Was Neil Peart the greatest rock lyricist?

It is a very good autobiography, though for me lags a bit in the middle. Which surprised me, I thought I’d enjoy the segment on their salad days the most but what I liked best was the early part about Geddy’s family - riveting, in fact - and their early days as a group, and then the later years where there was sadly so much tragedy but its also obvious how much they all loved and cared for each other. The middle part was a little boring frankly, could have been shorter for my taste - a few too many “then we got really drunk/stoned/wired” stories for my taste, ho hum. I listened to the audio version on Audible. Recommended.

As to the question - no Neal wasn’t the greatest rock lyricist in my view - but I think as time went on and he largely knocked it off with the epics he was quite good. I am definitely in the camp that felt Rush was best when writing more concise and dare I say catchy songs and that applies to the lyrics as well as the music. Neal had a talent for memorable phrases and for taking on some interesting topics that few if any other lyricists have done. Some of his lyrics still make me think. A tendency to get a bit pedantic? OK yes - fair enough. But still the passion and commitment were apparent - he was deeply interested in deeper meaning, and communicating. I admire that, the willingness to put oneself really out there, the fearlessness. All the more impressive for someone who seemed to be fundamentally an introvert, or at least a very private soul.

 

No way.

Sorry to inform you!

 

he has had 10 pages of people informing him

 

I have a pathological hatred for songs that start with the word 'and'

 

This discussion reminds me of the time I met my future wife (later future ex-wife) and she was in love with the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. All the book is about is "there are some illuminated people who understand and rightly guide the rest of the people (the plebs)."
I couldn't stand that book that basically said to me "if you are born in a slum just accept your status and be happy, Elon Musk will the leader". Nope, I never agreed. That's the tone of some of Peart's lyrics to me.

 

He may not be the greatest… but he was my favorite.

 

Uh, that's not at all what I get from him...

 

Actually, he was much more the direct opposite of this, consistently; both in his early Randian phase and his later more humanist phase.

 

Just to give you an example...
Closer To The Heart:
Philosophers and ploughmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart

What's the role of the ploughmen? To grow food for the philosophers?

 

Totally subjective. As someone mentioned earlier, if this had been 'Was Neil Peart a great rock lyricist' then a lot of folks would probably agree.

Neil was certainly prolific, and tackled a vast variety of subjects over several decades.

Rush is my favourite band, since 1982, and I know Neil's lyrics like the back of my hand. For the most part he's thoughtful and poetic - there's the odd clunker - but overall he's batting well above average.

So in my opinion Neil deserves to be listed as one of the great rock lyric writers. The best? Who knows - we all hear things differently and lyrics that touch me deeply don't necessarily have the same effect on anybody else.

 

They were perfect for their Discography.

 

Are you having a laugh?? RUSH are very well known here in the UK and also across Europe / Scandinavia as well. Personally I have been aware of them since Permanent Waves in 1980 when I was 8 years old, and over the decades they have come up in almost any discussion I've had about music.

 

Well, yeah, that's... what farmers do? The message of the song is basically, "from each according to his or her strengths and abilities". If you're good at philosophizing, then philosophize. If you're good at farming, then farm.

Keep in mind, Neil came from a family of farmers and his father sold tractors; Neil himself worked in the parts department before getting hired by Rush to play drums. I sincerely doubt the message of the song was intended to be, "Farmers are stupid, they need someone to tell them what to do."

You can be the captain
I will draw the chart
Sailing into destiny
Closer to the heart

Translated: You have your job, I have mine, and together we achieve something neither of us can do alone.

Also, he wrote that when he was 24. Check out some lyrics from the late 80s when Neil really hit his stride as a lyricist, his worldview was very different by that point. In particular, look up Middletown Dreams, if you want a more nuanced and sensitive exploration of employment and societal roles.

 

The title of the thread is

"Was Neil Peart the greatest rock lyricist"?

Not who is a better lyricist than Neil Peart.
It only requires a one word answer.

 

Yeah, it does seem strange that a question like that would result in a discussion on a discussion forum.

 

The Thread Title says it all.

It also leaves an opportunity for a Member to start another Thread, with the inclusion of other Lyricists to added.

That Thread would be a veritable barn-burner.

 

The lyrics are self explanatory. Cooperation and adherence to social contracts are the foundation of a civil society. It starts with the basic requirements to sustain life. As Diogenes was purported to say after exposing himself in public, "if only it was as easy to alleviate hunger by rubbing ones stomach".

 

greatest lyricist is pretty subjective. I think Ray Davies is ten times better but I'm sure RUSH fans will disagree.

 

I'm tempted to start a thread

"Is Geddy Lee the the greatest vocalist in rock"

Just to see how that would go.
I assume much the same as this.

 

I guess my initial goal was not to establish the result but to commence a discussion which I did. Didn't I?

 

Isn't society made up of all parts? Regardless of the paths we choose, all the parts are needed. There have to be ploughmen, roofers, philosophers, military, politicians etc.

Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart

 

Neil was a great lyricist, and a great drummer!

Vital Signs - I always loved this tune: I think Neil sums this thread up succinctly:

"Everybody need a mood lifter. Everybody need reverse polarity.
Everybody got mixed feelings, about the function and the form.
Everybody got to deviate from the norm."

 

These "greatest" threads are worthless as it is subjective. His lyrics hit me in the right place and has influenced my life. However, they of course aren't for everyone. I will recommend though listening to one of the greatest lyrics ever written for a love, Entre Nous is incredible. I always thought to be on the receiving end of these words would be such a gift.

 

yep look at my signature line, I only wish more people thought that way but instead we live in a world that is opposite of that thought

 

Because of the Rand influence, Barry Miles wrote an article on Rush back in the 70's comparing them to Nazis. Being the son of holocaust survivors, you can imagine how Geddy took this. In the Classic Albums doc, he just sort of shook his head about it, but in his autobiography, he didn't hold back.

I remember when "Far Cry" came out in 2007. The lyrics inspire perseverance in the face of an irrational world. What "Subdivisions" was for the teenager, "Far Cry" was for the middle-aged individual. I was stunned that Neil's lyrics were getting even more poignant.