Random thought on War Paint drum track...

[Timbale]

Hearing those Presto demos made me put the record on for the first time in a long while. I listen to a few of those songs in a playlist (The Pass and Available Light) but haven't spun it start to finish in I don't know how long.  And something occurred to me about the drums on War Paint.

 

Neil plays essentially the same pattern for verse 1 and verse 2...but on verse 1 he is keeping time on the hi-hat...and playing accents on the high toms.  On the 2nd verse, he is keeping time on the ride, and playing the same (or very similar) accents on the low/floor toms.  It struck me that the first verse is about a girl...and the second is about a boy.  I can't help but think he thought about the pitch choices accordingly.  I think that's cool.

Edited February 27 by Timbale

[TheAnarchist2112]

Great observation! I'm a drummer, and I love learning about these little nuances and stuff in Neil's playing, this is partially one of the reasons why Rush is one of my favorite bands. The songs have so much depth, musically and lyrically and it's so enriching to listen to them.

[ytserush]

On 2/27/2026 at 7:47 AM, TheAnarchist2112 said:

Great observation! I'm a drummer, and I love learning about these little nuances and stuff in Neil's playing, this is partially one of the reasons why Rush is one of my favorite bands. The songs have so much depth, musically and lyrically and it's so enriching to listen to them.

Neil always seemed to think in those terms. It's one of the things I loved about him. Compositional drummers on that level are a very rare breed.