ROLL THE BONES

If this would have been a 5 song EP (the first five, to be exact), I would have given this 5 stars. This album, more than any other from the Rush catalog, feels like a tale of two sides. Although this wasn't the prog Rush anymore, the first half of the album is more full of life, experimentation and...gusto (for lack of a better term) than the second half, which sounds rather dull by comparison.

After all these years, I am still moved by the message of Bravado and still thrilled by the intensity of Dreamline. I even think Face Up is a great tune. Unfortunately, Geddy, Alex and Neil didn't seem to have enough juice for a full album of great songs. Oddly enough, this means I actually like Presto more (by a small margin), which wasn't exactly their shining moment either.