Drum Teacher Reacts: RUSH | 'The Camera Eye' | (Moving Pictures 1981 Track 5) FIRST TIME LISTEN! 

I really hope you enjoying Rush Week 2.0. :) Be sure to check out my Neil Peart/Rush playlist and my Rush cover! ru-vid.com/group/PLqspKksRqaUVia4e736aSQdeyr_KIN-hI SUBSCRIBE! ► ru-vid.com DRUMEO 30 - Day Trial ► www.drumeo.com/andrewrooney/

As a 15-year-old girl in 1981 (and girls weren't supposed to love Rush) this one always brought the most vivid images to mind, and now brings up the strongest memories of sitting in my bedroom, playing this album over and over. A feast for the ears.

Canada's greatest gift to the world was definitely RUSH. Honestly can't think of anything else lol.

Ithought he said he was missing lerxt in his analysis, lol I was like "so many do".

RUSH is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of the fluidity of MASTERING TIME SIGNATURES! I play drums and there are a few things that you need to know about Neil Peart’s ( pronounced PEER-T) character: First he writes the lyrics so he knows in advance what TYPE of song it’s meant to be ie ballad, driver, etc. Second he COMPOSES on the drums… like a carpenter who looks at a set of blueprints before building the object. Neil lays out a SKETCH in his mind of the VOICES of the drumset and builds the song from there. He is also a great LISTENER knowing when NOT to step over Geddy’s singing or Alex’s solos! Finally, he had perfect timing and fluidity of time changes. He said himself that it’s not about COUNTING the time signatures as much as fluid motion to change the tempo without counting: in other words it should FLOW! He hates repeating the same drum patterns in the same song meaning if he plays a fill one way the first time around he will play it differently the second time around. IE. Rolls down the toms the first time around and triplets or quads (all four limbs) the second time around. In short there will NEVER be another like him on planet earth 🌍 🌏 🌎! REST IN PEACE PROFESSOR! With heart felt admiration and sincerity! Gary

This is one of those album tracks where they go "Let's record something we won't ever play live." Then , many years later, on The Time Machine Tour they did the whole album live.

After all these years it's still hard to believe there's only 3 members in this band! Thanks for keeping Rush alive, Andrew. The kids of today need this!

I was 7 years old when I discovered Rush: Moving Pictures and I never looked back. My all time favorite band. I recommend the live albums.

Watched them perform this live my head melted

I’m so happy you dug that song. It’s unique even for Rush. I saw the tour where they played all of Moving Pictures and that was a highlight.

Rush are one of life’s greatest treasures!

Perhaps one of their best songs ever; its a masterpiece

The songs title is directly taken from the John Dos Passos novel and the song is an attempt to use his stream of consciousness style of writing. He is relating his experiences in New York and especially in London where he spent a lot of his early years. The goal was to present those experiences in a universal way that are both unique to the cities themselves as well as something the listener could experience themselves. Having read the book in HS, the visualization from lyrics lays on perfectly on top of Dos Passo's writings. Learned this from Peart's interview with George Stroumboulopoulos. I love this song.

WOW! What a surprise.

You are one of the few people reacting to music that doesn't piss me off when you pause the video. When you pause it you say what you need to say you're concise and right back to the music. I really enjoy the analysis and insight and the way you provide it without rambling for 5 minutes.

As a lifelong Rush fan, The Camera Eye has always been one of my favorites. I listened to it over and over for weeks after Neil’s passing.

What a song, very underrated, but one of my favorite Rush tracks.

My friend, I am 58, and have been listening to Rush since A Farewell to Kings came out. Since watching your videos i am absolutely thrilled that you see things i've missed about texture and tone and other parts of the music i can enjoy. THANK YOU! Also, i gotta say your comment on Rush as a band, "wearong their influences on thier sleeve blew my mind. Absolutely true.

Yep! Witch hunt next... I just take it for granted that every song on this album is dynamite . And we haven't even got to Geddys bass solo complete with chorus and a touch of grit in Vital Signs. As much as I always say the 70s prog Rush is my thing I can't deny this is their Magnum Opus. I still listen to all the albums. If you want diversity just listen to a mid 70s album then a mid 80s then 90s and so on . Peace and love brother as always ✌️❤️🤗

One of my all-time favorite RUSH tracks. Such a hidden gem in their catalog and was so excited to actually hear it played live on the 30th anniversary Moving Pictures Tour. Great analysis!

Andrew, as a huge Rush fan, I am absolutely LOVING this deep dive into this incredible album! You mention what's missing is lyrical analysis - well, there's the other half of Neil Peart - the lyricist - as you may have heard, he did about 98% of Rush's catalogue - again lending gravitas to his moniker of "The Professor". He really hit his stride with the Moving Pictures album (as you'll see with Witch Hunt tomorrow). It really is worth a dive into his words! The more you listen & analyze them, the more you see that they were masters of transitions. Seamless comes to mind. For untrained ears, most don't even perceive the time signature changes, and even for us musicians, it's hard to tell when some occur - they were just THAT good, and it's mostly to do with Neil! And I say that because Geddy doesn't approach bass like many 'normal' bands, he treats it like a guitar. Not just laying down a groove pattern, but plenty of flourishes around said patterns, so it's really the drums that hold the fort, and even there, Neil finds space to add his own flourishes. Great reactions! Can't wait for the rest...Cheers.

I think one thing that gets kind of overlooked is Neil being the lyricist he was able to play with the timing to match the prose of the lyrics. He was able to express the emotion of the words with a unique perspective.

song never fails to give me goose bumps..

Your comment when they get to 6/4 time about being so synched in-time was exactly their intent when you listen to the lyrics. They are conveying they synchronicity of people moving in New York...everything is done with meticulous intent...

Incredible Neil Peart. ! A hero of mine musically !

As a long long time Rush fan, this is in my top 5 songs. Just brilliant arrangement and sync.

I was in 6th grade when this came out...........Moving Pictures ruled my life.............WE drew RUSH on every street sign we could.........RUSH concert shirts..rt after they played somewhere and you got ur hands on them were ............GOLD!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .....Jean)Denim) jackets with permanent marker..... RUSH............written on them... I felt Neil because I played......the desks.and books and book bags!!!!!! OH man!!!!!!!!! @ the roller skating rinks, when Tom Sawyer was played thru the music speakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We flew around the rink like lil badasses.............RUSH tshirts under our open - wide, un-buttoned flannel shirts--------- flapping up in the air as we came into the straightaway........................................Im 51 now......man this weed is good..peace oiut--Reed.

The Camera Eye is a scene, a feeling, an energy, moreso than a narrative. Even the lyrics paint a picture, like an impressionist painting a frozen-in-time scene, rather than actually telling a story. I enjoyed your analysis immensely; you helped me begin to appreciate how Neil's drumming participates... deceptively!!... in crafting the unique scene/feeling/energy/space of the song that I consider to be Rush's masterpiece of masterpieces. Thank you from an oldschool and lifelong Rush fan.

Literally one of my favorite rush songs and the power in which Niel hits those drums .... saw it live, it blew my mind.

Maybe my favorite piece on the album. Loved your review man. They're brilliant as you stated at "keeping your ears perked". Truly gifted players that made musical history together. We love ya Neil!

At 16:50, your comment on lyrics came across to my American ear as “Lerxst”, one of Alex Lifeson’s nicknames in the band. Got a kick out of that!

Neil was a genius. He wrote a couple of science fiction novels! He rode motorcycles all over America and turned his photos into travel books. A drummer who came up with some of the most insightful song lyrics in all of Classic Rock.

Have always loved this track. My favourite on the album...I think.

Don't worry too much about focusing on the drums...that is your area of expertise, and hence the part of the music you would focus your deep dive on...and I think we all love the way you are so amazed by Neil's talents. LOL If you really want to, you could add one more video to the end of the series with your thoughts on the lyrics of the songs? 😁✌

Thank you Mr. Rooney for the Rush videos! Once I discovered Rush in my late teens, I sensed they would always be my favorite band. And after 40 years, they still are. You hit on a big aspect of their genius: they would play those shifting time signatures that musicians get so into, but others who aren't into all that can still groove to a great, driving rock rhythm without jarring changes in the feel. I don't think anyone ever did that as well as Rush.

Even after decades of being a huge Rush fan & listening to the music over & over I still find new ways to enjoy it and still sometimes find things I didn't hear before. With some songs you really have to commit to hearing one part sometimes to truly appreciate these three guys!

I know this is a drum channel but Geddy’s bass in this is just sick!

Thank you Andy - for continuing to dissect Rush's music, especially Neil's drumming. I really appreciate your "comments" and am always looking forward to your next video! Loren Nichols

Rush alway shad a genius for switching time signatures and tempos to match either the lyrics or the melodies in their songs. Their phrasings of both lyrics and melodies seems to flow so smoothly one barely notices the transitions until you really dig in and pay attention to what's going on musically. Putting aside the virtuosity of their abilities on their instruments, the level of mastery in the songwriting really is mind-boggling.

This entire album was my first incredible introduction to Rush....and now, a life long fan because of it. Listening to this now takes me back 40-ish years and makes me fell "some kind of way".

The street sounds at the beginning of the song and the subsequent office sounds were lifted from the original Christopher Reeves Superman movie.

This is the best early Christmas present!🎶👍 Witch Hunt and Vital Signs. Cannot wait!!

lyrics are just icing on the cake and Neil has some of the best. he could’ve been a novelist if he chose that route. instead he said “ i can play drums and write” and not necessarily sing. crazy how that panned out.

I'm always struck by how Neil puts hard cymbal crashes in the middle of large fills/flourishes. He is very unique in that way. He does it in the middle of the Tom Sawyer solo, and here several times. Secret-sauce awesomeness.

I started listening to Rush at 10 years old in 1976. I had a very rudimentary music education, playing trumpet for a few years. Beginning to study music during this time helped me to appreciate the construction of pieces like this, and starting with the Farewell To Kings album I began to concentrate on one instrument at a time listening to first the guitar, then bass, then drums alternating between the components. I understand what you mean by receptiveness in Rush’s music….when you focus on one instrument at a time and allow the others to flow in the background you begin to get an appreciation for the complexity of the composition. Just listening to a piece, this one in particular, on the surface a solo is “just a solo”, but when you take the music apart you can see that the “solo” is hidden in the background. Thanks for taking the time to tear into these pieces with Drumeo, I wish this was available to me as a teenager as it would have spared my parents from me playing Freewill, Red Barchetta and La Villa Strangiatto a dozen times in a row, each. Camera Eye is one of my favorite Rush tunes and begins their departure into electronic oriented music which eventually left me behind. This tune is better grouped with Subdivisions and Vital Signs. If you haven’t done Vital Signs yet, I thing you’d enjoy it and appreciate some of the complexities and deception that you seem to have enjoyed so far. ☕️

As long as folks like you keep helping others discover Rush, rock and roll will never die.

Rooney: Wow, Neil is just constantly mixing it up, this is awesome! I really should start checking out the lyrics Neil: (also me)

Been a fan fan since the 70,s. Never get bored of listening to rush, how could you there's so much going on. Absolutely love the videos. Keep them coming all the best from South Wales .uk.

I saw Rush 5 times. A killer live band

1981...I was 26...I met a girl at work who liked Rush...like REALLY ? I was just happily surprised... I know this is weird, but I asked her out, and for our first date, I played Camera Eye for her ( thankfully I had 2 sets of headphones, and I secretly had practiced it 472 times in my car ahead of time ! ) -- she was amazed that I knew how to play it !! Soon after, I bought tickets to see Rush, and we just thoroughly enjoyed the show together !! So cool when someone is on the same page, and let's you air drum every song !!

RUSH, never a dull moment. Master musicians.

you can see why I have such a hard time explaining why I like Rush. I say I love how they play with time in their songs and they don't get it. It is very hard to explain that to someone who isn't a musician. But now, thanks to your videos analyzing their changing time signatures, the "accent was on the 4, now it's on the 3", I can just tell them to watch this instead! Thanks.

Really enjoy your program, Andrew. I come back often for a binge watch of your Rush reactions. Love your genuine pleasure in discovering this great band. Cheers from Nova Scotia Canada.

I love watching your face when you react to anything RUSH.

11:06 This part is sixteenth notes all the way through, R-L-R-L-R-L-R-L. No crossing over: Hit the snare with the right hand, and the syncopated open hi-hat bits with the left hand. The hardest part, IMO, is getting the ride bell accent on the "and", but the ride shoulder on the "one" and "three". Classic Peart off-beat stuff and great practice for any drummer.

Just a word on lyrics on this one: this was Neil's response to reading the massive USA trilogy by John Dos Passos. Dos Passos used a number of literary devices in that work: there's straightforward narrative, sections taken from the news stories of the time, and sections which I think were actually called the camera eye. These are stream of consciousness sections which give a patchwork of fleeting impressions. So Neil took that style and combined it with his ideas about how two cities - London and New York - have a different feel, a different quality. In that sense, it's the polar opposite of Red Barchetta, which is a narrative. This is perhaps Rush's most abstract song. I will love the line 'an angular mass of New Yorkers' forever.

Peart has so much nuance, complexity and musicality in his playing. The production/mix of Moving Pictures was the best -they captured his performance, and it elevated the songs. Along w/ great song writing/performance from Geddy/Lifeson - the drums (performance and mix) is why it's the best Rush album. If only Permanent Waves and Signals were produced/mixed like this.

I love this song, and it has the space to hear the bass, guitar, and drums just rip especially on the solos and what not. Just a musical masterpiece from all three guys. I play bass and not drums, so your comments definitely makes me pay more attention to the drums as I've always taken it for granted. I don't notice the time changes much, I'm just grooving.

This is one of my favourite Rush tracks and definitely one of my favourite drum performances of Neil Peart 🤘🏻❤️

There was an interview with Neil where he said that he found if he played 4 while the "other guys" were playing in 5 (or other odd-time') that they would eventually meet up and so I think he does that sometimes just because it was such a revelation for him. ☺ [tho I've never worked out if he does that on this track] His drum work with his hands alternating between ride and snare in the bridge is absolutely one of my favorite drum parts. It's so distinctive and has such a fun feel to it, while it pulls back on the "frantic pace of New York" and provides a restful pause before diving into London.... Also, the transcription ends too quickly. Waaaaaaaay underneath the mix of Alex's fading guitar, Neil gets back on the snare for another double-stroke roll as the song fades out. [The Big Ben chime also cues the bells that begin the next song, Witch Hunt.]

Know nothing about playing drums, but it's hard to pass up anything Rush related (thanks algorithm). This may be my favorite Rush song, and seems it's very under appreciated. How do three guys make music that feels so full?!

Lot going on! Bass guitar is pretty sweet.

Love that one. The next song is one of the best songs they have ever produced. Wise, tactful, brooding. Witch hunt is one of those that really spoke to me in my formative years. Neil's lyrics meant more to me than his playing at certain points in life. Not taking away from his playing or anything. It's just that anger can get the better of a young man if there isn't a voice of reason to help talk you through it. I could tell he had been there, where I was at the time, and those words made a difference. Anger at it's core is fear. The next song is one part of three songs that deal with fear.

One of my very favourite Rush drum lines. So many layers.

One of my favorites!!! But then again, I love every single one of (The Professors) Songs and his perfect PERCUSSIONAL PARTS!

Great channel! I've been binge watching all your Rush videos and somehow I am finding even more appreciation for their music by focusing just on Neil. Thanks, keep em coming!

Your enjoyment of the content in these songs is infectious having listened to the best band to have walked our planet for decades seeing them have the same effect on a top musician (that's you 😉😁) as they had when I first listened to them on there release is fantastic and says everything about the songs. Keep up the good work! Slainthe 🥃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Top 3 all-time Rush song for me.

It's funny. I just heard an interview recorded this summer by Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett for his "Shred with Shifty" podcast, with guest Alex Lifeson. In it, Shiflett made the same point as Andrew, suggesting that while it may appear to the average listener that Rush's songs weren't all that complex, musicians capable of knowing better could hear just how much more complicated and complex each song was. Alex responded along the lines of "yes, isn't that the whole point?!"

@10:50 and @10:58, those tiny little hi-hat snatches still give me chills when I hear them !! Neil was powerful and great, but just a master of subtleties, as well. I am STILL learning from him, EACH DAY !! LOVE your Reaction Videos !! Someday, I'd like to see you do Countdown -- that one makes me cry AND gives me chills at the same time !! Thank you so much for doing what you do !! I'm a lucky guy to have been able to hear RUSH their entire career...makes me count my blessings...

I LOVE when you do Rush! Makes me so happy

Sadly a lot of people do not get into just how masterfully they wrote music because they say “ ugh! I can’t stand his voice!!!!” 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ his voice is what first drew me to Rush because it was unlike anything I had ever heard. Then the appreciation of three virtuosos cemented them as my favorite band for over 40 years.

To me that's a travelling song. Quick 10+ minutes for sure. :)

You remind me that 40 years ago I had more or less memorized Neil's percussion parts. Not exact but it was passable if you were not looking at a tab. I had no tabs, hence the need for memorization. Years later when tabs were more available I had to learn the song (and others) all over again. I thought it was going to be confusing since I had been playing the parts "my way". Close but not what was written. In the end it actually helped me with my reading in general since I knew what it should sound like, knew what I always played, and all of a sudden, what I was seeing on the page. That sounds confusing huh.

This was my favorite song to play on Rockband.

I can't wait for Vital Signs. Love the drumming on that tune! (Along with pretty much every other one...)

Great reaction/analysis. Thanks Andrew.

Andrew this is one of my fave Rush tunes and I'm so thrilled to see how you like it and the massive number of time changes. it's such a challenge to play but so good when you get it almost right (cuz really, only the professor can nail it).

A great look under the hood on these songs, I know every tink and boom by heart but helpful insights here 😀

You must do a reaction to Hemispheres. It’s INCREDIBLE!

It’s incredible how they change time signatures so often yet the feel of the song makes you feel like it’s in a straight 4/4 time.

The best of the best!!! 🖖🏻🇫🇷😎🇫🇷😎🇫🇷🖖🏻

Progressions and adjustments of percussion, chapter through chapter in a piece is something that means so much to me with Rush. Peart didn’t keep time, he created time in songs like these. Slight changes in tiny fills keeps the poetry changing within the constraints of each piece. Really amazing!

Rush! 🇨🇦🤘❣️

In the section where you heard a voice and you said British Accents? Actually it’s Alex Lifeson saying C’mon Pratt which is Neil Peart’s nickname because this was longest piece on the album and the first time since Hemispheres that a song was over 10 minutes so it was his way of giving Neil encouragement to keep going!

😊 Rush is a fun band.

Side 2 is a smorgasbord of amazing sounds.

Neil has talked about how when geddy and alex were doing something in odd time, he always tried to make it sound like 4/4. He didnt want the songs to sound weird like dream theater or something.

Fantastic! thanks Andrew -over 40 years since these ears first heard this! EPIC!

one of my favourites from Rush, a real gem. through the brilliantly crafted song once they hit the solo they are flying, and you realize once Geddy's bass is left bare by the solo passage that he has more ideas and variations in 32 bars of music than most of us have in our entire arsenal. supreme in all ways.

Home run again, such interesting analysis, yes witch hunt will entertain you as well especially with Halloween coming up! Great work, subscribed!

I love the things Neil does time keeping on the ride and hat. Like the little hat to ride bit that raised your eyebrows here (Subdivisions has a really nice moment with this). Things like that, the mix of 16th notes in the main riff of Limelight, and the entrance of the ride cymbal in the climax of Natural Science are great moments for me. As you said with the snare here, just when you think he's gone through all the gears he finds one more like Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari :-)

Love love love these "older" Rush songs, and you bring it up a bit more! Love it!

Yes you really do need to look into the lyrics, Neil's lyrical mastery is just as proficient. May I suggest the song Anagram. Every line has a word that shares letters with another word in the line. Now that is attention to detail.

My favorite song from this album top 5 all time from Rush for sure! Would love to see you check out Jacob's Ladder from Permanant Waves

I just watched your video and it was totally bad-ass :)

Interesting... This is the first time I've actually seen the drum music to this. Back in the old days we had to learn it the hard way, by listening to it. Granted, I could sight read most drum music some 40 years ago but being away from it so long I can still identify with the overall scheme. Likewise time signatures, When playing off someone else without it written out one learns to just go completely by feel. How hard do people really listen to it? Hard enough to hear one of them burp at the 14:26 mark, then hear (I believe) Geddy say, "Burped huh?" Good stuff. To all aspiring drummers out there... Never play like you're the #1 drummer. Always play like you're barely the 2nd best ever.

Alex's favourite guitar solo he has ever played, he once said

Great review Andrew. Thank you!

Wow I learned to play these songs by ear years ago. This is the first time I've ever seen the drum tracks. I had no idea how many parts I was missing! These drumeo vids are badass!