is Neil Peart the best drummer ever ? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Charles

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Topic: is Neil Peart the best drummer ever ?
Posted: November 18 2005 at 17:34

Drew wrote:

yeah- im guessing you play the harp or flute.

DOH!

Charles

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Drew

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Posted: November 18 2005 at 17:31

Biggles wrote:

Pfffft. Billy Cobham sh*ts all over Peart, in technique as well as musicianship. If you listen to the Mahavishnu Orchestra and to Cobham's solo albums and listen out for Cobham, you'll know what I mean. He amazes at every song. So does Vinnie Colaiuta.

I've never really been able to see why everyone thinks Peart is so good. Maybe it's because I'm not a drummer, but he's never amazed me.

yeah- im guessing you play the harp or flute.

sbrushfan

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Posted: November 18 2005 at 14:48

s1ipp3ry wrote:

Flip_Stone wrote:

As a drummer for over 20 years, I can confidently say that there is no special drumming by John Bonhan in the song "Rock n Roll". It's all simple, standard stuff...

I agree with that and I have been drumming for 30 years

I can't say I agree...he always seemed a bit, well, stiff and mechanical to me. I much prefer Neil's subtlety. Or am I missing something?

Edited by sbrushfan

Some world views are spacious, and some are merely spaced...

Atkingani

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Posted: November 17 2005 at 20:28

Peart, Bruford & Palmer, what a trio (as first bench option: Collins).

Guigo

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Don Quito

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Posted: November 17 2005 at 20:19

I bet he is THE BEST... And there is no comparison with other drummers...

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Posted: November 17 2005 at 19:48

Flip_Stone wrote:

As a drummer for over 20 years, I can confidently say that there is no special drumming by John Bonhan in the song "Rock n Roll". It's all simple, standard stuff...

I agree with that and I have been drumming for 30 years

Flip_Stone View Drop Down

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Posted: November 17 2005 at 18:41

As a drummer for over 20 years, I can confidently say that there is no special drumming by John Bonhan in the song "Rock n Roll". It's all simple, standard stuff...

UncleMeat

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Posted: November 17 2005 at 16:37

zabriskiepoint wrote:

John Bonham is the only drummer that made me listen to songs only to hear his playing.

John Bonham on Rock'n Roll from Led Zeppelin... superb drumming

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sbrushfan

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Posted: November 16 2005 at 20:55

WELL...I can't resist throwing MY 2 cents in here. Neil is a ROCK drummer, and in that regard, yes...he is ONE OF THE BEST, along with, I'd say, Kenny Aronoff (IMO). Let's not forget...some of our most treasured drummers/percussionists of this era were schooled by him. Who said he's been stagnant since the 90's? MALARCHY!!!! I for one missed his ultra-precise drumming, so when I heard VAPOR TRAILS for the first time, I started to cry, cause it felt so good to hear.

Some world views are spacious, and some are merely spaced...

zabriskiepoint View Drop Down

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Posted: November 16 2005 at 20:14

John Bonham is the only drummer that made me listen to songs only to hear his playing.

Charles

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Posted: November 16 2005 at 17:50

Amazing that I have been reading alot about Whether or not Neil Peart is the greatest drummer, and then when someone throws a so called Jazz drummer in for a comparison, they are a few here that catch a pissy fit....

I love Neil Peart, I think he is outstanding, but if the opinion to this thread is whether or not I think he is the best? I don't think so....

Excluding the Jazz/Fusion drummers.....

If you want to take great Prog drummers.....Hmmm let's see...

Rod Morgenstein

Terry Bozzio

Chad Wackerman

Are three that I could think of of the top that have similar drumming styles, but I would rate higher in my personal rankings over Neil..

Charles

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Posted: November 16 2005 at 15:43

No he isn't, John Bonham is. Second best living drummer- #1- Dave Grohl. I know most people disagree completely, but his drumming on Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth is so ferocious and just exactly what I like about it.

Cygnus

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Posted: November 15 2005 at 09:46

wHO CAN SAY IF SOMEONE IS THGE BEST IN WHAT HE PLAYS? I think this is very subjective well for me his at the top along with few others

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Posted: November 15 2005 at 03:53

Peart

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Posted: November 15 2005 at 03:37

Bt-Tor wrote:

He's my favorite. He's smooth, tight and precise. Some may say he's a
bit too rigid but he compliments the music so well, he writes the
perfect drum parts for Rush's music. He brings order to Geddy and
Alex's unique, haphazard approach to music, and he does it so smoothly
and effortlessly. He will often bring their odd-time signatures
together and make the music feel like its in smoother, straighter time.
He's a brilliant craftsman with a great ear for the music. I wouldn't
call him "the best ever", nobody deserves that distinction, it's
impossible. But he definitely deserves his distinction as one of the
greats.

Very well said, sir - welcome to the Archives!

Jon Lord 1941 - 2012

Bt-Tor

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Posted: November 15 2005 at 00:48

He's my favorite. He's smooth, tight and precise. Some may say he's a bit too rigid but he compliments the music so well, he writes the perfect drum parts for Rush's music. He brings order to Geddy and Alex's unique, haphazard approach to music, and he does it so smoothly and effortlessly. He will often bring their odd-time signatures together and make the music feel like its in smoother, straighter time. He's a brilliant craftsman with a great ear for the music. I wouldn't call him "the best ever", nobody deserves that distinction, it's impossible. But he definitely deserves his distinction as one of the greats.

2112ryan

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Posted: November 15 2005 at 00:03

NEIL PEART IS GOD, SOME OF HIS LATEST STUFF IS IN THE RUSH IN RIO 2002.

Dont kid yourself guys, why do you think they call him the professor, heck you should see him go live, the guys been drumming since he was like 5, and hes what?50?

All respect to Neil "Proffessor" Peart

hey

map56

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Posted: November 12 2005 at 18:43

Peart, Bruford, Bozzio, greatest drummers in the world. Each with their own style.

mike p

Biggles

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Posted: November 12 2005 at 18:27

sgtpepper wrote:

What about great Ringo Starr?

Hey, Ringo fit into The Beatles, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. Try putting someone like Carl Palmer or Neil Peart in there, or any other drummer who makes a point of showing the world how good he is, and it would totally ruin the vibe that The Beatles had going.

The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe.

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Posted: November 12 2005 at 17:46

Tony R wrote:

Tommy wrote:

Well Peart does a 'jazz' solo on the Live In Rio DVD but dosn't pull it off!

Peart has a "jazz" section in his drum solo and pulls it off perfectly.

Alan Pfeifer wrote:

Maybe if Neil had been playing in a Jazz trio for a long time, then yes, the Jazz compaiosns would better fit. However, Rush has little jazz influence in their music (this could create a whole other debate,) so trying to cmpare Neil to a Jazz player like Dejohnette or even Bruford (Bill playing , at least to my ears, is rooted in alot of Jazz,) doesn't work as well if he's never played the music.

Neil is an avid fan of big band jazz and Buddy Rich is his idol.He oversaw (and played on) both Burning For Buddy projects and played at the Buddy Rich memorial concert.At that concert he discovered that his ability to perform in a jazz combo was not the same as being able to perform the moves solo. He has devoted considerable time and effort to rectifying this problem,including going back to basics and re-defining his technique from stick grip upwards.Anyone listening to Test For Echo or Vapor Trails will see the product of this development.

I remember reading about that somewhere. I'm glad he went off to the woodshed, he sounds great on Rio and Vapor Trails.

I'm not saying that Peart can't play Jazz, I'm just saying that people need to stop comparing him to artists who don't play a similar style as him. Bruford's even a stretch.