Aerosmith
Night in the Ruts
Released in 1979 by Columbia
Hard Rock / Heavy Metal
Personnel:
• Steven Tyler - Lead Vocals , Harmonica, Piano, Production
• Joe Perry - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Brad Whitford - Guitar
• Tom Hamilton - Bass
• Joey Kramer - Drums, Percussion
With:
• Jimmy Crespo - additional guitars
• Richie Supa - additional guitars (uncredited) on "Mia"
• Louis del Gatto - baritone saxophone
• Lou Marini - baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Barry Rogers - trombone, tenor saxophone
• Neil Thompson - electric guitar
• George Young - horn, alto saxophone
• Gary Lyons – Production
1. No Surprize
2. Chiquita
3. Remember (Walking in the Sand)
4. Cheese Cake
5. Three Mile Smile
6. Reefer Head Woman
7. Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)
8. Think About It
9. Mia
The Album:
“Night in the Ruts” is the 6th studio album from Aerosmith which began its recording in 1978. The album title is a play on words for “right in the nuts”, and credit to this was given on the back of the album.
During the year it took the band to record this album, a lot of activity was happening behind the scenes. Not only was the band still over indulging in drugs and alcohol but Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were having major disputes between them, causing Perry to walk away from the band in 1979 after a concert performance. Even though most of Perry’s guitar parts had already been recorded, Aerosmith still had to acquire the services of a couple session guitarists to complete the album, Jimmy Crespo and Richie Supa. Crespo became Joe Perry’s official replacement from 1979-1984. The session guitarist’s parts are very hard to detect, you would have to be a seasoned expert to notice the differences . Aerosmith ran out of money while recording this album, therefore, went back on tour while the album was in production, which in turn set the release date very late in 1979. This album also had a new producer, selected by Columbia Records, Gary Lyons. Despite all the difficulties and personnel changes the band had during the making of “Night in the Ruts”, the album still came off the presses as one of the fastest selling albums, and hit a decent spot on the charts, but fell off the charts very quickly. I personally find the album to be a hidden gem from Aerosmith. They have learned how to take a chaotic mess and turn it into something enjoyable to listen to. I find “Night in the Ruts” to be an inspirational album.
The Music:
No Surprize Listening to the lyrics, you will realize this is a story about the history of the band thus far. The song itself isn’t anything new: fast tempo, great riffs, with Tyler doing a good job with the vocals. A great opener to the album, but still nothing really outstanding .
Chiquita This song has some great parts from the horn section and some great guitar distortion, which feels very awkward in the beginning of the song. The song is delightfully melodic with a pretty awesome solo. If you watch the video of this song, it is Crespo performing the solo, but I believe the studio album recording is performed by Perry .
Remember (Walking in the Sand) This is a cover of a Shangri-Las song, which was originally recorded in 1964. Aerosmith did the original recording justice, and after listening to the original, I like Aerosmith’s version better. This song gave Tyler a very impressive vocal work out. The guitar work in this song has an eerie smoothness, but I like that quality in the song. Very different from the original’s pop flavor.
Cheese Cake A great opening riff, and some awesome slide guitar work. Sounds a lot like the work of Jimmy Page. Not one of my favorite tracks from the album, but the slide work is definitely noteworthy.
Three Mile Smile This is a song that sounds like it belongs to Aerosmith and brings back memories of songs from “Rocks” or “Toys in the Attic”. It has a nice funky groove, with some catchy riffs and hooks. I believe most of the guitar work is done by either Crespo or Supa on this song. The solo/ ending of this song is pretty incredible.
Reefer Head Woman This is a cover of an old blues song. Although, Aerosmith did a good job on this cover, I feel it is just filler for the album. This album has a total of 3 cover songs, and this fact may be a testament to poor production from Lyons, or simply a lack of material and a rushed schedule by the band. Anyway, Perry has a fantastic bluesy solo in this song.
Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy) A decent song with some stellar guitar work from Perry. Reminds me of a past song “Sight for Sore Eyes”. The lyrics are a very clever play on words. Didn’t you ever wonder what a Coney Island White Fish Boy was? Evidently it is a condom.
Think About It A cover song of a Yardbirds tune. Decently done with some strange guitar solos, and I am not sure if it is Perry or Crespo on the solos.
Mia This is the final song of the album, a ballad, and a tribute to Tyler’s daughter, Mia. Some say this is a tribute to Perry, who was M.I. A. from the band. After listening to the song numerous times, I can see where the song’s lyrics apply to both tributes. The piano work on this song is a bit creepy, but beautiful. The guitar solo was performed by Supa, he did a superb job. Tyler did a fantastic job with this song, very moving and heartfelt lyrics. Not quite as epic as “Dream On”, but it runs a close second.
My overall rating for listening pleasure, 4/5.
Night in the Ruts
Released in 1979 by Columbia
Hard Rock / Heavy Metal
Personnel:
• Steven Tyler - Lead Vocals , Harmonica, Piano, Production
• Joe Perry - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Brad Whitford - Guitar
• Tom Hamilton - Bass
• Joey Kramer - Drums, Percussion
With:
• Jimmy Crespo - additional guitars
• Richie Supa - additional guitars (uncredited) on "Mia"
• Louis del Gatto - baritone saxophone
• Lou Marini - baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Barry Rogers - trombone, tenor saxophone
• Neil Thompson - electric guitar
• George Young - horn, alto saxophone
• Gary Lyons – Production
1. No Surprize
2. Chiquita
3. Remember (Walking in the Sand)
4. Cheese Cake
5. Three Mile Smile
6. Reefer Head Woman
7. Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)
8. Think About It
9. Mia
The Album:
“Night in the Ruts” is the 6th studio album from Aerosmith which began its recording in 1978. The album title is a play on words for “right in the nuts”, and credit to this was given on the back of the album.
During the year it took the band to record this album, a lot of activity was happening behind the scenes. Not only was the band still over indulging in drugs and alcohol but Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were having major disputes between them, causing Perry to walk away from the band in 1979 after a concert performance. Even though most of Perry’s guitar parts had already been recorded, Aerosmith still had to acquire the services of a couple session guitarists to complete the album, Jimmy Crespo and Richie Supa. Crespo became Joe Perry’s official replacement from 1979-1984. The session guitarist’s parts are very hard to detect, you would have to be a seasoned expert to notice the differences . Aerosmith ran out of money while recording this album, therefore, went back on tour while the album was in production, which in turn set the release date very late in 1979. This album also had a new producer, selected by Columbia Records, Gary Lyons. Despite all the difficulties and personnel changes the band had during the making of “Night in the Ruts”, the album still came off the presses as one of the fastest selling albums, and hit a decent spot on the charts, but fell off the charts very quickly. I personally find the album to be a hidden gem from Aerosmith. They have learned how to take a chaotic mess and turn it into something enjoyable to listen to. I find “Night in the Ruts” to be an inspirational album.
The Music:
No Surprize Listening to the lyrics, you will realize this is a story about the history of the band thus far. The song itself isn’t anything new: fast tempo, great riffs, with Tyler doing a good job with the vocals. A great opener to the album, but still nothing really outstanding .
Chiquita This song has some great parts from the horn section and some great guitar distortion, which feels very awkward in the beginning of the song. The song is delightfully melodic with a pretty awesome solo. If you watch the video of this song, it is Crespo performing the solo, but I believe the studio album recording is performed by Perry .
Remember (Walking in the Sand) This is a cover of a Shangri-Las song, which was originally recorded in 1964. Aerosmith did the original recording justice, and after listening to the original, I like Aerosmith’s version better. This song gave Tyler a very impressive vocal work out. The guitar work in this song has an eerie smoothness, but I like that quality in the song. Very different from the original’s pop flavor.
Cheese Cake A great opening riff, and some awesome slide guitar work. Sounds a lot like the work of Jimmy Page. Not one of my favorite tracks from the album, but the slide work is definitely noteworthy.
Three Mile Smile This is a song that sounds like it belongs to Aerosmith and brings back memories of songs from “Rocks” or “Toys in the Attic”. It has a nice funky groove, with some catchy riffs and hooks. I believe most of the guitar work is done by either Crespo or Supa on this song. The solo/ ending of this song is pretty incredible.
Reefer Head Woman This is a cover of an old blues song. Although, Aerosmith did a good job on this cover, I feel it is just filler for the album. This album has a total of 3 cover songs, and this fact may be a testament to poor production from Lyons, or simply a lack of material and a rushed schedule by the band. Anyway, Perry has a fantastic bluesy solo in this song.
Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy) A decent song with some stellar guitar work from Perry. Reminds me of a past song “Sight for Sore Eyes”. The lyrics are a very clever play on words. Didn’t you ever wonder what a Coney Island White Fish Boy was? Evidently it is a condom.
Think About It A cover song of a Yardbirds tune. Decently done with some strange guitar solos, and I am not sure if it is Perry or Crespo on the solos.
Mia This is the final song of the album, a ballad, and a tribute to Tyler’s daughter, Mia. Some say this is a tribute to Perry, who was M.I. A. from the band. After listening to the song numerous times, I can see where the song’s lyrics apply to both tributes. The piano work on this song is a bit creepy, but beautiful. The guitar solo was performed by Supa, he did a superb job. Tyler did a fantastic job with this song, very moving and heartfelt lyrics. Not quite as epic as “Dream On”, but it runs a close second.
My overall rating for listening pleasure, 4/5.