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SteveG 
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20478 |
 Topic: Roll The Bones & Test For Echo: RushPosted: December 16 2014 at 19:12 |
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Two Rush albums that never grabbed me. What's your take on Roll the Bones and Test for Echo?
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 19:35 |
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I'm with ya brother on those two.
I've totally and happily regressed with Rush these days. Just give me the first four albums and I'm happy. I can't get enough of the youthful aggression and immediacy that exploded in their playing before they became "sophisticated" Edited by Finnforest - December 16 2014 at 20:19 |
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Stereolab
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 22 2014 Location: NorCal Status: Offline Points: 126 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 20:15 |
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I think "Roll the Bones" is a great album that rides on the strength of "Dreamline", "Ghost Of A Chance", and "The Big Wheel", the last of which is one of my favorite tracks from any band ever. I despise "Test For Echo", though, easily Rush's worst album.
Edited by Stereolab - December 16 2014 at 20:18 |
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Roland113
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3841 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 21:36 |
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Yeah, I'm going to echo Stereolab here. "Roll the Bones" has many great songs, I'm a huge fan of 'Bravado' and have a soft spot for 'Bet Your Life' in addition to the ones that you mention.
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-------someone please tell him to delete this line, he looks like a noob-------
I don't have an unnatural obsession with Disney Princesses, I have a fourteen year old daughter and coping mechanisms. |
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Padraic
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 16 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31165 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 21:47 |
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I played the hell out of Test for Echo when it came out, but it hasn't stood the test of time, other than maybe "Driven".
Roll the Bones has some pretty good stuff. "Dreamline" is a great show opener. |
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Catcher10
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member Joined: December 23 2009 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 17490 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 23:06 |
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Yea...Test for Echo got played a lot too...I love Driven. Roll the Bones is much better with the songs mentioned already.
Two of their lesser liked albums by most and I think there is good reason, some transition going on in the band, even though it was not in your face transitions. They still came out smelling like roses.
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Metalmarsh89
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 15 2013 Location: Oregon, USA Status: Offline Points: 2673 |
Posted: December 16 2014 at 23:35 |
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These albums are definitely near the bottom of my favorites list from their whole catalog, but since every album is a quality release, that's not saying much.
Roll the Bones took some getting used to. Bravado is the highlight on this album. Dreamline, The Big Wheel, the title track (though a bit goofy) are all strong songs, and the closer, You Bet Your Life is good too. I don't think there's a weak song on this album, but I will also admit that I don't play it nearly as often as most of their other albums. I'm a huge fan of Presto, and I could argue that Roll the Bones is a poor man's Presto. Test for Echo quickly grabbed my attention, but also just as quickly lost it. I haven't a clue why. But after a while, it began growing on me again, and now I do enjoy it a lot. At first, it just sounded too 'heavy for no reason'. I liked that at first, but that was the same reason I quickly dismissed it. Now I've let the sound sink in, and can see beyond the extra distortion, and so I find many good tracks on this album. Totem is grand, The Color of Right, Driven, the title track, and Carve away the Stone are all stellar in my opinion. And every other track is also enjoyable. Between the two, I'd definitely pick Test for Echo. As for where I'd rank them compared to their other studio albums, only their debut do I rank below these, and maybe Fly by Night, depending on my mood. But again, that's just a testament to their ability to release good albums. |
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Xonty
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2013 Location: Cornwall Status: Offline Points: 1759 |
Posted: December 19 2014 at 17:52 |
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Roll The Bones has some great moments, but I hardly ever listen to it. Test For Echo is probably Rush's worst album - prefer Presto to both of them.
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 14980 |
Posted: December 19 2014 at 19:32 |
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If you take the best songs from Presto, Roll The Bones and Test For Echo, you might arrive at one of the best Rush albums ever. Show Don't Tell Chain Lightning Available Light Dreamline Bravado Roll The Bones The Big Wheel Driven Time + Motion Totem Resist Limbo That would be one mean dozen right there. Those three albums are unanimously regarded as the three most uneven in the band's catalogue (at least until Snakes & Arrow arrived, IMO). It's Counterparts, which is riveting from start to finish, that stands out as the odd dog in the bunch because it's leagues better than any of the albums above from the "4th quadrant" that Rush closed out with Different Stages. |
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 14980 |
Posted: December 19 2014 at 19:37 |
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I don't think it's necessarily "worse" than either Presto or Roll The Bones. I do think these three albums contain the worst songs in the band's discog, though: Anagram (I know a lot of people like it, but I don't) Neurotica You Bet Your Life (this one is probably THE worst) Virtuality Some of these songs aren't that bad musically, but they're marred by some inexplicably uninspired lyrics.
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Chris S
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 09 2004 Location: Front Range Status: Offline Points: 7028 |
Posted: December 19 2014 at 19:50 |
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Roll The Bones is an excellent album. Test For Echo just did not grab me as much. Bravado off RTB is a stunner!!
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...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
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richardh
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 26108 |
Posted: December 20 2014 at 02:14 |
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Good to see some love for Roll The Bones. I always thought that a bit under appreciated. It was around this time my interest was revitalised in them having waned toward the back end of the eighties (although that was the case with many bands). Test For Echo was I understand heavily influenced by the grunge scene so its easy to see why people take pot shots at it. It has some good songs so I like it for that.
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geekfreak
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 21 2013 Location: Musical Garden Status: Offline Points: 9872 |
Posted: February 02 2015 at 11:04 |
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roll the bones is a great album
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Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake."
Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
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Epignosis
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: December 30 2007 Location: Raeford, NC Status: Offline Points: 32476 |
Posted: February 02 2015 at 12:04 |
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Roll the Bones has done nothing but grow on me, and I now can say I like all of the songs there, even if some of the parts are still grating. It's a great album with several songs that get even more powerful when they are performed live (the title track has some real teeth on the Rush in Rio DVD).
When I first left home, Test for Echo was a constant companion. It kept me company on many long, lonely drives to work (I taught guitar an hour away from where I lived). The songs explored science, religion, the brevity of life, and self-determination. It gave me a lot to think about during that year. I still love the music on that album, but I do not listen to it often now, simply because those songs transport me back to a giddily uncertain though more carefree time in my life. |
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Queen By-Tor
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 13 2006 Location: Xanadu Status: Offline Points: 16111 |
Posted: February 02 2015 at 12:14 |
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Roll the Bones has always been one of my favorites from Rush. The older I get the more I seem to enjoy their "sophisticated" years. Dreamline blows me away every time (especially amazing live on the Different Stages album, guitar like a chainsaw!) and Bravado still sends chills down my neck. Ghost of a Chance was always one of my favorite Rush songs as well and when they broke into that on the Snakes & Arrows tour when my friend and I were in the 2nd row we started jumping up and down like school girls
 T4E on the other hand has only just started to grow on me and was always my least favorite of the catalog. That still puts it miles ahead of other albums I've heard in my life, mind you! I find it has good moments but overall is uneven and shows a band slowing down. Their hiatus was caused by much more tragic circumstances, but they were energized when they finally returned with Vapor Trails, and it shows. Half the World is a beautiful song with a brilliant music video (for those who haven't seen it, I definitely recommend checking it out!), Time and Motion shows a little hidden bit of aggression from the days of old and Resist is a calming, mindful piece that can always bring me back down to earth much in the way Bravado can. That being said, I don't think that a hardcore Rush fan should be without T4E - just maybe get to it a bit later... |
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Pastmaster
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 23 2015 Location: Spiderwood Farm Status: Offline Points: 1774 |
Posted: February 02 2015 at 12:19 |
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I'm not a big fan of Roll the Bones anymore, used to love it as a kid though. The only songs from RTB I really enjoy now are Dreamline, Neurotica, and I have a soft spot for Face Up and You Bet Your Life.
Test for Echo however, I love that album. I've honestly never understood the hate. I love the title track, Driven, Half the World, Time and Motion, and quite a few more. A good 4 star album IMO.
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someone_else
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member Joined: May 02 2008 Location: Going Bananas Status: Offline Points: 23993 |
Posted: February 03 2015 at 05:34 |
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I have never heard Test for Echo. Roll the Bones disappointed me even more than Presto.
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Cristi
Special Collaborator
Crossover / Prog Metal Teams Joined: July 27 2006 Location: wonderland Status: Online Points: 41266 |
Posted: February 03 2015 at 05:42 |
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I love Test for Echo.
I like Roll the Bones. |
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fudgenuts64
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 17 2013 Location: NY Status: Offline Points: 470 |
Posted: February 04 2015 at 00:03 |
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Love Test for Echo.
Roll The Bones is decent.
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Roll The Bones & Test For Echo: Rush
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Stereolab wrote: