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4.55 AVERAGE
4.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
A must-read for not only RUSH fans but for those interested in what drives musicians to the very top of their art.
Of course, this is a biography that is much more than a musician's journey, Geddy starts with his parents being holocaust survivors and their story, including how many relatives were lost as part of the Nazi Germanys 'Final Solution'. The effects this and his Jewish upbringing had on him come up regularly with the book and are really insightful.
The bulk of Geddy's story is, of course, the history of Rush, their humble beginnings, the near relentless gigging, the big break 'Working Man' brought them in America, getting the first record deal, and how a band goes from an opening act, doing 26 minutes without a sound check, to rising to becoming one of the worlds biggest rock bands, whilst being unknown to many. The real joy Geddy, Alex, and Neil got from each other comes across in droves, the respect and love they had for each other, not many bands can say that after 40 years of being together.
Geddy also gets across how losing so many family and friends along the way affected him, especially Neil's loss of his daughter and then his wife, and of course Neil's passing, get the tissues ready when reading about this.
I've read this book whilst listening to RUSH's albums as they were part of the story, which, for me, brought another dimension to Geddy's story.
I can not recommend Geddy's biography enough. It's that effing awesome.
Of course, this is a biography that is much more than a musician's journey, Geddy starts with his parents being holocaust survivors and their story, including how many relatives were lost as part of the Nazi Germanys 'Final Solution'. The effects this and his Jewish upbringing had on him come up regularly with the book and are really insightful.
The bulk of Geddy's story is, of course, the history of Rush, their humble beginnings, the near relentless gigging, the big break 'Working Man' brought them in America, getting the first record deal, and how a band goes from an opening act, doing 26 minutes without a sound check, to rising to becoming one of the worlds biggest rock bands, whilst being unknown to many. The real joy Geddy, Alex, and Neil got from each other comes across in droves, the respect and love they had for each other, not many bands can say that after 40 years of being together.
Geddy also gets across how losing so many family and friends along the way affected him, especially Neil's loss of his daughter and then his wife, and of course Neil's passing, get the tissues ready when reading about this.
I've read this book whilst listening to RUSH's albums as they were part of the story, which, for me, brought another dimension to Geddy's story.
I can not recommend Geddy's biography enough. It's that effing awesome.
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Rush is the first band I loved. I air-drummed to 2112 on vinyl so many times that I damn near wore it out. My first big arena show was seeing their Vapour Trails comeback tour in 2002 with my dad—a hugely formative experience. “Red Barchetta” gets me misty eyed and feeling like a kid again. So, all that to say that I’m primed to love this. My musical tastes have diverted down many paths in my 34 years, but Geddy, Alex, and Neil are like old friends; I don’t visit them as often as I used to, but they’ll always have a place in my heart.
What makes this memoir great is that Geddy gets all the angles. Not only telling a story about Rush, but his culture, the horrors his family endured in the Holocaust, Canadian identity, and the creative life. He also has a keen sense of self awareness about his band’s successes and failures, and even their perceived (and eventually embraced) image as hopelessly uncool prog dorks. He clearly went deep to write this, and it’s hard to walk away from it not feeling respect and compassion towards the guy.
Audiobook is the way to go on this one. The man telling his own story is where it’s at.
What makes this memoir great is that Geddy gets all the angles. Not only telling a story about Rush, but his culture, the horrors his family endured in the Holocaust, Canadian identity, and the creative life. He also has a keen sense of self awareness about his band’s successes and failures, and even their perceived (and eventually embraced) image as hopelessly uncool prog dorks. He clearly went deep to write this, and it’s hard to walk away from it not feeling respect and compassion towards the guy.
Audiobook is the way to go on this one. The man telling his own story is where it’s at.
An engrossing, engaging memoir from Geddy Lee. Much more than just a behind-the-scenes look at the writing, recording, and touring of the Rush catalog, Lee delves into his close friendships and creative process with his buddies Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. The book is loaded with photos and illustrations, which really brings it all to life. But what really makes this a must read for everyone—not just Rush fans—is Lee's full chapter about his parents' experience in the Holocaust (they were both survivors of concentration camps). In fact, I'd like to see Lee spin this off into an expanded standalone book so it can reach a larger audience.
5 Stars
5 Stars
My introduction to the iconic rock n roll band, Rush, occurred in the early 1990s. In high school, there were a trio of friends who loved music and playing percussion instruments in the high school band. While only one of them played the drums, all three were humongous Rush fans. They exposed me to popular songs from the 1980s albums, Moving Pictures and Hold Your Fire. Needless to say, they were even bigger fans of Neil Peart and talked about him nonstop! Understandably so, check out this video for Tom Sawyer. (Please visit my website below.)
Not long ago, my husband and I began listening to our favorite old Rush songs and going down the rabbit hole on the internet, learning about Neil Peart. Honestly, what I think opened the rabbit hole was the release of Geddy Lee’s biography, My Effin’ Life. My husband and I started talking about how this would be a fascinating book. I love biographies and memoirs. To be transparent, I do not claim to be a huge Rush fan. I like the group and their music, but admittedly, I’m only familiar with their music from the 1980s. I’m not familiar with the music they created beyond the 1990s. However, I do consider myself a fan of these artists and the impact they have had on their dedicated fans.
Recently, I purchased several books by Neil Peart with my Audible subscription. I read The Masked Rider and developed even more respect for the man. (You can read my review of that book here.) I look forward to reading his other books, but before doing so, I wanted to read My Effin’ Life to learn more about Geddy Lee and Rush. I chose the audiobook format for this book; it’s so cool that Geddy narrates. As a bonus, there are two “new” Rush songs played at the end of the audiobook. They were recorded in 1999, but didn’t make it onto the album they were creating.
As expected, My Effin’ Life began with the birth of Geddy Lee. He spends a considerable amount of time relaying his family background and childhood. The stories he shares about his family being placed in Nazi concentration camps and his parents meeting there were fascinating. Geddy acknowledged that some readers might not be interested in his personal history lesson, as they most likely picked up the book to learn about Rush, and gave readers permission to move on. I didn’t move on. I appreciate that this was an opportunity for Geddy to share an important personal history.
The remainder of the book illustrates the life of Rush, including how the band was initially formed, the resignation of their first drummer, how Neil Peart joined the band, and highlights from their impressive 40-year career. Even though I don’t know all of Rush’s songs and albums, I enjoyed learning the stories behind certain songs, their touring lives, and how the band evolved. Since I’m always intrigued by learning about people, I especially loved learning about their personal lives. Geddy opend-up about his marriage, son, and grandson. He talked a lot about Neil’s personal life too, which was pretty sad at times. Geddy relayed the loss of Neil’s daughter and, less than a year later, the loss of his first wife. So tragic! Geddy also shared about Alex’s health problems, which he worried would impact their ability to tour.
As the book was coming to a close, the story got heavy as I knew where things were headed due to the loss of Neil Peart in 2020. I appreciate Geddy sharing his personal letters from Neil and his honest thoughts and feelings about Neil’s decision to retire. While it’s sad for everyone in the band and the fans that Neil wanted to retire, I understand his decision. It’s heartwarming to listen to Geddy share how good this decision was for Neil and how happy he was to be a full-time dad and husband to his second family. While the ending of the book made my heart heavy, it’s a beautiful story.
When I finished the book, I had to search YouTube for a clip of their last concert in Los Angeles in 2015. Geddy relayed that Neil NEVER came from behind his drum set at the end of a show to say goodnight to the audience. Before their last show, Geddy asked Neil if he would please come to the front of the stage this time. Neil declined. I suppose Neil had a change of heart because he surprised his bandmates by meeting them for a group hug before quickly exiting the stage. I will leave you with this beautiful tribute to that last concert. (Please visit my website below.) It brought tears to my eyes.
I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
Not long ago, my husband and I began listening to our favorite old Rush songs and going down the rabbit hole on the internet, learning about Neil Peart. Honestly, what I think opened the rabbit hole was the release of Geddy Lee’s biography, My Effin’ Life. My husband and I started talking about how this would be a fascinating book. I love biographies and memoirs. To be transparent, I do not claim to be a huge Rush fan. I like the group and their music, but admittedly, I’m only familiar with their music from the 1980s. I’m not familiar with the music they created beyond the 1990s. However, I do consider myself a fan of these artists and the impact they have had on their dedicated fans.
Recently, I purchased several books by Neil Peart with my Audible subscription. I read The Masked Rider and developed even more respect for the man. (You can read my review of that book here.) I look forward to reading his other books, but before doing so, I wanted to read My Effin’ Life to learn more about Geddy Lee and Rush. I chose the audiobook format for this book; it’s so cool that Geddy narrates. As a bonus, there are two “new” Rush songs played at the end of the audiobook. They were recorded in 1999, but didn’t make it onto the album they were creating.
As expected, My Effin’ Life began with the birth of Geddy Lee. He spends a considerable amount of time relaying his family background and childhood. The stories he shares about his family being placed in Nazi concentration camps and his parents meeting there were fascinating. Geddy acknowledged that some readers might not be interested in his personal history lesson, as they most likely picked up the book to learn about Rush, and gave readers permission to move on. I didn’t move on. I appreciate that this was an opportunity for Geddy to share an important personal history.
The remainder of the book illustrates the life of Rush, including how the band was initially formed, the resignation of their first drummer, how Neil Peart joined the band, and highlights from their impressive 40-year career. Even though I don’t know all of Rush’s songs and albums, I enjoyed learning the stories behind certain songs, their touring lives, and how the band evolved. Since I’m always intrigued by learning about people, I especially loved learning about their personal lives. Geddy opend-up about his marriage, son, and grandson. He talked a lot about Neil’s personal life too, which was pretty sad at times. Geddy relayed the loss of Neil’s daughter and, less than a year later, the loss of his first wife. So tragic! Geddy also shared about Alex’s health problems, which he worried would impact their ability to tour.
As the book was coming to a close, the story got heavy as I knew where things were headed due to the loss of Neil Peart in 2020. I appreciate Geddy sharing his personal letters from Neil and his honest thoughts and feelings about Neil’s decision to retire. While it’s sad for everyone in the band and the fans that Neil wanted to retire, I understand his decision. It’s heartwarming to listen to Geddy share how good this decision was for Neil and how happy he was to be a full-time dad and husband to his second family. While the ending of the book made my heart heavy, it’s a beautiful story.
When I finished the book, I had to search YouTube for a clip of their last concert in Los Angeles in 2015. Geddy relayed that Neil NEVER came from behind his drum set at the end of a show to say goodnight to the audience. Before their last show, Geddy asked Neil if he would please come to the front of the stage this time. Neil declined. I suppose Neil had a change of heart because he surprised his bandmates by meeting them for a group hug before quickly exiting the stage. I will leave you with this beautiful tribute to that last concert. (Please visit my website below.) It brought tears to my eyes.
I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
During the Covid-19 global pandemic many people were left alone with their thoughts and became reflective on the life they have lived and the friends and family they had lived and lost along the way, and Geddy Lee was no exception.
Yes, this biography is packed full of Rush anecdotes and inside stories, but it is Geddy's heartfelt personality that makes this book so personal and engaging. The book starts with the tale of Geddy's parents surviving the Holocaust and ends with the end of Rush and the untimely death of Neil Peart, so expect to cry a few times during this book.
An excellent autobiography that even if you were unfamiliar with Rush you could enjoy. The audiobook is read by Geddy and comes with two unreleased songs at the end as well!
Yes, this biography is packed full of Rush anecdotes and inside stories, but it is Geddy's heartfelt personality that makes this book so personal and engaging. The book starts with the tale of Geddy's parents surviving the Holocaust and ends with the end of Rush and the untimely death of Neil Peart, so expect to cry a few times during this book.
An excellent autobiography that even if you were unfamiliar with Rush you could enjoy. The audiobook is read by Geddy and comes with two unreleased songs at the end as well!