Geddy Lee Releases Archived Demo About Neil Peart’s Family Tragedy
Geddy Lee continues his sharing ways as of late with the release of two archived demos that were part of the recording session of his 2000 solo album My Favorite Headache….
Geddy Lee continues his sharing ways as of late with the release of two archived demos that were part of the recording session of his 2000 solo album My Favorite Headache.
The two demos are "I Am... You Are" and "Gone." The latter demo was inspired by two tragic deaths Neil Peart experienced in the late '90s. The first was in August 1997, when Peart's 19-year-old daughter died in a car accident. The second was in June 1998, when Peart's wife died of cancer.
Lee said about "Gone" in a new interview, "It was the first song we wrote for 'My Favourite Headache,' and we demoed it, but it just felt… it was beautiful, but I felt it was too raw ... I didn’t think it was appropriate to release it, out of respect for Neil and the way he was."
Both demos can be heard below.
"Gone"
"I Am... You Are"
Geddy Lee on the Last Time He Saw Neil Peart
Lee recently shared a very personal moment of the last time he saw Peart before his death in January 2020.
During the Nov. 13 stop in New York on his book tour to promote his memoir My Effin' Life, Lee went into detail about the emotional last visit with his longtime friend and bandmate. Lee said toward the end of his life, Peart started to relisten to the Rush catalog.
Lee recalled sitting with Peart on the balcony of his house during his final visit. He said, "The last time I saw him ... he wanted to tell me how proud he was of the music we have done together ... He went on to talk about these songs and what they meant to him and he thought it was very important for me to know that, that our life as a rhythm section together was important to him."
Few bands have enjoyed legendary decades-spanning career like Rush. Fewer still have been able to take their final bow on their own terms. Once Rush reached arena-headlining status, they never had to "downsize," or even go on package tours. They rarely played multi-act festivals and towards the end of their career, even stopped using opening acts on their tours, so that they could play longer shows. They also were always able to play a lot of new music at their shows, and fans responded. They've had classic songs on every album, starting with their self-titled debut in 1974, up through their final album, 2012's Clockwork Angels. Of course, that made it difficult to narrow down this list to just 50 songs -- and of course so many of you will disagree with the songs we included, the songs we didn't include, and the order. That's part of the fun of lists, though.
50 - “The Wreckers” from ‘Clockwork Angels’ (2012)
Roadrunner49 - “I Think I’m Going Bald” from ‘Caress Of Steel’ (1975)
Universal48 - “Seven Cities Of Gold” from ‘Clockwork Angels’ (2012)
Roadrunner47 - “In The End (live)” from ‘All The World’s A Stage’ (1976)
Universal46 - “The Fountain of Lamneth” from ‘Caress Of Steel’ (1975)
Universal45 - “Resist (live)” from ‘Rush In Rio’ (2003)
Anthem44 - “The Necromancer” from ‘Caress Of Steel’ (1975)
Universal43 - “Mystic Rhythms” from ‘Power Windows’ (1985)
Universal42 - “Ghost Rider” from ‘Vapor Trails’ (2002)
Atlantic41 - “Lakeside Park” from ‘Caress of Steel’ (1975)
Universal40 - “Best I Can” from ‘Fly By Night’ (1975)
Universal39 - “Here Again” from ‘Rush’ (1974)
Universal38 - “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” from ‘Fly By Night’ (1975)
Universal37 - “In The Mood” from ‘Rush’ (1974)
Universal36 - “Between The Wheels” from ‘Grace Under Pressure’ (1984)
Universal35 - “Force Ten (live)” from ‘A Show Of Hands’ (1989)
Universal34 - “Beneath, Between & Behind” from ‘Fly By Night’ (1975)
Universal33 - “Finding My Way” from ‘Rush’ (1974)
Universal32 - “Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage” from ‘A Farewell To Kings’ (1977)
Universal31 - “Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres” from ‘Hemispheres’ (1978)
Universal30 - “Nobody’s Hero” from “Counterparts” (1993)
Atlantic29 - “New World Man” from ‘Signals’ (1982)
Universal28 - “Anthem (live)” from ‘All The World’s A Stage’ (1976)
Universal27 - “The Analog Kid” from ‘Signals’ (1982)
Universal26 - “Dreamline (live)” from ‘Clockwork Angels Tour’ (2013)
Anthem25 - “Time Stand Still (featuring Aimee Mann)” from ‘Hold Your Fire’ (1987)
Universal24 - “Vital Signs” from ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
Universal23 - “Animate” from ‘Counterparts’ (1993)
Atlantic22 “Xanadu” from ‘A Farewell To Kings’ (1977)
Universal21 - “The Big Money” from ‘Power Windows’ (1985)
Universal20 - “Losing It (live, featuring Jonathan Dinklage”) from ‘R40 Live’ (2015)
Anthem19 - “Red Sector ‘A’ (live)” from ‘Grace Under Pressure Tour Live (recorded in 1984)
Universal18 - “La Villa Strangiato (live)” from ‘Exit… Stage Left’ (1981)
Universal17 - “Show Don’t Tell” from ‘Presto’ (1989)
Atlantic16 - “A Farewell To Kings” from ‘A Farewell To Kings’ (1977)
Universal15 - “Freewill” from ‘Permanent Waves’ (1980)
Universal14 - “Distant Early Warning” from ‘Grace Under Pressure’ (1984)
Universal13 - “Fly By Night” from ‘Fly By Night’ (1975)
Universal12 - “Bastille Day (live)” from ‘All The World’s A Stage’ (1976)
Universal11 - “One Little Victory” from ‘Vapor Trails’ (2002)
Atlantic10 - “Far Cry” from ‘Snakes and Arrows’ (2007)
Atlantic9 - “Subdivisions” from ‘Signals’ (1982)
Universal8 - “Working Man” from ‘Rush’ (1974)
Universal7 - “Limelight” from ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
Universal6 - “2112” from ‘2112’ (1976)
Universal5 - “Closer To The Heart” from ‘A Farewell To Kings’ (1977)
Universal4 - “YYZ (live)” from ‘Exit… stage Left’ (1981)
Universal3 - “Tom Sawyer” from ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
Universal2 - “Red Barchetta (live)” from ‘Exit… Stage Left’ (1981)
Universal1 - “The Spirit Of The Radio” from ‘Permanent Waves’ (1980)
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