The 1989 Rush song Geddy Lee never wanted to play bass on: “I’d rather play the keyboards”
Every member of a power trio will usually deal with more than their fair share of responsibilities. Since everyone has to hold up their end of the musical weight lest everything fall apart, musicians typically play different instruments or restructure their approach to music to suit what the song needs.
Although Geddy Lee may have carved himself out as one of the most virtuosic bass players working with Rush, he admitted that he never wanted to touch the instrument when working on one of their deep cuts.
For most bass players, that statement would sound almost unthinkable coming from someone like Lee. By that point, he had already established himself as one of progressive rock’s defining musicians, capable of turning complicated bass parts into centrepieces of Rush’s sound.
Throughout the early years of the band’s career, Lee practically turned the bass into its own lead instrument. Following the lead of artists like John Entwistle and Chris Squire, Lee wasn’t satisfied until he had a bass sound that cut through the mix, playing various lines that many could mistake for lead guitar licks if they had pitched an octave up.
Once the band got drummer Neil Peart into the fold on the album Fly By Night, Lee’s approach to the instrument got even more complex, usually involving him playing in different time signatures to suit whatever the song needed. Although the band could make a lot of noise as a trio, Lee knew that something else could be done once keyboards entered the studio.
“Where the bass just provides some simple, low-end support, I’d rather play the keyboards and sing.”
Geddy Lee
First heard on albums like 2112 and A Farewell to Kings, Lee often played keyboards and bass whenever Rush performed, even playing a handful of basslines with his feet when he couldn’t take his hands away from the keys. Although the band’s celebrated prog era featured a balanced split between keyboards and bass playing, things started to go differently as they entered the 1980s.
Like many progressive rock bands of their era, Rush faced the challenge of adapting to changing musical trends without losing their identity. Their embrace of synthesisers divided some fans but also kept the band creatively restless.
Following the trendy sounds of the time, Rush made even more mainstream material without compromising their vision, including various heartfelt progressive moments on albums like Grace Under Pressure. As the band soldiered on into the album Presto, Lee would have instead put down his bass when making one of their tracks.
Being one of their most synthesised albums, Lee did not love the idea of playing bass on ‘Available Light’. Even though the track lends itself well to a balance between both sounds, Lee thought that his prowess as a keyboardist far outweighed anything he could bring to the bass.
When discussing the song after recording, Lee stated, “On a tune like ‘Available Light,’ where the bass just provides some simple, low-end support, I’d rather play the keyboards and sing. It’s just a question of what instrument will be rewarding to play from a player’s point of view. If the keyboard is simply playing a strict, four-chord repeating pattern, then I’d rather just program it into some MIDI pedal and have some fun playing bass”.
For all of the innovations the band made in the 1980s, this would be one of the final times keyboards took a prominent role on the album, eventually bringing the guitars back in full force on albums like Counterparts and Test For Echo. Even though Rush never thought there was a sound that didn’t suit them, this was one of the first times where Lee admitted to feeling uninspired when strapping on his four-string.
‘Available Light’ remains an important example of Rush’s willingness to experiment during the later stages of their career. Even when certain directions proved creatively frustrating, the band rarely stopped searching for new ways to evolve their sound.
