Aerosmith - Rock in a Hard Place

Gonna read your funeral rite...

No band could have fallen further faster than the almighty Aerosmith by the dawn of their second decade. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were gone (Brad actually stayed for some of the recording of 'Rock in a Hard Place') and so was the magic. Drugs had destroyed the band but even in the depths of their depravity and borderline irrelevance, Steven Tyler got enough of his stuff together (is this man a miracle or what?) to record and release 'Rock in a Hard Place' in the late summer of 1982. Long gone were the sold out shows, unaccountable decadence and devoted fan follow of their hard rock disciples who had long since abandoned them for AC/DC and Van Halen. That this record was made and that it isn't half bad is the true phenomenon. With a new duo of Jimmy Crespo (who joined in 'Night in the Ruts') and Rick Dufay, Tyler soldiered on to labor through the song writing process that was becoming increasingly difficult for his drug dependent state of mind. Faves include "Lightning Strikes" a powerful and incredibly underrated song that you won't find on any Aerosmith compilations, yet album opener (and the ridiculously overrated) "Jailbait" is on at least two. Other quality cuts include "Bitch's Brew" and the title track but much of the rest is subpar. Inclusion of tired cover "Cry Me a River" would seem to indicate the difficulty of getting good material out of Steven at this point, but the man's vocal performance is still stunning and a testament to his enormous talent. On basically a flatline, Aerosmith who be given a dose of much need adrenaline in a couple of years with the return of Perry and Whitford and the beginnings of the comeback...but the climb back would not be easy... April 10, 2008

Definitely Underrated

Sure Steven was messed up on drugs and the album cost a bundle to make, but the end product is nothing to criticize. Most people consider the period between Draw the Line and Done With Mirrors to be the worst for Aerosmith. I think the worst period for them has been the last ten years. Pump was a great album, but since then it's been hit or miss. It's sad to think that Aerosmith has made better records in the past without Joe Perry! Rock In A Hard Place being one of them.

I would take Rock In A Hard Place over any post-Pump album every day. This and Night In The Ruts are not considered Aerosmith classics, and they may not be as good as the albums that preceded them, but lets be serious. It's hard for any band to make an album as good as Rocks, Toys, Wings, S/T, Draw The Line. These are all incredible rock records. They are all classics. If Rock In A Hard Place isn't as good, that isn't saying much.

In closing, my point in writing this is to say that there is some excellent music on this and Night In The Ruts that have been overlooked. These records certainly deserve to be spun more often. There are so many classic tracks there's no point in listing them! It's hard to find a bad track on these records. July 31, 2007

Not Bad, But Far From Their Best

Gone are Whitford and Perry, in are Crespo and Dufay. This is not a bad album, but not really anything that stands out either. The songs are all ok, but much of it sounds haphazard and thrown together. "Joanie's Butterfly" is a bit different, but most of the album is kind of going through the numbers blues rock. Certainly not an essential album, but for fans of the band it is not a throwaway either. January 25, 2007

AEROSMITH IN BLUE

This is a fine Aerosmith release. If you like Aerosmith when they were still into putting out rock and roll on the sleazy edge then you will surely dig this album. This came out in 1982, and finds the band at a broken point, with two of it's original members gone, and two replacements in, it has a different feel to it than pretty much anything else... but not too different. LIGHTNING STRIKES is one of the most rockin songs the band ever put out, on a metal tip, and JOANIES BUTTERFLY gives us a clue of where Steven Tyler was going with his muse (you will notice some cool psychedelic touches in both.) The booziest soaked blues number CRY ME A RIVER becomes a real jammer, a little hep cat b-b-b-blues on numbers like JAILBAIT and PUSH COMES TO SHOVE... and one of my personal favorites BITCHS BREW (whatchoo doin' in that Bryar patch?)...
Everybody says that this album suffered from the bands condition at the time, but I can't agree. The production is top notch, and I find that song for song this is a quality A-smith release. I think at the time Steven Tyler and Joe Perry needed to take a little space, because they were definately suffocating each other in the late seventies... this album may not have been a success, but it definately shows that the band never lost their talents... its in my top five, or at least six... Check it out! October 10, 2006

Bravo Jimmy Crespo!!! Best Pinch Hitter!!!!

OK, let's face it, this NOT your typical Aero album.
Hell, it's WAY better than DWMirrors, though...
Yes, VERY underappreciated, but LISTEN TO IT!!!
If I hadn't known it wasn't Perry & Whitford I wouldn't have noticed!!!(And I've always had a great ear!)
Jimmy Crespo & Rick Dufay did an awesome job. Maybe guitar playin' a-la-Aero is not that special after all, or they were really good.
All of the songs are top-notch (maybe a little lower is Joanie's , but that was just Joe's abscence-he would have told Steven off and to stick it up his , you know...)
I especially like "Push comes to Shove"...
Wonderful production (Hey, a million bucks in '81!!!WITH "gardening supplies" included)
I myself, poo-pooed this when it came out since it wasn't the "real" thing, but I got it a few months ago and enjoyed it inmensely. It was a revelation!
Here's the thing -there are 2 different Aeros-the ones on "gardening supplies" and the "clean" ones after 1986 (clean , my a**, they are SMOKERS!!!! at least I saw Joe puffin' away- come on guys, give me a break , either all or nothing, OK?)
So, you're gonna LOVE this if you are into the 1st Aero, NOT a lot if you like all the post-1986 stuff...
Yes, their "grittiness" and "rawness" was very much exposed in this LP(along with their best production until then-even better than DWM), but that's the charm , babes...playin' what you feel like playin' with NOBODY from your Record/We own your life(image-output...et al)Company to tell you what to do!!!
I rate this only second to "Draw the line", my all time favorite.


September 18, 2006

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