My Effin' Life - Geddy Lee
I'm not sure why though, but I always had the impression of Canadian rock band Rush as a very serious and sophisticated band of committed musicians, who didn't have time for the usual rock star high-life lifestyle. Maybe it was Neil Peart’s literate lyrics and the elevated subjects they dealt with far from the rock anthems of other bands of the time; maybe it was the musicianship of all three members of the band, each of them rated as among the very best in their respective fields of drums, guitar and bass, always pushing their collective sound to new limits, each song meticulously arranged with complex changes, rhythms and time signatures. I got a view of another playful side of the band when watching some of their live videos and finally catching them on tour in Glasgow on the R40 tour, all of which that showed they had a wacky sense of humour and didn't take themselves too seriously, even if their music was clearly taken very seriously indeed.
Geddy Lee’s 2023 autobiography My Effin’ Life paints a picture of early years of Rush very different from any such mistaken preconceptions you might have had. The book, after some personal family background of Geddy's Jewish family surviving the Nazi Death Camps, initially takes in the band's long and gruelling apprenticeship for many years in the early-to-mid 70s. As support band touring the United States with the likes of Kiss, Nazareth, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, Styx and many others. they certainly participated in the rock star lifestyle of the times, drinking heavily and getting high on drugs. Despite early setbacks, the exit of their first drummer John Rutsey and unfavourable early reviews, particularly around Geddy Lee’s high pitched voice, the band took all this experience on board, learned the lessons of crafting in the studio, all with a remarkable determination to endure and make it, as they would, to become one of the greatest rock acts on the planet.
The amount of drugs consumed in those days would, in hindsight, go some way to explaining how songs like 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog' (any lofty notions of a mythological background to that one are utterly demolished here), 'The Necromancer', and 'The Fountain of Lamneth' fantasy concepts in the early trilogy of albums came into being. Other musical and literary influences took their place, some more controversial than others. The question of the influence of Ayn Rand's works on the band isn't really given sufficient justification, Geddy sticking to the line that he personally found her writing inspirational as a young man searching to find his own voice and never compromise. He acknowledges that the band took a lot of stick from the UK press for this, but seems less aware that her right-wing views, attitudes, philosophy and reputation has not endured, except perhaps among some disreputable leading figures in modern techno-capitalism.
On that point Geddy is also unrepentant and remains committed to the neoliberal doctrine. One aspect of the band that I have disliked in their latter and more recent years (they are still cashing in) is a kind of rampant commercialism that puts other bands into shade, issuing expensive collector editions and charging extortionate amounts for concert tickets, which I find very off-putting and consider that they are milking their fans. I had put this down to the management and the record company, or whoever has the rights to their work, but Geddy Lee confirms that he has been and remains pretty hands on with all things related to Rush. Undoubtedly his drive and determination to push the band, keep them together and keep things going is motivated by more than the money - the integrity and quality of the music they have made over the years is testament to that - but I think the drive for commercial success and recognition by their musical peers has also affected their choices to an extent.
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity”
Rush - 'The Spirit of Radio'
Personally I would have loved to know more about how the trio worked in the studio, how they worked together to fit Peart’s lyrics to music and came to create albums like 'Permanent Waves', 'Moving Pictures', 'Signals' and 'Grace Under Pressure' (their peak period for me personally - all still stunning albums), and reflect on how he rates those achievements today, but I suppose it's the end result that matters and that's out there for everyone to hear for themselves. My Effin' Life is Geddy’s story and autobiography more than a Rush discography so we learn much about his early life, his Jewish parents who fled the Holocaust in Europe and settled in Canada, some backstory on the extended Polish family’s experience in the Nazi’s concentration camps, the early death of his father and his determination to set out on his own path as a musician.
Geddy also takes the opportunity evenhandedly to give credit to those who helped the band in their way, and shares a few anecdotes and gripes about those who were less than helpful. He has some long held grudges that he is happy to get off his chest. I imagine being in a band, in the public eye and open to criticism and sceptics, you need to be strong, believe in yourself and ignore the naysayers. That comes through clearly in the book and in the very existence and long career the band have shared together. A perfectionist, never totally happy when finishing an album, Lee can be seen to always be seeking to improve the imperfections and strive to achieve something better. This tends to fit with my perception of the band’s discography as being very odd-even. The odd albums try new ideas, the even ones improve and get closer to what the band were trying to achieve the first time around. Each pair of albums also pushes their range, constantly looking for new sounds, incorporating new ideas and influences.
For the Rush fan who wants to delve into that back catalogue then, it's a bit disappointing not to hear more discussion around the songs and the music, but obviously that's more a reflection on what I would like and not really what is presented here. It is after all called My Effin’ Life and, despite me sounding less that charitable about not living up to my expectations, none of that is a reflection on the quality of the book or the easy going manner in which Geddy relates his and the band's story. It’s Geddy Lee's effin' life and he can live it and tell it the way he likes, the way he remembers and it's good that we have that perspective on a fascinating time for a rock band, for a rock band who crossed the decades, getting bigger as the years went by, constantly striving to express their own voice and in the process creating some amazing music that is a huge part of the lives of many fans.
It does seem that in the writing of the book, Geddy himself gains a fresh perspective and time to reflect after years of hard work touring, recording and raising a family, belatedly coming to realise just how important Rush has been to people only when they got back together after Neil Peart's personal tragedies and struck out on the road again to previously unexplored parts of the world. That part of the book is great, but it's relatively fresh, and I guess it's much harder to recall or dwell on things from 50 years ago. I imagine that it was a combination of those experiences that led to the creation of their late great masterpiece of an album 'Vapor Trails', but again that's coming from my personal perspective, as Geddy is too obsessed and caught up with his dissatisfaction on the mixing and production to truly recognise it for its greatness. (And don't get me started on the neutered fucking abomination of the 2013 remix demanded by tech freaks watching their levels and complaining of compression and clipping).
I suspect it's a combination of personal necessity as well as commercial considerations - Rush being such a huge part of Geddy's life - that has led to the band continuing to tour in 2026 (tickets far too expensive for me to even consider) after the death of Neil Peart, despite Lee categorically ruling it out towards the end of this book. It's certainly something I would have thought unimaginable, but if anything is clear from taking in Geddy Lee's whole effin' life as a whole, it's that Rush are the most important part of it. It's the band that literally saved his life as a young man struggling living in an immigrant Jewish family in the anonymous suburbs of Toronto and cope with the death of his father at a young age. Rush, and his close friendships and shared experiences with Lerxt and Pratt, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, that gave him purpose and success, and that success has been hard-earned and well-deserved.
Reading notes: My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee was published by Harper Collins in 2023. I read the hardback first edition, which is of course illustrated with photographs from all periods of Rush's history. The book evidently got me to listen back to the albums, as much as recently revisiting the albums likewise inspired me to read the book. Rediscovering and looking back on the music from a new perspective was the most worth I got out of reading the autobiography. I found a new affection for 'Caress of Steel' which Geddy now feels is 'dry' (even though that blows my odd/even theory out of the water, as I've never been happy with '2112', since by the time I bought it I was more familiar with the live versions of the songs on it). All three first albums stand up well in my view. '2112' and 'Farewell to Kings' (which I didn't revisit) less so. 'Hemispheres' heralds the beginning of a group who have truly found their own identity. After 'Grace Under Pressure', which I think is underrated as it strong from beginning to end (a failing that spoils some other albums for me), the albums were too commercially oriented and radio friendly. Aside from 'Vapor Trails' where they rediscovered that raw energy again (I genuinely think now that the original Vapor Trails is THE BEST RUSH ALBUM EVER and, as someone growing up listening to the “classic period” I never thought I would say that). I have little time for the latter half of their career but I still religiously bought each album as it came out, but had given up before 'Clockwork Angels' and have never really been able to listen to it properly. Encouraged by Lee's description of the working practices behind 'Counterparts' however, I took another listen to it and found it much better than I remembered. Looking back over this review of My Effin' Life, it does sound very critical, but hopefully it shows that Rush also played an important part in my youth, and I really appreciate that.
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