WCSX Classic Cuts : Freewill
WCSX Classic Cuts
Rush: “Freewill”
The Hook: Geddy Lee likes the song’s structure and calls it one of his favorites from that period.
Album: Permanent Waves
Year: 1980
Writers: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart
Stats: Peaked at number-55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-four on the Rock Tracks chart.
Background: The second single off Permanent Waves, it didn’t hit the pop chart at all, but continues to be one of the band’s most played songs on rock radio. Singer and bassist Geddy Lee tells what makes it stand out for him.
Rush singer and bassist Geddy Lee on “Freewill.” OC:…our band. :23
“The structure of that song, the time signature and the way the riff is put together technically is what I like about that song and what I remember about that song. It seemed to be one of the first songs that we did that flowed naturally through different tie signatures, and it was also a song that allowed me to stretch out and be very aggressive in my bass playing, especially in the middle parts. I think it’s one of my favorites, actually, of that period of our band.”
