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Who else thinks the Exit Stage Left Drum Solo is the Best?


toymaker
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YYZ from Exit came on today and I had to stop to admire the drum solo. Here are some reasons it's my favorite Peart solo:

 

1. it's not too long over all - it's just long enough

2. it's got loads of great dynamic parts and great chops

3. the various sections are just long enough to make their statements, and they follow from each other naturally

4. the drums sound great

5. we're not treated to long explorations of playing 4/4 fills over waltz time or whatever

6. no goofy electronic drums and marimbas and sound effects and big band blitzes - just great organic sounds

7. it's actually got cool "hooks" - the kinds of cool parts you find yourself tapping out of the blue

8. it blends seemlessly back into the song

 

I love the solo on All the World's a Stage, too, but I like how the ESL solo both references it and expands on it and shows how Peart has got just that much better. It's just a cool extended moment - I'd never skip it.

 

I'm sure the topic of "favourite Peart drum solo" has been discussed before, but do you think there's a solo that tops this one?

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Awesome Toymaker! Great Thread! I SAY HELL YES!!!!

 

Too bad they cut the solo from "Live Under Pressure!" I loved the solo in between YYZ and "Red Lenses." I saw it live with my 16 year old eyes crushed up into the barrier underneath Geddy and his synthesizers.

 

A bunch of us kids ran up to the front right when Tom Sawyer kicked in. We knocked down security and people in the front row seats where pissed off!

It was incredible. I got shoved up into the barrier by a sea of humans. Geddy looked down at us. He looked concerned. I thought they were going to stop the show but they continued to play. I was front barrier, smashed into the metal. I didn't give a shit. I saw the YYZ drum solo "Red Lenses" bit up front. Blew my fuckking mind! It was at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco.

 

One of the greatest memories ever! Neil's spinning red Tama kit! Red Simmons Pads galore! I will never grow up.

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When I think about it this solo is the very first Rush I ever heard! My best friend made me a compilation tape in 4th grade with some songs and this drum solo he thought I would like, we had this idea of forming a band even though we just liked music at that point, I later went on to drum and have for 30 years. It is my very favorite Neil piece and represents this era of his playing very well, just as you all have pointed out. Thanks for reminding me of such a cool and fond memory.
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When I think about it this solo is the very first Rush I ever heard! My best friend made me a compilation tape in 4th grade with some songs and this drum solo he thought I would like, we had this idea of forming a band even though we just liked music at that point, I later went on to drum and have for 30 years. It is my very favorite Neil piece and represents this era of his playing very well, just as you all have pointed out. Thanks for reminding me of such a cool and fond memory.

It is a good memory, isn't it. I heard All the World's a Stage before Exit Stage Left, but the second album for some reason still has more nostalgic power for me - I guess because I had the tape and I listened to it in my walkman all the time. That solo, though - so crisp and snappy and powerful, and so many great bits. I just find the more recent solos too long - cut them down by at least half and they could be much more tasty on the ears.

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It is the only drum solo I can sing.

 

Right! Especially the part that goes: "blap-a-dap-ba-doo-boo-pssss! Blap-a-dap-a-doo-boo-pssss! Blap-a-dap-a-doo-boo-pssss, bla-dap-a-doo-boo-psss, bla-dap-a-doo-boo-pssss-pssss-pssss-psssss!

 

But I think that might be a repeat from the World's a Stage solo, too.

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Always has been my favorite. And Sonically his drums were about as good as they ever sounded on the Moving Pictures tour. I loved all the traditional, non electronic blocks, chimes, timbals, etc etc.

 

The good ol days.

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The ESL solo made me want to be a great drummer. Can't say that about any of the others since. These days they are suck fests (i.e. fanboys felating and foaming).
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I prefer r30, but that's just my personal preference. I like that it gives me some of what makes ESL great with a bunch of other influences that makes it feel more complete as a whole experience.

 

Plus almost everything on ESL is a bit tainted for me, because the mix on that album is wayyyyy too glossy and touched up in the studio. I feel like it's an incredible performance that has vaseline smeared all over it.

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I prefer r30, but that's just my personal preference. I like that it gives me some of what makes ESL great with a bunch of other influences that makes it feel more complete as a whole experience.

 

Plus almost everything on ESL is a bit tainted for me, because the mix on that album is wayyyyy too glossy and touched up in the studio. I feel like it's an incredible performance that has vaseline smeared all over it.

 

Sometimes I just think of Exit as just an album of alternate takes. I really think those tunes have a lot of character, even if it doesn't sound as "honestly live" as some of the other live albums.

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It's amazing how many parts of that solo made it into my own drumming repertoire. That's something I never really realized until I listened to that solo for the first time in years a few months ago and realized all these little rhythmic thingies and flams and rolls and such I had completely lifted from the ESL solo.
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It's amazing how many parts of that solo made it into my own drumming repertoire. That's something I never really realized until I listened to that solo for the first time in years a few months ago and realized all these little rhythmic thingies and flams and rolls and such I had completely lifted from the ESL solo.

 

I think it's a very inspiring solo. Sometimes when I hear drum solos on other albums by other bands, I'm just waiting for them to be over.

Edited by toymaker
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Neil is probably the only drummer whose solos I consider musical statements rather than simply drum solos, if that makes sense. And the ESL version is his absolute best. I haven't liked a solo of his since the Rush in Rio version.
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I actually thought The Percussor was his most interesting solo in a long time, simply because it had an interesting palette of sounds. His drum solos tend to be way too long, and mind-numbingly boring. It's obviously incredibly impressive, but he spends a lot of time on the snare (a little too much for my tastes). I equate it to the Star Wars prequels; seeing 10 million Jedi on screen while they all f**k shit up with a lightsaber is just too much regardless of the painstaking effort it took to make it happen.
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Just watchin p/g live dvd neil is totally on fire on this one but so are Al and Ged really these guys are just the best.. oops yyz just came on gotta air guitar cya :) Edited by lifeson90
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I love all his drum solos, but I prefer the post-T4E solos more, because from Vapor Trails onward the solos had evolved into something more musical. O Baterista for example incorporates so many different styles of drumming and different sections.

 

Finishing off with a Buddy Rich finale is pretty flippin' sweet, too.

 

FWIW, I enjoyed the Percussor because it was interesting. Lots of cool sound elements packed together.

Edited by BowlCity
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ESL is my favorite, so I guess in that way I could say it is his "best." However, Neil has stated that the drum solos he does now are technically much more difficult, so I guess looking at from that perspective, ESL isn't even close to his best.

True . . . and yet I am reminded of that wise old saying, "just because you can do something, does not necessarily mean that you should." I think it's quite amazing that Peart can play 4/4 over 3/4 or whatever . . . but I get a little bored after about the first 10 seconds of it. The Exit solo, my favorite as well, just satisfies me in a way that the longer "explorations" do not.

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