1/17/24: Working At Perfekt (Geddy Lee)

Geddy Lee's solo album features a perfectionist's anthem.

Working at perfect
Got me down on my knees,
Success to failure—
Just a matter of degrees.

With a sound straight off Snakes and Arrows, “Working at Perfekt,” from Geddy’s solo album, is an anthem for perfectionists. The lyrics aren’t quite as high-minded as what we’re used to from Rush, but that’s okay. I still think the song is pretty darn poetic.

To me, the song captures precisely how it feels to chase that elusive high of the perfect melody, the perfect phrase, the perfect note—working yourself to the bone, almost getting there, only to convince yourself (rightly or wrongly) that it’s not quite there yet. That it just needs a teensy, tiny bit more. And then a little more. And a little more after that. And so on and so forth, until the end of time.

When it comes to song production and mixing, Geddy is a notorious pain-in-the-ass, a stickler for perfection who drives everyone around him bonkers. (At least, that’s how he tells it in his memoir, My Effin’ Life.) But in reality, editing is its own form of genius. A good editor has the perspective and knowhow that can refine raw, mercurial creativity (like Lifeson’s solos) into gem-like brilliance, as well as bring even the loftiest ideas (like Peart’s lyrics) back down to earth.

But a great editor also knows when to stop editing—when something is good enough as is. That’s the hardest part of all. Which is why I love that the ending of “Working At Perfekt” devolves into chaos: Sometimes we nitpick our art so much that we lose what made it beautiful in the first place.

Yet from that chaos emerges a simple, beautiful melody—presumably the phrase that got Geddy started on writing this song in the first place. In the end, it comes full circle.

More than any other song on My Favorite Headache, “Working At Perfekt” is the one that grabs me by the windpipe and refuses to let go. It’s definitely my favorite off the album and some of my favorite Geddy ever.