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Post by aeronyc on Nov 24, 2023 17:09:28 GMT -5
I’ve been listening to Draw the Line, which I really enjoy but consider to be the weakest Aerosmith record of the 70s. That said, I still really enjoy it. And I think it’s the band’s best album cover. I was curious what RS said about it. Pretty surprised how brutal the review is. For members who followed Aerosmith in the 70s, did you really think this when hearing it? Was this their 70s MFAD? www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/draw-the-line-199627/amp/
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retro
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Jul 19, 2021 12:17:33 GMT -5
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Post by retro on Nov 24, 2023 18:19:08 GMT -5
I stopped reading the review at the beginning with the horrendous record comment. You have to consider the context. Rolling Stone was not complimentary to the band then. They were still thought of as Rolling Stones ripoffs by some, plus they were coming off Rocks. As for the album, it's by far their worst of the 70's. It's a two song album, the title track and Kings & Queens. I somewhat like Critical Mass and Bright Light Fright but rarely listen to them. The album is more renowned for its drama involved in making it.
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Post by aeronyc on Nov 24, 2023 20:00:39 GMT -5
I stopped reading the review at the beginning with the horrendous record comment. You have to consider the context. Rolling Stone was not complimentary to the band then. They were still thought of as Rolling Stones ripoffs by some, plus they were coming off Rocks. As for the album, it's by far their worst of the 70's. It's a two song album, the title track and Kings & Queens. I somewhat like Critical Mass and Bright Light Fright but rarely listen to them. The album is more renowned for its drama involved in making it. Interesting. I didn’t know Rolling Stone had an axe to grind. Rocks is obviously a superior record to DTL, but even the Rocks review is pretty bad. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/rocks-206044/amp/
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orbit222
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Post by orbit222 on Nov 24, 2023 20:44:45 GMT -5
The Empire Strikes Back, one of the most culturally impactful movies of modern cinema, and the gold star to which all Star Wars releases are compared to, wasn't favorably reviewed when it came out. Moral of the story: just like what you like, don't let others sway you.
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Post by aerostooge on Nov 25, 2023 6:32:33 GMT -5
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Post by AeroCooper on Nov 25, 2023 7:30:04 GMT -5
I’ve been listening to Draw the Line, which I really enjoy but consider to be the weakest Aerosmith record of the 70s. That said, I still really enjoy it. And I think it’s the band’s best album cover. Agree with all of this. As for how the album was received, I remember being in some high school class where they allowed us to listen to music. One of the 'cool' kids has brought it in and I overheard something like:
"What are we listening to??" "It's Aerosmith! I thought you liked them" "Yeah, but this stuff is...unknown"
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Post by ap on Nov 25, 2023 8:39:41 GMT -5
Rolling Stone always had a dismissive attitude toward 70's arena rock bands. Virtually everything that emerged after the Alice/Bowie/Lou/Elton wave was gleefully shat upon. Thanks to Jan's involvement, we all witnessed that attitude carry over to the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame.
Personally, I ALWAYS thought Rolling Stone sucked. The most flavourless, colourless, pretentious BORING so-called music magazine ever produced.
Draw The Line has a darker tone, but I always enjoyed it. I Wanna Know Why is a lost classic.
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Post by tedz on Nov 25, 2023 11:16:56 GMT -5
1st of all, re. the DTL review: ...a truly horrendous record, chaotic to the point of malfunction...' I admit to the the album being my least favourite 70's album from the Group, but I do quite like 4 songs on it - almost half the album - so I can't agree with the above mentioned 'sentiments'. Speaking of which, I consider Critical Mass the song where Aerosmith really started to falter so I can support the review's criticism of it. Stating though, that K&Q 'aspires to epic proportions but self-destructs before it manages two steps up the stairway to heaven' is, in my view, completely off base. I also do agree with the assessment of MCB.
As for the Rocks review, it's summed up at the end of the 1st paragraph: '...their fourth album fails to prove that they can grow and innovate as their models did.' It goes on to state that '...the best performances here — “Lick and a Promise,” “Sick as a Dog” and “Rats in the Cellar” — are essentially remakes of the highlights of the relatively flat Toys in the Attic.' Talk about selling not just 1 but 3 songs so short. The review then praises Steven's vocals but criticizes his shrieks on the album's 1st 2 songs, also diminishing his vocals compared to Jagger's and dissing those same 2 songs. Absurd, in my view. Stating that 'the material is Rocks’ major flaw, mostly pale remakes of their earlier hits' again I consider so inaccurate.
I'll check the link to the 1976 interview recently posted above shortly.
Ted
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Post by aerozhul on Nov 25, 2023 23:01:05 GMT -5
To be fair, I didn’t think much of DTL the first time I listened to it, either. Aside from the title track (which has always rocked my socks off), nothing really stood out to me, not even Kings and Queens. It wasn’t until I listened to it a few more times that I came to appreciate some of the other tracks - K&Q (which is truly epic), I Wanna Know Why (very underrated track, would be so fun live), Milkcow.
Still, it’s definitely a step down from the first four albums, and is the first Aero album that has what I consider to be some filler tracks - songs that are clearly lower tier and just thrown on to round out the album. To me these songs on DTL would be Hand That Feeds and Get It Up. I don’t agree it’s their worst 70s album though, that album to me is Ruts. It also has some flashes of brilliance on it, but far less than DTL.
I’d imagine that if I’d been a fan in the 70s and was eagerly anticipating DTL (I was 3 months old when DTL was released) after the first four albums, I would’ve been disappointed.
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Post by VoodooMedicineMan on Nov 26, 2023 0:11:19 GMT -5
Personally, I ALWAYS thought Rolling Stone sucked. The most flavourless, colourless, pretentious BORING so-called music magazine ever produced. Yes, this times a million. Most critics are highbrow pretentious blowhards, but Rolling Stone takes the cake there. They've always focused more on the social\political agendas than musical content. Whatever issue is being forced down the publics throats at the time, they find the most gratuitous examples of that and act like they have some superior intellect in being able to decipher some deep meaning while thumbing their nose and completely overlooking classics like Rocks.
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Post by aeronyc on Nov 26, 2023 14:00:48 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the interesting replies. They are fun to read. Ted - you’re an excellent writer.
Still in a DTL zone. Get It Up is a great song. I know some think it’s filler, but it has a fun boogey to it. Sight for Sore Eyes is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. I first heard it on Live Bootleg, and it was one of the standout tracks on that album (note Live Bootleg was my third Aero album, behind GAG and Aerosmith)
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Post by aerozhul on Nov 28, 2023 13:27:14 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the interesting replies. They are fun to read. Ted - you’re an excellent writer. Still in a DTL zone. Get It Up is a great song. I know some think it’s filler, but it has a fun boogey to it. Sight for Sore Eyes is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. I first heard it on Live Bootleg, and it was one of the standout tracks on that album (note Live Bootleg was my third Aero album, behind GAG and Aerosmith) I totally forgot about Sight for Sore Eyes - great little tune! It’s a shame that it and I Wanna Know Why have sort of been forgotten.
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Post by jj on Nov 29, 2023 0:53:28 GMT -5
Rolling Stone writers always seemed to have a corncob stuck somewhere unpleasant. No matter, that 1976 issue with Steven on the cover has an amazing spread of the band. Wish I still had my copy.
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Post by mark7 on Nov 29, 2023 1:46:37 GMT -5
DTL was the first album I bought when I was Aero-aware. This then 13 year old loved it and I still do to this day. It's loud, brash, punky and close to flying off the rails. Of course I love Toys and Rocks, but those were very well thought out and well executed. DTL, maybe not so much, but that's the beauty/excitement in it for me. It's also why I love those Spring 78 shows so much. I still love to blast "Side A" of DTL in the car, just a non-stop assault. RS blows and Wenner's recent tone-deaf comments only underscore that.
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Post by aerostooge on Nov 29, 2023 4:55:03 GMT -5
I love the album because of the very fact that it does lack cohesion. You can tell the tunes that were essentially jams between the LI3 and Tyler just put his vocals over, and the ones where Joe could be arsed playing a bit on. It's a fascinating album.
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