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After the incredibly long
Test for Echo tour and the
release of Different Stages, RUSH disappeared off the
grid. During this time, vocalist and bassist Geddy Lee set to work on his
first solo project, My Favorite Headache. After all, Alex
Lifeson had released Victor and Neil Peart had written a few
books, so solo careers were not new for the Canadian Trio. While
Victor was a terrible disaster, it was completely dissimilar to
RUSH; this is not the case for My Favorite Headache.
This is what the seventeenth RUSH album could have sounded like.
Title track to the album kicks off with a
nasty, loud bass riff and dissonant guitars from Ben Mink, ex-guitarist
from FM. As soon as Geddy’s vocals begin, you’ll realize it is
going to be a RUSH album. But that doesn’t make My Favorite
Headache any easier to listen too. Excluding the semi-pleasant chorus,
this song is an assault on the senses. Thankfully, this is a solo album,
not included in normal RUSH cannon.
The Present Tense
sounds more like the musical genius behind RUSH, and is a little
relief from the rough My Favorite Headache. At this point, Matt
Cameron, drummer for the disbanded SOUNDGARDEN seems eerily similar
to Neil Peart, but lacks the mathematical precision of the professor.
Window to the World is a welcome change, but not outstanding by any
measure.
Working at Perfekt
provides an opportunity for critical listeners to sift through the layers
of music, only to find the song lacking. The glowing string arrangements
present toward the end of the tune elevate its worthiness, but it seems
when Geddy Lee is off on his own, the heart of what attracts me to RUSH
is lacking. Runaway Train is the most enjoyable track thus far in
the album, and could easily have been featured on the last of the trio’s
albums.
The acoustic delight, The Angels’
Share is a real treat. Geddy shows true talent in the composition of
this song. Words actually cannot describe how much I like this song, and
how much I could listen to it. While many favor My Favorite Headache
as the best song, I think Angels’ is the best. Moving to
Bohemia is an interesting follow, and it is obvious that Mink is
really trying to be like Alex Lifeson and is just not succeeding. However,
Bohemia is a good song and a good listen, and reminds RUSH
fans of Bangkok on
2112.
Home on the Strange
is different, but not in the heavy assault your senses kind of way that
track one slaps you with. This groove is a redeeming track to this album,
so much so that I wish this song was on
Test for Echo instead of Dog Years.
Slipping introduces a piano into this album, noticeably becoming
less, and less like RUSH, as it should on any solo album. The
chorus on this song, is extremely pleasurable, and if you listen closely
you can see how much Geddy likes to do the unexpected in his chord
progressions.
Still
begins by sounding like it came out of a time warp from early 90’s movie
soundtracks, but quickly recovers becoming a…ballad? This is certainly a
departure and an interesting switch for the rocker, but pleasurable as
well. Grace to Grace is a great wrap for the album, but this is a
RUSH tune, make no mistake. This has strong connections to the
1980’s incarnation of the band, blending it with the current ‘grunge’
trend present in the last few albums.
What is interesting about My Favorite
Headache is how central Geddy Lee is to RUSH’s musical
style. If both Alex and Geddy had equal parts in the creation process,
Alex’s Victor would have been a lot better. Either Victor
was a tangent, or Alex needs the rest of RUSH to bring him down to
musical sanity. Regardless, My Favorite Headache is a great
attempt by Geddy, and does succeed on several levels on the majority of
songs. Hopefully, this will not be the last solo album. |
