Dr. Rock's Blog & Roll

Aerosmith was rocking the world after their third studio albums, Toys In The Attic reached #11 in 1975 and elevated them well beyond the cult-status they achieved in and around Boston. The follow-up, Rocks was released on May 3, 1976, cementing their position in the hearts, minds and ears of global hard rock and early metal fans and becoming the top-selling Aerosmith album in the 70s. And for good reason. Like its predecessor, it’s unabashed, straight ahead rock with all the raw power and raunchy swagger that gushed from Aerosmith in their first decade.

Faux-cowboy rocker “Back In The Saddle” and the hard funk of “Lost Child” created Top 40 hits (a third single, “Home Tonight” made it to #71) for the album. Along with “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion,” Aerosmith issued four great and lasting rock hits in just over a year, and the four concert staples and catalog standards for the bands in the years since. Of course, two songs don’t make a good album, so you’ll need to listen to the rest, including the Joe Perry-penned, dueling vocals of “Combination,” the metal-influencing, often-covered “Nobody’s Fault,” and the steel guitar of the closing ballad “Home Tonight.”

Rocks is ranked #176 on Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 albums of all time. You can download my Aerosmith playlist in Dr. Rock Playlist Vault and Rocks is available on Amazon but not on iTunes. Rock on!

Labels: Aerosmith, album of the day, hard rock, heavy metal, Joe Perry, prog rock album, Rolling Stone magazine