Syrinx

I think we can put the authenticity thing to bed. Way to much discussion on and off this board on that subject. They were Neil's drums. I just have a comment re: the inference that a "collector" would only stash this drum set away in his / her basement so they and they alone could view it. I have no idea who the winning bidder was. I was in there in a serious way near the end. As a collector, I had every intention of "sharing" the set. It would have been a good reason for my first attendance at Rushcon and I also intended to loan it to the Toronto Hard Rock or some other venue. I can't imagine it sitting in my basement gathering dust. Just to say that it isn't like this kit has been rescued from obscurity by some white knight. Can't wait to see it in person some day - 30 + years after I last viewed it up on a stage.

I am pretty certain that the Rush / music collectors who would bid on an item like this, would be pretty knowledgeable and able to determine a fake or not. There are actually some out there who do know their stuff and have spent years researching, getting contacts, and learning. I would have to check my notes, but I am pretty sure the Presto kit was donated by the band to a public institution, so serious bidders would probably shy away from your replica kit. But you are right - there are a lot of unknowledgeable and gullible people out there, so who knows. For example, how high will this travesty go! FAKE drum head

At first was sceptical. I have followed very closely the whereabouts of Neil's kits that are "out there". Some of you know that I have owned a number of used by Neil items. The other Slingerland kit mentioned above was probably the brown wood kit that a forum member's drummer owns? This kit was the third prize. Here is the original prize list from the Modern Drummer contest rules: First Prize - One Candy Apple Red Tama kit (the prototype Artstar shells), with two 24" bass drums, 6", 8", 10", and 12" concert toms, and 12", 13", 15", and 18" toms. All the drums have brass-plated hardware. There is also the "satellite" kit consisting of an 18" bass drum, four matching red Simmons pads, and a Simmons SDS 5 module. Oh all right, I'll throw in a 13" wood-shell timbale and a 22" gong bass drum, too. (This setup was used in the recording of Power Windows, Grace Under Pressure, and Signals, as well as the subsequent tours.) Second Prize - One Black Chrome Slingerland kit, with two 24" bass drums, 6", 8", 10", and 12" concert toms, 12", 13", 15", and 18" toms, and a pair of 13" and 14" brass timbales. (This kit was used in the recording of A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres, and the endless tours which followed them!) Third Prize - One Chrome Slingerland kit, with two 22" bass drums, 6", 8", 10", and 12" concert toms (copper finish), two 13" toms, one 14" tom, a 16" floor tom, and a chrome timbale. (Used in the recording of Fly By Night, Caress Of Steel, 2112 , All The World's A Stage, and on those equally endless tours.) I know where kit #1 and kit #2 are. This is the first I have heard of kit #3. If this is real, I am speechless. Indeed, the winner of kit 3 was a guy named Mark from NYC. The other two kits have been through several hands over the years. I figured this one must still be with the original owner as it hadn't surfaced all these years. I will be watching this with great interest.

Warning!! There is a guy selling three different "signed" albums on ebay right now. If you compare the three albums, the signatures are not even close on each one. All a wise bidder has to do is look at all three and the warning flags should go up. Yet he still has opening bids

For what it's worth, Jebren knows what he is talking about. If you got them in person and they are a prized possession that's great. But you would have a very hard time selling that album because they do look nothing like their real signatures. As for the guy who isn't happy with Jebren's analysis, why would you send the photo to him for authentication if you didn't want to hear his opinion. 99% of the Rush autographs on Ebay and elsewhere are forgeries. I have informed many people over the years and some have been quite upset - it never feels good to know you were ripped off. Many times I have stopped people before they sent their money. I am more of an expert on Neil and I can tell you he has signed the same way since he joined the band. I have a copy of his signature from when he was in high school and again it is very similar. The one on that album is not close. If you actually handed the item directly to the boys and they signed right in front of you, then it is authentic. Otherwise the only way to determine authenticity is to do extensive research and comparison. There are a few people who know Rush autographs and Jebren is one of them.

I hate to say it because you got them "in person", but they have never signed like that and I have signatures from all stages of their career. I know that signatures may change slightly over 20-30 years, but not this much. Like Jebren said, these aren't even close.

I have been a fan since the mid 70's. I was at Massey Hall for the ATWAS shows. I saw them many times at Maple Leaf Gardens in the late 70's / early 80's. I distinctly remember being at Sam the Recordman the week both Fly By Night and Caress of Steel were released. Good times!

RIP John. I agree with the above. He could have been another Pete Best, but he chose to just live his life.

Alex is by far the most comfortable and naturally nice, in person.

I was going to stay away from this one because these topics always generate some really silly posts. I know many drummers who prefer John Bonham over Neil hands down. Doesn't make them right. This is absolutely subjective and no proper comparison can be done. All I know is that in any list of top ten rock drummers of all time, that I have seen, both these guys appear. The order is subject to the author's personal opinion. They are both in my top 5, along with Keith Moon and Stewart Copeland. The 5th changes all the time - Danny Carey has been in there often. But then again, it doesn't make me right.

Saw them last night in Toronto. Sat right beside the stage. Awesome show!! Chad Smith is a powerhouse and John Fruschianti (spelling?) is one of the most tasteful guitarists in rock music. And Flea - wow!

SOLD OUT!!

This is a really interesting thread. I haven't had a chance to read it all, but I thought that I would add my 2 cents. I bought Fly By Night, the day it came out, and followed that up only 6 months(!) later by buying COS on the first day. Yes, back then bands seemed to release a new lp every 6 months or so. Don't see that much these days! I have been a fan since the first album. Growing up in Toronto, Rush were very big from the beginning. There was a local buzz almost right away. I was able to see them a number of times in the mid to late 70's. I was at the ATWAS show. I remember hanging outside the Colonial tavern as an underaged kid, trying to hear the band. I had a band in high school back then and we were covering Working Man and some other early Rush songs. Rush was IT, with my friends and I. You had to be there to realize how BIG they were in Toronto in the early years. Their annual New Years eve gigs at Maple Leaf Gardens were a ritual. Rush is so ingrained on my memories of my high school years that every time I hear one of the first 6 albums, it has a pretty intense effect on me. For me, there will never be another Rush album that means as much as 2112 or Hemispheres or AFTK. They haven't and could not possibly top those three in my mind, only because of when they were released in the context of my own life, and just how huge those albums were in Toronto at that time. I know they were big elsewhere, but there was something about "local boys make it big" hometown pride that seemed to add a little magic. I actually lost touch with the band in the mid 80's until really the late 90's. It was a combination of my changing musical tastes, and my changing life and all the additional responsibilities of "growing up". I have come back with a vengeance and may be a bigger fan now than ever before. I have become familiar with all those lp's issued when I was "out of touch". Rush remains one of the truly great bands of all time in my opinion. I can understand for someone who discovered 2112 only years after it was released, that it would seem ponderous or pretentious, or not up to some of their later work, but for me there is no greater Rush moment than listening to side one of 2112.

Usually they get on stage in the dark, and he can approach the set from behind. At Sarstock a couple of summers ago in Toronto, they played a huge stage in daylight, and he along with the other two, ran from side stage across to his set. You are right - now that you point it out, it occurs to me that that particular stage entry sticks in my mind because it was so unique from all of the other times I have seen Rush.

Well I will be the first one to say Moving Pictures! I believe this was their biggest lp, but it should have been a lot bigger in my opinion. All us Rush fans love it, but it still doesn't get as much respect overall as many other lesser albums by other "bigger" bands. Greg

I would have to go with 2112. Probably not their best, but the one that means the most to me. I was blown away by it when it came out - must have played that vinyl 100's of times. Greg