Geddy Lee on why he is a “die-hard” fan of Chris Squire
Rush frontman and bassist Geddy Lee has more than enough material to confirm why he is one of the finest four-string maestros in rock music. A dynamic player, fusing technical ability with songwriting intelligence, his flourishes on the fretboard range set a high bar for all players after the band arrived in the 1970s.
Lee is a fascinating player because his distinctive sound pulls from various and often opposing musical areas. A fan of the melodic work of Paul McCartney in The Beatles and the soulful sensuality of Motown’s James Jamerson – two distantly related approaches – as well as the explosive nature of The Who’s John Entwistle, this all-encompassing philosophical foundation created a stylistic breadth that facilitated the skill of Rush’s other two members, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart.
Acting as the glue that held the locomoting components of Rush together, Geddy Lee’s playing is central to all of their finest work, from hits like ‘Tom Sawyer’ to the out-there prog instrumental of ‘La Villa Strangiato’. Never overshadowing his bandmates but also refraining from doing himself a disservice on these highlights, Lee packaged the best of modern bass playing into one, reflecting his talent.
One bassist who had a defining impact on Lee establishing his approach to the bass was Chris Squire of prog pioneers Yes. Another virtuoso, his work on genre staples such as ‘Roundabout’ and, in particular, their earlier effort ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed’, pushed Lee to make the bass such a prominent feature of Rush’s sound. By doing so, he asserted his dominance in the instrument’s story.
When discussing his favourite bassists in Rolling Stone in 2020, Lee recalled the first time he heard Yes and the unique playing of Chris Squire. He explained that his sound blew him away and has been a “die-hard” fan ever since.
The Rush frontman said: “A friend of mine and I, we used to skip school all the time when we were in junior high school, and we would go to his house. And we were both just nuts about music, and he would turn me on to a lot of different things that I’d never heard, a lot of progressive-rock bands that I didn’t know of. So one day, we skipped class and went to his house, and he put on this record. It was Yes, Time and a Word. And I was just blown away by the sound of Chris Squire’s bass.”
He continued: “I mean, it was so up-front. And again, it reminded me of John Entwistle in that aggressive way, but the music was much more adventurous and much more layered. The song I first heard was the song called No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed. If you put that song on, it’s very bold the way it starts, almost like a classical intro. And then boom, the bass comes in and it’s so blistering. For a young kid bass player, it was amazing. I mean, it blew me away. And for the next umpteen years, I became a die-hard Yes fan, and a die-hard Chris Squire fan.”
Watch Chris Squire in action below.
