Ok time I made an effort to do a proper post...
THE URBAN GUIDE TO AEROSMITH`S ALBUMS
Aerosmith - 1973
Decent enough start to their career if not a little unspectacular. You can really hear the Rolling Stones influence on this album.The stand out track is obviously Dream On (Which actually flopped when it came out , it wasn`t a hit until it`s re-release in 1976).There`s also Mama Kin which has been in their live show forever & a solid cover of Rufus Thomas`s Walkin The Dog. There`s not really any bad tracks on this album , it`s just there`s nothing really great either & the flat production lets it down a little also.But on the whole worth listening to.
Rating ***/5
Get Your Wings - 1974
This is probably Aerosmiths most druggy album , some of the tracks almost verge into stoner rock. Most notably Spaced & Lord Of The Thighs.Highlights for me on this album for me are Same Old Song & Dance , which is one of my favourite album openers ever & also Seasons Of Wither which is the best ballad Aerosmith ever wrote , Dream On INCLUDED. The rest of the album is filled up with high quality rockers like SOS (Too Bad) & Pandoras Box , not to mention a decent cover of the Yardbirds Train Kept A Rollin.
Rating ****/5
Toys In The Attic - 1975
Ahh now we`re talking , this album is a landmark in 70s rock & deservedly so. The title track to start the album doesn`t so much begin as crashes in & doesn`t give up until the final song on the album , the slow & tender 'you see me crying'. What can I tell you about this album , you all know Walk This Way & Sweet Emotion. Adams Apple & Uncle Salty are wonderful mid paced rock songs with great hooks & then there`s Big 10" Record , a blues parody complete with a Steven Tyler harmonica solo. Not a bad track on this album , and thats said having first heard it & listened to regually almost every month for almost 15 years
Rating *****/5
Rocks - 1976
When asked by a journalist why this album was titled 'Rocks' Tyler replied with 'Because it does' , and he`s not bloody kidding either.This is Toys In The Attic part 2 but with a dirtier , nastier Aerosmith.This is probably Aerosmiths heaviest album. This album is pure sex (Lick & a Promise , Combination) drugs (Sick as a dog ) & Rock n Roll (Get The Lead Out).Added to that the white boy funk of Last Child & the low down dirtyness of Rats In The Cellar , and you`re in for a hell of an album. Essential.
Rating *****/5
Draw The Line - 1977
This my friends is MY personal favourite Aerosmith album.The recording of it was filled with drug fuelled arguements between Tyler & Perry & the whole tone of the album is full of bitterness.The album itself is the rawest the band have ever put out, it`s rough & uneasy but to me it compliments the lyrics & the tone of the band.Highlights on this album are the title track (With some nice slide guitar from Joe Perry) Kings & Queens is another ballad that I think is much much better than Dream On. If you are in any doubt of the tensions in the band at the time you only have to listen to Steven Tylers lyrics of the song 'I Wanna Know Why (Another album highlight) to see exactly what it was like. Joe Perry gets his first vocal appearence on Bright Light Fright , And then there`s the Hand That Feeds , a forgotten gem of a song long since forgotten about but ultimatley my favourite Aerosmith song ever.A lot of critics said that this was the start or Aerosmiths decline.The cracks were there but it hadn`t really affected the quality of the music yet.
Rating *****/5
Night In The Ruts - 1979
Oh dear , this is where it started going a bit wrong. Perry & Whitford left the band shortly after this album was completed. To be honest there`s really only 2 songs on this album worth bothering with & thats the opener No Surprise & the 2nd track Chiquita (with it`s full brass section). Other than that the rest of the album isn`t that spectacular, the filler tracks sound exactly like fillers & their cover of the Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand), is just an embaressment.There`s also a cover of The Yardbirds song Think About It , but I don`t even remember that.
Rating **/5
Rock In A Hard Place - 1982
With Perry & Whitford gone & with Tyler in a bad motorcycle accident & badly hooked on drugs many people thought the band would split , but somehow Tyler managed to get Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay to join the band & somehow make this album , and to be honest it`s not that bad. There`s some great songs on this usually forgotten album.The first 2 tracks Jailbait , Lightning Strikes are uptempo rockers worthy of the band in their mid 70s peak, The Aerosmith funk returns in the songs Bolivian Ragamuffin & Jig Is Up and there`s the wonderful ballad Joanie`s Butterfly, possibly one of Aerosmiths most overlooked songs.
Rating ***.5/5
Anyway I shall finish the rest of this later.