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(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still)<\/p>\n
Sat 17 January 2026 21:12, UK <\/p>\n
As one of rock\u2019s most continually fascinating bassists, Geddy Lee<\/a> stands on a pedestal of his own, approaching his instrument with formidable skill, but even the greats have their heroes, placing them on pedestals of their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Lee, his love for rock music can be traced to the likes of Yes\u2019 Chris Squire, Cream\u2019s Jack Bruce, Jeff Beck and psych rock\/proto-prog band Procol Harum. \u201cThat\u2019s how I learned to play bass, emulating Jack Bruce and people like that,\u201d Lee revealed in the 1993 book Bass Heroes. A north star of Lee\u2019s musicality would be found in John Entwistle and his revolutionary playing in The Who, the introduction to whom for Lee began, as it did for many, with \u2018My Generation\u2019. \u201cI used to go up to Sam The Record Man in town to get my music,\u201d he reflected in an interview with Team Rock<\/a> in 2016, \u201cThat\u2019s where I got Live at Leeds one Saturday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n The band\u2019s first live album, Live at Leeds<\/a>, immortalises their performance at the University of Leeds Refectory on Valentine\u2019s Day, 1970, to be later released that May. Being the only live album of The Who\u2019s with their classic lineup of Entwistle on bass, Roger Daltrey on vocals, Pete Townshend on guitar and Keith Moon behind the drums, its existence followed the success of 1969\u2019s Tommy, the legendary rock opera that saw the band heralded as one of the world\u2019s greatest live rock \u2018n\u2019 roll acts. However, The Who were troubled by Tommy\u2019s reputation as \u2018high art\u2019, as promoted by their manager, Kit Lambert, and wanted their stage show to hold equal importance to the album\u2019s rock-opera format.\u00a0<\/p>\n Returning to England in 1969, The Who set out to release a live album; initially, the band wanted to compile recordings from concerts that were recorded earlier in the United States, but Townshend, not wanting to listen to every recording they had accumulated to choose the best ones, rejected the idea. In turn, the guitarist even asked their sound engineer, Bob Pridden, to burn the tapes, a choice which, in his memoir, Townshend recalled as \u201cone of the stupidest decisions of my life\u201d.<\/p>\n Undeterred, however, the band scheduled two shows, intent on recording for the live album, but with technical problems occurring at their show in Hull, the Leeds performance was the chosen one, beginning with Entwistle\u2019s \u2018Heaven and Hell\u2019 and ushering in a performance from the bassist that stuck with Lee forever.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bass in \u2018My Generation\u2019, I mean, John Entwistle, my God, he was such an absolute influence on me,\u201d Lee exclaimed<\/a>, \u201cHis playing on Leeds is unsurpassable!\u201d On Live at Leeds, \u2018My Generation\u2019 is transformed into a 15-minute rendition, incorporating improvisations and a song medley, including extracts of \u2018See Me, Feel Me\u2019 and \u2018Sparks\u2019 from Tommy. Another standout performance is that of \u2018Summertime Blues\u2019, an Eddie Cochran tune originally released in 1958, which Lee says he\u2019s \u201ca big fan of\u201d. continuing that Rush covered the song \u201cto a large degree because of their version\u201d.<\/p>\n In contrast to Cochran\u2019s original, The Who rearranged \u2018Summertime Blues\u2019 with power chords, a key change and Entwistle\u2019s deep-bass voice, singing the lines, \u201cLike to help you son, but you\u2019re too young to vote\u201d. <\/p>\n