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""Rocks" is a must-have new album from Aerosmith that many fans consider their best."
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5/5
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After the fabulous "Toys In The Attic", Aerosmith's challenge is not the easiest one to face. Indeed, how to maintain the highest level without giving in to self-plagiarism? Despite the challenge ahead, the Boston 5 nevertheless found the winning recipe. If Jack Douglas has remained behind the consoles and the recording was still done in a New York studio, the musical content did not evolve to make "Rocks" a new must-have album that many fans consider to be the best of the band.
To do this, Tyler, Perry & Co. get tough and knock us out with a heavy yet sophisticated riff on "Back In The Saddle", followed by "Last Child" which surprises us with a heavy-funk riff after an intro with romantic vocal harmonies worthy of the Beatles. The rest of the album is of the same level, both powerful and finely chiselled. "Rats In The Cellar" speeds up the tempo with its blues-rock on amphetamines, and its wild solo where Tyler's harmonica and Perry's guitar have a great time before a finale that nothing seems to be able to stop, while "Combination" is sung in 2 voices on its quasi integrality, for an almost suffocating heavy result.
The shift between heavy and rock'n'roll tracks continues with "Sick As A Dog" where Steven Tyler offers us many tremolos and is supported by omnipresent choirs. The tempo gets heavier again with 'Nobody's Fault' whose verses seem to come straight out of a Judas Priest album. The end of the album is less dark with "Get The Lead Out", a hard US song with festive verses, "Lick And A Promise", which is in an equivalent register, and the inevitable power-ballad exercise represented this time by "Home Tonight".
If none of the 9 tracks suffers from any weakness, it should be noted that the production is mostly darker, which moreover highlights the playing of Tom Hamilton, the unfairly underestimated bassist. It is indeed amazing to note his ability to follow Joe Perry's skids and other accelerations as sudden as dangerous. The latter and his mate Tyler are beginning to deserve their nickname of Toxic Twins, the psychedelic component of this album suggesting that the inspiration may have come from more or less coloured fumes. Finally, this review would be incomplete if it were to forget Joe Kramer's heavy and dynamic hitting and the unavoidable role of Brad Whitford that Joe Perry's strong personality unjustly makes us forget.
Aerosmith thus succeeds in the rare feat of remaining at the top, while making its music evolve and showing at the same time a great maturity and a spirit of adventure. This album is as much a must-have as its predecessor, and Aerosmith's ability to repeat this kind of performance justifies the legendary status the band now enjoys - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Back In The Saddle - 4:40
02. Last Child - 3:26
03. Rats In The Cellar - 4:07
04. Combination - 3:41
05. Sick As A Dog - 4:12
06. Nobody's Fault - 4:25
07. Get The Lead Out - 3:42
08. Lick And A Promise - 3:05
09. Home Tonight - 3:17
LINEUP:
Brad Whitford: Guitares
Joe Perry: Guitares
Joey Kramer: Batterie
Steven Tyler: Chant / Claviers / Harmonica
Tom Hamilton: Basse
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
4/5 (3 view(s))
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STAFF:
5/5 (5 view(s))
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"New Talc album out now !" |
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