I saw Rush a few months ago and was struck by how fiercely Geddy Lee plucked the strings.
I am used to seeing bass players, lightly strum the strings but Geddy seemed to purposely pluck very hard, I mean - lightly strumming or strumming at all just doesn't describe it.
Maybe this is just his "live in concert" mode of playing, but I have seen plenty of concerts and never have recalled seeing any other bass player do this.
Your thoughts?
Maybe it is just the movement of his right hand that makes it look so:
All this talk of Lesh and Oteil got me going....
That index finger thing he does appear aggressive. He was a huge Entwistle fan, which may or may not have anything to do with it. That short bass break before the guitar solo in "Freewill" represents Geddy's playing to me.
Blooby
Nice post. As far as rock bassists are concerned, there would be John Entwhistle followed by Geddy Lee. Rush has always been underappreciated. Not to mention their ability to put out relevant music for 40 some years.
Here is a link to Rolling Stone article on Rush that came out a couple of months ago.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/from-rush-with-love-cover-story-20150616
[Edited on 9/1/2015 by jszfunk]
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
My favorite Geddy track..
Everybody talks about Neil Peart as the top virtuoso in Rush. Geddy is a far better musician in my opinion, and I've come away from the Rush shows I've seen far more impressed with Geddy than I am with Peart. He sings, plays keys, and oh yeah, he is one of the best bassists ever. Geddy is basically the star of the show.
The Entwistle comparison is spot on. I would add Chris Squire to that pantheon as well. The Holy Trinity of big crunchy rock bass players, if you will.
Just saw Rush for the first time at MSG a month or so back and have to admit I was impressed with the musicianship and passion of all three. There are folks who play the bass as a simple background beat to keep the song going and then there are those who I say play "Lead Bass" and just like lead guitar play the heck out of their instrument. You can tell one from another in an instant.
