DESERET NEWS
Salt Lake City, UT
February 17, 2006

2 DVDs feature Rush drummer: Neil Peart's smart and analytical work has a new showcase
By Scott Iwasaki

I wear three black bracelets that say "Music = Life." I love music. And I especially love drums, because, well, I'm a drummer. Growing up I listened to all kinds of percussionists — everyone from jazz greats Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Max Roach, Billy Cobham and Tito Puente to Metallica's Lars Ulrich, the late John Panozzo of Styx, former Journey drummer Steve Smith, session-drummer extraordinaire Tommy Aldridge and Pantera/Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul just to name a few. While it's true that my favorite drummer of all time is the aforementioned Aldridge, I look to Rush's Neil Peart when it comes to smart and analytical drumming. So it was fitting that two new DVDs featuring Peart found their way to my desk.

RUSH'S "R30" (Rounder/Anthem) is a live DVD collection celebrating the progressive-rock trio's 30th anniversary. The deluxe version includes a double-live CD and autographed guitar and bass picks by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. Too bad the package didn't have room for autographed drum sticks but I digress. Rush is a rock audience's dream. Great musicianship, brainy lyrics and incredible arrangements are a few of this Canadian band's attributes. "Xanadu," inspired by the writing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and "2112," inspired by Ayn Rand and George Orwell, are just a couple of examples of Rush's depth. Interestingly, Peart wrote the lyrics to those songs. In fact, he's the main lyricist of the band. "Tom Sawyer," "Roll the Bones" and "Cygnus X-1" are a few of his trademark songs. Those and others from the band's three-decade career are featured in "R30," which was recorded and filmed at Festhalle, in Frankfurt, Germany, nearly two years ago. The DVD features interviews from as far back as 1979. And there are a few other audio/visual goodies, such as a 1979 sound-check version of "Spirit of the Radio" and an MPeg1 version of "In the Mood.""R30" is a great addition to any Rush fan's collection. And a casual fan will enjoy how tight the band is live.

"ANATOMY OF A DRUM SOLO" (Hudson Music) is Peart's latest instructional DVD. Not only does this release give a drummer, like me, a one-on-one session with Peart as he dissects his latest drum solos, but also gives the viewer a brief oral autobiography of one of rock's most acclaimed drummers. A thrill for me was also seeing home-movie footage of Peart in his early bands. I stopped, backtracked and rewatched those clips and saw that his execution hasn't changed in all these years. Peart's sound may have become more polished but there's still an edge to his playing. His solos, "Der Trommler" and "O Baterista," from the latest two tours, are spotlighted on the DVD. In fact, Peart analyzes and explains "Der Trommler" beat by beat. As a bonus, there is another untitled drum solo that was played in Hamburg last year. Interviews with Peart and Rush's drum-tech Lorne Wheaton are teamed with an interview with Rush co-producer/engineer Paul Northfield in this informative disc. While watching these two DVDs, I felt myself stepping into the past. I was 12 and had an old Ludwig jazz set, complete with a 26-inch bass drum that sported its original thick paper heads. I learned to play on that set. And though I don't have it anymore, I can still remember the rush (pun intended) I got when I sat at the set, attempting my favorite Rush song, "Closer to the Heart."