| Roll the Bones | ||||
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| File:Rush roll the bones.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by Rush | ||||
| Released | September 3, 1991 August 31, 2004 [1] (remastered CD) |
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| Recorded | February - May 1991 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec & McClear Place, Toronto | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 48:04 | |||
| Label | Anthem (Canada) Atlantic |
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| Producer | Rupert Hine and Rush | |||
| Rush chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B)[3] |
Roll the Bones is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1991. 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,[4] and in 2011, once again remastered (by Kevin Gray) and re-released by Audio Fidelity as a gold CD.[5]
Contents |
Style [link]
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.
In the Roll the Bones tourbook of 1991-1992, drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart, described both the mindset of the lyrics written for not only the title track, but also the album.
| “ | “No matter what kind of song you choose to play, you’re betting your life on it, for good or ill, and what you believe is what you are….No one can ever be sure, in this best of all possible random universes.
That’s why the essence of these songs is: if there’s a chance, you might as well take it. So what if some parts of life are a crap shoot? Get out there and shoot the crap. A random universe doesn’t have to be futile; we can change the odds, load the dice, and roll again….For anyone who hasn’t seen Groucho Marx’s game show “You Bet Your Life,” I mean that no one but Groucho knows the secret word, and one guess is as good as another….Anything can happen. That is called fate.” [6] |
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Track listing [link]
All lyrics written by Neil Peart; all music composed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.
- "Dreamline" – 4:38
- "Bravado" – 4:35
- "Roll the Bones" – 5:30
- "Face Up" – 3:54
- "Where's My Thing? (Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)" – 3:49
- "The Big Wheel" – 5:13
- "Heresy" – 5:26
- "Ghost of a Chance" – 5:19
- "Neurotica" – 4:40
- "You Bet Your Life" – 5:00
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Personnel [link]
- Geddy Lee - Synthesizer, Bass, Vocals
- Alex Lifeson - Acoustic & electric guitars, Vocals
- Neil Peart - Drums
- Joe Berndt - Digital Effects
- Ben Darlow - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
- Rupert Hine - Producer, Keyboards, Vocals
- Bob Ludwig - Mastering
- Adam Ayan - Remastering
- Andrew MacNaughtan - Photography
- Simon Pressey - Assistant Engineer
- Everett Ravestein - Pre-Production, Pre-Production Assistant
- John Scarpati - Photography
- Paul Seeley - Assistant Engineer
- Hugh Syme - Art Direction, Design
- Stephen Boehm - Engineer
Sales certifications [link]
| Country | Organization | Sales |
| U.S. | RIAA | Platinum (1,000,000) |
| Canada | RIAA | Platinum (100,000) |
Charts [link]
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Billboard 200 | 3 |
Singles [link]
| Information |
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"Dreamline"
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"Roll the Bones"
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"Ghost of a Chance"
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"Bravado"
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References [link]
- ^ "Rush Remastered: Four Classic Collections Arrive in Stores Aug. 31st | Market Wire". Find Articles. https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200408/ai_n8557208/. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Roll the Bones - Rush at Allmusic. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Eddy, Chuck (20 September 1991). "Roll the Bones Review". Music Reviews and News. EW. https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315589,00.html. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Rush remasters Vapor Trails, Presto, and other Atlantic studio releases - Blogcritics Music". Blogcritics.org. https://blogcritics.org/music/article/rush-remasters-vapor-trails-presto-and/. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ "Rush :: Roll The Bones". audiofidelity. https://www.audiofidelity.net/content/rush-roll-bones. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Rush Rush 1991-1992 Roll The Bones Tour Concert Tour Book, page 3, 1991.
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https://wn.com/Roll_the_Bones
Roll the Bones (song)
Roll the Bones is the title track and second single from Rush's 1991 album of the same name.
Background
The music of "Roll the Bones" was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and its lyrics by Neil Peart. The lyrics reflect on taking chances in life, and urging those unsure to "roll the bones," a term used for dice. Additionally, the song has strong secular and evolutionary themes.
"But the bottom line...is to take the chance, roll the bones, if it's a random universe and that's terrifying and it makes you neurotic and everything, never mind. You really have to take the chance or else nothing's going to happen."
As a "lyrical experiment", Peart wrote a "rap" section in his lyrics, as a result of listening to "the better rap writers", like LL Cool J and Public Enemy. The band considered seeking out a real rapper to perform this section of the song, or even considered approaching the section with a camp or comedic sensibility, and hiring singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson or actor/comedian John Cleese. According to Geddy Lee, "We couldn't make up our minds really if we wanted to be influenced by rap or satirize it, so I think that song kind of falls between the cracks and in the end I think it came out to be neither, it came out to be something that is very much us." Ultimately, the "rap" was performed by Lee: his altered voice is achieved through a drastic lowering of pitch and adding various effects.
Podcasts:
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by Rush
ROLL THE BONES
by: RushWell, you can stake that claim
Good work is the key to good fortune
Winners take that praise
Losers seldom take that blame
If they don't take that game
And sometimes the winner takes nothing
We draw our own designs
But fortune has to make that frame
We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones
Why are we here?
Because we're here
Roll the bones
Why does it happen?
Because it happens
Roll the bones
Faith is cold as ice
Why are little ones born only to suffer
For the want of immunity
Or a bowl of rice?
Well, who would hold a price
On the heads of the innocent children
If there's some immortal power
To control the dice?
We come into the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones
Jack...relax
Get busy with the facts
No zodiacs or almanacs
No maniacs in polyester slacks
Just the facts
Gonna kick some gluteus max
It's a parallax...you dig?
You move around
The small gets big
It's a rig
It's action...reaction
Random interaction
So who's afraid
Of a little abstraction?
Can't get no satisfaction
From the facts?
You better run, homeboy
A fact's a fact
From Nome to Rome, boy
What's the deal?
Spin the wheel
If the dice are hot...take a shot
Play your cards. Show us what you got
What you're holding
If the cards are cold
Don't go folding
Lady Luck is golden
She favors the bold
That's cold
Stop throwing stones
The night has a thousand saxophones
So get out there and rock
And roll the bones
Get busy!
Roll the bones
Why are we here?
Because we're here
Roll the bones
Why does it happen?
Because it happens