God With Drumsticks

Soon after the Canadian power trio Rush released their self-titled debut album in 1974, their drummer, John Rutsey, was forced to leave due to health complications brought about by diabetes.  Guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist-keyboardist-vocalist Geddy Lee then turned to another drummer, Neil Peart, as Rutsey's replacement.  This would prove to be a pivotal decision, just as the Beatles' decision to replace Pete Best with Ringo Starr or Family's decision to replace Harry Ovenall (their original drummer) with Rob Townsend would be.

Neil Peart, who died of brain cancer last week at age 67, would transform Rush as much as Ringo Starr or Rob Townsend transformed their respective bands . . . and then some.  His magnificent drumming was a cornerstone of Rush's aggressive, complex sound, with heavy beats that kept his bandmates Lee and Lifeson on course and with major assaults that would prove as menacing as Lifeson's guitar solos or Lee's banshee wailing.  But it was also his lyricism that would set Rush apart from the many metal acts and power trios that aspired to follow the path blazed by Cream and by Led Zeppelin.  Peart was a libertarian who distrusted large organizations, which fueled a common theme of Rush's music - songs about the individual against the system.  The independence Peart sought as a musician was reflected in his lyrics to "Fly By Night," about preparing to leave and chart one's own course.  Themes of non-conformity and keeping one's integrity prevailed in the philosophical lyrics about art and commerce in "The Spirit of Radio," the adventure of "Tom Sawyer," and the negative utopia of "Red Barchetta."  Peart also managed to somehow offer a critical treatise on suburbia that one might encounter in a Lewis Mumford book in a single song with "Subdivisions."  Peart's ruminations on conformity and individuality provided more food for thought than most heavy-rock songs usually do.

Peart and his band were not without their critics, many of them dismissing Peart's drumming as just a lot of noise and his lyrics as too much in the style of Ayn Rand to fit into the rock ethos of collective action and interdependent brotherhood.  As a Canadian, though, Peart was able to sound libertarian without sounding churlish (an American rocker might not have been able to pull that off), and his playing was far more developed and precise than that of most heavy-rock drummers.  He, like Lee and Lifeson (who wrote Rush's music), was determined to improve and perfect his chops with each album as well as explore new ideas and expand their music to include elements of folk, reggae, blues, and progressive styles.  That persistence to not just be the best power trio in rock but also the most literary and intellectual power trio in rock made Rush a mainstay in the rock scene and made Peart - often thought of as God in the same way Eric Clapton had been thought of when he was with John Mayall - a legend.

Rush toured for the last time in 2015, with Peart retiring thereafter due to tendinitis; his brain cancer was detected in 2017 and was kept secret until his death.  He leaves behind a wealth of classic performances and lyrics that few if any rockers could ever hope to match.  RIP. :-(