Geddy Lee is a rock star, that91裸聊视频檚 undeniable. But he91裸聊视频檚 also a polite Canadian to the core. So it91裸聊视频檚 fitting that the Rush icon picked a not-too-bawdy title for his memoir.

91裸聊视频淢y Effin91裸聊视频� Life91裸聊视频� is an engrossing tale of a 91裸聊视频渃lassic underachiever91裸聊视频� who became a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame vocalist, bassist, and keyboard player. It91裸聊视频檚 a great read for anyone interested in the brilliant prog-rock trio or the music scene from the 1970s onward.

Lee91裸聊视频檚 writing is a lot like his band91裸聊视频檚 songs 91裸聊视频� deep, gloriously nerdy, sometimes wandering and wonderfully thoughtful. It91裸聊视频檚 a 400-page narrative from a perfectionist who calls himself 91裸聊视频淢r. Bossypants.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a compulsion to exhaust every possibility to make the perfect record,91裸聊视频� he writes. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 want to have to live with errors. Impossible, I know, but what91裸聊视频檚 the effin91裸聊视频� point of not shooting for the moon?91裸聊视频�

The book is enlivened by photos of scrawled lyric sheets, studio doodles and private emails as Lee traces the rise of a band who faced a pre-MTV landscape, a lack of coast-to-coast progressive radio network or sympathetic critics. One reviewer said he sounded like 91裸聊视频渁 guinea pig with an amphetamine habit.91裸聊视频�

Readers will go chronologically as Rush 91裸聊视频� including guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart 91裸聊视频� go from sleeping on luggage in the back of a rented station wagon to five-star hotels. Along the way there are dubious sartorial choices like kimonos and lots of cocaine.

The band 91裸聊视频� considered the patron saints of brainy, technical, ambitious rock 91裸聊视频� leans on all kinds of sources, from the sci-fi of Robert. A Heinlein and J.R.R. Tolkien, to Ayn Rand, Rod Serling and Jean-Paul Sartre.

There are hard-won tips for musicians, like never believing any producer who says 91裸聊视频淒on91裸聊视频檛 worry, lads. It91裸聊视频檒l all be fixed in the mix.91裸聊视频� Lee also advises bands to demand final approval on everything, offer soundchecks and take your wallet onstage. One tip seems universal: 91裸聊视频淒o NOT drop psychedelics before an interview.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 a treat to see Lee geek out on audio equipment 91裸聊视频� like 91裸聊视频渢he JP-8 with its trendy arpeggiator fed by an 808 drum box91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� and later wine. Sipping a glass of 1978 Musigny he writes may be the most rewarding experience he91裸聊视频檚 had.

A private treasure is seeing the photo 91裸聊视频� snapped by a friend 91裸聊视频� that captured the moment Lee and his future wife Nancy first locked lips. 91裸聊视频淗ow many folks can boast a relationship of 50-plus years and still have a photo of their very first kiss?91裸聊视频� he writes.

Lee throws shade at musician Billy Preston and producer Steve Lillywhite but also turns his critical eye on himself 91裸聊视频� his neuroses and poor husbanding 91裸聊视频� and his band, writing that with the album 91裸聊视频淰apor Trails,91裸聊视频� they 91裸聊视频渄isappeared up our own asses.91裸聊视频�

One thing to beware of is Lee91裸聊视频檚 modesty, like the time he casually mentions that he became 91裸聊视频渂esotted91裸聊视频� by baseball. In actuality, he has a massive collection of baseball memorabilia, including balls signed by the Beatles and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Lee 91裸聊视频� born Gershon Eliezer Weinrib 91裸聊视频� was a 91裸聊视频渟hy, long-haired, brooding character91裸聊视频� who grew up in Toronto, born to parents who survived the Holocaust. This is not something he tosses off 91裸聊视频� it causes echoes throughout his life.

Chapter 3 91裸聊视频� Lee says you can skip it, but you mustn91裸聊视频檛 91裸聊视频� is a meticulously examination of the horrific paths his parents took into hell, a 40-page indictment of Nazi evil that starts in Poland and ends with his mom rescued at Bergen-Belsen and dad from Dachau. Lee91裸聊视频檚 laser-focus on details is put to astounding use here.

He suspects his earliest vocal style may have been rooted in his childhood 91裸聊视频渓istening to the stories of what my parents had endured in the camps, suffering all the bullying and alienation, so that when I did begin to sing it did come rushing out as a screaming banshee.91裸聊视频�

This is a memoir where tragedy seems always around the corner, especially later when bandmate Peart is tortured by loss. The memoir even ends with a scene in a Toronto cemetery where Lee introduces his grandson, Finnian, to the boy91裸聊视频檚 great-great grandfather 91裸聊视频� in the ground.

It may be hard in parts but always worth it. It91裸聊视频檚 an effin91裸聊视频� good read.

READ ALSO: