Why Neil Peart didn't want to play like Keith Moon

If there's one thing that Neil Peart would never allow himself to be, it was sloppy. The legendary Rush drummer was known as ‘The Professor’ for a reason – his attention to detail and ability to stay eerily on beat was unmatched in the world of rock. The complexity of his drum parts was one thing, but his ability to recreate them note-for-note in the live setting was what truly set Peart apart from his peers.

That being said, Peart's speed, aggression, and dexterity were rooted in less composed drummers. While talking with Rhythm Magazine in 1987, Peart shared some of his early influences, which extended out to big band drummers like Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. While Rich was always accurate and deliberate in his playing, Peart admired the looseness and wild qualities of Krupa.

"The first thing my teacher played for me was a drum battle record between Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa," Peart told the magazine. "That was certainly a good introduction to the fine art of drumming. I think Gene Krupa was a really important influence because of the abandon with which he played. It might be a little inaccurate. But it's still so great and so well conceived in terms of being exciting to play and for an audience to listen to."

Peart made the connection between Krupa and one of his other major influences, The Who's Keith Moon. "I think his rock ‘n’ roll heir was probably Keith Moon. In fact, I see a lot of direct similarities between their playing styles," Peart added. "Even though Keith Moon showed even more abandon and was more sloppy. But he was a drummer who really captured my imagination. Because he was so free and so exciting because of his freedom. It opened me up."

Moon's influence on Peart can be heard in Peart's tom fills and the style of his attack, especially in Rush's first albums with Peart. As Peart became more sophisticated, he began to adopt jazz techniques and more varied playing styles, but his aggressive approach remained indebted to Moon.

"It is certainly true that Keith Moon was one of the first drummers to get me really excited about rock drumming," Peart told Modern Drummer in 1983. "His irreverent and maniacal personality, as expressed through his drumming, affected me greatly. To me, he was the kind of drummer who did great things by accident rather than design. But the energy, expressiveness and innovation that he represented at the time was very important and great."

"It is ironic that I wanted to be in a band that played Who songs and, when I finally got into one, I discovered that I didn't like playing drums like Keith Moon," Peart added. "I liked to be more organized and thoughtful about what I did and where."

"I was fortunate enough to see The Who many times during the late 1960s and early ’70s, and it was very sad to watch him decline and expire from the sheer exuberance of his life," Peart said. "There have been many other great drummers who have taught me things and inspired me, but his like we shall not see again."