Over the weekend, it was the third anniversary of the death of Neil Peart. While it’s a sad event, it’s nice to go back through his catalog of Rush and listen to his musical legacy.

It’s hard to choose the best moments of his drumming since he was such an extraordinary musician. So instead, I’ll just post a few of my favorite Peart percussion parts in no particular order!

• 1. "The Spirit Of Radio"

  Probably not too surprising that this made my list. Those sick drum fills, matching Geddy Lee’s bass to kick off the song are tighter than most bands could dream of.

• 2. "Subdivisions"

  Geddy’s synth riff in 7/4 time, shows how peart could be comfortable playing in just about any time signature. And provide you with some cool fills along the way!

• 3. "A Passage to Bangkok - Live"

  The version of this tune on “exit….stage left” is so much fun to listen to. 2112 is a masterpiece of an album, but this tongue-in-cheek ode to sampling drugs is my favorite from the album.

   

   

• 4. "One Little Victory"

  Neil went through a dark period after 1996’s “test for echo,” but once the band got back to rehearsing new material and writing for vapor tails Neil showed he hadn’t lost his touch.  The opening double-pass pattern is insane!!

• 5. "The Rythym Method”

  From the live album Different Stages, this is a masterclass in how to write a drum solo. Just so technical yet so tasty.  It’s everything we miss about the professor!

   

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