Aerosmith - Rocks - Original 1976 LP - Voted 176th Best Album of All Time! VG+!

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Rocks by ReleasedMay 3, 1976RecordedFebruary–March 1976 at and The Record Plant, , Length34:31Aerosmith and  chronology
(1975)Rocks
(1976)
(1977) from Rocks ""
Released: May 27, 1976 ""
Released: 1976 ""
Released: March 22, 1977

Rocks is the fourth album by American  band , released on May 3, 1976.  described Rocks as having "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking". Rocks was ranked #176 on 's list of the . It has greatly influenced many  and  artists, including  and . The album was a commercial success, charting three singles on the , two of which reached the  ("" and ""). The album was one of the first albums to ship  when it was released. The album has since gone quadruple platinum.

Song information "Back in the Saddle"

The song features Joe Perry playing a , and was released as a  on March 22, 1977. The song was covered by former -vocalist  on his 2007 album , as a duet with  singer .

"Last Child"

A blues and funk infused tune, "Last Child" was written by lead singer  and guitarist Brad Whitford, and includes many  lyrics from Tyler. The song remains a favorite among many Aerosmith fans. It is said that Brad Whitford created the riff after listening to , and that the band wrote the rest in the studio. Live, Whitford plays lead guitar on the song. "Last Child" was also included in the  . The song was released as a single on May 27, 1976, and features Paul Prestopino playing .

"Rats in the Cellar"

 describes the song's writing process as, "taking this thing  created, and making it balls to the wall". It was conceived as a counterpart to , and is inspired by the death of the band's drug dealer. The song was released as a promo single for the album.

"Combination"

This song features  on co-lead vocals with . The song is about drugs and the danger of affording them.

"Sick as a Dog"

"Sick as a Dog" is the only song on Rocks that features Tom Hamilton playing a  instead of an , and features both Joe Perry (during the main part of the song) and Steven Tyler (during the ending guitar solo) on electric bass. According to an interview with Tom Hamilton, during recording Perry handed the bass over to Tyler at a pause near the end of the song, so that Perry could switch over to lead guitar.

"Nobody's Fault"

With "Back in the Saddle", "Nobody's Fault" (regarded as the heaviest song on the album), is one of former  guitarist 's favorite Aerosmith songs, as well as that of  leader .  band  covered this song on their 1988 album, , as well as  contributing a cover of the song for their 2004  album .  vocalist  covered this song on his 2010 solo album .

This song is an important contribution to the band's catalogue by Brad Whitford, who cites it as his favorite Aerosmith song. Joey Kramer has also cited "Nobody's Fault" as his favorite Aerosmith song (along with "). It has also been said that the song is about earthquakes.

"Lick and a Promise"

"Lick and a Promise" is a song about "going out there and putting on a great show." The  were joined onstage in 1996 by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, performing the song along with "".

"Home Tonight"

This song features Joe Perry on a  as a  and his  for the , and has drummer , Tom Hamilton, and producer/arranger  performing .

Influence  says that Rocks was the album that inspired him to learn guitar. Rocks was one of 's favorite albums, as he listed in his . In 2003, the album was ranked number 176 on  magazine's list of .  songwriter and bassist  refers to it frequently in his book .  leader  has identified Rocks, as well as Aerosmith, to have been important influences in his music, stating that Aerosmith was the reason why he wanted to learn guitar. Media appearances The song "Last Child" is a playable song in the video game . Also released as a 4-channel  mix. "Back in the Saddle", "Nobody's Fault", "Rats in the Cellar" and "Combination" are playable songs on . "Back in the Saddle" is the only playable song from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith that appears in .   used "Back in the Saddle" as his entrance theme in  from 1994 to 1995. "Back in the Saddle" was featured in the movies  and . Reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRating(mixed)A−

Greg Prato of  said that the best songs on Rocks were "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child", and compared the Joe Perry composition, "Combination", to a  song. He also said the album was more "raw" than Toys in the Attic, and thought overall Rocks was better than its predecessor. Ben Mitchell of  magazine, said that the group members' drug-use actually helped Rocks, and he also called the album "raw." In a contemporary review for ,  said that with Rocks Aerosmith was doing a good job of imitating , and that after Rocks the band began to lose steam.

Track listing Side oneNo.TitleWriter(s)Length1.""  , 4:402.""  Tyler, 3:263.""  Tyler, Perry4:054."Combination"  Perry3:39Side twoNo.TitleWriter(s)Length1."Sick as a Dog"  Tyler, 4:162.""  Tyler, Whitford4:213."Get the Lead Out"  Tyler, Perry3:414."Lick and a Promise"  Tyler, Perry3:055.""  Tyler3:15 Total length: 34:31