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Two years after
Presto, RUSH returns with Roll the Bones
with the same producing team and their second Atlantic release.
RUSH is now more refined in their music and less self indulgent.
Combined with an extremely technical live show with precise timing
revolving around song length, no song on Roll the Bones is
longer than five and a half minutes. But that’s not a bad thing either.
Dreamline
kicks off this album with high energy, outstanding lyrics, and great
instrumentation. Synthesizers are definitely a balancing instrument, and
RUSH has completely left the 80’s POLICE sound behind.
Dreamline is a great way to begin the album and has a great groove.
This has become a RUSH favorite, and staple in tours since.
Bravado is
another favorite, but is a much more mellow song. For me the song is made
by Neal Peart’s drums. Percussion is not over the top, but he works
extremely well with the dynamics of the song, refreshing my memory as to
why he is such an incredible drummer. Track three welcomes in the album’s
title song.
Roll the Bones
is a great song that feels more funk and fusion than anything. After the
funked out verse and bridge, the chorus treats listeners to an acoustic
guitar, which if this wasn’t a RUSH song would sound weird. It
should be expected that RUSH doesn’t play by anyone else’s rules;
therefore the rap in the middle of the song should not surprise anyone.
Unfortunately, this portion of the song dates this recording as early
1990’s and brings about disturbing images of Hammer pants. None the less,
it’s a great song.
Face Up is
generally a traditional rock tune, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. By now
it should be clear this album has a gambling theme to it, making
Roll the Bones RUSH’s most cohesive album since
A Farewell to Kings. Where’s
My Thing? (Part IV, “Gangster of Boats” Trilogy) is an ironic name.
Part IV of a trilogy? I’ve given up trying to understand the trio,
but this is a pretty okay instrumental. It begs the question what has
happened to the rest of the trilogy, but this is nothing like YYZ
or La Villa Strangiato, and is more or less a filler song.
The Big Wheel
is a much better song than the last and a much needed recovery, continuing
on the gambling/betting theme. Heresy is the next great song on the
album. It has a slow pace but has sentimental value for me. Heresy
is about the fall of the iron curtain, and while it was released a time
after the Berlin wall fell, I connected this song and those events very
strongly in my mind. “Do we have to be forgiving at last; what else can we
do” are words that stand out and echo the times to me.
Ghost of a Chance
may keep with thematic elements of the album, but its sound is noticeable
different. Perhaps it’s just the key, or the extremely mellow chorus. It’s
a shame, but the chorus in this tune is preferable to the rest of it.
Neurotica is impressive, but again only when it comes to the chorus,
which is another trend in this album. Bet Your Life rounds out the
album, and is also the weakest tune on the record.
This album sounds closer to
Moving Pictures. In fact, you
could almost assume this was a natural progression if it weren’t for all
those mid to late 80’s albums. RUSH still sounds like RUSH,
even if this is more of a rock record than
Presto. Most troubling of all is the trend for the
chorus’ on this album to dramatically outshine the rest of the song.
While Roll the Bones doesn’t beat out
Presto, is much preferred to the 80’s albums. It
is a distinct whole and individual work, and it is the opinion of many
that this record’s tour was one of the last great RUSH tours ever. |
