The classic Pink Floyd song Geddy Lee can’t listen to without weeping: “Often overlooked”
In the world of Canadian prog-rock, there’s nothing quite as iconic as the shades, goatee, and long mop of hair that adorn the genius mind of Rush frontman Geddy Lee.
As a schoolboy, Lee set out playing the guitar, drums, piano, and clarinet before finding his rhythm with the four-string bass. So, from the get-go, he had a classic multi-instrumentalist approach to music, drawn into complexity.
Little wonder, therefore, that in his late teens, he was fond of contemporary British rock bands The Who and Cream and was explicitly interested in the virtuosic basslines of John Entwistle and Jack Bruce. It seemed that he was destined to enjoy the proto-prog stylings of Pink Floyd soon enough, too.
In 1969, when Lee was just 16, his band Rush began to play professionally at coffeehouses, high school dances and similar community events. Their love for Cream inspired a power trio formation, with Lee on bass, Alex Lifeson on guitar and John Rutsey on the drums. Certain events demanded soft pop covers, but the trio soon began to write their own material with a metal meets prog sound not dissimilar to that trailblazed by Led Zeppelin at around the same time.
Rush released their eponymous debut album in 1974, their only record with original drummer Rutsey before the legendary Neil Peart joined as a replacement. The album established the band’s early sound of heavy riffs and energetic vocal deliveries from Lee. Though Lee remanded Rush’s lead vocalist throughout their most prolific and critically acclaimed spell in the late 1970s and ’80s, he abandoned lyrical duties, leaving the floor open to Peart.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2018, Lee recognised Peart’s lyrical genius. He revealed how they worked best as a songwriting duo, with the drummer offering words for him to interpret and underlay with instrumental progressions. “It has felt very comfortable at times, at times very uncomfortable. Being an interpreter for Neil has been a singular pleasure of mine and a really difficult job at the same time because I’m not always on the same page as him,” Lee admitted.
“As we grew as a band, I became trusted by him to be his sounding board and his editor, and if I couldn’t get into a thing, he would leave it alone. That’s the beauty of a relationship that lasts.”
Despite his sparse work as a conceptual conjurer and lyricist, Lee needed to be much more than a capable bassist. As a co-songwriter, he had to map out musical structures, starting with the bass and building up the sound from there, often incorporating keyboards and synthesisers. For guidance in this role, he studied the work of his favourite songwriting bassists, such as Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters.
As an aspiring young musician, Lee enthusiastically traced Pink Floyd’s evolution from psychedelic rock phenomenon to prog-rock behemoth in the early 1970s. Speaking on Sirius XM in 2013, the bassist recalled going to see one of Pink Floyd’s concerts in Canada. “Pink Floyd, I remember seeing them in Toronto. I think Dark Side of the Moon was just coming out or hadn’t come out yet. I think the first set they played ‘Echoes’ from the previous album, you know.”
Rush took many leaves from Pink Floyd’s book, from lessons in songcraft to those of extravagant stage productions. “They were impressive also into a young musician, not just because of their song structure in the atmosphere. But the fact that they really put on an amazing show,” Lee added. “They really understood showmanship.”
The best of the Floyd
During his radio appearance, Lee picked out ‘Speak to Me’/’ Breathe’ and ‘Money’ as his favourite Pink Floyd songs due to his inescapable penchant for bold basslines. “I chose these songs because I’m such a ‘bass-centric dude’. That’s all I’ve been thinking about for the last few years: the role of bass in popular music,” he said, applauding Waters’ work on the Dark Side of the Moon concept and his tight, skeletal bass work that is often derided by less scrupulous fans who prefer pure technicality over compositional skill.
Most Pink Floyd fans tend to agree that The Dark Side of the Moon was the band’s overall peak. That is not to say that they dropped off thereafter. Through the remainder of the 1970s, they maintained form with Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, the latter two adding to Waters’ concept album catalogue.
The Wall was an ambitious and divisive project with its torturous double LP tracklist and elaborate stage shows. Many fans describe it as somewhat overblown and caught up in the narrative. Perhaps, like The Beatles’ White Album, it could have been trimmed down. However, it still contained some undeniable highlights, including the soft, dejected ‘Nobody Home’ and the anthemic classic ‘Comfortably Numb’.
“Pink Floyd have such incredible arrangements; their songs are rich and complex but not particularly complicated. They can take as long as they want to tell you a story, but it’s always interesting,” Lee said, revealing his taste for The Wall in a 2020 interview with Guitar World, and hinting at how they helped to shape Rush’s expansive view.
As a fan of Waters’ conceptual work and protracted compositions, Lee will always have a slot on his shelf for The Wall. Continuing, he revealed that his favourite song on the album and of all time is ‘Comfortably Numb’, mainly because of David Gilmour’s towering guitar solo. “David Gilmour is so well respected, and while he’s often overlooked among guitarists, I think people who appreciate rock guitarists regard him as one of the best,” Lee said.
Adding, “He’s a brilliant player and has such passion and feel. You can sense he’s a smart man: you can hear how he puts it all together and how it fits, which is a real testament to his songwriting. He’s such a bluesy player, to boot. My eyes water whenever I hear this song.”
There’s something seamless about its soulful reverence. As David Gilmour put it, “It wasn’t that difficult. But sometimes you find yourself jumping from one note to another in an impossible way. Then you have to go to another place and find a transition that sounds more natural.”
That’s pretty much how it sounds – like a player in pure creative flow, and those deeply, humanly, touching. Lee isn’t the only one reaching for tissues.
