Scooter Chronicles

Geddy Lee - “My Favorite Headache”

Tracks:

1. My Favorite Headache
2. The Present Tense
3. Window to the World
4. Working at Perfekt
5. Runaway Train
6. The Angels’ Share
7. Moving to Bohemia
8. Home on the Strange
9. Slipping
10. Still
11. Grace to Grace

The kid down the street (when I was growing up), as well as MTV (ah, the good ol’ days) introduced me to one of my two favorite rocks bands, Rush. Geddy, of course, is the singer-bass player-keyboardist for the band. And as far as I am concerned, he’s the best bass player in rock ‘n roll, bar none. Yes, over Entwhistle, Squire, Jones, Harris, Myung, Claypool, Burton, and whoever else you can name. But that’s just my opinion.

Geddy Lee’s real name is Gary Lee Weinrib. From what I read, “Geddy” came from his mother calling his name with her thick Yiddish accent. Geddy, along with childhood friend Alex Lifeson, formed Rush in the early 70’s. Eventually they brought in Neil Peart as drummer and lyricist, and the rest is history. This is Geddy’s first (and only so far) solo album, recorded in 2000, though rumors have said that a handful of the songs from the Rush’s 1982 album “Signals” were originally intended for his first solo album that never came to be.

The opening notes are awesome! Yet also disappointing. It shows how Geddy can crank out the noise, really move some air. It shows how talented he is. But this album is not about his bass playing chops. There is good and bad in that. It’s still mostly good though.

What I mean by this is that unlike his fellow band mate Alex, Geddy’s first solo albums is more about songwriting and arranging. Along with the help of Ben Mink, the album is full of good tunes. They aren’t fantastic, but they stay with you. And though I have always enjoyed listening to this album, I wish he had a few tunes that said “I-am-a-rock-n-roll-bass-genius-hear-me-play”.

The opening tune gets toned down a bit after it’s blistering opening, but still is the strongest track, a trait from Rush that he carried over. “Working at Perfekt” is another great tune which includes some great string arrangement, utilizing Mink’s violin prowess.

One thing that Geddy does use (and Alex used as well on his solo album) is his sense of humor. I have read a lot about how the three members of Rush are often joking and pulling pranks. But other then a couple of instrumental song titles, you hardly see that in the band’s music. But Geddy cuts loose with “Moving to Bohemia” and “Home on the Strange”. “Bohemia” almost seems to poke fun at TV shows, while “Strange” almost sounds like he’s poking fun at some famous Canadian figure, or maybe even himself. Both songs also supply some of his best bass playing on the album. “Bohemia” includes some more cool string work by Mink.

Another highlight is “The Angels’ Share”, where the lyrics sound like they were written by Neil Peart. It’s not the first time that Geddy has done that (”Different Strings” off Rush’s “Permanent Waves” album), but it’s interesting to see what years of singing a band mate’s words will do to your output.

Like I said, it’s by far not the best rock album in the world. In some respects given Rush’s catalog, it’s tame. But it’s still good enough to find a lot of enjoyment in listening to.