Drummer here, inspired by Neil. Saw them at least once, sometimes three times, every tour that came through Texas, starting with the Hemispheres tour in 78 or so. Saw them at their last tour in Denver.

Every drummer I knew wanted to be like Neil, me included. I still play the Wuhan china type that he made famous. I would practice attempting to play along to his songs, but he had several gears more than me. At concerts the first 30 rows or so were filled with air drummers following along. He was a very smart and aggressive drummer that always pushed his limits - even doing jazz with the Buddy Rich tribute, You gotta wonder how many got into drumming because of him. RIP Neil.

and the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw.

we only stop for the best

Everybody knew about Neil's excellence and proficiency with his drumming, but it's nice to see all the quotes on this thread about his lyrics. You could make a case that he was not only the greatest drummer in history, but the greatest rock lyricist. And that saying something, to be listed at the top in both categories.

Aust Ag said:

---

Everybody knew about Neil's excellence and proficiency with his drumming, but it's nice to see all the quotes on this thread about his lyrics. You could make a case that he was not only the greatest drummer in history, but the greatest rock lyricist. And that saying something, to be listed at the top in both categories.

---

If you just read the lyrics without the music, it stands on its own as poetry.

what's amazing about his lyrics is he was not a great student, wasn't highly educated (dropped out I believe) and was basically a self taught philosopher through relentless reading. He later received an honorary PH.D. in music.

He abhorred fame really and avoided fans - he preferred retiring to his room and reading to any type of partying while on the road.

An enigma.

He's not content with yesterday
He knows constant change is here to stay
He's wise enough to win the world
And Fool enough to lose it
He's noble enough to know what's right
And weak enough not to choose it......

"Red Barchetta" is one of the best short stories I have ever read.

The guy was a creative genius.

He was very much at the heart of their success.

It was a pleasure watching the man do his job, giving millions pleasure along the way.

I loves seeing him don the foam dice on his head during Roll the Bones tour.

The guy was a soft spoken musical and entertainment giant.

He will be missed by all lucky enough to have ever heard a Rush album or set foot in a Rush concert.

Zombie Jon Snow said:

---

what's amazing about his lyrics is he was not a great student, wasn't highly educated (dropped out I believe) and was basically a self taught philosopher through relentless reading. He later received an honorary PH.D. in music.

He abhorred fame really and avoided fans - he preferred retiring to his room and reading to any type of partying while on the road.

An enigma.

---

That's what relentless reading will do to you.

Very nice tribute...

PLUM LOCO said:

---

"Red Barchetta" is one of the best short stories I have ever read.

---

To this day, Red Barchetta remains my absolute favorite song of all time. I'm a fan of vintage cars, racing, and sci fi. RB scratches my every itch.

Both playoff games today have played some Rush drum riffs going into breaks.

This one is tough. Musical freakin genius with no equal on the kit

More Rush on today's games as well.

I just listened to The Fountain of Lamneth on Deep Tracks on the way into work. All 20 minutes of it. That may be the only time that song has every been played in its entirety on the radio.

mathguy86 said:

---

I just listened to The Fountain of Lamneth on Deep Tracks on the way into work. All 20 minutes of it. That may be the only time that song has every been played in its entirety on the radio.They

---

They are playing The Necromancer right now and I heard I Think I'm Going Bald yesterday. That's beyond deep.

In addition to standard Rush fare, they have gotten in the full 2112 suite, Cygnus X-1 Part 2, Anthem, Rivendell, Entre Nous. I have a feeling we might get O Baterista.

I'm sad and happy at the same time.

mathguy86 said:

---

I just listened to The Fountain of Lamneth on Deep Tracks on the way into work. All 20 minutes of it. That may be the only time that song has every been played in its entirety on the radio.

---

that's really cool.... and of course it wasn't common.... but there used to be radio stations that played full albums at times.

There was an AOR (Album Oriented Rock) station in KC back in the day ('74-82 at least when I was around) that played full albums on Sunday evenings. We used to wait for the lineup of albums they were going to play and then decide if we wanted to record them to cassette. I got many "free" albums that way. they would give a little 5 second silence led in to start your taping and then play it uninterrupted. Heard a few Rush albums that way for the first time before I owned many records.

But it's very cool to hear that they are doing that now.

Personally I manage my own equivalent. I often go on my own deep dives for days in their catalogue.

I have 7 Rush Playlists on my Apple Music. And I owned all of their catalogue (studio and live) before Apple Music anyway. I've had these for years:

Rush GH - the 32 greatest hits imho, All the radio staples
Rush Deep Cuts - another 50 songs that are among my faves
Rush R40 setlist - the concert lineup for the last tour in order (for my Dallas show). I liked that reverse chronology so much.
Rush Live - the entire catalogue of Live stuff 239 songs with 6 versions of 2112, 7 of YYZ and 8 of Tom Sawyer
Rush Magnum Opus - all the long form 8+ minute studio versions of the their "masterworks"; 11 songs 2:19 total
Rush Studio - all of the studio tracks together 163 songs and over 14 hours
Rush Fear Tetralogy - the 4 songs comprising the "Fear" series: The Enemy Within, The Weapon, Witch Hunt, Freeze

EDIT - added:
Rush Instrumentals - 11 songs: 8 studio songs, 2 parts of 2112 Live and R30 Overture Live (a 6 song instrumental retrospective).

New World Ag said:

---

Geddy and Alex and other members of the inner circle having to keep this a secret despite people asking them how Neil was doing.

---

This is the fourth day trying to figure out how this was kept a secret from social media for over 3 years.

It would just take a single person at the treatment facility, medical delivery staff, etc. to say something to someone before it would get posted online.

Still shaking my head.

I want to personally thank everyone involved for respecting his privacy.

RIP, Neil!