Roll the Bones [Original recording remastered]

Rush | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B0002NRQU2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,453 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal
  • #41 in Music > Rock > Progressive > Progressive Rock
  • #55 in Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock

Editorial Reviews

For thirty years, Rush has been one of the biggest rock bands in the world, filling arenas, selling tens of millions of albums & playing songs with which a generation of rock fans came of age. They are currently celebrating this remarkable anniversary with another record-breaking sold out world tour & their brand new collection of classic cover songs, Feedback. And, to further mark this milestone, &, to further mark this milestone, the band's classic 1991 Atlantic studio album has now been completely remastered.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rush finds their way. March 23, 2005

By Michael Stack VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

"Roll the Bones", to my ears, represents the first time in a long time that all the elements of the band are coming together-- after experimenting with softer sounds and cleaner tones on the last couple records, and synth-driven rock before that, Rush seems to have found a good balance with "Roll the Bones". With Lee's confident vocal delivery supported by unparallel musicianship, great songs, great lyrics, and (finally!) great arrangements, Rush has turned out an album as good as the work they'd done ten years beforehand.

A trend with Rush albums is that they seem to be putting the songs I enjoy the most right up at the front of the album, "Dreamline", opening this one, is no exception-- what a great song, churning verses breaking into a driving chorus, blazing guitar solo, its a song born to be listened to rolling down the highway (likely a bit too fast at that...). The band shifts gears into the rolling grooves of "Bravado", a great minor key ballad, clearly showing how much better they'd gotten at this form than on "Presto". Following this up is one of the more interesting cuts on any Rush album, the title track, "Roll the Bones". Funky rhythms, synth hits, interspersed acoustic guitars and a bizarre rap make this one totally unique in the Rush catalog. Its a lot of fun-- this is an element of the band that started to emerge at this point, the fact they COULD have fun, but beyond that, its a great piece, stellar vocals, and a compulsively funky bassline accentuated by great playing from Lifeson and Peart.

So this was a pretty golden start, the album does kind of drift after this-- similar to the Rush albums of old, none of the material is really bad, it just doesn't grab you-- "Face Up", "Where's My Thing?..." (the latter being an instrumental-- first on a Rush album since "YYZ" on moving pictures), a pair of funky songs, like I said, both really listenable, and good album tracks, but not noteworthy. Ditto for "The Big Wheel", "Heresy" and "Neurotica".

But there's one more gem on in here as well, the stunning "Ghost of a Chance"-- a straightforward love ballad, really a rarity on Rush albums (the only other ones I can think of prior to this is 1980's "Entre Nous"), this one is really a pretty, sweet song, and for a band that doesn't really explore these themes, they succeed quite well at it.

Bottom line, "Roll the Bones" is a great record, probably the best the band did in eight years or so at this point. Recommended. Read more ›

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rush's Third Incarnation January 5, 2005

By Samhot

Format:Audio CD

This album seems to be slagged off by many people and I don't really understand why. Rush has only done what many other true artists have done, which is grow and evolve. On here Rush returns to progressive hard rock with less synths, and the songs are mostly around the 5 minute mark. Every track on here is great, but my personal favorite is "Heresy", featuring ethereal vocal overdubs and soundscapes which is trademark Rush at their finest. Also worth checking out: "Where's My Thing", Rush returning to instrumentals. Not as flashy as YYZ or La Villa, but still great and refreshing to hear. The title track, which reminds me of something John Lennon could have written for some reason. "The Big Wheel", and "Ghost of A Chance" also, but everything on here is excellent as I've said earlier.

I can't find much, if anything, wrong with this album. It's just a prime example of a band that's grown and evolved and I'm personally pleased with the results.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hey, judge Rush one album at a time January 30, 1999

By Robert S Garber

Format:Audio CD

I am getting tired of people rating recent Rush albums based on their past works. Without question, the past albums such as Hemispheres and Moving Pictures were fantastic, but my goodness, GET OVER THEM when reviewing more recent Rush efforts! No band that I know of spans the generations more effectively than Rush, so why hold them to their past? That said, Roll the Bones represents yet another groundbreaking effort by the group. That's why they appeal to so many; always willing to try something different, expanding their own musical talents while smirking at the mainstream music buerocracy. . . . a true indication of a band still in their prime; confident, aware, and powerful. The title tune, Roll the Bones, is wonderful and, in my opinion, cautiously happy -- saying "Live, dammit!" and not waste time wondering why we're here or how we got here. More than previously, this album seems to communicate 'follow your dreams,' and the band is doing JUST THAT. Can you imagine what we'd get if the guys themselves decided, "Well you know, 'Where's My Thing' is good, but its just not The Necromancer, so lets scrap it."? So appreciate them for now while they're still with us.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars RUSH'S THIRD INCARNATION! November 16, 2001

By Samhot

Format:Audio CD

This album seems to be slagged off by many people and I don't really understand why. Rush has only done what many other true artists have done, which is grow and evolve. On here Rush returns to progressive hard rock with less synths, and the songs are mostly around the 5 minute mark. Every track on here is great, but my personal favorite is "Heresy", featuring ethereal vocal overdubs and soundscapes which is trademark Rush at their finest. Also worth checking out: "Where's My Thing", Rush returning to instrumentals. Not as flashy as YYZ or La Villa, but still great and refreshing to hear. The title track, which reminds me of something John Lennon could have written for some reason. "The Big Wheel", and "Ghost of A Chance" also, but everything on here is excellent as I've said earlier.

There is nothing wrong with this album, it's just a prime example of a band that's grown and evolved and I'm personally pleased with the results.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars for Roll The Bones March 24, 2009

By John F. Sunday

Format:Audio CD

In many ways Presto and Roll The Bones are sonic sisters of sorts, which isn't too surprising given that both albums share the production values instilled two years prior by the likes Rupert Hine, much like Kiss' Rock And Roll Over and Love Gun share sonic similarities under Eddie Kramer. Like that example, the former is again the stronger effort of the two, despite the band's utter gush and glow for Bones.

That said, I think Roll The Bones is a bit unfairly maligned by many fans. I don't think it's the worst Rush album to date and I can't possibly see why anyone would rather listen to the debut over this album on the whole, but that's just me. That said, outside my bias against the first four Rush albums (yes, including the beloved 2112), I think it's the weakest of Rush's releases since the band found their first solid stride with A Farewell To Kings in `77, so as not to lavish too much praise on this record. In fact it's quite the mish-mash of the good, the bad, and the downright fugly.

While Bones may not contain anything as specifically off-putting as Dog Years, it arguably contains a fair share of head-scratching selections. Face Up is clearly one of the least interesting songs the band has ever done, lyrically and melodically lazy throughout. You Bet Your Life doesn't sweeten the deal a whole lot, although admittedly its creative choral hook isn't bad, even if it's a bit Billy Joel-esque. Neurotica is the most promising of the questionable lot, especially musically. However, the vocal melody does nothing for me and the chorus is a "whoa-whoa-ing" mess. Add to this their historically least-compelling (and most appropriately inquisitive) instrumental Where's My Thing? and we're four songs down already....

The good news (tho' not necessarily first) is that Roll The Bones also contains a handful of really exquisite moments, such as the simply gorgeous Bravado. Both lyrically and melodically this tune is an unapologetic winner, very much in the style of the previous record's The Pass. Album opener Dreamline is a cracking number as well, with a driving melody, a seductive chorus, and a great solo. Heresy's low-sung-vocal would've snuggled up with the best of the material on Presto and The Big Wheel is a fun up-tempo sleeper as well. The title track is often discarded and ridiculed for its controversial nerdy white-boy rap section, but the song is still both fun and the "Why are we here...because we're here" choral melody is awesome. I shamelessly enjoy the rap section as well, but even if I didn't, it wouldn't tarnish the rest of it.

(Still, leave it to Neil to pen "gonna kick some gluteus max." Yikes).

Overall this really reads to me as a protracted extension of Presto with a few more uninspired clunkers than its predecessor had. It's an album I appreciate more now than when I first bought it, given the delayed acceptance of cuts like Heresy and The Big Wheel...but one that still falls a bit short of being special. It's a warm bath of a Rush album with some brilliance and also with some duff as well. And it's not nearly as good as Rush believes it to be, but also not as bad as many fans claim either. In spots the songwriting lacks imagination and luster, those characteristics being the biggest drop-off from Presto two years earlier.

ROLL THE BONES: 3.5 stars of 5 + Read more ›