Hudson Music Releases Neil Peart's Taking Center Stage: A Lifeson Of Live Performance

Official Press Release, HudsonMusic.com, August 27, 2011

Hudson Music has announced the October release of a groundbreaking new 3-DVD set from Neil Peart, one of the true living legends of drumming. In Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance, Neil examines the details and challenges of performing in front of a live audience. Drawing from over 30 years of touring the world, Neil breaks down, demonstrates, and performs classic drum parts from songs spanning the entire Rush catalog, thereby giving the viewer the most in-depth insight into Neil's body of work ever documented.

Filmed in various locations over the course of a year, Neil takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at Rush's 2010-11 Time Machine Tour. This includes rare and exclusive footage of Neil's personal pre-tour rehearsals and backstage events at a Rush concert (including a visit to the soundcheck, an unprecedented backstage interview, and Neil's warm-up routine).

Neil then presents (in an interview setting with Hudson's Joe Bergamini) a detailed look at every single song in the Time Machine set list (which includes the entire Moving Pictures album). Each song features analysis and demonstrations (including slow-motion), which are coupled with a detailed PDF eBook containing transcriptions of Neil's parts. At the end of each song discussion, the viewer is transported onstage to a Rush concert to see the actual live performance of the song from the perspective of the drum cameras only (with an exclusive, custom audio mix that features the drums heard slightly louder than a normal concert DVD mix).

With in-studio rehearsal footage, backstage scenes, live concert performances, and breathtaking interview footage filmed in Death Valley National Park, California, this package documents not only Neil's approach to live performance, but the very essence of his drumming style, on all the classic Rush songs, including "Tom Sawyer," "Subdivisions," "YYZ," "The Spirit of Radio," "Free Will," "Limelight," "Far Cry," and many more. The DVD also includes discussion, analysis, and performance of the newest Rush song, "Caravan," and extensive bonus content.

"Working with Neil is always a great experience," says Hudson Music co-president Rob Wallis, "and this program has raised the bar we set years ago with our previous Neil videos. This project has been quite a ride that started over two and a half years ago, and has led to travels from concert stages in the Northeast to the mountains in Death Valley. I feel it is a definitive work that captures Neil's approach, covering a wide range of topics along with analysis of much of the classic Rush song catalog that we have been wanting to delve into with him for a long time."

This DVD package is a must-have for Neil Peart and Rush fans, other musicians, or anyone interested in a collection of insights on live performance, beautifully shot and eloquently delivered.

Neil Peart: Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance
3 DVD Set
Running Time: 6 hrs 40 min
Label: Hudson
Price: $39.00
Release Date: October 11, 2011