Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle by Neil Peart Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle
Book Review: courageous vulnerability
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read Ghost Rider and just ordered this book. I am prerating it as I expect to enjoy it as much as I did Ghost Rider. I felt compelled to write a review in response to those I have just read. I am not in the habit of giving my opinion as who am I to rate or comment on anothers literary work. What I enjoyed most about Neil's writing is that he is just another human being like the rest of us. I get the feeling from the other less than positive reviews of his writing that you expect him to be more this or that because he is "NEIL PEART" of Rush. I would feel extremely vulnerable sharing my inner most thoughts and feelings in a book that the whole world could read. One would have to realize that because you are well known as a "rock star" that you would be held to a higher standard than the rest of us (which I find ignorant) but yet went ahead and wrote the book. Would any of us have the stomach to write from the heart in spite of the inevitable judgements? I find it refreshing that an individual with his recognition is still just a regular person and willing to share himself in spite of unreasonable judgement. I am sympathetic to his dread of being recognized. I am a psychologist and I choose to live an hour from my practice just so I can have some privacy. I have been know to leave a store if I see a client because they will approach me and bend my ear in public. If you have not experienced it, I can see where you would think it snobby. I have decided that the next time I am on a plane and the person next to me asks what I do I will say garbage collector just to avoid the frequent invasion I experience from others(more often who are not clients). However, like Neil, I enjoy my work but at the same time, have the right to privacy. Neil may not want to be bothered out and about in his life, but he is willing to share on a personal and intimate level with all of us in his books. Book Review: Great....but could have been better.
Summary: 4 Stars
Neil Peart is clearly a very talented author. For a man who didn't even finish high school, he writes with PhD-level intellect and one can hardly be bored by anything he has ever written. "Landscape with Drums" is Neil's narrative of his U.S. and European treks by motorcycle between cities and countries during Rush's R30 tour in 2004. It is a well-written account from both a musician and motorcyclist's perspective of the tolls of touring and putting in high-mileage days, riding between destinations. However, as good as I felt that this work is, it could have been better and here's why:
-Absence of visual imagery. This book is four hundred pages of text about a motorcycle tour with LOTS of riding, with no pictures for one to visualize what Neil is describing (and there's LOTS of description). From a fellow motorcyclist's perspective, I want to see what HE is seeing and not just leave it to my imagination. Sure, pictures would have raised the production cost/sale price but for dedicated fans and readers, it would have been worth it.
-Repeated references to church signs and dislike for fan contact. Okay, so, we're not in Neil's shoes and I perfectly understand him not caring for the public "eye" too much. I think that time, along with fans who don't respect boundaries, have worn him down. Who are we to say? Even so, this theme, repeated in a few of his books gets a little "tired".
The part about the church signs (while touring the U.S.) seemed to be almost mocking the various houses of worship. Again, we cannot imagine what Neil had to go through during his double-tragedy between 1997-1998 and it would have probably caused any one of us to doubt our faith. While Mr. Peart is definitely entitled to his opinion, it is afforded him to put into print because of his fame. He should remember that many of his fans are followers of some form of religion.
Don't get me wrong here, folks. I have been a Rush fan since 1979, and I absolutely love the work of Neil Peart. In fact, he could scribble on a cocktail napkin and I would call it a masterpiece. As lyricist and drummer for Rush, (along with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson), he has co-written some of the most famous progressive rock songs in the past 35 years.... Each Rush album from the mid-seventies through today is a collection of dramatic soundscapes and epic sagas, e.g. "2112", "The Spirit of Radio", "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta", "Limelight", "Subdivisions", "The Big Money" and the list could go on and on... These songs were very powerful anthems of my youth, telling real-life stories that any adrenaline-filled teen or 20-something could identify with...Even today, these songs are timeless mainstays, engrained forever in the face of modern music.
Overall, I rated this book at four (4) stars, deducting one star for the two points mentioned above. There could have been a few pictures included that might have engaged the reader more, instead of making him/her feel as if reading Mr. Peart's diary.
Book Review: Get over yourself!
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first review of ANYTHING I have ever written.
Let me start off by saying that I AM a Rush fan and have read all of Neil's books so far. I think he has an engaging style that hooks a reader in and won't let you go. I've enjoyed Masked Rider and Traveling Music, but the more I read Roadshow, the more I think that what Neil is doing is polishing up his personal journals to exploit the Rush fan base. I'm sure his publishers know based on past sales just how many of us will buy his book just because we are Rush fans.
The thing that strikes me most, and I guess is the greatest let-down, is the lack any kind of progression or growth in this story. All we really ever see changing is Neil's milage count, what he had for dinner, and his own opinion of his performance. At least in Traveling Music he spent more time biographically, giving us insight into his early years growing up and breaking into the music business. It was interesing, and I do, and have recomnded it to others. In Ghost Rider we see the progression of his healing after the death of his wife and daughter. But Neil spends so much time whinning in this book about fans and how hard it is to tour that I wonder why he does it.
As a fan I hope Geddy and Alex don't share his dred at performing. I would like to think they are enjoying themselves up there. I have to say I agree with the other reviewers who have mentioned this. He's supposed to be an artist, a performing artist. Neil makes it sound like playing the the drums for Rush at a concert is a bone that he has to throw his slobering fans that, if given the chance, would just as soon hunt him down and .... (fill in the blank).
I already have my tickets for Snakes and Arrows Tour this summer. I don't go see many concerts, too expensive, but I go to Rush shows because they are good. Its a great escape for me. A time to forget the everyday problems, blow off some steam, have fun with friends, and listen to some great music. I just hope that when Neil comes to my city, he tries to have a good time and a good show. Unfortunatly, all I'll be thinking about is "I wonder if he's just up there 'at work'"
While I would recomend Neil's other books to most anyone, this one is only for the folks who just want to have anything about Rush. Sorry.
Book Review: Neil questions himself..why don't we?
Summary: 3 Stars
I confess I haven't read this book yet, but as a lifelong fan of his lyrics, Rush, and Jesus (!), several hypocitical comments by some of Neil's Christian detractors demand a response. While I agree that no one should put down another's beliefs, this needs to be applied universally. The trite cliche of "liberal elitist" rolled out by several reviewers is also ironic, since the organized Christian church has practiced philosophical elitism for over 1600 years, and used genocide, murder, torture, and repression to enforce it. Neil ridicules the sign "Faith overpowers reason", and maybe that's harsh..so, if the nouns in the sign had been reversed, you'd all be as open minded, right? Why does one have to OVERPOWER the other? Why do they even need to be mentioned in the same sentence, since they're unrelated concepts? Is something lacking in your philosophy that you have to OVERPOWER something to make your point? One reviewer even addressed this by inferring that we HAVE to go to God for the 'things we don't understand about the universe'..If this is your attitude toward science, you'll need to throw out all your Rush CD's, sell your audio systems, and never again attend a concert that uses digital technology..because they're all the product of discoveries about the universe that we once 'didn't understand'..!
..When non-Christians say things like that, they're just being like the loner kid who, after being bullied in the schoolyard for years, finally lashes out...and we've all cheered that kid..
( see "Subdivisions" )!
Finally, ya gotta laugh at the irony - these are RUSH fans?! Have you ever really READ the lyrics to "Freewill"?!! Or "Witchhunt"?!!
All I'm saying is, God gave us the brains to question ourselves and our entrenched beliefs. If you choose to read Anne Coulter, you can't get mad that she's a theocra-facist..and when you read a book by the guy who co-wrote these great tunes, you gotta know this subject will come up..so let's just mull the line from "Entre Nous":
"Just between us, I think it time to recognize
the spaces in between leave room for you and I to grow.."
PS - I'm also a drummer, and I agree Neil could lighten up a bit - how much better does he need to BE?! Rock on..
Book Review: A must read for travelers, drummers, Rush fans... in any order
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a 30 year fan of Rush... and Neil's drumming... and his lyrics naturally led me to read every book he's written. Thanks to the endless internet I've been able to catch up on many of the other pieces he's written for motorcycle and travel magazines. It's all very interesting and his latest yield from the literary gold mine is "Roadshow."
This has been the most entertaining read to date providing a really interesting insider look at how one traveling musician deals with the day to day grind of life on the road - especially after 30 years!
I'm really pleased that he and his bandmates have completed another album (Snakes And Arrows) and are actually going back out on the road again - for an extensive two leg tour no less!
My guess is that Neil Peart must have *really* been missing the guys at work. Boy am I ever happy about that. :-) All I can say is thanks for putting up with it, Neil, Geddy and Alex. And keep those journal entries going!
My brother and I will be seeing Rush on July 8th, 2007 at the Mega Financial Institution Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.