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Rush - Roll the Bones CD (album) cover

ROLL THE BONES

Rush

 

Heavy Prog

3.11 | 973 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

patrickq
Prog Reviewer
2 stars Here Rush seeks to maintain the accessibility of Hold Your Fire and Presto while rocking a little harder. While they succeed in the latter category, their attempts at accessibility fail to preserve the balance between the progressive and commercial elements of their unique brand. Or maybe they just started to run out of catchy ideas.

Roll the Bones stars off strong, with "Dreamline," which was a #1 rock airplay hit. This is a textbook example of a commercially-aware song that is nonetheless unabashedly Rush. "Dreamline" should have been on Presto, where it would've fit nicely. But following this song is "Bravado," a #13 airplay hit and the first of many seemingly interchangeable AOR tunes Rush would crank out on Roll the Bones and Counterparts.

And next we have what I consider the most interesting song on the album, and the last important Rush song of which I'm aware: "Roll the Bones." It's not a great song, but it contains a rap. This caused a minor stir, at least among Rush fans I knew, when it was announced in advance to radio DJs. The rap itself is fine, even a little funny. The inclusion of the rap is brilliant, given that the song is about taking risks. Like "Dreamline," "Roll the Bones" sounds much more like the songs on the previous LP, Presto, than the next (Counterparts). Too bad that isn't true of more songs on Roll the Bones.

Overall, Roll the Bones rates two stars insofar as it's really for Rush fans. For anyone else, I'd say start with Moving Pictures, then perhaps move on to one of the band's other higher-rated albums. If you come to like them, you've probably become a Rush fan, and then I'd say Roll the Bones is for you.

patrickq | 2/5 |

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