10 Hard Rock Songs That Almost Killed Great Albums
5. Roll the Bones - Rush
Over the years, Rush have practically created a musical cornucopia out of their discography. Regardless of which era you find yourself in, these guys have covered any genre that they felt suited their needs, from reggae to hard rock to electronica to jazz. You'd be hardpressed to find many other artists who can do all of these genres justice, but rap is the one sonic spice that wasn't the best look for them.
As it stands, Roll the Bones is a pretty great record, with Dreamline being one of the greatest songs to come from the later period of the group. However, this title track is one of the most ill-advised things that this power trio has ever done, complete with a rap verse that comes straight out of left field. Now, it's not like rock and rap haven't been able to co-mingle before, but that's not exactly what they did here.
Instead of actually getting a competent MC on the track to perform it, this is basically just vocalist Geddy Lee being pitch-shifted down as he raps the verse himself. At the best of times, this is just a strange interlude...and at worst it sounds like a bunch of dads trying to be cool in front of their kids by showing that they can rap. Even if you consider yourself a Rush completist, there's no real need to defend an experiment like this.