Geddy Lee Can’t Decide Which Rush Album is the Worst

Asked to select Rush‘s worst album, Geddy Lee makes one suggestion – then quickly makes another.

“Immediately, Caress of Steel comes to mind,” he tells Louder. “But I’ve met so many fans who love that record. And I think Presto disappointed a lot of fans. The songwriting was a little flat.”

Caress of Steel arrived as Rush’s third album, and eventually went gold in 1975 behind a stabilized lineup that now included Neil Peart. Presto helped Rush close out the ’80s with a gold-selling international Top 20 hit.

READ MORE: Top 10 Rush Songs of the ’80s

Selecting Rush’s best album came easier for Lee – as did his favorite project by someone else.

“I would say Clockwork Angels,” Lee said, referencing Rush’s 2012 career-closing LP. “It has that combination of songwriting and performance, all the things that go into a great record.”

Listen to Rush’s ‘Show Don’t Tell’

Geddy Lee’s Favorite Classic Rock Album

As for albums recorded by his contemporaries, Lee said Who’s Next “embodies all the best things about rock ‘n’ roll – great songwriting, great playing. Almost every tune is a classic.”

Lee credits songwriter Pete Townshend, calling him “hands-down the greatest writer of rock songs. ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ ‘Behind Blue Eyes,’ ‘Tommy’ … on and on and on. He was equally adept at writing beautiful melodies and hard rock. The full body of the Who, if you examine it against other artists in rock, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody as consistently brilliant as him.”

The best-known track from the Who’s 1971 multi-platinum Top 5 smash LP remains Lee’s favorite classic rock anthem, too: “It’s got to be ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ by the Who. Maybe the greatest power chords ever recorded. Who invented the power chord? Probably Pete.”

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