ROLL THE BONES

Roll the Bones is the fourteenth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock act Rush. The album was produced by Rupert Hine who was also the producer on Presto (1989) and released through Atlantic Records on the 3rd of September 1991. The band had great commercial succes with the album which was the first US Top 5 album since Moving Pictures (1981).

The music on Roll the Bones follows much the same formula as the one used on Presto. The songs are rather catchy and simple rock songs with only a few hints to progressive rock. The keyboards have been toned down a bit but they are still a big part of the music. The album is very coherent with no really standout tracks maybe except for the instrumental Where's my thing (Part IV of the "Gangster of Boats trilogy"). The musicianship and production is as always top notch. The songwriting is rather uninspired to my ears though and there lies the biggest difference between Presto and Roll the Bones. Where the former had some great tracks the latter lacks highlights and memorability.

Roll the Bones is probably my least favorite Rush album and it normally sits firmly in my basement packed away in a box. I had to dig it out to make this review and as soon as I was finished listening to the album it went down the basement again. This is Rush on autopilot playing it safe. I normally don´t give albums with skilled musicians and great productions less than 3 stars but I really don´t enjoy this album one bit so a 2 star rating it is.