Pink Floyd was one of the first bands that helped to develop Progressive Rock music in the late 60s and early 70s. A few years later, the Canadian band Rush was one of the groups who helped to take the music genre to another level mixing Prog music with Hard Rock.
It’s not a coincidence that one of the band’s founders, the bassist, keyboardist and vocalist Geddy Lee is a big fan of the legendary British group. To show a little bit more of his love for the band, Rock and Roll Garage selected the 2 Pink Floyd songs that Geddy Lee said are some of his favorites of all time.
The 2 Pink Floyd songs that Geddy Lee said he likes
“Speak to Me/Breathe”
“Speak to Me/Breathe” and are the two first tracks from the acclaimed album “Dark Side of The Moon” (1973). But since one track completes the other, it is often considered one entire song. Geddy Lee said in an interview Sirius XM ‘Classic Vinyl Influences‘ show (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) in 2013 that “Speak To Me/Breathe” is one of his favorites. He recalled in the conversation that he had the chance to see the band live in the early 70s in Toronto.
“Pink Floyd, I remember seeing them in Toronto. I think ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ was just coming out or hadn’t come out yet. I think the first set they played ‘Echoes’ from the previous album, you know.”
“Like a 20 minute extravaganza. They were impressive also into a young musician, not just because of their song structure in the atmosphere. But the fact that they really put on an amazing show. They really understood showmanship,” Geddy Lee said.
“Speak To Me” was written by the band’s drummer Nick Mason and “Breathe (In The Air)” by Richard Wright (Keyboards) and David Gilmour (Guitar and vocals).
Talking with The Quietus in 2012, he also recalled that show and said that captivated him and fired his imagination. The reason was because he could sense something unique was happening. In that same conversation he also stated that album “Meddle” (1971) was the beginning of their peak. Being followed by “Dark Side of The Moon”, that is Pink Floyd’s best-selling album. Since it’s release, more than 45 million copies of the record were sold worldwide.
“Money”
Another Pink Floyd song that Geddy Lee said he likes is “Money”. The track is also from the album “Dark Side of The Moon” (1973). The Rush frontman listed the song on a list he made for Amazon Music (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) in 2019. The track was among other 21 songs that he said it inspired his bass playing consciously or subconsciously.
The song has one of the most classic bass lines from the history of Rock and Roll. So it’s not a coincidence that the Canadian musician chose that track.
“I chose these songs because I’m such a ‘bass-centric dude’. That’s all I’ve been thinking about for the last few years. Is the role of bass in popular music. What I tried to do with my book (The Beautiful Book of Bass) was provide an alternate history of popular music through the point of view of the bass player. From the murky bottom end to the twangy top end,” Geddy Lee told Amazon.
Written by the bassist and singer Roger Waters, “Money” is still one of Pink Floyd’s biggest hits. At the time of it’s release as a single, the track reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.