Aerosmith: "Rocks" (1976)

Aerosmith released their sleazy opus, "Rocks", on May 3, 1976. The album was recorded at their rehearsal space, The Wherehouse, in Massachusetts and at Record Plant in New York, with Jack Douglas and the band serving as producers.

By Martin Johannessen

"This was a big album for Aerosmith. It had to make a big statement about how loud and hard they were," said Jack Douglas.

"Everything was clicking for us. We had been working hard and were rising through the ranks, and we were really feeling it. I think that shows in those tracks," says Joe Perry.

Kings of the 70s

In the 1970s, Aerosmith was definitely one of the coolest bands in the USA. In 1976, they embarked on a long tour that took the band to the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Among the supporting bands were Jeff Beck, Rush, and Nazareth.

The album was a massive success, reaching a respectable third place in the USA. However, the band didn't fare well in Europe, with their highest chart position being 46th in Sweden. It would take 17 years before they topped that when "Get a Grip" reached the number one spot in the USA in 1993.

The Singles

Three songs were released as singles, and all of them made it onto the Billboard Hot 100: “Last Child,” “Home Tonight,” and “Back in the Saddle.”



Watch Aerosmith performs Last Child on the 2004 Honkin' on Bobo Tour below.

However, the album is packed with awesome rock 'n' roll tracks that weren't released as singles; “Rats in the Cellar,” “Sick As a Dog,” and “Lick And a Promise” are just as good. In fact, the whole album is fantastic and my favorite from The Bad Boys from Boston.

Brad Whitford also considers it his favorite: “To tell you the truth, it's my favorite record, too. I put it right at the top. It's definitive Aerosmith. The songs are great, and I love how they're recorded. It's a very cohesive record - you can listen to it from top to bottom. It's got a very raw sound.”

Watch Aerosmith's official live video for "Rats in the Cellar" performed at Texxas Jam '78 below.

The Toxic Twins
Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were known as The Toxic Twins. A hard life on the road, alcohol, and drugs were just part of Aerosmith's daily routine. Yet, they managed to create tough rock 'n' roll. The other three ironically refer to themselves as L.I.T.; “The Less Important Three”.

On “Rocks,” both Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton were given more space. Whitford also played solos on several of the tracks. However, it was still The Toxic Twins who wrote most of the songs.

“I was very high on heroin when I wrote 'Back in the Saddle.' That riff just floated right through me,” Joe Perry reveals.

Hamilton and Tyler wrote “Sick As a Dog” together. Hamilton explains: "I think I came up with the verse part first. And then I did the parts for the intro, the B to E part, and then came up with this little, jangling arpeggio thing ... I'm such a Byrds fan; it comes from that.”

Regarding “Rats in the Cellar,” Tyler says it was a "tip of the hat, or an answer to 'Toys in the Attic' ... Meanwhile, in real life, 'Rats' was more like what was actually going on. Things were coming apart, sanity was scurrying south, caution was flung to the winds, and little by little the chaos was permanently moving in.”

On “Combination,” both Perry and Tyler sing together for the first time. The song, written by Perry, is, according to him, a song "about heroin, cocaine, and me." A pretty crappy combination, actually.

Watch Aaerosmith performing "Back in the Saddle" live at the Summit, Houston, TX - June 25, 1977 below.

Joe Perry also explains the choice of title and cover: "Diamonds are called rocks, and nothing is harder than a diamond. I wanted the hardest-rocking record imaginable."

But Aerosmith wasn't well-liked by critics at the time (or any other time). Rolling Stone wrote: "the material is Rocks’ major flaw, mostly pale remakes of their earlier hits.”

Brad Whitford believed critics didn't understand what they were doing: “We were being called ‘the American Rolling Stones’ in those days. They were trying to do everything they could to not give us credit for what we were doing.”

Critics in The Village Voice argued they were just copying Led Zeppelin: “Aerosmith were doing a good job of imitating Led Zeppelin.”

But critics can grumble all they want. “Rocks” remains a sleazy masterpiece that is just as good today as it was almost 50 years ago.