Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Rush - Roll the Bones CD (album) cover

ROLL THE BONES

Rush

 

Heavy Prog

3.11 | 991 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

A Crimson Mellotron
Prog Reviewer
3 stars 'Roll the Bones' from 1991 continues the musical musings of Rush indicated by their previous studio album 'Presto'. Reacting to the popularity of the "digital" way of writing music, the band had turned their backs on synths and keys and embraced the more traditional way of writing as a rock band, only using a guitar, bass and drums (with the keys occasionally supporting or providing an orchestral touch to the songs). With an album that deals with the theme of chance, 'Roll the Bones' is a fine mixture of solid, rocking tracks and funkier, more lighthearted pieces, even famously featuring a rap section on the title track. And while the album might seem to have a little bit of an experimental nature, it is often a bit less cathartic than your usual heavy Rush, and definitely slightly mediocre at times (very few times, though).

Alex Lifeson is definitely at the forefront here, Lee's basslines sound as good as ever, and the warm, technical and immersive playing of Neal Peart could not leave Rush fans cold on this LP, with a "visibly" better songwriting but definitely not a brilliant production, we have an interesting and intelligent but not necessarily always musically exciting album that serves as a fine transition between the band's pop rock sound from a few years prior and their excellent return to their original sound, although with much stronger songwriting, better playing and vocals and a maturity in the lyrical content. 'Roll the Bones' is a good 90s rock/pop album, although nothing exceptional - great songs on here include 'Dreamline', 'Bravado', 'Where's My Thing', 'The Big Wheel', the excellent 'Ghost of a Chance' and to an extent 'You Bet Your Life'. The rest of the material is good but lacking something in terms of production. Nevertheless, 'Roll the Bones' was a commercial success for Rush, bringing the band back to the charts.

A Crimson Mellotron | 3/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this RUSH review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.