Neil Peart was undeniably a revolutionary pressure 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 way 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 undertaking that pays homage to Peart’s genius whereas demonstrating the profound problem of replicating it. Mary, whose profession consists of enjoying with rock and steel 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 together with his rendition of Rush’s iconic monitor, “Tom Sawyer,” which we’re premiering right now.
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 undertaking is extra of a labor of affection and respect for one in all 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 carefully as potential – timing, fills, and all – with none modifying, sampling, or post-production tweaks.
Including to the problem, Rush’s recordings weren’t laid down with a click on monitor, that means their tempos subtly shifted, requiring Mary to regulate in actual time. As he describes it, the problem was akin to “eradicating the inspiration of the home and changing it.”
Mary defined the complexities of the undertaking: “I do know to those that haven’t recorded within the studio, this simply appears to be like like some man enjoying the tune. Nevertheless, attempting to duplicate the monitor as precisely as potential was tougher 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 may lock to the present guitars and bass seamlessly with no modifying, and once more in a single steady go.”
For Mary, the undertaking was greater than a technical train; it was a heartfelt homage to one in all his heroes: “Rush didn’t use a click on monitor. If anybody else needs to do that 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 go 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 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. Take a look at the primary two renditions of “YYZ” and “Freewill” under.
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