Rush’s Neil Peart Celebrated in New Illustrated Quote Book
An upcoming book of illustrated quotes from Rush's Neil Peart will celebrate the late drummer and lyricist's humor, wisdom and literary talents.
Neil Peart: The Illustrated Quotes — expected to ship on Jan. 12 — pairs the musician's "words and musings" with black-and-white illustrations from the rock-centric animation studio and book publisher Fantoons.
A product page on the company's site describes the book as "the first and only Neil Peart quotes collection authorized by Neil himself."
Fantoons previewed the set with a handful of page samples. One features a quote from a Peart interview with the Los Angeles Times ("Playing a three-hour Rush show is like running a marathon while solving equations") and an illustration of the drummer doing advanced calculations while running with his drum kit strapped to his back. Another features a quote from Peart's 2004 book, Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times ("'Now what?' All my life, those two little words have sparked me with curiosity, restlessness and desire … ") and a drawing of a motorcycle from the drummer's perspective.
Peart, Rush's primary lyricist since 1975's Fly by Night, was also a prolific author, starting with 1996's The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa. In 2015, Kevin J. Anderson published a novelization of the band's 19th and final LP, Clockwork Angels, building from Peart's original lyrics and story. (Anderson's sequel book, Clockwork Lives, followed in 2016.)
The famed drummer died in January at age 67, following a quiet, three-and-a-half-year battle with a rare form of brain cancer.