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Chris Squire vs Geddy Lee

#62
To me these two bassists are pretty much on par. Both do their job very well!
Rush however would , to my mind not have the slightest chance whatsoever against Yes.

I think this one really is down to taste, as , to my ear their styles are not too different either.
 
#64
I love them both, but Chirs Squire is for me the best. He is why I do own a Ric, he is why I play with a pick. His playing to my ears are more sophisticated and his bass lines are more melodic. His tone is also very consistent, and it is for me the holly grail of tone. Geddy on the ohter side is the reason I bought the Geddy Sig. Jazz. I love his playing style which is very unique.
While in studio I find Geddy just behind Chris regrading playing, I think Chris is even better live as he never overplays, while Geddy tend sometimes to overplay.
One thing is sure, there will be no Rush without Geddy, and Yes will not be Yes without Chris.
 
#65
I really like listening to either play bass. Geddy is as good as he ever was. Chris seems to have lost a little but is still great. I like seeing Chris play all the different basses. I would like to see Geddy play the Wal and the Rick more. Chris is more willing to play a 5, 6, or 8 string bass. I would like to see Chris use a little more distortion like he did back in the early 70s. I would like to see Geddy play a little cleaner.
 
#66
Ged is the reason I play bass, his lines are my favourite.

That said, Squire's are probably better thought out/composed etc, and definitely way harder for me to figure out. Yes' odd time signatures and compositions seem way harder to me than Rush's.

Tone wise they are both great, Squire's shimmering elastic pulse is really the heart of Yes. And Geddy's huge distorted sound really fills up alot of space.
 
#67
Bassist for bassist; they're both great; both play well, use Rotosound 66 strings, use effects, bass pedals.

Both sing..OOPS..That's where Squire wins..Can't stand Geddy's voice. Here's how you ruin it for any Geddy fan.. Sing like a Munchkin while playing air-bass and stomping the floor: "We're OFF to see the WIZZARD..."... How much helium does that man have to ingest to sing like that?

All in all, Squire was my main reason for buying a Rickenbacker, playing with a pick, using Rotosound 66 Swingbass strings, using bass pedals and effects..years before I heard of Rush.

All jests aside; Geddy is a great guy..never heard a bad word about him other than some, like myself can't stand his vocals.
 
#68
hrodbert696 said:
I still am amazed by Squire's playing on all those classic Yes albums, and even to an extent on the Trevor Rabin ones... but when I listen to the Yes albums from the 1990s onward, he doesn't seem to have continued generating that magic. Fly From Here was OK but kind of bland to me, I don't find myself going to back to it to listen again and again. Geddy Lee just seems to have kept up his creativity more.
Click to expand...

Have you listened to the Syn's _Syndestructible_? It sounds like classic Squire to me, that same impeccable sense of what to play, and when to play it. Other than maybe some stuff on The Ladder, I think it's Squire's best work since the 70s.
 
#70
I've seen Yes in the 70's and 80's he's mesmerizing to watch and listen to. Chris's bass tone is what we all sought in the 70's. I've always played Fender's and wanted Chris's tone, came close :) Geddy to me is the modern times bass God, everyone wants Geddy's tone. Love them both, both have influenced me, Chris more than Geddy. vote 1 for Squire.
 
#71
I resemble Geddy in an alarming number of ways, which go beyond him being an influence. I feel like Geddy drew me to bass because his playing was like me, although I'm sure that part of it did go the other way.

For example, I didn't spend a lot of time watching videos of Rush playing live, but I've been told that my stage presence is VERY similar to Geddy's. Also, when I learned Middletown Dreams, I added a little octave pop in the middle of the first verse, and later, I watched a video of a love performance of the song for the first time, and Geddy did THE EXACT SAME THING. It was kind of weird, to be honest.

I also sing and play keys, so there's that too.
 
#72
Lee all the way. While both are great bassists, as soon as you tack on the additional duties of being the sole vocalist/keyboardist/frontman, Lee wins, hands down. How any human being is able to process all that musical information simultaneously is beyond me.
 
#74
I'm going to have to give this one to Geddy. I know Rush far better than I know Yes. Also I can't use a pick to save my life, but can imitate Geddy's heavy attack reasonably well.
 
#76
Rickengeezer said:
Have you listened to the Syn's _Syndestructible_? It sounds like classic Squire to me, that same impeccable sense of what to play, and when to play it. Other than maybe some stuff on The Ladder, I think it's Squire's best work since the 70s.
Click to expand...

No I haven't.... more music to go listen to!
 
#78
While Chris has played guitars and keyboards on some recordings,as part of a live band,i think that his triple coordination of the complex bass,vocal,and bass pedal parts is really inspiring. Same for Geddy,altho obviously he can't play keyboards and bass at the same time! I can see why Rush would want to keep the number of group members down to a core for creativ cohesiveness. (But even hiring extra touring musicans didn't change the fact that the 3 guys in latter-day Genesis created all the musical pieces in the first place.)
 
#79
Two productive creative forces that have musically enriched us. Now why would you want to artificially put their gifts into competition??

We can all have our preferences and favorites, without placing the less favorites in a subordinate cubbyhole.

I favor ice cream; but that doesn't reflect badly on cheesecake.
 

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