My Favorite Headache

Reviewed by:
David Peisner

It’s hard to separate Canadian prog-rockers Rush from their legacy of planetarium laser shows and intolerably annoying fans. With 30-minute drum solos and concept albums based on Ayn Rand novels, the band would seem to have little lasting use, except as a punchline. So it comes as a shock, then, that the first solo effort from their nasally frontman, Geddy Lee, is so tolerable. Credit the absence of Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, (always the source of the band’s laughable pretentions), but give big ups to Lee for delivering a surprisingly viable set of songs. The hard-edged rockers (“Runaway Train,” “Grace To Grace”) have plenty in common with Rush’s better moments, but Lee’s mostly abandoned the band’s lyrical loopiness and instrumental indulgences, leaving behind tight, guitar-driven anthems. If you can’t stomach Lee’s upper-register squeals, even poignant ballads like “Slipping” and “Still” won’t change your mind, but for us, the fact that My Favorite Headache didn’t have us running for the Extra Strength Tylenol was an accomplishment in and of itself.

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