Less isn't more, says Rush's Peart
Rush mainman Neil Peart likes the idea of releasing a 55-minute track to get back at current music industry trends.
The Canadian three-piece have just begun writing new material for a 2010 release, but have recently commented they think the album format is dead and are looking for new ways to release their work.
Peart tells Jam Music: "The album has become less significant in these times of shuffle settings and whatnot. So we decided we're not constrained by the patterns of the past. Anything's possible now. One of our early titles for this year was 'Research and Development'."
Asked if Rush could start making music in smaller increments, he says: "Or larger. I went to see Porcupine Tree not long ago. They just put out a 55-minute piece. That's a finger to the whole iTunes shuffle thing, and Steven Wilson intended it as such.
"That's another way of rebelling against it: just saying 'no'. I like that approach - that's very possible for a band like us. So there are no limitations. We might go big or we might go small."
While Peart likes that kind of thinking with regards to recording music, he certainly doesn't like it when it comes to touring – he has no interest in playing small venues.
He explains: "We wouldn't want to. People say, 'Wouldn't you like to play a little club?' No! We've played plenty of clubs with $20 of equipment and a cracked cymbal and all that. When you can do it better, why wouldn't you want to?
"Our rear-screen projections are a beautiful part of our show, and they leave us free to concentrate on our musicianship. We always loved that kind of production, so it's natural and desirable to deliver that kind of show, because we can.
"To me, less is not more. More is more, and more is better."
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