Rush Songs With the Best Bass Lines

A top ten list of Geddy Lee's best bass lines, in my opinion.
The Top Ten
1 YYZ

Coming in as number one, YYZ has the most recognizable and catchy bass riff Geddy Lee has ever made. However, it wouldn't be getting first place if not for its complexity.

2 Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres

The many, many parts of this song are insanely complex and musically intriguing, combing Alex, Neil and Geddy's parts into a perfect mixture of solid Rush music. But the bass in this great epic always blows me away. The powerful scales, the quick triplets, and the way he matches it up perfectly with the tricky drumming makes this an easy second.

3 Headlong Flight

Everyone was literally blown off their feet when Clockwork Angels was released. It's so heavy and powerful, especially Headlong Flight. It starts off with a distant, light bass riff and branches out into a rocking, pounding bass line that kicks serious ass. This is one of those bass pieces that you can actually feel throbbing in your chest. And come the solo, it's so thick and heavy, you don't even realize you've been head-banging to it the whole time.

4 Digital Man

Fast and furious, all over the fretboard in seconds. Sometimes makes me wonder if Geddy's fingers are programmed to move really quickly.

5 Seven Cities of Gold

Another heavy song from Clockwork Angels. All you really need to hear is the catchy, powerful bass boost at the very beginning. This is one of the best bass riffs I've ever heard, along with the perfect blend of drums and guitar building up to another catchy, strong riff, this time guitar and bass rocking out simultaneously, with a simple hard rock drum beat. Olden' Rush.

6 Malignant Narcissism

This song IS bass. If someone asks me what the bass is I will play them this song. I love rush and yyz is good and crazy, but this is mellow, chill, and all bass.

All you can hear in this song is just powerful, heavy bass. It's super fast, and it never stops. And it only takes two minutes to blow your mind away.

7 Leave That Thing Alone

I love this song because it focuses purely on the bass. The guitar stays mellow in the background for the majority of the song, and the drums remain a consistent, simple beat, allowing Geddy to just wail away and do whatever the hell he wants. If you want a good song to be able to freestyle solo on the bass with no drums or guitar interrupting you, this is the perfect song.

Best bass lines every put on record! A real gem in a massive collection of Rush's material too.

8 Show Don't Tell

The bass in this one doesn't get too fancy until the solo. The bass solo, that is. From there on end, it's a big mixup of funky, complicated and insanely fast rhythms of drums and bass. This is one of those rare occasions where all the guitar can do is provide support.

9 Turn the Page

The intro to Turn The Page is a pure bass riff, with nothing else. And the bass line during the verses is completely different yet just as sweet as the intro's. But I think what really motivated me to put this song in the top ten is the fact that the bass line never ends. I mean, during the chorus it has a few rests and pauses, but for the majority of the song it's just endless. This makes it extremely hard to pull off, and if you're fingers aren't in pain by the end, you've gotta be doing something wrong.

10 The Big Money

One of the reasons Rush still exists today is because they weren't afraid to experiment, and often, had amazing results. Power Windows is my second favourite album ever recorded by Rush, right after Permanent Waves. They knew how to take synthesizers and make powerful, supportive and catchy melodies while still applying traditional Rush on top of it all, with complex drum beats, emotional and melodic guitar parts, and unique, fast bass lines. The Big Money is probably the best electronic-based song they've ever made. After a heavy synth and guitar intro, the bass kicks in. And the bass riff in this song is the definition of funky.

The Contenders
11 Freewill

There is a bass solo in the "breakdown section" of this song where some unbelievable things happen.

12 Tom Sawyer
13 The Spirit of Radio

Yes, Geddy Lee showed his talent again in this song.

14 Circumstances
15 Xanadu

Just listen and you will see

16 Cygnus X - 1 Book I: The Voyage
17 La Villa Strangiato
18 Subdivisions
19 Red Lenses
20 Where's My Thing
21 Open Secrets

The intro, the verses, the part behind the solo. Everything Geddy does on this track is brilliant

22 Closer to the Heart
23 Scars
24 Working Man

Keeps going hard the ENTIRE song!

25 Limelight
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