Neil Peart was undeniably a revolutionary pressure in music, a craftsman who remodeled percussion into an artwork kind. 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 provoking generations of artists to try for greatness.
On this spirit, veteran session drummer Ken Mary has launched into a mission 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 sequence culminates along with his rendition of Rush’s iconic monitor, “Tom Sawyer,” which we’re premiering immediately.
Earlier than skeptics soar to conclusions about this being an try to money in on the late drummer’s legacy, Mary units the document straight: “These are purely tutorial movies, and they’re NOT monetized on YouTube.” Removed from a industrial endeavor, the mission is extra of a labor of affection and respect for certainly one of 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 in depth 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 doable – 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, 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 mission: “I do know to those that haven’t recorded within the studio, this simply appears to be like like some man enjoying the tune. Nonetheless, attempting 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 might lock to the present guitars and bass seamlessly with no modifying, and once more in a single steady cross.”
For Mary, the mission was greater than a technical train; it was a heartfelt homage to certainly one of 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 principles! I’ve my particular person GoPro video and audio to show this was all recorded in a single cross with no modifying or enhancement. I hope Neil would have been happy with this ‘experiment,’ and the truth that one other artist would take some time to document 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 sequence. Take a look at the primary two renditions of “YYZ” and “Freewill” beneath.
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