Neil Peart was undeniably a revolutionary drive in music, a craftsman who reworked percussion into an artwork type. Recognized for his intricate rhythms, technical precision, and imaginative lyricism, Peart’s contributions to Rush elevated the band to legendary standing. His drumming was rather more than merely offering the band with a rhythm spine; it was additionally about telling tales, pushing boundaries, and provoking generations of artists to attempt for greatness.
On this spirit, veteran session drummer Ken Mary has launched into a venture that pays homage to Peart’s genius whereas demonstrating the profound issue of replicating it. Mary, whose profession contains enjoying with rock and metallic icons like Alice Cooper, Settle for, Flotsam and Jetsam, and Fifth Angel – amongst many others – just lately unveiled The Neil Peart Experiment. The video collection culminates along with his rendition of Rush’s iconic observe, “Tom Sawyer,” which we’re premiering at this time.
Earlier than skeptics bounce to conclusions about this being an try to money in on the late drummer’s legacy, Mary units the document straight: “These are purely educational movies, and they’re NOT monetized on YouTube.” Removed from a business endeavor, the venture is extra of a labor of affection and respect for one in all rock’s most revered drummers.
The idea originated through the pandemic lockdown when a fellow drummer from Seattle threw down the gauntlet. Given Mary’s intensive session work and his historical past of tackling complicated music, the problem was to take away the drum tracks from Rush songs and recreate them from scratch. The catch? He needed to match the unique performances as intently as potential – timing, fills, and all – with none enhancing, sampling, or post-production tweaks.
Including to the issue, Rush’s recordings weren’t laid down with a click on observe, which means their tempos subtly shifted, requiring Mary to regulate in actual time. As he describes it, the problem was akin to “eradicating the muse of the home and changing it.”
Mary defined the complexities of the venture: “I do know to those that haven’t recorded within the studio, this simply seems like some man enjoying the music. Nonetheless, attempting to duplicate the observe as precisely as potential was harder than I imagined. I needed to study the fills and grooves as Neil performed them again then, as he did change them barely over time. Then I needed to know the place the band surged or pulled again, so I might lock to the present guitars and bass seamlessly with no enhancing, and once more in a single steady cross.”
For Mary, the venture was greater than a technical train; it was a heartfelt homage to one in all his heroes: “Rush didn’t use a click on observe. If anybody else desires to do this experiment, please do! However bear in mind the foundations! I’ve my particular person GoPro video and audio to show this was all recorded in a single cross with no enhancing or enhancement. I hope Neil would have been happy with this ‘experiment,’ and the truth that one other artist would take the time to document these songs, and to get them as shut as potential utilizing the unique strategies he used at the moment,” he provides with humility.
As talked about above, that is the final a part of a three-video collection. Try the primary two renditions of “YYZ” and “Freewill” beneath.
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