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 Right behind Rocks Dec 15, 2009
If this record didn't have two songs on it I'd call it a very good Aerosmith record that is amazingly well done considering Joe Perry and Brad Whitford aren't on it. Taking out the two guitar players and still coming up with a decent record is better than one could hope for. But this record contains two of the best songs Aerosmith has ever done and they start the album off. "Jailbait" and "Lightin' Strikes" make this is my second favorite Aerosmith record after Rocks. Jimmy Crespo positively smokes on this record and from what I've read Joe Perry doesn't even want to hear this record and that's too bad. It would be great to see Aerosmith do some of these songs (I'm writing this as Aerosmith is up in the air about even being a band anymore). If you're an Aerosmith fan and primarily into their 70's material you have to have this one, in fact I'd get this and the first Joe Perry Project record before I'd buy Draw the Line or Night in the Ruts.
overlooked gem Jan 03, 2009
I saw Aerosmith on the tour for this album (with Pat Travers opening)--and boy was Steven Tyler messed up! He tried to talk a few times in between songs but none of us could understand a word he said.
That kind of pathos underlies this album, which is one of the reasons it's neglected in the Aerosmith canon--along with the obvious absence of Brad Whitford and Joe Perry.
Still, this album has that old-school Aerosmith ragged edge, much more so that anything they have released recently. At least they wrote these songs themselves...there was no John Kalodner lurking about to bring in outside writers to make sure everything was all nice and commercial, and there was no other expectation but that Aerosmith was back and could still rock.
And rock they did on this album. I dare anyone to find a song in the Aerosmith catalog--even in the 70s--which has the same energy and drive as "Jailbait." What a way to open an album! Believe me, this was a welcome blast of pure clean rock and roll in 1982, and sounded downright subversive amongst all the other musical offerings of the period. "Bitches Brew" is still one of the nastiest, sleaziest, and rawest songs the band ever did, and I nominate "Cry Me A River" as the best-ever Aerosmith cover song. All three of these songs feature some of Steven Tyler's best singing.
It says a lot about a group of musicians that they can still produce quality work at the lowest point of their personal and professional lives. I have an equally high regard for "Done With Mirrors," the unfairly-maligned reunion album from 1985. I saw Aerosmith on this tour as well, and irregardless of the state of their personal lives, they put on a fantastic show. Steven Tyler was clearly reinvigorated to have Joe and Brad back with the band, and his performance was flawless. But after 1985 the corporate machinery took over the band's output, and nothing was the same. "Rock in A Hard Place" and "Done With Mirrors" were the last classic Aerosmith albums. A new era saw them scale great heights of personal and professional success, but the band's music lost its wonderfully ragged edge.
 Gonna read your funeral rite... Apr 10, 2008
No band could have fallen further faster than the almighty Aerosmith by the dawn of their second decade. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were gone (Brad actually stayed for some of the recording of 'Rock in a Hard Place') and so was the magic. Drugs had destroyed the band but even in the depths of their depravity and borderline irrelevance, Steven Tyler got enough of his stuff together (is this man a miracle or what?) to record and release 'Rock in a Hard Place' in the late summer of 1982. Long gone were the sold out shows, unaccountable decadence and devoted fan follow of their hard rock disciples who had long since abandoned them for AC/DC and Van Halen. That this record was made and that it isn't half bad is the true phenomenon. With a new duo of Jimmy Crespo (who joined in 'Night in the Ruts') and Rick Dufay, Tyler soldiered on to labor through the song writing process that was becoming increasingly difficult for his drug dependent state of mind. Faves include "Lightning Strikes" a powerful and incredibly underrated song that you won't find on any Aerosmith compilations, yet album opener (and the ridiculously overrated) "Jailbait" is on at least two. Other quality cuts include "Bitch's Brew" and the title track but much of the rest is subpar. Inclusion of tired cover "Cry Me a River" would seem to indicate the difficulty of getting good material out of Steven at this point, but the man's vocal performance is still stunning and a testament to his enormous talent. On basically a flatline, Aerosmith who be given a dose of much need adrenaline in a couple of years with the return of Perry and Whitford and the beginnings of the comeback...but the climb back would not be easy...
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Definitely Underrated Jul 31, 2007
Sure Steven was messed up on drugs and the album cost a bundle to make, but the end product is nothing to criticize. Most people consider the period between Draw the Line and Done With Mirrors to be the worst for Aerosmith. I think the worst period for them has been the last ten years. Pump was a great album, but since then it's been hit or miss. It's sad to think that Aerosmith has made better records in the past without Joe Perry! Rock In A Hard Place being one of them.
I would take Rock In A Hard Place over any post-Pump album every day. This and Night In The Ruts are not considered Aerosmith classics, and they may not be as good as the albums that preceded them, but lets be serious. It's hard for any band to make an album as good as Rocks, Toys, Wings, S/T, Draw The Line. These are all incredible rock records. They are all classics. If Rock In A Hard Place isn't as good, that isn't saying much.
In closing, my point in writing this is to say that there is some excellent music on this and Night In The Ruts that have been overlooked. These records certainly deserve to be spun more often. There are so many classic tracks there's no point in listing them! It's hard to find a bad track on these records.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Not Bad, But Far From Their Best Jan 25, 2007
Gone are Whitford and Perry, in are Crespo and Dufay. This is not a bad album, but not really anything that stands out either. The songs are all ok, but much of it sounds haphazard and thrown together. "Joanie's Butterfly" is a bit different, but most of the album is kind of going through the numbers blues rock. Certainly not an essential album, but for fans of the band it is not a throwaway either.
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