"The Speed Of Love"

Lyric excerpts from this superb song from Rush's 1993 "Counterparts" album. I bring these lyrics to life as tribute to a special girl:

"We don't have to talk
We don't even have to touch
I can feel your presence
In the silence that we share
Got to keep moving
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love
Got to keep on shining
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love"

Yeh... Don't worry, I won't make too many more of these "sappy" posts.

Best Drummer/Percussionist Ever?

Damnit! I tell ya, I have never felt more addicted to music than I do at this exact moment.

Admittedly and on average, listen to music at least six hours a day. You might ask how I am able to do such a thing with school work, etc. It's quite simple - I just do. Anytime that I'm writing a car article for AutoSavant.net I'm rocking out to music, whenever I'm surfing Internet forums - I'm listening to music and lastly, I'm most always listening to music when I'm writing a Blog post (and yep - I am as I write this particular post).

Anyhow, on the subject of music, I'd like to mention that I rather enjoyed my last major music post about Geddy Lee's bass guitars and what-not. That being said, I thought I'd make yet another music post, but this time go on to explain who I think is the best drummer/percussionist in the world is.

Such a question doesn't require much thought on my part - It's the one and only, Neil Peart

I know what you're thinking..

"Wait a minute, isn't Neil Peart the drummer for you're favourite band, Rush? Fanboy alert!"

Call me what you will, but take note that I couldn't care if you disagree, or happen to think I'm a fanboy. Nevertheless, I wouldn't go as far as to make such a claim without explaining my reasoning. After all, a lack of reasoning mightmake me look misinformed, idiotic and rather biased.

Now, I'm not going to go into a large debate as to who I think the best drummer in the world is, but to explain it in the simplest of terms - I believe Neil Peart to be the best drummer in the world not only because he has amazing ability, but also because I believe him to be one of, if not the most creative drummer of all time.

That being said, I've always gone on the concept of the best things (drummers, automobiles, etc) not necessarily being defined by actually ability, but rather the enthusiasm and creativity in they're execution. Or in other words, the fastest 'this and that' shouldn't always be considered the best.

With that in mind, folks often say imply that drumming competition such as Jon Bonham, Mike Portnoy and Buddy Rich could drum circles around Neil Peart. I, of course, think that's absolutely absurd, but it is their opinion..

Drumming Performances

I am of the opinion (and I know that I'm not alone) that while drums solos performed by Jon Bonham and Buddy Rich are excellent, they had a tendency to get a tad boring. Ok, scratch that - awfully boring. Frankly, this is where I believe Peart is above other drummers. He doesn't just bang wooden sticks on cymbals - he makes it an art by applying his specific and unique styles to the instrument.

Of course, if Peart wasn't a good drummer, I obviously would not have made the claim implicating him as the best drummer in the world. However, whether you think Neil Peart is the best drummer in the world or not, his drumming abilities cannot not be called to question.

Such ability not only shines through his solo performances, but also through out much of Rush's music. While Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson write the primary drumming parts for each of Rush songs, it's Neil who adds many of those little high-hat splashes and what-not.

Watch Neil play drums to 'Subdivisions' (live at the 2004 Frankfurt R30 concert)


Truthfully though, it is indeed his solo performances which back up my claims. What makes a Peart solo so interesting to listen to is the way he use of different styles which he implements. Rarely are his solo's repetitious as they go through a journey of different sound which always make them eventful.

Such is evident by the fact that his solo's have spurts of not only African drumming, but also quirky features as an electronic xylophone, electronic drums, cow bells and last but certainly not least, various sets of chimes. Sounds impressive does it not? What he is able to do with them is even more impressive, see for yourself:

"O Baterista" - live in Rio (2003, 'Vapor Trails' tour)


Now honestly, Mr. Peart doesn't have a great deal of solo's - in fact, he's only got about four. Come to think of it, that's pretty impressive, but what you should know is that those particular four happen to share many drumming parts with each other. His solo "Der Trommler" is more or less, a played-backwards version of his 2002 solo, "O Baterista". My intention here is not to take credit away from Neil - just making a few things apparent. Either way, this doesn't bother as the solo's don't sound overly recycled - even if they do share a few parts.

I'd say it's safe to say that the drums parts which have stayed through out his solo for year's, are now considered his trademark(s). Those particular trademarks being the middle-section rhythmic cow bells and of course, the Buddy Rich inspired classical Jazz finale. Oh yes, Neil Peart is a huge Buddy Rich fan.

'Der Trommler' - live in Frankfurt (2004, 'R30' Tour)


New Solo

With the announcement of the 2007 'Snakes & Arrows' tour, most of us Peart fans were hoping that Neil would compose an entirely different solo, but we (yes, we are a pack!) made sure not to get our hopes up. Thankfully, Neil decided to compose a new solo and for those who were at the first show of the tour (June 13th in Atlanta) treated to a wonderful thing. Thanks to a bootleg of the concert I was able to hear this particular solo just a day after the concert was performed.
My first impressions?

I got chills down the back of my spine. Does that explain enough of my first impressions? It is, excuse my language, fucking awesome.

How do I go about describing it? Well, let's just say that it's mostly performed on his electronic drums (which are located at the rear of his kit). The overall sound is something reminiscent to pipes being smashed in a hollow tunnel. Does that make sense? I'll let you be the judge..



I love how Neil kept his trademark cow bell rhythm, but rather than performing it on his usual set of cow bells, decided to use his electronic xylophone.

Others Qualities

Other qualities which make Peart so great are the fact that he has a drum kit like few others. Is there a drum kit cooler than the "SS Professor"? With it's gold plated stalks, black glitter paint, red stripes and various album symbols, I think not!

Furthermore, as Neil is the prime lyricist for Rush and has written over 200 songs (many of which boast superb and intelligent meanings), I think it's safe to say he is not only among Canada's best song writers - but also among lyricists anywhere.

So there you go. Those are the reasons why I believe Neil Peart is the best drummer/percussionist in the world.

Watch Neil play drums to 'Tom Sawyer' (live at the 2004 Frankfurt R30 concert)

Peart's Assembled "Snakes & Arrows" Kit

Christmas has arrived early this year!

Here is Neil Peart's newly assembled "Snakes & Arrows" drum kit with his drum tech, Lorne Wheaton, at the helm.




Good looking kit, but I don't think anything will top the "SS Professor" (below). With gold plating, a black paint job with red lining and various album related symbols, it's quite simply too awesome for my face.

"Snakes & Arrows" Review

Honestly, I got a sneak peek at Snakes & Arrows about a week ago, but of course, I still bought the album. I needed to, not only because it’s amazing, but to support Rush. They deserve every penny they have (and they have many..)

Honestly, I did shed a few tears when I first heard the song by the title of "The Larger Bowl", on Snakes & Arrows. I have not heard this type of creativity, musicianship and talent for a long, long time. And I’m not just saying that because this is a new album from Rush, or new material that I’ve never heard before. It truly is, as Alex put it, one of their best works. In fact, I love this album so much it’s easily within my top five favourite albums of all time.

I can’t say that I have listened to anything in the last ten years that has given me goosebumps quite like Snakes & Arrows has. Come to think of it, I think this is the best album from Rush since Power Windows.

I know it's a bold claim, especially as Power Windows was released in 1985, but this album has quality unequalled. Both musically and lyrically it’s not only unmatched by most Rush albums, but most other musicians.

Anyhow, how do I go about explaining Snakes & Arrows?

Let me start by saying this album truly has no genre. Its half rock, half acoustic and uhh, half monster. Although forced to choose, I'd say it's folk rock.

More than a few times when listening to Snakes & Arrows did I feel I was listening to an album from Rush's heyday's (the '80's) and yet at the same time I feel it has all of qualites that will keep it sounding modern and crisp for many years to come. As for the influences, well that’s a long list, but to keep it rather short: Middle Eastern, Blues, hard rock and folk. What I cannot believe is how Rush has managed to combine all of those traits together.

For instance, the longest Instrumental on the track (The Main Monkey Business) manages to sound as if it came out of the mid 70’s. It honestly sounds like Jethro Tull and yet at the same time carries all of Rush's late 1970 traits (Hemispheres in particular). What's also particulary interesting about this song is that a great deal of it relies on the use of Synthesizers and Rush hasn't used those since 1991 (Roll The Bones).

I cannot even use words to describe how amazing this song sounds – it’s just brilliant. How does it stack up to greats like "YYZ" and "LaVilla Stragianto"? Pretty well actually, but I'd still rate those two ahead of it. An individual on a Rush forum described TMMB as “walking through the rainforest” and I couldn’t have said any better.

As I explained in a previous post, “Malignant Narcissism” is incredible. Essentially it's a mini "YYZ" ,but it's a terrible shame that it's so damn short.

Meanwhile the third instrumental on Snakes & Arrows ("Hope") is surely a unique one. It's purely acoustic and performed by no one other than Alex. Yet again, it manages to capture all of the essences from both Rush and Jethro Tull of the 1970's. It is seriously a beautiful piece of music and I'd be surprised for anyone to tell me they don't like it.

Here's Malignant Narcissism



Songs/Meanings and etc:

Vapor Trails was an alright album, but Snakes & Arrows makes VT look terrible in all ways. I have yet to find a song witin the thirteen which I want to skip past and even my least favourites are far better than songs of the past.Ironically, I feel “Far Cry” (the single) to be the weakest song on this album. Why? Well because I feel it’s quite repetitious. Don’t get me wrong, I like the song – but it’s the most commercially driven song on this entire album.

Second to “Far Cry”, I think “Faithless” is the second weakest. Sadly, I do not feel one particular lyrical phrase fits.

Still though, most of the songs are both lyrically and musically strong, out gunning Vapor Trails in more ways than one. They aren’t one dimensional either; in fact a great deal of attention has been put into this album to make sure it wasn't a "typical" prog-rocker album.

One thing that I really love about this album is Geddy’s voice hasn’t been layered to death, in fact it’s quite natural. If you've read my blog from the beginning you might remember I displayed some dissapointment regarding Vapor Trails when it came to the voice layering. When it comes to Snakes & Arrows, Geddy doesn’t have the vocal length of previous albums, (due to age), but he still sounds great. This album is also the first where Geddy uses strong harmonies. Those “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” might be a turn off for some, but I think they sound great.

One perfect example is “Spindrift” which heavly relies on the use of Geddy using his voice to harmonize. Some say it's filler, but I say fits this song (and album perfectly).

"Spindrift" also happens to be one of, if not the hardest rock song on this album. It has a tone which is almost demonic and is very much reminiscent of Moving Picture’s “Witch Hunt” and Signals “The Weapon" (two songs which happen to be favourites of mine). Yet that demonic tone fades away into a light acoustic jam at 2 minutes 40 seconds (at which the lyrics lighten up - "A little closer to you, where is the wind that will carry me a little closer to you"). This awesome chorus comes in once again at 3 minutes 50 seconds and then as you think the song is gone, the demonic tone comes slamming in. Brilliant is the only word that comes to mind.

“Workin’ Them Angels” is yet another interesting song. Very catchy and beautifully crafted with fantastic acoustic moments, strong drums and an addictive guitar pace. You know what’s extremely cool about this song? Lifeson has a Mandolin solo!

Speaking of which, another interesting instrument which makes an appearance is a “Bouzouki”. It’s a strange looking guitar of Irish and Greek decent used through out the 20th century.

And, oh I how I love “Bravest Face”. Aside from the general song composition being amazing, its lyrics are so true to life.

Interestingly enough Neil’s lyrics carry many “Heaven” references, both through out its song titles and lyrics. When I originally read they would be like that, I wasn’t too impressed, perhaps thinking a degree of softness. I was outright wrong though, the lyrics are powerful and yet so true. These lyrics speak a particular picture which no Rush album has done since Grace Under Pressure (which at the time was focusing on Communism). The song “Armor & Sword” makes yet another perfect example of this, bringing out a strong point forcing the lyrics “no one gets to their Heaven without a fight”

Check out Armor & Sword here:



If you aren’t familiar with Rush’s drummer (Neil Peart), you won’t know that he is one of the best lyricists in Canada (and someone who has written nearly all of Rush’s lyrics since ’75)

You also won't know that Mr. Peart doesn't believe in God.

In Rush tradition, the song meanings are carried out through the packaging. The album cover design is from a Middle Eastern Snakes and Ladders game board which represents the meaning of life. Meanwhile this strange “snake eating tail” photo was drawn by Huge Syme (the artist they have used for sixteen or so album covers), but most importantly it represents immortality.



What makes the Snakes & Arrows packaging even more interesting is that each song has its own artwork. For instance, the “Spindrift” lyrics are set onto a background of waves crashing. “Armor & Sword” is laid onto a picture of a medieval helmet and sword.




courtesy of www.cygnus-x1.net

Anyways, back to those songs!

"The Way The Wind Blows" is one of those songs which has a message, but it's not hard to decipher. It's a powerful song, to say the least and it's full of instrumental mastery. Here are part of the lyrics for you to digest:

Now it's come to this
Wide-eyed armies of the faithful
From the Middle East to the Middle West
Pray, and pass the ammunition
So many people think that way
You gotta watch what you say
To them and them, and others too
Who don't seem to see to things the way you do

“Good News First” is somewhat of a spooky song. As far as I can tell it describes the situation between Neil Peart and his wife who suffered from cancer, and who unfortunately died in 1997. Neil Peart is vague about the song meaning, but throws a few mentions of it.

Here are the lyrics for you to analyze (I've cut out a few lines, so this is not the whole song..)

The saddest words you could ever say
But I know you'll remember that day
And the most beautiful words I could ever say
There's more trouble ahead
So never mind the bad news
Let's have the good news instead

Some would said they never fear a thing
Well I do
And I'm afraid enough for both of us
For me and you
Time, if nothing else, will do it's worst
So do me that favor
And tell me the good news first

In my humble opinion it focuses on Neil Peart's wife telling him she has Cancer. Hence, "remember that day". Did I mention it's lyrics are set onto a picture of a burial mound with a newspaper flying through the air that's displaying the headline "Cure Discovered"?

My overall favourite at the moment has to be “The Larger Bowl”. I just love the quiet starting off acoustic layout and the powerful lyrics. The constant switch between acoustic and electric guitar is sure to go down in Rush history and the guitar solo, is spine chilling! Seriously, I'd say it has one of the best guitar solos, ever.

“We Hold on”, fits perfectly as the album closer. Displaying the lyrics:

Keep holding on so long
Cause there’s a chance that we might not be so wrong
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

I think the point here is to display not giving up. In more ways then one too: the world, Neil Peart’s tragedies and lastly, Rush themselves. 1997 could have been the end of Rush, but it wasn’t.

So as you probably noticed, I said the near identical thing for each song. Truthfully, it’s hard to put words to songs that are as brilliant as these are. Any disappointments? Nope, in fact I’ve got to admit that Snakes & Arrows is a far better album than what I expected. I expected it to be good, but not so good that I could compare it to the 80's greats.

Let me end by saying, there is no album that will be released in 2007 that will sound anything like it, actually I'd go as far as saying possibly ever again. It’s a masterpiece not only among Rush’s thirty plus year history, but among music. Now, I won't be surprised if hardcore Rush fans don't like this album. It's certainly not the "norm" for them, but then I ask: When has Rush ever stuck to one music style? The answer is never. Look at the evolution of them over the last three decades. Power Windows is a far cry from 2112 as Snakes & Arrows is a far cry from Hold Your Fire. My advice is to give it to some time before you dismiss it.

Oh and the “Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame” which refuses to induct Rush because they’ve never followed the trends, can eat a shoe (Perhaps one of Neil’s old tennis shoes...)

Snakes & Arrows Drum Kit

Peart's new drum kit design and colours for the Snakes & Arrows tour are here! Looks awesome (as expected). Thinking back over Rush history, Peart has had many red kits before. All of the following tours have had red kits - Moving Pictures, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Vapor Trails, Signals and Test For Echo.



Thanks to rushisaband.com for the above.

Red again?! I'm not complaining, remember Neil's absurd pink and gold kit from the Hold Your Fire tour?! =)




For those unfamilar with Neil Peart, his final drum kit will end up looking something like this (below, the 2004 R30 kit)



And when his kit is complete, he can do this:

The Making of Paragon

The making of Paragon, Neil Peart's signature cymbals by Sabian

When Not Rushing?

Above: Canadian born, Tom Cochrane

Music? Is it not an escape from a tormented world, to a place where you cannot be bothered by anyone? It’s simply you and the music.

Actually, that’s dribble. While partly true is some people’s life, in mine it is simply a hobby. A big one at that, I consider music to be one of my greatest passions.

Now it’s obvious that Rush is my favourite band and as a result, they get the most playtime in my collection. Which I’m more than fine with, because with two and half decades of music to listen to, I never get tired of them. However, when those times arise when I must put Rush away, its bands like The Fixx, Tom Cochrane, English Beat and Dire Straits which fill my appetite.

I was born in the late 80’s and as a result you might think that I grew up on 90’s music. However, that’s not the case; I wasn't into Nirvana or Pearl Jam. By the time I started listening to music (can’t remember my age) I was pre-exposed to music from both the 70’s and 80’s. My dad had never lost grip of his favourite bands from those eras.

Anytime I went with a ride in my father’s car we listened to music from the 80’s. The particular bands which stand out were The Doors, Billy Idol & U2. Because of that, I loved Billy Idol (and still do today), but for the longest of time U2 was my favourite band.

You see, I grew up on both The Joshua Tree and Unforgettable Fire albums. While the Unforgettable Fire was a great album, The Joshua Tree was an amazing album! Timeless, entertaining and well written. Aside from the obvious hits (Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You & I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For) I very much enjoyed One Tree Hill and the powerful - Bullet The Blue Sky.

As 2002 approached my interest in music multiplied and I was introduced (by my dad of course) to bands such as The Police, English Beat, The Fixx & Tom Cochrane. The one thing all of these great bands shared in common is that they were at their peak in the 1980’s (more or less)

Therefore, it goes without saying that the 1980’s is my favourite decade of music. The whole electronic synthesizers and strange sounds might have been a turn off for some, but I loved it. Of course, that really depends on who has using this new age (at the time) instruments. Some bands made a complete hash of it and rather than implementing synthesizers into their music they quite simply replaced the guitars with them. The end result was a terrible squealing organ…

Thankfully there were bands which were able to mix those traits. Rush, was obviously one of them. They felt they had the utmost responsibility to keep their music original and stay modern, but not let the electronics destroy it. Therefore Lifeson’s guitar notes were not drowned out, neither was Peart’s drum kit (equipped with cowbells, gogo bells, an electronic xylophone and God knows what else). The integration was seamless and another band which did an excellent job with doing so, was The Fixx.

The Fixx did a fantastic job at adding synthesizers, but without destroying the rest of the music. On the subject of The Fixx, I should get it out of the way – they are my second favourite band.

I knew very little of them until I decided to pick up a greatest hits album based on the merit of “One Thing Leads to Another”. Amazing song to say the least, but the greatest hits album I purchased allowed me to further explore The Fixx’s music. How about Red Skies? What an amazing track – Cy Curin’s voice is so energetic. I can’t even explain the brilliance of this song, but if you like Red Skies and One Thing Leads to Another, check out: Deeper & Deeper, Less Cities - More Moving People, Sunshine in the Shade, Saved by Zero, Stand or Fall & Are We Ourselves.

It should be mentioned, while there were certain bands working to combine the new age pop technology with their style, there was a certain band who took complete advantage of it and developed a new style: The Thompson Twins. While the career of the TT was short, they did manage to squeeze two amazing hits out: Doctor Doctor & Hold Me Now. Both of which were amazing songs (and big hits!)

Both songs featured full out synthesizers with midi activated sounds, something similar to Rush, but magnified by ten.

So then, The Fixx are my filler when I’m not Rushing. Of course, simply leaving it at Rush and The Fixx would be improper because I love much of the music made in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

A complete list (I think..) of my favourite bands:

Rush, English Beat, Fine Young Cannibals, The Fixx, Tom Cochrane, Valdy, Dire Straits, U2, Gordon Lightfoot, Frozen Ghost, Thompson Twins, A-Ha, Yes, Pink Floyd, Men At Work, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, Jethro Tull, Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, The Eagles, R.E.M, General Public, The Police, America, Eric Clapton, Simple Minds, Neil Young, Elton John, The Who, Bread, Barenaked Ladies, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Tears for Fears, Moody Blues, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers & Crosby Stills Nash & Young.