JOESEDDIT’S CRATES FULL OF VINYL - AEROSMITH

I’ve got a couple of crates full of old vinyl albums that I haven’t listened to in years due to lack of equipment to play them. Over a period of about a year and a half I revisited each album on the internet or bought the CD and ranked the songs. I also recorded some brief thoughts, rated the album, and posted the results on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists comment section. I’m recycling and categorizing/grouping the posts on this website.

Aerosmith

This is the first of five great albums that Aerosmith rattled off before they self-destructed (eventually they regrouped but were never quite the same). It has a raw, gritty, low budget garage band sound to it which adds to its appeal. The songs are thin on tracks, heavy on attitude.

Scale of 1 to 10:  A -

1- Dream On

2- Movin Out

3- Walkin the Dog

4- Write Me a Letter

5- One Way Street

6- Mama Kin

7- Somebody

8- Make it

Draw the Line

I like all of Aerosmith’s first five albums. I’ve yet to revisit all of them but I believe this one has become one of my favorites.

Scale of 1 to 10:  A

1- The Hand That Feeds

2- Kings and Queens

3- Milk Cow Blues

4- I Wanna Know Why

5- Sight For Sore Eyes

6- Critical Mass

7- Draw the Line

8- Bright Light Fright

9- Get it Up

Get Your Wings

Back in the vinyl days, this was my favorite Aerosmith album. I’ve still got a couple more in the crate to revisit, so I’ll have to see if that assessment holds up.

Scale of 1 to 10:  A

1- Train Kept a Rollin’

2- Same Old Song and Dance

3- Lord of the Thighs

4- Seasons of Wither

5- Pandora’s Box

6- S.O.S (Too Bad)

7- Spaced

8- Woman of the World

Toys in the Attic

This is another album that I could rank in just about any order. Many consider it to be the best Aerosmith album and I can see why for the same reasons I can see why many think “Exile” is the best Stones album. It’s probably their most solid album all the way through. I wouldn’t rank any of the songs in the top five of an Aerosmith list, but most all of them would rank somewhere between 6 and 25.

Scale of 1 to 10:  A -

1- Sweet Emotion

2- You See Me Crying

3- Walk This Way

4- No More, No More

5- Big Ten Inch Record

6- Adam’s Apple

7- Uncle Salty

8- Round and Round

9- Toys in the Attic

Rocks

I’ll have to rethink my ranking of Aerosmith albums after listening to this one. It’s aptly titled ‘cuz this album rocks. Might just be their best, still not sure. I’d say it’s their tightest, and most polished. Loaded with smokin’ songs that build to a big lead guitar crescendo finish. And Tyler is killer on this one. I’m sure about my #1 song on the list, and the last three. But 2 through 6 are inseparable.

Scale of 1 to 10:  A

1- Last Child

2- Nobody’s Fault

3- Rats in the Cellar

4- Combination

5- Back in the Saddle

6- Sick as a Dog

7- Home Tonight

8- Get the Lead Out

9- Lick and a Promise

Night in the Ruts

This album marks the beginning of the end for Aerosmith. Well, the good Aerosmith anyway. After five great albums, success led to drug use which led to infighting which led to guitarist Joe Perry leaving the band half way through the recording process. The other guitarist, Brad Whitford, left a couple of years later. The band would later regroup and make a successful comeback, but for us purists, they were never quite the same save a few songs here and there. The first three songs on my list are between OK and good but after that there isn’t a good song on this album.

Scale of 1 to 10:  D +

1- Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)

2- Reefer Head Woman

3- Mia

4- No Surprize

5- Remember (Walking in the Sand)

6- Think About It

7- Chiquita

8- Three Mile Smile

9- Cheese Cake