Neil Peart was undeniably a revolutionary power in music, a craftsman who remodeled percussion into an artwork kind. Identified 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 galvanizing 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 steel icons like Alice Cooper, Settle for, Flotsam and Jetsam, and Fifth Angel – amongst many others – lately unveiled The Neil Peart Experiment. The video collection culminates together with his rendition of Rush’s iconic monitor, “Tom Sawyer,” which we’re premiering at the moment.
Earlier than skeptics leap to conclusions about this being an try and money in on the late drummer’s legacy, Mary units the file 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 considered one of rock’s most revered drummers.
The idea originated throughout 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 advanced 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 doable – timing, fills, and all – with none modifying, sampling, or post-production tweaks.
Including to the issue, Rush’s recordings weren’t laid down with a click on monitor, 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 who haven’t recorded within the studio, this simply seems like some man enjoying the tune. Nevertheless, making an attempt to duplicate the monitor as precisely as doable was harder than I imagined. I needed to be taught the fills and grooves as Neil performed them again then, as he did change them barely through the years. Then I needed to know the place the band surged or pulled again, so I may lock to the prevailing guitars and bass seamlessly with no modifying, and once more in a single steady move.”
For Mary, the venture was greater than a technical train; it was a heartfelt homage to considered one of his heroes: “Rush didn’t use a click on monitor. If anybody else desires to do this experiment, please do! However keep in mind the principles! I’ve my particular person GoPro video and audio to show this was all recorded in a single move with no modifying or enhancement. I hope Neil would have been happy with this ‘experiment,’ and the truth that one other artist would take the time to file these songs, and to get them as shut as doable 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. Take a look at the primary two renditions of “YYZ” and “Freewill” beneath.
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