Roll the Bones

Artist: Rush
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 075678229329
EAN: 0075678229329
ASIN: B000002IRM

Release Date: 1991-09-03

Roll the Bones

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Tracks:

Dreamline
Bravado
Roll The Bones
Face Up
Where's My Thing? (Part IV, 'Gangster Of Boats' Trilogy)
The Big Wheel
Heresy
Ghost Of A Chance
Neurotica
You Bet Your Life

Similar Items:

Presto
Counterparts
Test for Echo
Hold Your Fire
Permanent Waves

Amazon.com

Rush's return to progressive hard rock continued with <I>Roll the Bones</I>, though there's still a bit of synth work (notably on the title track). The music flows like a well-oiled machine, and with Rush, that's an asset, particularly when the material is this good. The songs are mostly up-tempo, with the intellectually oriented themes and musical structure that Rush is famous for. Especially memorable are "Dreamline," "Face Up," "Big Wheel," and "Neurotica," but everything here is good. --<I>Genevieve Williams</I>

Customer Reviews:

Some gold, lots of coal........2006-02-24

As with so many of Rush's later albums, this has a few songs I'm nuts about and many I just can't seem to really like no matter how many times I try. Which is fine. Part of Rush's charm is that the keep making music in general for us, their fans, but the songs themselves are largely self-indulgence. I wouldn't have it any other way. Do what they want to do, and if I like it, great. If I don't, I can skip to tracks I do like.

For me, the outstanding tracks on this album are Dreamline, Where's My Thing, and Ghost of a Chance.

As a bassist, I really like the simplicity and power of Dreamline's bass line. Anyone can play it. But only Geddy can write it. And lyrically, though all of their songs are open to interpretation based on who the listener is, this is a favorite of mine lyrically.

Where's My Thing? Well, I'm always ecstatic to hear another instrumentalist from the gang.

If any song replaces Dreamline as the centerpiece on this album, for me it's Ghost of a Chance. You rarely hear this band do love songs, but keep in mind these are married daddies. Ghost of a Chance is a very poignant song without getting too schmaltzy. Just right.

Rush wouldn't give the masses the time of day when it comes to doing what they do. They write what they want to write with zero regard for potential commercial success, and they're first and foremost a touring band; not a studio band.

I've introduced this group to many people and one result is very consistent. If a person isn't both a musician and intelligent enough to appreciate the thought-provoking lyrics, they typically don't care for this band. But I've yet to met ANY kind of musician who wasn't completely wowed by this band.

If you're a guitarist, bass player, drummer, or really any kind of musician at all, grab just about any Rush album (Signals would be the exception to me), listen to it once, and you probably won't care for it much. Most Rush albums tend to grab you on the 3rd or 4th listen, then you're hooked. Any musician is immediatley wowed by the incredible musicianship of each and every one of the players. They're all tops on their respective instruments.

And though I prefer Geddy's shrill pre-Moving pictures vocals, his later vocals have incredible beauty to them, so even vocalists can appreciate this group.

This likely wouldn't be the first album I'd recommend to someone as their first dose of Rush. Moving Pictures is a reliable one one to make converts, and for those into much heavier stuff, I find it hard to beat Caress of Steel, and those who like their music more mature yet still edgy, I'd go with Hold Your Fire or especially Presto.

A failed attempt at funk; one of Rush's worst.......2006-02-09

The 90s didn't hold a lot for Rush, except for the hard-rocking "Counterparts" album. Their other 90s albums all had some faults - Presto (actually released in late 89), Roll the Bones, and Test For Echo.

"Presto" contained some great songwriting, but Rupert Hine's "white, clean, and neat" English production took the hard edge off the songs; the finished product comes across as too "polite" if you will, almost sterile sounding. "Test For Echo" likewise contained some well-written lyrics, but the music thrashes forward in a way that negates the individual performances of the instrumentalists; for example, you can't pick out the individual notes of the bassline with all the sturm-and-drang of the three insrtuments pounding forward together. (See "Time and Motion" for the best example of what I mean.)

But the worst of Rush's 90s output has to be "Roll the Bones." More than half of the songs on this CD are what music fans would call "filler" - songs that take up space and bring the CD's total running time to an acceptable length, but hold little (or no) value. Sure, "Dreamline" is one of Rush's very best songs, and the instrumental "Where's My Thing" is superb, but what else is there on this disc? Not much. The other tunes are flat and/or uninspiring.

Two other problems with this album:
1. The theme of the album gets old very quickly. How many different ways can you say "life is like a game of chance"? Let's see: there's roulette ("The Big Wheel"), cards ("Face Up"), craps ("Roll the Bones"),... and the message of these songs all pretty much say the same thing.
2. Overall, the music on the album is an attempt by the band to add Funk (and even Rap) to their arsenal of sounds. An attempt that fails.

At least "Dreamline" is inspriing and exceptional. And thank Ged for the "Counterparts" album; without it, Rush would've really bombed in the 90s. C-minus.

another decent rush release.......2005-07-24

this album is a decent album, though i never was in love with their more recent albums, like counterparts, roll the bones, vapor trails, their decent, but not great.

worthwhile 90's Rush cd, accessible.......2005-03-10

It isn't their best, but most of it is very strong work, especially the first 3 songs. The opening song "dreamline" has come to be known as one of their best; it was strong enough to be the opener on their Different Stages Live. It is a realization of the aseptic visions that were heard on Presto, and the release of this album marked Rush's second Grammy nomination for best intrumental song in "where's my thing: Part 4, gangster of boats trilogy." This cd is probably their most successful effort since Moving Pictures, though Power Windows, Counterparts, and Test For Echo could give it a run for its money. If you like Test For Echo there is no guarentee that you will like this, but if you don't like this cd, I can't understand what's wrong with you. It is their most easily accessible, with the fewest filler tracks compared to most of their other albums. It might be a good one to get after you check out Moving Pictures, their most lauded success.

Rush enters the 90s.......2005-01-13

The same year that Nerdvana and Pearl Sham rose to prominence was when Rush put out its fourteenth studio album, 'Roll the Bones'. The lyrical theme of this record seems to be kismet and taking chances in life. Musically, I feel that the album is an extension of Presto, yet not quite as good. The CD starts off with a 1-2-3 punch in "Dreamline", the U2-esque "Bravado", and the notorious title track (I actually enjoy the rap section in the middle!!). Unfortunately, there do exist a couple fillers, thus I can't hand out the full five stars. Another problem with the original issue of this album is that the production is flat--the remaster corrects this, luckily.

THE REPORT CARD:

Dreamline: A (one of the best songs of the 90s)
Bravado: A (I don't like U2, yet for some reason I like songs that are influenced by them)
Roll the Bones: A (just a great song)
Face Up: C+ (uh oh, filler #1)
Where's My Thing: A (yay! an instrumental)
The Big Wheel: A- (some don't like it, but I do)
Heresy: B (solid, if simple song)
Ghost of a Chance: A (one of my favorites from this album)
Neurotica: C (filler #2; lyrics are silly)

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