Neil Peart was more than just the man behind the 360-degree drum kit. Portland musician Casey Neill recalls how Peart’s lyrics, humor and integrity impacted his life
Naturally lots of the Neil Peart remembrance is focused on his drumming, but his lyric writing was one of the best in music history to my ears. I think about who actually altered my young mind and fundamentally changed the way I see the world — many authors (Gary Snyder and Ursula Le Guin the most), but only two lyricists: Michael Stipe and Neil Peart. Dylan and Joni weren’t of my time, and as much as I came to love them, they spoke out of the mists of history and for another generation.
In the ’80s, Peart made Rush a political band infused with deep humanism and romance. He was “left leaning” by his own admission having moved on from his metaphoric dabbling in Randian individualism. The Cold-War Rush songs (notably “Distant Early Warning” and “Manhattan Project“) are classics of what I contend is an actual genre where the atmosphere of those years was infused in the music as well as the lyrics (Bowie’s “This is Not America,” Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers,” “99 Luftballons” etc.). Apart from the myth that he was conservative, there’s the old standby that they sang about Hobbits. Yes, there are some early songs on Caress of Steel that reference Tolkien but Led Zeppelin spent a lot more time in Middle Earth.
As much as I can muso out on the prog years, it was Rush in the ’80s that did it for me. The songwriting leaned toward pop concision while keeping the odd time signatures and epic playing. “Limelight” is full of them and you barely notice. Geddy’s voice mellowed but kept it’s edge. The Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures records bridged the gap, but by the time they landed at the perfect trifecta of Signals/Grace Under Pressure/Power Windows, they had reached an apex. Rockers who hated New Wave synths disagree, but that isn’t me. The Grace Under Pressure tour was my second concert and it’s still one of my favorite records ever. “Red Sector A” echoes Geddy Lee’s family story and is amazing (his parents were survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsin). The scientific agnosticism of “Freewill” and other songs of theirs was also truly subversive. Later, songs like “Red Tide,” “Far Cry” and “The Garden” (the last Rush song on the last Rush record and so so beautiful) were deeply ecological.
Another thing to note: Peart never wrote a single lyric objectifying women. Nor is there a single story of dodgy backstage antics on their part. This flies in the face of all the apologists for the despicable behavior of ’70s and ’80s dude bands who justify all the misogyny with “It was another time.” No it wasn’t — It always was reprehensible and here was an example of guys who knew better. As for the myth that women don’t like Rush, the most hardcore fans I’ve ever known are mostly women and my social media feeds are full of many more (OK, the bathroom lines were admittedly longer for men at the shows).
They were one of the funniest bands ever and every concert was filled with self-deprecating humor. For fans who rode it ’til the end or came back after the ’90s, their records and tours through the 2000s and 2010s were monumentally rewarding and sold out everywhere they went. While touring 2007’s Snakes and Arrows, they played nearly the whole record every night. That kind of unapologetic “this is us and this is what we do” mettle is another reason why I love them so.
Back to Peart’s writing, his book Ghost Rider is an essential deep dive into the psychology of grief, motorcycles and natural science. The degree of personal tragedy he endured is astonishing and now that he had retired to spend time with his wife and young daughter just compounds the sadness of his passing. I am grateful for every drum fill, but even more so for the erudite wisdom he passed along through his words.
Thank you, Professor.
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Read our 2019 profile on Casey Neill and The Norway Rats’ most recent album, Subterrene
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