This week, Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist of progressive rock band Rush, passed away from brain cancer. Of the various musical inspirations that have passed over the past few years, such as Chris Squire, Greg Lake, and John Wetton, Neil Peart’s is by far the most devastating. It was Rush’s signature progressive rock sound that inspired me to pick up the bass guitar and embark on a 12-year musical journey that has culminated in four solo albums, with a fifth on the way.

The world of music has no shortage of amazing drummers, but Neil Peart stood above them all because he approached drummer from both an artistic and technical perspective. He deftly blended memorable, hard-hitting drumming with complex time signatures that nevertheless never made the songs feel confusing, such as in the song Tom Sawyer, which seamlessly transitions between 4/4 and 7/4 without you even realizing it. His drum parts had such memorable details, such as the ride cymbal triplets during Subdivisions or the drum fills after the guitar solo in Tom Sawyer, that during concerts it wasn’t hard to spot guys in the audience air-drumming entire songs. As I matured as a musician, I became entranced with the virtuosity of guys like Dennis Chambers and Terry Bozzio, but I always came back to Neil Peart because although he wasn’t the most technically skilled, he most assuredly could write and play the most memorable drum parts of all.

Neil’s drum solos, which I had the privilege of seeing in person six times, communicated stories and feelings. Most drum solos are tiresome exercises in technical prowess, but Neil’s solos were meticulously thought out, varying greatly between blistering barrages and slowly building crescendos before culminating in a big-band style extravaganza. During Rush’s Clockwork Angels tour, his solos featured the sounds of mechanical hissing and metallic echoes to suit the steampunk-inspired story the album was based on. No other drummer on planet earth had the combined level of virtuosity, musicality, theatricality as Neil Peart.

Neil was also the band’s primary lyricist, and his writing took Rush from a simple blues-inspired band to a progressive rock powerhouse that championed the power of the individual and human liberty in their music. Some of Neil’s best writing can be found in songs like Natural Science, Free Will, Tom Sawyer, Time Stand Still, and The Garden. While many other bands write lyrics from an emotional perspective, whether it’s songs about love, depression or happiness, Neil’s lyrics came from a place of deep thoughtfulness, backed by a wealth of research. Here’s one of my favorites lyrics from Natural Science, a song about how man, with all his capabilities, must look to mother nature to learn how to achieve a state of balance:

Science, like Nature
Must also be tamed
With a view towards its preservation
Given the same
State of integrity
It will surely serve us well

Art as expression –
Not as market campaigns
Will still capture our imaginations
Given the same
State of integrity
It will surely help us along

The most endangered species –
The honest man
Will still survive annihilation
Forming a world –
State of integrity
Sensitive, open and strong.

Neil was also hugely introverted and wrote about his feelings of isolation and awkwardness in songs like Limelight and Subdivisions. The latter song became a sort of anthem for introverts worldwide, including myself, who struggled with growing up in their teenage years and couldn’t understand why we didn’t fit in. Here’s the chorus:

Subdivisions
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out

Subdivisions
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out

Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth

But perhaps his best and most important piece of writing can be found in the final song of Rush’s final album, The Garden from 2012’s Clockwork Angels:

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn so easily burned
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

And, for all his artistry and technical contributions, it is in these lyrics that Neil imparts to us the most valuable lesson of all: to treat our lives and our actions as a garden that must be constantly nurtured with love and respect towards those around us; a task so difficult to accomplish because of how easily our missteps can tarnish everything we work so hard to build. After all the lessons on how to play music, how to write songs, and how to mix tracks, the best lesson an artist can impart to another is how to live a better life. It’s Neil’s lesson that I work hard to be mindful of every step of the way, whether it’s in music or the painful grind of life. Thank you, Neil.