Book Review: Geddy
Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | APRIL 24, 2020 I will admit it, I am not impartial. Rush was a big part of
my musical education. I remember one of my best friends in school handing me an
album with a burning red star floating in a galaxy. It was, of course “2112.” The
album opened to reveal a photo of the band dressed in what looked like satin
cream and white kimonos, a look that was at once weirdly futuristic and
ancient. The term “WTF” did not exist back then, but if it had, that’s exactly what
I would have uttered. Then I put the record on the turntable, and my whole idea
of what rock music could be changed. Forever. So, to say I am a huge Rush fan
is an understatement. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587758844991-image+%28146%29.png"> Left: Cover, Right: 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, Foam Green. 

For more than forty years, Lee juggled bass duties and
singing while somehow also playing bass pedals and a whole collection of
synthesizers. I remember hearing Rush play soundcheck many years ago and being
totally blown away that three musicians could play such complex arrangements
live, just as they sounded in studio recordings.

I had a chance to spend some time with Geddy Lee last
October while I was in Toronto for a charity event. I met him a few years ago at
a Soldera tasting in London and reached out at the last minute. I was curious
to see the collection of bass guitars Lee had chronicled in his book “Geddy
Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass.” Lee showed me around some of the basses in
his living room before we went down to the studio, where he grabbed a number of
instruments off the wall and shared their unique stories.

The book, designed in a large, square, coffee-table format is
beautifully laid out and very attractive. Photographer Richard Sibbald captures
all of the natural allure of these instruments with painstaking attention to
detail. This is a book that draws you in with its artwork alone. I am not crazy
about the small font used for some of the text and certain combinations like
red text on black, both of which make the book hard to read in some spots, but
those are small quibbles.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587756501492-Rickenbacker_copy.jpg"> 

Geddy Lee is most often associated with the Rickenbacker
4001, one of many instruments featured in a comprehensive chapter on
Rickenbacker.

Naturally, a large portion of the book is dedicated to
Fender, but that’s really as it should be. For several decades, Fender was
basically synonymous with the electric bass guitar. Lee includes a ton of
information on Gibson and Epiphone, too. Bass lovers will especially like the
chapter dedicated to Rickenbacker given how important those instruments were in
shaping Rush’s sound during their heyday. Brands that are more obscure today,
like Ampeg, Höfner and Danelectro, are given
the credit they deserve. The book is littered with fabulous stories of iconic
instruments and how their owners, past and/or present became their stewards,
like the famous Fender Jazz that once belonged to Jaco Pastorius.

Lee makes a point of stating that, as a collector, he is not
looking for pristinely clean basses, but rather instruments that have been
played by working musicians, instruments “with stories to tell” as he puts it. Bass
fanatics will love poring over the mouthwatering photos and delving into the
details of these instruments, but for me the most interesting part of the book
is the collection of interviews with a who’s who of the bass world including John
Paul Jones, Bill Wyman, Adam Clayton, Bob Daisley, Les Claypool and Robert
Trujillo. It’s obvious that musicians will open up to a peer in the way they
never would to a reporter or writer. And that is what makes these interviews so
precious.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1587756512194-johnpauljones_copy.jpg"> 

Lee’s interview with legendary bassist John Paul Jones is
a highlight.

My suggestion for the follow up book: a collection of
interviews spanning an even broader range of styles. And I would do it sooner
rather than later. It’s too late to interview Jack Bruce, John Entwistle and Chris
Squire, but there are plenty of hugely influential bassists who are still alive
and who have so much to share.

Readers who are fans of rock music, Rush, or bass guitars
will surely want to own “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass.” It is a fabulous
read.

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