Artist: Aerosmith
Label: Columbia Records
Released: 1979
Night In The Ruts could easily be called the album that split Aerosmith in two. Recorded under rough circumstances, it’s probably the rawest face of the Boston outfit up to that point, and with it Tyler and company, against all the gloomy predictions, still manage to close out their seventies story in grand style.
Night In The Ruts would absolutely have matched the standards of its famous big brother Rocks, if only the guys hadn’t sounded so wildly out of tune. On the flip side, it’s exactly that uncontrolled approach that keeps feeding the album a particularly appealing negative charge, something you couldn’t find on Draw The Line anymore. This time around, Aerosmith spoil us again with that good old hard rock vibe, packed with the typical dirty Perry riffs that, as per tradition, only hit their full force alongside Tyler’s trademark vocal “circus” acrobatics. Even though the album presents Aerosmith as a totally cohesive unit, that paints a very misleading picture of what was really going on. With ideas this well executed on Night In The Ruts, it’s honestly hard to imagine the real balance of power between Tyler – Perry. The latter, thanks to the alarming state of things inside the band, even decides to go solo in the middle of the recording. Considering all the trouble, and the fact that communication between the two was basically zero at this point, this last “flying” document, which also closes the saga of the original Aerosmith lineup for a long time, is a masterpiece in every musical sense.
The irony is that songs that perfectly round out a band’s kind of autobiographical image usually end up on albums that are anything but primary. One of those is No Surprize, a great hard rock number that revolves around a simply conceived motif the whole way through. A document of energy and determination that, despite the obviously looming collapse, still shines through in the gentlemen’s playing. A real emotional storm then hits us with the phenomenal Chiquito, a completely crazy little girl, yet another masterful concoction from the Tyler – Perry duo! A song heavily marked by colorful horn arrangements, with Mr. Steven once again behind them, simply has to be one of the best Aero creations of all time. The aggressive and therefore far less polite start of the album is interrupted by the limper cover of Remember (Walking In The Sand), which also turns out to be the album’s low point. It starts climbing steeply again on the wings of the fun Cheese Cake, with more brilliant Perry slide work, and above all Three Mile Smile, where Perry’s replacement Jimmy Crespo steps up as a soloist for the first time. A great solo, but unfortunately one that doesn’t give the freshly minted “blacksmith” much room to maneuver. To see the full extent of his qualities, we’ll have to wait at least three more years, because this time, as befits an apprentice, the man carefully focused mainly on a more Perry-esque approach.
The heavily weighed-down blues Reefer Head Woman turns out to be just as fun, but a touch more expendable. Backed by a monotonous harmonica solo, the song builds its identity around a traditional blues framework, which hurts it more than it helps. The same goes for Tyler’s friend Mia, which turns out to be yet another reworked Dream On. Their dullness is easily shaken off by a funky little number called Bone To Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy), which stands out the most on the whole album with its lively rhythms. The thrilling action is electrified even further by the excellent cover of the Yardbirds classic Think About It, where the true Aerosmith power comes through at full strength. It’s truly incredible that the guys, under conditions that were practically impossible for quality work, were still able to show their true colors, the very thing that ultimately made them one of the greatest rock bands of all time!
Lineup
Steven Tyler: vocals
Joe Perry: guitar
Brad Whitford: guitar
Tom Hamilton: bass
Joey Kramer: drums
Jimmy Crespo: guitar *
Production
Gary Lyons
Tracklist
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
Running time: 35.41
