Of course you never know someone via the media, from the outside looking in. And I can certainly understand his aversion to a lot of 'meet and greet' functions to avoid having to re-hash the death of his previous wife and their daughter. And a lot of times the truly gifted can be quite different emotionally than most folks. So my wish is that despite how it seemed from out here that he really understood just how much he was revered and appreciated, and he got some enjoyment and affirmation from it.
I often tend to lump drummers into either 'feel' or 'technique', but Neil was both, a ferociously driven time feel with buckets of ornaments to follow Geddy or Alex into and out of corners. As with Entwistle and Moon, I often wondered how Geddy could lock with the onslaught behind him, play terrifying lines at the same time, AND sing as well. Giants . . . . . .
Death is no respector of fame, fortune, or anything else, and when it's your turn, he's come for you. You can only hope that you left behind things where people will remember you fondly, and he certainly did, and will be proven in a terrible way that there wasn't another like him. NP was a 'one of one'.
We shall miss him.
J W
