Neil Peart – RIP
I was sad to hear today about the death of Neil Peart. Neil was the drummer and lyricist for my favourite band, Rush.
Rush was very influential in my formative years. It was their Fly by Night that first got me into music in general and prog rock in particular. Fly by Night was the first album featured Neil as part of the band.
Rush was also to first rock concert that I ever attended. I was blown away by the immense skill of the band. They may not have had the flash of other bands but their musical gifts more than made up for it.
Rush continues to be very important to me. I have fourteen of their albums on my iPhone. The music touches my heart and their lyrics stretch my brain.
One of the reasons that I was drawn to Rush was there was a connection to my hometown of St Catharines. Neil Peart grew up in St Catharines and even wrote a song about a park here that I have visited many times.
Although Rush’s first album is a good and solid rock album, it was when Neil joined that things really took off. He had far more talent than any musician could expect. Not only was he a drummer without peer, he was one of the most thoughtful song writers.
He was able to write epic songs that took up half an album side (Fountain of Lamneth, 2112, Cygnus X-1 Part II: Hemispheres) as well as many other shorter but equally thoughtful songs. He wrote on deep subjects that touch us all, including religion, growing up, loss and what it means to live with integrity.
Neil Peart will be missed. He was both a Canadian and a rock icon. There will never be another musician like him.
