TOP TEN Aerosmith Albums

Published on November 22, 2010 by Christian Sellers   ·   2 Comments

2010 marked the fortieth anniversary of Aerosmith. Throughout their four-decade career, they have produced fourteen studio albums, countless live and retrospective records and a string of hit singles. Having overcome drug abuse and internal conflicts, the band enjoyed a phenomenal comeback in the late 1980s and have remained one of the biggest rock acts in the world ever since.

Fronted by singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry, once collectively known as the ‘Toxic Twins’ due to their excessive drug use, Aerosmith have survived hair metal, grunge and nu-metal and, despite having not released a new album for six years, they remain a constant fixture of the music press.

But which of their albums could be considered amongst their best work?

10. NIGHT IN THE RUTS
1979′s Night in the Ruts would mark the end of an era for Aerosmith, marking both the departure of guitarist Joe Perry and long-time producer Jack Douglas. As substance abuse began to consume the band, internal conflicts were rife and midway through the sessions Perry quit to form his own group, having only recorded five on the eleven tracks. Various guitarists were brought in to help complete the album but the dynamic that the group had displayed during their earlier work seemed lost. Despite this, Night in the Ruts would produce several underrated songs, including No Surprize and a cover of The Shangri-Las‘ 1964 hit Remember (Walking in the Sand), the latter of which would also be included on Aerosmith‘s Greatest Hits, released the following year.

9. DONE WITH MIRRORS
Following a four-year hiatus as the band attempted to battle sobriety, Aerosmith had relocated from their home at Columbia Records to Geffen, whilst Perry had also returned after a failed solo album. Done With Mirrors was intended as their comeback after the mediocre reception that their previous record, Rock in a Hard Place, had received. Eight new tracks were composed by the group; whilst Perry would contribute a track entitled Let the Music Do the Talking, which he had originally released through the Joe Perry Project. The album would lack the commercial appeal needed to rescue the band from obscurity and subsequently sank without a trace.

8. DRAW THE LINE
Although Aerosmith were still riding high on the success of their previous albums and spirits were relatively high during the recording of Draw the Line, the mixed reaction that it would receive from critics would mark an end to their winning streak. Produced once again with Jack Douglas, Draw the Line included several classic-style Aerosmith tunes amongst other songs that seemed less inspired than their earlier output. Regardless, the title track, Critical Mass and Kings and Queens would prove that the band still had their mojo.

7. AEROSMITH
Aerosmith‘s self-titled debut album was released in 1973 and recorded in their native Boston with producer/engineer Adrian Barber. Having built up a repertoire through their live act, the album would consist of eight tracks – seven originals and a cover of Rufus Thomas’ Walking’ the Dog. The record would also produce two early classics – the ballad Dream On (later sampled by Eminem) and the upbeat Mama Kin, which would be featured on Guns N’ Roses live debut over a decade later. Although relatively short in length, the album would almost make the Top 20 and received a positive reaction from critics.

6. GET A GRIP
Despite their first album with Geffen Records being a commercial failure, Aerosmith had enjoyed phenomenal success with their subsequent two releases and would several hit singles with their last album on the label, 1992′s Get a Grip. Working for a third and final time with Bruce Fairbairn, the album would once again see the band working with writers-for-hire Jim Vallance and Desmond Child (who had also helped resurrect Alice Cooper’s career in the late 1980s). Following their comeback single Livin’ on the Edge (which featured a political subtext), other hit singles released from the album were Cryin’ and Crazy, both of which were accompanied by popular videos that starred pre-fame Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler.

5. GET YOUR WINGS
The modest performance of their debut had attracted interest in the band and for their sophomore effort, Get Your Wings, they joined forces with producer Jack Douglas for the first of many times. Although none of the singles released from the album would perform well in the charts, opening track Same Old Song and Dance became one of their most popular during the 1970s, whilst their cover of Tiny Bradshaw/The Yardbird‘s Train Kept a Rollin’ was a live favourite. Get Your Wings would eventually be certified triple platinum, although many fans would overlook it in favour of their two subsequent albums, Toys in the Attic and Rocks.

4. PERMANENT VACATION
After numerous attempts to resurrect their career, Aerosmith were finally thrust back into the mainstream due to the most unlikely of collaborations, when hip hop stars Run D.M.C. recorded a version of Aerosmith‘s 1975 hit Walk This Way and invited Tyler and Perry to perform with them. Eager to build on the newfound interest in the band, Geffen hired professional writers to help compose commercial songs that would attract the attention of MTV. Both Child and Vallance were brought onboard and Permanent Vacation, their ninth studio album, would become a phenomenal success, mostly due to the hit singles Dude (Looks Like a Lady), Rag Doll and the power ballad Angel.

3. TOYS IN THE ATTIC
With each album Aerosmith were gaining further acclaim, whilst their working relationship with producer Douglas seemed exactly what the band needed to draw out their best work. Their third album, Toys in the Attic, would be considered by many fans to be their first true classic and would produce the hit singles Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way. As well as the title track, the album would include several other songs that remain amongst the group’s best material, including Adam’s Apple and Round and Round.

2. PUMP
Permanent Vacation had been a phenomenal success, as had Perry and Tyler appearance in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, and the band had proved that they could hold their own alongside the new generation of rock stars (including Guns N’ Roses and Bon Jovi). Teaming up once again with Fairbairn, Child and Vallance, 1989′s Pump would include some of Aerosmith‘s most popular work, such as Love in an Elevator, Janie’s Got a Gun, The Other Side and What It Takes. The solo from Love in an Elevator would also be used for the opening credits to the hit British rock show Raw Power.

1. ROCKS
The majority of Aerosmith fans would agree that the band’s masterpiece came in 1976 with Rocks. Working for a third time with Douglas, the album would boast a rawer and more aggressive sound than its predecessors, whilst also retaining a commercial aspect. The two most famous songs on the album were the hit singles Last Child and Back in the Saddle, although other favourites would include Rats in the Cellar, Combination and Lick and a Promise. Rocks has been cited by many musicians as a major influence on their music is one of the highest selling albums of their career, having been certified quadruple platinum.