I want to be as clear and unequivocal as possible: I do not condone statutory rape or predatory behavior of any kind. But unfortunately, as you have already seen, I will have to talk about people who did those things. And even more unfortunately, I will sometimes praise their music. Please do not interpret this as an endorsement of their predatory behaviors.
Okay?
Okay.
Released in May 1976, Rocks by Aerosmith is certified four times Platinum in the U.S. It has also proven to be very influential; it was one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite albums while Slash said it inspired him to learn guitar. You might think an album of that stature had some big hits. Well, not really. It had hits, but they weren’t big.
The first single, “Last Child,” peaked at #21 on the Hot 100. The second single, “Home Tonight,” was a flop, which probably prompted the label to re-release “Walk This Way” next. After that became a top 10 hit, the label released one more single from Rocks called “Back In The Saddle.” That became a top 40 hit.
You might be surprised to learn that “Home Tonight” was a single, since it isn’t as widely known among rock listeners as the other two singles. If I had to guess, it’s because “Back In The Saddle” and “Last Child” are the first two songs on the tracklist while “Home Tonight” is the closing track. Yes, the album is only 35 minutes long, but I don’t know what other reason there could be.
Regardless, Rocks is great. I consider this and 1975’s Toys In The Attic to be Aerosmith’s best albums. While Toys In The Attic was bluesy and groovy, Rocks is perhaps the closest thing to a metal album in the Aerosmith discography. I wouldn’t say it’s a ten out of ten, though. Side B is by no means terrible, but the absolute best songs are all on Side A. “Back In The Saddle” is a perfect opening track. “Last Child” has a great funky riff, then the song fades out and transitions into the face-pummeling “Rats In The Cellar.” “Combination” is great too; Joe Perry wrote that on his own and sang co-lead vocals on it. Dare I say the song is a bit underrated, and the outro kicks ass.
But as I said, Side B, though far from terrible, is not quite as strong as Side A. Most of that is from the lyrics. “Sick As A Dog” and “Get The Lead Out” each have some lyrics that fall flat with me despite being great musically. On the other hand, “Lick And A Promise” is awesome. “Nobody’s Fault” is a total banger that is not to be confused with the similarly named Led Zeppelin song that came out a few weeks earlier. And the album closes with “Home Tonight,” a solid ballad that the band would play in later concerts as an intro to “Dream On.”
Overall, Rocks has some of Aerosmith’s greatest material. If you’re better than me at separating art from artist, you’ll love this album.
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