New Neil Peart Book: "Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance" by Joe Bergamini

Now available, Joe Bergamini, who worked with Neil on the Taking Center Stage DVD, has written a companion book with Neil's supervision officially released online October 15th.  At 208 pages, this full color coffee table book covers Neil's live performances with Rush documenting every tour since 1974, including drum transcriptions, dozens of photos, magazine covers, rare advertisements, etc.  From the press release:

Hudson Music has announced the upcoming release of a new book about drumming legend Neil Peart, written by well-known drummer and writer Joe Bergamini. Neil Peart not only wrote the foreword for the book, but also supervised the project and provided additional factual editing. This book is the most complete retrospective on Neil’s career available in print today. Originally conceived as a companion to the groundbreaking 2011 three-disc DVD set of the same name, this book combines astonishingly detailed musical transcriptions, historical writing, instructional text, and a beautiful collection of photographs to create a book that every drummer and every fan of Neil and Rush will want to add to their collection.

At the heart of the book are note-for-note musical transcriptions of 17 songs that are included on the Taking Center Stage DVD. These transcriptions are exclusive to this book, since they are taken from the performances on the DVD, documenting how Neil currently approaches the songs. Songs include, “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” “The Spirit of Radio,” “Free Will,” “Subdivisions,” “Time Stand Still,” “Marathon,”  “La Villa Strangiato,” “The Trees,” “Caravan,” “BU2B,” “Far Cry,” and many others.

The book is divided into chapters corresponding to each and every Rush tour from the time Neil joined the band in 1975, up to the present. Each of these chapters contains extensive text discussing the musical approach of the band at the time, the construction of the drum parts, and Neil’s setup. Accompanying this are exquisitely detailed diagrams of each of Neil’s drum sets, produced after extensive research into the exact instruments that were used on every tour. Tying everything together are stunning photos taken over the past 30 years and color reproductions of just about every drum company advertisement that has featured Neil during his career.

“Working with Neil on the Taking Center Stage DVD was a dream come true, and this book, to me, is the true completion of the project,” says author (and Hudson Music Senior Drum Editor) Joe Bergamini. “I always wanted to do a coffee-table style book that would not only include drum transcriptions, but also include colorful photos, interesting text, and historical magazine covers and ads that documented Neil’s career. I designed the book with all Rush fans in mind (not just drummers), and I think they will enjoy reading and looking it at as much as I enjoyed working on it.”

Includes:
• Fifteen chapters devoted to Neil’s musical approach and equipment on every Rush tour since 1975.
• Note-for-note drum transcriptions of 17 songs taken from the Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance DVD, including Rush classics like “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” “The Spirit of Radio,” “Free Will,” “Subdivisions,” “Time Stand Still,” “Marathon,”  “La Villa Strangiato,” and many others.
• Detailed text from both Neil and author Joe Bergamini, explaining his equipment and his approach to the songs.
• Exclusive photos, some never before published, showing Neil and his drums in vibrant detail.
• Detailed diagrams and explanations of all of Neil’s drum sets.
• Other interesting images, such as Neil’s Modern Drummer® magazine covers and print advertisements from DW, Tama, Sabian, Ludwig, Pro-Mark, and Zildjian.