ROLL THE BONES

Roll the Bones is an enigma of an album, as it contains musical hints from many of their previous albums, and some of their future ones as well. Surely this is a transition album from the 80's pop dominated sound of the previous few efforts to a more pure rock and alternative approach. But there is also a heavy mix of other random genres, including funk, jazz, and even rap.

There is a hint of alternative on songs like 'Ghost of a Chance,' and 'Neurotica.' The title track has a hint of rap (which I admittedly think is quite terrible and out of place) near the end. The rest of the songs hark back to the sounds of their mid and late 80's albums, especially Presto.

The real gem here though is the purely instrumental 'Where's My Thing.' This is easily their strongest song since Grace Under Pressure's 'The Enemy Within.' It has the substance and energy of 'YYZ,' but the sound and style of anything they've been doing up to this point.

While this era of Rush still doesn't agree with me, I will admit this album took them in the right direction musically.

3/10