During Rush’s hiatus in the late 90s into 2000, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee unveiled his very first (and so far, only) solo record after being the third cog of Rush for well over a quarter of a century. My Favourite Headache is an 11-track disc that clearly puts a little color back into Lee’s cheeks. Teaming up with Canadian guitarist/composer Ben Mink (k.d. lang), Lee aggressively swims upstream, steering away from the progressive and joyous dabblings he is so well known for, and opting for a more stripped-down sound. Even so, while Lee’s own desire is well intended and thought-out, there are moments that unconsciously dip into Rushland out of sheer habit. You just can’t dodge a 30-year shadow that easily.
Augmented for the most part by Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron (Jeremy Taggert pounds out the skins on “Home On The Strange”), the record starts out encouragingly enough with the bass-heavy title track. Here we see a side of Lee’s bass work that rarely shows its teeth during regularly harmonically driven exercises Rush excels at. Mink’s guitar is instinctively more primal and in-the-pocket than Alex Lifeson, and yet with the piano and string arrangements that add a more melodic shade, this is a song any veteran fan of Lee’s could appreciate. “The Present Tense” takes a similar less-is-more approach, sustained by Lee’s straightforward lyrics. Were it not for the grungy underbelly and four-on-the-floor beat, “Window To The World” or “Working At Perfekt” might easily be mistaken for singles from a certain Canadian power trio. “Moving To Bohemia” may be an even more obvious choice, changing course and shifting at every turn and twist.
Lee is far more uncharacteristic when he settles down with something like “The Angel’s Share,” an acoustic number that liberally rides on a crest of rich strings and entrusted to the singer’s finest vocal range. “Home On The Strange” is the funkiest thing Lee has ever laid down on tape (unless you can count some of the quicker sidebars on 2112). “Slipping” takes things down a notch while “Still” fails to really build on the momentum. The jaunty “Grace To Grace” throws the disc back into motion despite a sort of soapy middle eight (do they still call them that anymore?). While there are those who would argue that Lee hasn’t taken the kind of chances a musician of his caliber could, My Favourite Headache is by no means a chore or effort to listen to. Lee does an admirable job of presenting his talent and skills in a different context while effectively retaining the essentials for which he is so highly regarded.
~ Shawn Perry
