Hear Neil Peart’s isolated drums for Rush album ‘2112’
Rush are enjoying a renaissance of late. As the stereotypes surrounding prog rock begin to wane with time, bands like Rush, Pink Floyd and Genesis are all being given time to shine by a new generation of fans. Rush are particularly well-placed to enjoy such a rejuvenation owing to their incredible musicianship. Buoyed by the guitar work of Alex Lifeson and the insatiably funky rhythm of bassist Geddy Lee, the group really hung on the wonderful percussion of Neil Peart.
Famed for his skill and unique delivery — brimming with unnatural precision — Neil Peart is known widely in the drumming community as ‘The Professor’. Sadly gone too soon, Peart was famed for being the powerhouse creative drive behind much of Rush’s prog-rock glory.
The drummer became synonymous with expert musicianship and meticulous artistry. In the myriad of sonics that often accompanies Rush’s songs, there is no better way to see this skill than in these stunning isolated drum tracks from one of the band’s finest records, 2112. Below we have the full album presented in a brand new way as we hear only Peart’s drums in this isolated track.
After Peart passed away in 2020, Nirvana’s iconic drummer Dave Grohl led tributes saying: “An inspiration to millions with an unmistakable sound who spawned generations of musicians (like myself) to pick up two sticks and chase a dream. A kind, thoughtful, brilliant man who ruled our radios and turntables not only with his drumming but also his beautiful words.
“I still vividly remember my first listen of ‘2112′ when I was young,” Grohl added. “It was the first time I really listened to a drummer. And since that day, music has never been the same. His power, precision, and composition was incomparable. He was called ‘The Professor’ for a reason: we all learned from him.”
The album 2112 is regarded as a pivotal moment for the band, a record which allowed the band to give a metaphorical middle finger to the label and executives who were casting doubt on their legitimacy as a band. Neil Peart mentioned how the band was at odds with the record company and used that as fuel for them to keep going. Peart became annoyed that “they were leaning on us at our weakest. So when we went into the next album, we decided to stick to our principles. We liked what we did, and if it fails, then fine. Back to the farming business for me. It was all a big no. No, we’re not going along with this. No, you can’t tell us what to do. And no, we don’t care.”
2112 would see the band fight back against this notion, opening with a 20-minute overture. The record turned into a second wind for the band, creating a cult audience around the album and turning them into the most in-demand prog acts of all time. After earning their stripes on the road, Lifeson credits 2112 with giving the band their freedom saying that “after that, no one gave us any more trouble. Now when we give a new album out to a record company, they accept it as is. They have no choice.”
Much of the album’s drive came from Neil Peart’s drums, and you can hear that inspirational percussion in the isolated drum track for Rush album 2112 below.
