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Roll the Bones

 

Cast dice, especially in the game of craps, as in Let's go to the casino and roll the bones tonight. This slangy term was first recorded in 1897, but the noun bones has referred to dice since the late 1300s (Chaucer used it in The Pardoner's Tale).

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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Roll the Bones

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  • Artist: Rush
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: September 03, 1991
  • Total Time: 48:04
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

From a lyrical perspective, 1991's Roll the Bones is quite possibly Rush's darkest album (most of the songs deal with death in no uncertain terms), but from a musical point of view, the record treads territory (highbrow melodic hard rock) similar to its recent predecessors, with only a few surprises thrown in for good measure. These include an amusing rap section in the middle of the title track, a welcome return to instrumentals with "Where's my Thing?," and one of the band's finest songs of the '90s in the gutsy "Dreamline." "Neurotica" is another highlight which lives up to its title, and though their negative subject matter can feel stifling at times, fine tracks like "Bravado," "The Big Wheel," and "Heresy" feature wonderful melodies and arrangements. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Roll the Bones

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Roll the Bones
Studio album by Rush
Released September 3, 1991
August 31, 2004 [1](remastered CD)
Recorded February - May 1991 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec & McClear Place, Toronto
Genre Rock
Length 48:04
Label Anthem (Canada)
Atlantic
Producer Rupert Hine and Rush
Rush chronology
Presto
(1989)
Roll the Bones
(1991)
Counterparts
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[2]

Roll the Bones is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music). The album was recorded at Le Studio in Morin Heights and at McClear Place in Toronto with Rupert Hine returning as producer. The album won the 1992 Juno Award for best album cover design. Roll the Bones became Rush's first US Top 5 album since 1981's Moving Pictures peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200. The album went Double Platinum according to Atlantic Records although the RIAA has it listed at Platinum. Roll The Bones was remastered and re-released in 2004 as part of the Atlantic Records "Rush Remasters" series,[3] and in 2011, once again remastered (by Kevin Gray) and re-released by Audio Fidelity as a gold CD.[4]

Contents

Style

Roll the Bones marks further transition from the band's 1980s style to their sound in the 1990s. The roles of the instruments have generally been reversed; guitar is beginning to creep to the front of the song arrangements, while bursts of keyboard and organ are played in the background. "Dreamline" and "Roll the Bones" were popular radio staples of the early 90s, with the former reaching #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, while "Where's My Thing?" became the band’s third instrumental and was their second song to be nominated for a Grammy, in 1991, losing to Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". Coincidentally, Eric Johnson went on to provide support for the Roll the Bones tour in fall of 1991. The musical style of Roll the Bones paved the way for the "alternative" style of 1993’s Counterparts.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Neil Peart; all music composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.

  1. "Dreamline" – 4:38
  2. "Bravado" – 4:35
  3. "Roll the Bones" – 5:30
  4. "Face Up" – 3:54
  5. "Where's My Thing? (Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)" – 3:49
  6. "The Big Wheel" – 5:13
  7. "Heresy" – 5:26
  8. "Ghost of a Chance" – 5:19
  9. "Neurotica" – 4:40
  10. "You Bet Your Life" – 5:00

Personnel

Sales certifications

Country Organization Sales
U.S. RIAA Platinum (1,000,000)
Canada RIAA Platinum (100,000)

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1991 The Billboard 200 3

Singles

Information
"Dreamline"
  • Released: 1991
  • Written by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & Neil Peart
  • Produced by: Rupert Hine and Rush
  • Chart positions: #1 US Mainstream Rock
"Roll the Bones"
  • Released: February 1992
  • Written by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & Neil Peart
  • Produced by: Rupert Hine and Rush
  • Chart positions: #9 US Mainstream Rock
"Ghost of a Chance"
  • Released: April 1992
  • Written by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & Neil Peart
  • Produced by: Rupert Hine and Rush
  • Chart positions: #2 Mainstream Rock
"Bravado"
  • Released: 1992
  • Written by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & Neil Peart
  • Produced by: Rupert Hine and Rush
  • Chart positions: #13 Mainstream Rock

References


 
 

 

Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums. Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Roll the Bones Read more

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