Oh-oh.  I think I feel a bit of pressure in my spleen...  I thank the spirits that RP is here to provide a relief valve...

To my reckoning, Rush was one of a very few (at the risk of using a much-overused term) seminal bands that helped define the genre of "prog-rock" back in the 70s and 80s where, frankly, their biggest artistic impact was made.  Their style of song writing — portrayals of brilliant (science-)fictional storylines — coupled with their eclectic choice of instruments, including a mix of the electronic and the exotic (the Mini-Moog synthesizer and an enormous Chinese gong, for example) was quite innovative at the time and placed Rush alongside the likes of creative, progressive guys like Yes, Pink Floyd and ELP, et al.  Rush's musicianship and creativity is unquestionable and to my ear, many of their earlier works still hold up well today — even if, admittedly, it is primarily my sense of nostalgia that does the heavy lifting in that regard.

In my opinion, it is inestimably unfortunate that so many of the "vast unwashed" will never, ever appreciate the band's genius because they're left at the curb due to... well... due to Geddy's voice. 

There.  I said it.

Quite simply, it's one of the most polarizing components of their overall sound and I think even most dyed-in-the-wool Rush fanatics would admit that Geddy Lee's voice rubs them the wrong way at least some of the time.   Some folks label Rush's music, particularly that of the 80's and early 90's, as "pretentious".  I submit that if the same lyrics were delivered in an alternative vocal style, these same folks would find that the stories told by these songs and the sentiments that Geddy is trying to express would not be quite so lost on them.  Their target audience has always leaned heavily toward the teenage male demographic and I can vouch for the fact that they've hit that mark squarely and repeatedly since their inception.  The stories they tell and the advice they posit to all of the world's post-pubescent dudes can have a real resonance for them... Rush (and Geddy in particular) are, of course, absolutely aware of it.  It's their bread-and-butter.  To the uninformed ear, it all sounds pretentious.  To Rush's target audience, it sounds like a group of supremely talented musicians with enough rings on their collective trunks to know a thing or two, offering advice about being a good person.  They're talking about how it's absolutely OK to fantasize about being in a better (or a worse) place, that just because you're surrounded by idiots doesn't mean you have to become one, that you can use your own mind and heart to decide for yourself if your leaders deserve your respect and allegiance.  Pretentious?  Perhaps.  But they're good messages, aimed directly at the guys who may soon be running the country you'll be spending your retirement in...  Put their message up against most of today's pop-dreck and cop-killer-rap and you'll soon appreciate that while they may not be speaking directly to you, what they're saying shows a humanist's heart and a soul that cares. 

Alas, Rush is what Rush is and Geddy Lee is as much an integral part of the band's definition as any gong or synthesizer.  His voice is likely to remain the cornerstone of Rush that it has always been.  I'd be fascinated to know if any other band or singer has ever covered a Rush song commercially, perhaps in a different arrangement — a different style — telling the same story in a slightly different way with a (more than) slightly different voice.  Often, it seems that when people are turned on to the songs instead of being force-fed the singer, amazing things happen.  So many of the "singers" that I have personally despised over the years are not held by me in such low esteem because of their songwriting chops. On the contrary, they are often extremely good songwriters (Dylan), saddled with singing voices that bring to mind the pathetic bleats of sheep being castrated on the Scottish moors in springtime (Dylan).  It's a damn shame — you know there's good stuff down in there if you could just wipe off the vocal gook that seems to be clinging to the poetry...

Anyway — many, many thanks for allowing me to vent; I think I needed that.

Peace.

I must have heard this 100 times while riding the bus to junior high, some guy always blasted this from the back seat.  I loved it then and it sounds just as good a quarter of a century later.

The irony is never lost on me that people scream bloody murder when an "eclectic" music station plays something, well, eclectic.

Anybody labelling these guys "pretentious" doesn't know the first thing about them.  You just won't meet three nicer, more self deprecating guys.

And to the Porcupine Tree fans: Gavin Harrison owes Neil Peart a huge debt of gratitude —- his style is directly descended from Neil's.