Singer and bass player Geddy Lee, however, saw the potential and convinced Lifeson that Peart was the clear choice for them.
Rush's next two albums, both released in 1975, never gained my attention. I'd been unimpressed with their first release and had little interest in spending money I didn't have on their music. But then, in 1976, while working as a salesman in a tiny hi-fi store called Dixie Hi-Fi (later, this company changed its name to Circuit City), a customer walked in with two or three records and wanted to listen to a set of speakers, called the Altec Lansing 15's.
He wanted to hear what his favorite band, Rush, sounded like on the speakers. They had just released an album called 2112, the man told me, and it was primarily written by their new drummer, Neil Peart. I was less than excited about playing the album but went about setting up the system. The Altec 15's, after all, were the most expensive speakers in the store. I remembered the poor production quality of Rush's first album, and tried to convince the customer there were better choices for material to listen to high quality speakers, but the man was insistent. He wanted to listen to Rush, 2112. So, I held my nose and put on the record.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!
I was blown away by the record. More specifically, I was blown away by the drummer. Lifeson and Lee were both accomplished musicians, but the drummer was UN-FRICKIN-BELIEVABLE. The customer, who was smiling from ear to ear, bought the speakers and I had a new favorite drummer. 2112, side one in particular, was on my turntable constantly.
Sometime in 1977, after my son, Erik, was born, I was sent to Atlanta to help Dixie Hi-Fi audit an inventory at a store on Jimmy Carter Blvd. One of the salesman there, whose name now escapes me, invited me to see Rush live in concert with him.
As impressed as I was with the 2112 studio album, nothing prepared me for what I heard live. The entire band was great, but Neil Peart was unlike any drummer I'd ever heard before, and that included, up to that point: Keith Moon, Charlie Watts, Jerry Edmonton (Steppenwolf), Neil Smith (Alice Cooper), John Bonham, Bill Bruford (Yes) and even Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who was probably considered to be the best drummer in rock at the time.
I remained a huge Neil Peart fan. In the years following, I continued to buy Rush's albums because of Neil Peart. I'll be the first to admit that I listened to Steppenwolf, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, and two dozen other bands more than I listened to Rush, because I enjoyed their music more.
But never did I believe there was a better drummer out there as accomplished as Neil Peart.
In the YouTube era, I found myself streaming Neil's solo's and looking for gems like his involvement in the Buddy Rich tribute albums.
Although my passion for Rush, the band, faded over time, I never lost my love for listening to Neil Peart pounding out the rhythms. I still listen to the live version of "Limelight" or "2112" at least once a week.
Over fifty years after his death, Jimi Hendrix is still listed as the best rock guitarist in many, many publications, ahead of Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Page, Townshend, and Keith Richards. In fact, a list without Hendrix at the very top is usually subjected to scrutiny and disparagement bordering on righteous indignation.
"How dare you have a list without Hendrix at the top."
Although I won't be around to see it, fifty years from now, I strongly suspect Neil Peart will be listed as the best all-time drummer in rock and roll, and it will be for good reasons. There has been none like him.
Neil Peart, you will be missed.
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