starzlookdown
Love to Rock n Roll
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Registered: 05-2006
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new Road Show review
(You may notice my opinion of the book has changed since the first time I wrote about it.)
Neil Peart’s previous three books segued story and style so smoothly that I was aware of nothing more than being taken along for an enjoyable ride. It would never have occurred to me to try to guess at what Neil was going to say before I actually read each chapter. The major difference between those works and “Road Show” was the nature of his subject matter: his band, a subject of which many of his readers would already be well informed.
Many of us had been waiting a long time for the promised autobiography of Rush, and I’m sure I was not the only fan to have used some of that waiting time unwisely, anticipating and even becoming opinionated about how Neil’s inside look at Rush would likely be presented. I admit I expected the traditional format: a chronological tale starting at the beginning, continuing the middle, and ending at the end – by which I mean right up to the day he sat down to type “To Be Continued In 15 Years” and sent it off to the publisher.
I also assumed he would write for his audience – Rush fans – but instead Neil wrote to his audience, faithfully and honestly reporting his personal experience of touring without pulling many punches, as far as I could see. The result was a bit startling, in that his thoughts and feelings were a bit disappointing and hurtful at times, as Neil described the anxiety and outrage caused by intrusions on his peace, privacy and even his property by fans, as well as general exhaustion and tension related to the concerts themselves, but this was all important to hear and understand. To write otherwise would have been false, and false communication is pointless communication.
Nevertheless, I find it hard to reconcile the jovial Peart in the R30 and Snakes & Arrows DVDs – happily discussing writing, composing and the joyful qualities and eccentricities of his band-mates – with the negative and sometimes exasperated Peart who wrote things like “I am so over all this!” about playing on tour and dealing with fans. I can’t help wondering if “Road Show” would have had a more positive tone if Neil had waited a while longer to write it. He certainly seems to have a happier take on the role of Drummer of Rush in those more recent DVD recordings. The fact that the 2007 Snakes and Arrows Tour has now turned into the 2007-2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour was such a shock to me – largely due to “Road Show” – that I feared Rush had suddenly decided to make this the final tour. It just didn’t compute that Neil would have agreed to go through that grind two years in a row…unless, perhaps, touring no longer feels like such a grind? I finally decided that Rush would never spring that on their fans, after the fact. “Oh, by the way, that was it. Bye!” So that means… Neil agreed to two years of touring, and I don’t believe he would have done that if he suffered as much physical and emotional distress in 2007 as he did during the previous Vapor Trails tour. (Vapor Trials?)
Anyway, on with the “Road Show”, which actually did begin at the beginning with Neil’s early interest in music and apparent addition to rhythm, continuing logically to adulthood and his brave decision to cross the ocean alone to seek fame and fortune in England, where he perceived the best rock music originated. Eventually he returned home and met Geddy Lee and Alex Zivojinovich, went on tour and discovered the heady first experiences of fame and celebrity. Then the book’s format changes to an episodic style which encapsulates recurring themes in their shared career by using representative incidents. In this way Neil skims the 27 year journey from his first gig with Rush to the Vapor Trails tour, which is then covered journalism style, almost day by day.
I could easily believe that Neil made a point of keeping a journal during that tour in order to bring the story to life in his book. So many moments during shows and between shows are captured, sometimes in patient and vivid detail, other times quickly, like the glimpse of scenery or church signs as he flew past on his motorcycle. This is the section of the book that seemed harshest to me, a fan who once liked to believe that there is no end to the rush associated with performing live for an enthusiastic audience. I learned otherwise, and although saddened at the time, in the end I realize that I am better for it. We all need to walk in another’s shoes, and re-living the Vapor Trails tour through Neil’s ears, eyes and tired muscles allowed me to understand what it was to be Neil Peart at that time, and what its like for any performer to be trapped in the spotlight: not so glamorous after all.
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Lo's Road (at Multiply blogs)
The point of the journey,
is not "to arrive"...
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6/19/2008, 3:37 pm
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