Rush bassist Geddy Lee has released two previously unheard songs recorded during the sessions for his 2000 solo album My Favorite Headache. Gone and I Am…You Are have been freshly mixed and mastered by David Bottrill, the producer/engineer behind the 2013 remix of Rush's 2002 album Vapor Trails.
"I’m excited to see these two ‘lost demos’ released," says Lee. "I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later."
Speaking to Q104.3's Jonathan Clarke, Lee revealed that Gone was originally written shortly after the death of late Rush drummer Neil Peart's daughter Selena in 1997.
"It was the first song we wrote for My Favourite Headache," says Lee. "We demoed it, but it just felt – it was beautiful – but I felt it was too raw. It was too close to the bone. I didn't think it was appropriate to release it, out of respect for Neil and the way he was. I didn't feel it was right. So we shelved it.
"And the other one was a song that we had left sort of incomplete, but most of it had been recorded. It was called I Am... You Are, and it was about relationships. And it's about me in the midst of a difficult conversation with my wife, which happened more than once in my life."
The release of Gone and I Am... You Are comes during a busy period for Lee, who will arrive in Europe next week for the UK leg of his In Conversation series of dates, during which he'll read from his recently published autobiography My Effin' Life and engage in a Q&A session.
Lee is also the host of Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?, a series that takes a deep dive into the lives of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Primus bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, and former Hole/Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. The show comes to Paramount+ this week.
Meanwhile, nearly 500 items from Lee's collection of baseball memorabilia are currently being auctioned by New York auction house Christies. The catalogue includes a rare jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth, which is estimated to fetch between $750,000 and $1,500,000.
Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life is out now. Tickets for the In Conversation shows are available from Ticketmaster. Full dates below.
Geddy Lee In Conversation tour dates
Dec 07: Toronto Massey Hall, ON, Canada
Dec 10: Wolverhampton The Civic At The Halls, UK
Dec 13: Sheffield City Hall, UK
Dec 14: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, UK
Dec 17: Portsmouth Guildhall, UK
Dec 18: London Barbican, UK
