…in which Bubba talks about a rather scary incident he had while on the Time Machine tour.
Oh, and he drops a rather big hint in the last sentence about his future touring plans.
Don’t hold your breath, Rush fans.
Click here to read on.
Tag: Neil Peart
Make That A Combo, Please
There have been quite a few CD/DVD/Blu-Ray combos released in the prog world recently, so here’s a rundown of the best of the bunch.
An outstanding performance by the boys from Norway. Even through tricky time signatures that require lockstep coordination of playing, Gazpacho delivers an emotional and beautiful show. Jan Henrik Ohme’s vocals are spellbinding – delicate and tremulous one minute, powerful and commanding the next. While he’s caressing the microphone, his bandmates play their hearts out. Songs I thought I knew take on new meaning and accessibility. This set is a perfect introduction to someone curious about this somewhat enigmatic and definitely magical group.
As light as Gazpacho is dark, Glass Hammer has been riding a high for the past few years – Ode To Echo and The Breaking Of The World are both instant classics. Double Live features the best cuts from those albums, as well as a terrific rendition of the epic “The Knight Of The North”. Steve Babb and Fred Schendel have been together so long they are telepathic onstage. Aaron Raulston is excellent on drums while Kamran Alan Shikoh has matured into an astonishingly inventive guitarist. Carl Groves is the best male vocalist GH has ever had, and Susie Bogdanowicz steals the show with her performance. No fancy camera work here – the music and performance are strong enough to speak for themselves.
Spock’s Beard: The First Twenty Years
This is a fine collection of Spock’s Beard tracks. The first disc features the best of the “Neal Morse Years”, while disc two has six tracks from Beard versions 2 and 3 (featuring Nick D’Virgilio and Ted Leonard) and a new epic featuring a big reunion of everyone. You might think that losing your lead vocalist and sole songwriter would mean the end of a band, but the Beard is nothing if not resilient. The songs from the post-Morse era certainly hold their own against anything from the first six albums. I wish they had included “The Great Nothing”, but there’s only so much space on a compact disc! Of course, long-time Beard fans want to know how the new epic, “Falling Forever” stacks up. To my ears, it’s a pleasant listen, but not particularly memorable. It’s clear that Neal’s path has diverged from the Beard’s, and each camp has its own strengths that don’t necessarily mesh into a powerful whole anymore. The DVD features performances from 1997’s Progfest interspersed with contemporary interviews of the band. It’s illuminating for the hardcore fan, but not essential.
Flying Colors: Second Flight: Live at The Z7
Phenomenal growth from this band. As mentioned in the interviews included in the Blu-ray, the first album had the members somewhat tentative about critiquing each other, while during the recording of Second Flight they were much more collaborative. This is set is a terrific performance that showcases the talents of each member. Casey McPherson is a very confident frontman, and an amazing vocalist. Steve Morse’s guitar work is jaw-dropping good, and Dave LaRue almost steals the show with his bass solos. Mike Portnoy is, as usual, controlled chaos on the drums. Neal Morse plays more of a supporting role in this group, keeping in the background for the most part. “Cosmic Symphony” and “Mask Machine” are highlights, while the segue from “Colder Months” into “Peaceful Harbor” is one of the most beautiful musical moments I’ve ever heard. The quality of the Blu-ray is top-notch, both in sound and video. An excellent choice for the prog fan who enjoys the likes of Boston, or even classic Journey.
Which brings us to the big release of the year: Rush’s R40 Live. I have every live DVD Rush has released, and this isn’t the best performance. But there is something so special about this show that it will probably be the one I return to most often. There were times I caught myself thinking, “Gosh. they are looking old!”, but then I had to remind myself they’ve given of themselves so generously for 40 years. 40 years! How many bands have kept the same lineup for that long, and are still talking to each other? ZZ Top is the only one that comes to mind. The fact that this show is from Toronto makes it even more moving.
This is a top of the line production, with every possible camera angle a fan could ask for. The sound on the Blu-ray edition is outstanding; there are two surround mixes to choose from: front of stage or center of hall. The show itself is masterful – it is a trip back in time from Clockwork Angels all the way to “Working Man”.
The animated intro is hilarious – I had to go through it practically frame-by-frame to catch all of the visual puns. Every album and tour is name-checked somewhere in it. The initial stage set is very elaborate, but as the band goes back into their history, you can see workers slowly dismantle it. At the start of the second set, Alex is front of a huge stack of Marshall amps, and we’re transported to the 1970’s. By the time of the encores, Alex and Geddy are down to single amps on chairs in a high school auditorium.
My only quibbles are selfish – I wish there was at least one track from Power Windows/Hold Your Fire, and I don’t know why the bonus tracks at the end couldn’t have been inserted into their proper places in the concert video. Other than that, it’s a very good setlist.
What comes through most clearly as the concert progresses is the love and respect Alex, Geddy, and Neil have for each other. They look like they’re having the time of their lives, and they’re so glad to have several thousand fans along with them. Thanks for the ride, boys. It’s been a great one.
Rush, Neil Peart, and Stoic Week 2015
If The Stoic Wisdom of Neil Peart interests you, then you may be interested in Stoic Week 2015…
Video: https://vimeo.com/144107689
Kevin Keller: Prog’s Influence On My Music
I’ve already reviewed Kevin Keller’s excellent new album, La Strada, in Progarchy, and he is now posting some fascinating behind-the-scenes videos of what went into the making of it.
In this one, Keller talks about how influential Genesis, Yes, and Rush (Neil Peart in particular) are to his music. Something Progarchy readers can definitely relate to!
A Must Read – Brad Birzer’s “Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions”
In an effort to avoid lame homecoming activities and pathetically drunk alumni hitting on poor freshmen ladies, I decided to spend last night curled up on my bed listening to Rush (Caress of Steel through Signals) while reading Brad Birzer’s new book on Neil Peart. I’m not going to offer a full review because I don’t think I could do it justice, but I highly recommend it to all of you. It helped me greatly understand both Neil Peart the man and the musician.
After reading Dr. Brad’s book, it is clear that there is a lot Mr. Peart and I disagree about, particularly when it comes to religion. However, I deeply admire him much in the same way I admire other anti-religious or anti-Christian greats of the western tradition. Despite his aversion to Christianity, Peart doesn’t come out and attack Christians for their beliefs. He is very much live and let live, and I can completely support that.
The structure of the book is chronological, beginning with Peart’s beginnings with the band and ending at the present. Brad includes in depth analysis of Rush’s lyrics, Neil Peart’s written prose, and looks at his personal life in order to understand the band’s music. Brad rounds out his look at the intellectual study of Neil Peart with generous interview references from all three band members, as well as personal interviews with masters of current prog, such as Andy Tillison. While Brad didn’t get the opportunity to conduct any new interviews with Peart himself, he makes up for that loss by looking at essentially every pertinent interview, book, and magazine article available.
In short, Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions is a must read for fans of Rush, Neil Peart, progressive rock, literature, the western tradition, and cultural criticism. Brad paints Peart as the great western man of our time, continuing the culture of the past, all the while doing it with the enthusiasm that only Dr. Brad Birzer can provide. It really is an outstanding book, well worth your time.
Order Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions from Amazon, here.
Today’s Tom Sawyer: Tom Woods and Brad Birzer Talk Neil Peart
My good friend, the ever intrepid master of integrity, Tom Woods, and I had a blast talking about Neil Peart. We got into his drive, his honesty, and his politics. Enjoy.
http://tomwoods.com/podcast/ep-511-todays-tom-sawyer-neil-peart-rush-and-liberty/
Rush Releases “Jacob’s Ladder” from Forthcoming “R40 LIVE” Video
Following up on the recent release of the “Roll The Bones” video from Rush’s upcoming “R40 LIVE” concert film, the boys have posted a clip to one of the highlights of the R40 tour (and “Permanent Waves,” for that matter): “Jacobs Ladder.”
“R40 LIVE” will be released on November 20th.
I’ll say no more – enjoy the video!
Traveling as the Ghost Rider: An Excerpt from NEIL PEART: CULTURAL REPERCUSSIONS
In his best-selling book, Ghost Rider, the Canadian drummer not only proves to be an excellent writer (imagine Willa Cather and Jack Kerouac as one person; a bizarre combination, I know, but an accurate one), but he also reveals himself, yet again, a serious and stoic social and cultural critic. Here are two sample passages from Ghost Rider.
The first day in Mexico was Selena’s birthday, and I had made careful plans on how to ‘memorialize’ that day. Early in the morning, I walked to the big cathedral in the Zocalo, went inside and bought two princess-sized votive candles (the biggest they had, of course) and lit them in front of the chapel for ‘Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe’ . . . . I sat there awhile, and cried some (well, a lot), amid the pious old ladies, tourists, and construction workers.[1]
Later in the book, in a less autobiographical nature, he explains his own vision of what art is.
I once defined the basic nature of art as ‘the telling of stories,’ and never had I felt that to be more true. I played the anger, the frustration, the sorrow, and even the travelling parts of my story, the rhythms of the highway, the majesty of the scenery, the dynamic rising and falling of my moods, and the narrative suite that emerged was as cleansing and energizing as the sweat and exertion of telling it.[2]
Each of these passages shows Peart at his deepest. The side the craves beauty and the side that craves telling the world about the beauty he has seen.
His travels also opened Peart to a number of personal revelations. Overall, he believed that “the elemental ‘faith’ in life I used to possess is completely gone,” and that with such an erasing of the past and its securities, “every little element of my former life, behavior, interests, and habits, was up for re-examination.”[3] Two specifics also emerged in this rebirth. First, he had to accept the help of others, recognizing it as the gift it is and was intended to be by the giver. Pride had to give way to charity. Second, he came to see a more mystical side of life, well beyond his previously steady devotion to late eighteenth-century European rationalism. In one incident—that would greatly influence the next three albums—Peart encountered a man who read his fortune through Tarot cards. The reading proved so accurate that Peart ‘s “jaw dropped, and it’s still dropping.”[4]
Though most orthodox religions forbid the reading of Tarot, artists as diverse as T.S. Eliot and Russell Kirk have employed its meaning—however tragic and deep or superficial and meaningless—effectively as a form of story telling, especially when regarding character and morals. Peart does the same through his lyrics over the next several albums.
NOTES
[1] Peart, Ghost Rider, 310.
[2] Peart, Ghost Rider, 355
[3] Peart, Ghost Rider, 146-147.
[4] Peart, Ghost Rider, 338-339.
It’s a Neil Peart/Kevin J. Anderson Kind of Day
So, these arrived in the mail today at progarchy hq:
Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions Now Available
As any Neil Peart fan well knows, the great man just celebrated his 63rd birthday and his sequel to his co-authored novel, CLOCKWORK LIVES, comes out tomorrow. We all eagerly await with intense and immense anticipation this new work by Peart and Hugo-nominated science-fiction author, Kevin J. Anderson.
I must also proudly note that my intellectual biography of the world’s greatest drummer comes out tomorrow as well. NEIL PEART: CULTURAL (RE)PERCUSSIONS (WordFire Press). It will be available in paperback ($14.99) and ebook ($5.99) but is now available for pre-order.
I have to thank a lot of folks for their encouragement with this book project, and I hope I give everyone due credit in the book. When I read the works of Steve Horwitz and Rob Freedman, I just knew that I had to write a book on Peart. I’ve loved Neil Peart’s words and musicianship since first encountering MOVING PICTURES in March 1981. I was in seventh grade, and I’ve never been the same. To me, Peart fits in the same category as J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula LeGuin, Ray Bradbury, and Milton Friedman as influences on my young life. As Peart has grown, so have I. And, so, I presume have most of us.
This book also turns out to be my fifth published biography. The other biographies, however, have been almost completely academic. When I first started to write this book, I’d wanted to write an autobiography with the emphasis on how Peart shaped my own life and thoughts on a variety of things. Even during the first draft, I started deviating from this plan. By the final product, I’d left in only a few personal experiences. There are two reasons for this.
First, almost everyone who reads the book wants to know about Peart, not me. Second, some of the experiences are still too painful to make public fully. I can only state that Peart’s art and example has meant as much to me and my life as any figure outside of my family.
In the book, I focus on Peart as a man of letters, one of our greatest in the English language. I was pretty thrilled when PROG’s Johnny Sharp wrote:
But author Bradley Birzer does go a little over the top in his gushing praise of his subject. When an intro mentions Peart in the same sentence as Socrates and Cicero. . .
He’s completely correct, of course. But, you should’ve seen earlier drafts! Ha. Anyway, if you like what we do at progarchy, you’ll like the bio.
Actually, I was just thrilled that my favorite magazine reviewed my book! Even if Sharp had hated it, I’d still be pretty honored that Jerry Ewing and Grant Moon took it seriously enough to review. Still, I’m so glad Sharp actually enjoyed it!
Here’s hoping you will as well!
Progarchy 