Geddy Lee Shares Hardest Rush Song to Play on Bass While Singing

Just because a musician plays an instrument live while singing doesn’t mean that it’s always easy. And with a band as accomplished and technical as Rush, there’s bound to be a level of difficulty at times. During a recent Q&A session in Montreal for his new book “My Effin’ Life,” Geddy Lee was asked which of Rush’s songs was the most difficult to play while singing.

His response? “The Anarchist” from 2012’s Clockwork Angels album.

In video from the event captured by The Metal Voice, Lee explained, “The hardest song to play and sing that I’ve ever written was ‘The Anarchist’ from [2012’s] Clockwork Angels [album]. Because I wrote that song on bass first, obviously, and when we put the kind of bed track together in the demo stage, I wrote this melody without thinking about what the bass part was. And it wasn’t till after we finished production of the record and I was in rehearsal where I realized they’re so completely different rhythmically — there was no meeting in the middle.”

He continued, “Usually my bass part would follow a pattern and the voice sort of slips into it, but that one was just impossible. So I spent weeks, literally, playing the one song, just on bass, didn’t try singing it, until I didn’t have to think about the bass part at all. And then I would have to really concentrate, and then I could do it. I figured out a way I could do it.”

The singer-bassist adds, “When I started playing it live, it’s the one song I have to sort of split myself like a drummer does. Drummers have independence. Bass players not always have independence, so it was a real challenge.”

READ MORE: Geddy Lee Says He + Alex Lifeson Could Perform as Rush Again

Despite the difficulty in playing the song, Rush didn’t exactly shy away from it. Setlist.fm notes that the band has played the track 107 times at live shows. That’s good enough to be the 93rd most played track in their history, but given that Clockwork Angels is a newer album, that’s a pretty decent total for a song that provides some difficulty. You can revisit “The Anarchist” in full, just below Lee’s response.

Geddy Lee Shares the Hardest Rush Song to Play on Bass While Singing

Rush, “The Anarchist”