Search - Aerosmith :: Rocks

The best of the old stuff

Daniel Delaware | Phx,Az | 03/24/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This should be the crown jewal of your Aerosmith Classic collection.

If you like the classic stuff and don't have any start with this one."

Ripping this from vinyl in the basement...

C. D Smith | Denver, CO | 04/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think I was 17 when I bought this in 1976. I could only crank it up when Grandma wasn't in the house. I think I bought my first set of headphones because of this album. Revisiting it now as I create a vinyl transformation to MP3's, it sounds just as fresh as it did all those years ago. This *is* Rock and Roll!"

Rocks...Well, ROCKS!!!

JLR | Staten Island, NY USA | 06/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's go back to 1976.



Let's go back at a time when you had a band whose main concern was not selling singles, not catering to Michael Bay and Diane Warren to create a #1 power ballad or hiring professional songwriters to "perfect" their music. No, a band's main greatest concern was just being themselves, kicking ass and playing good old-fashioned rock n' roll. That's Aerosmith in a nutshell and ROCKS, more than any record that they have done, does the greatest job capturing that period in all its swagger, attitude and raw, unpolished glory.



Unlike many Aerosmith albums that came before or after, ROCKS is just perfect; there is not a filler in sight. Every song has the making of an instant classic, each of them distinctive, strong and energetic without losing any edge or originality. Yes, "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child" are definitive Aerosmith anthems but the swaggering "Rats in the Cellar", apocalyptic "Nobody's Fault" and in-your-face workout "A Lick and a Promise" are as equally effective. The intriguing Joe Perry-sung "Combination" also adds spice to a delicious meal of rock music.



Most of all, ROCKS has the benefit of containing two of my favorite tracks from Aerosmith: "Sick as a Dog" and "Home Tonight". The former is an enticing, riff-driven rocker about Steven Tyler's embarrassing meeting with Stones lead singer Mick Jagger; the latter is a sweet love song containing more grit and genuine emotion than any of their overproduced power ballads that came after. These two songs epitomize everything that makes Aerosmith great: a band that could make both rockers and ballads that are equally exhilarating, heartfelt and life-affirming.



ROCKS was the peak of Aerosmith's golden 1970's era, an era that included other terrific albums like GET YOUR WINGS and TOYS IN THE ATTIC. Even though it did not sell as much as TOYS, it still debut in the Top Ten charts and eventually went 4x Platinum in the United States. After ROCKS, they released the uneven but still entertaining DRAW THE LINE and temporarily splintered due to drug abuse and internal frictions. When the disappointing ROCK IN A HARD PLACE bombed, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford rejoined the band and Aerosmith, to the shock of virtually everybody, wound up achieving greater commercial success than before in the mid-to-late 1980's. Yet for all their popularity, none of Aerosmith's subsequent records (not even PUMP), no matter how successful, rocked as hard and viciously as this 1976 masterpiece.



Yes, GET YOUR WINGS and TOYS IN THE ATTIC were both amazing records and PUMP is a stellar achievement at its own right but ROCKS, from top-to-bottom, is the true magnum opus of Aerosmith's long, prolific career. Listening to this album, it's little wonder why this album is a favorite by many artists as diverse as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Nirvana, Testament and Sebastian Bach. Forget about those Alicia Silverstone videos. If you want to listen to what Aerosmith was really about, then check out ROCKS. Not only is it Aerosmith's finest record; it's one of the best rock albums ever made. Never has 34 minutes gone by so quickly and so sudden.



ROCKS simply ROCKS!!!

"