Rocks (album)

Rocks Studio albumby AerosmithReleased May 3, 1976Recorded January-March 1976 Genre Hard rockLength 34:30 Label Columbia Producer Aerosmith, Jack DouglasProfessional reviews

Aerosmithchronology Toys in the Attic
(1975) Rocks
(1976) Draw the Line
(1977)

Singles from Rocks

"Last Child"
Released: 1976
"Home Tonight"
Released: 1976
"Back in the Saddle"
Released: 1977
"Rats in the Cellar"
Released: 1976 (promo only)

Rocks is the fourth album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in 1976 (see 1976 in music). Rocks is widely acclaimed and highly regarded in rock music. Allmusic described Rocks as having "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking".[1] Rocks also ranked #176 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Additionally, it has greatly influenced several people in the hard rock community including members of Guns N' Roses and Metallica.[2][3]

The album was also a commercial success, charting three singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of which reached the Top 40 ("Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child"). The album also was one of the first albums to ship platinum when it was released. The album has since gone quadruple platinum.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 Side one
- 1.2 Side two
2 Song information
3 Cover versions
4 Influence in music
5 Appearances in other media
6 Personnel
- 6.1 Additional personnel
7 Production
8 Charts
9 Certifications
10 References
11 External links

Track listing

Side one

"Back in the Saddle" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 4:40
"Last Child" (Tyler, Brad Whitford) – 3:28
"Rats in the Cellar" (Tyler, Perry) – 4:07
"Combination" (Perry) – 3:39

Side two

"Sick as a Dog" (Tyler, Tom Hamilton) – 4:12
"Nobody's Fault" (Tyler, Whitford) – 4:25
"Get the Lead Out" (Tyler, Perry) – 3:43
"Lick and a Promise" (Tyler, Perry) – 3:05
"Home Tonight" (Tyler) – 3:18

Song information

"Back in the Saddle"

Written by Joe Perry on a six-string bass, which gives the song its distinctive "growl". Although written with the simple idea of cowboys and sex, this song took on new meaning after Aerosmith reunited in 1984 and embarked on their Back In The Saddle Tour. Brad Whitford plays the lead guitar part.

"Last Child"

Brad Whitford created the riff after listening to the Meters, and the band wrote the rest in the studio. Whitford also plays lead guitar.

"Rats in the Cellar"

Written as Tom Hamilton describes it, "taking this thing The Yardbirds created, and making it balls to the wall"[citation needed], it was also conceived as a counterpart to Toys in the Attic.

"Combination"

Joe Perry's first solo effort, (sung by Perry with Steven Tyler on background vocals) this song is about heroin, cocaine, and the dangers of being able to afford your vices.[citation needed]

"Sick as a Dog"

A guitar part is by bassist Tom Hamilton, who also co-wrote the song. When recording the song, for the first half of the song, Joe Perry played the electric bass; after the last chorus, during the rhythm guitar break, Perry handed the bass over to Steven Tyler to play, and picked up his guitar to play the solo during the finale. This song is said to be about Tyler's less than spectacular first meeting of Mick Jagger.

"Nobody's Fault"

With "Back in the Saddle", one of the heaviest songs on the album (as "Round and Round" had been on the previous one), this is one of former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash's favorite Aerosmith songs, as well as that of Metallica leader James Hetfield. Thrash metal band Testament covered this song on their 1988 album, The New Order, as well as L.A. Guns contributing a cover of the song for their 2004 covers album Rips the Covers Off. This song is an important contribution to the band's catalogue by Brad Whitford, who cites it as his favorite Aerosmith song.[citation needed]

"Lick and a Promise"

"(This song) is just about going out there and winning an audience." quips Steven Tyler.[citation needed]

Cover versions

Thrash metal band Testament recorded "Nobody's Fault" for their 1988 album, The New Order

Influence in music

Slash says that Rocks was the album that changed his life.[4]
Rocks was one of Kurt Cobain's favorite albums, as he listed in his Journals.[5]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 176 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6]

Appearances in other media

The song "Last Child" is a playable song in the video game Guitar Hero II.
Also released as a 4-channel quadraphonic mix.
So far, the song "Combination" was confirmed to be a playable song on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

Personnel

Steven Tyler - lead vocals, harmonica, percussion, keyboard, bass
Joe Perry - guitar, percussion, steel guitar, backing vocals, lap steel guitar, bass
Brad Whitford - guitar
Tom Hamilton - bass, additional guitar
Joey Kramer - drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

Paul Prestopino - banjo

Production

Producers: Aerosmith, Jack Douglas
Engineer: Jay Messina
Assistant engineers: Sam Ginsberg, Rod O'Brien
Arrangers: Aerosmith, Jack Douglas, David Hewitt
Directors: David Krebs, Steve Leber
Photography: Fin Costello, Scott Enyart, Tom Hamilton, Ron Pownall, Brad Whitford

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position 1976 Pop Albums 3

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position 1976 "Home Tonight" Pop Singles 71 1976 "Last Child" Pop Singles 21 1977 "Back in the Saddle" Pop Singles 38

Certifications

Organization Level Date RIAA- USA Gold May 21, 1976RIAA - USA Platinum July 9, 1976RIAA - USA 2x Platinum October 19, 1984RIAA - USA 3x Platinum December 21, 1988RIAA - USA 4x Platinum February 26, 2001