Night in the Ruts
	Produced by Gary Lyons and Aerosmith
	Released on November 1979
	US CHART POSITION #14
	Find it at GEMM
FC 36050 cover [high resolution scan]

k ronomyth 6.0: THE JAMMY FOOLS. Apparently I’m bound by some critical oath to tell you this is the worst of the original five Aerosmith albums and then point out the band’s drug use as a cautionary tale for young readers (Don’t do drugs or your albums will be produced by Gary Lyons and suck). Except that I never thought the first two albums were any great shakes, so I’m happy to lump all three of them together into a pile marked “Those other Aerosmith albums that you let your younger brother take to college without putting up much of a fight because you only liked a couple of songs on them anyway.” (I write small, in case you’re wondering.) Yes, it’s true that Steven Tyler’s voice doesn’t sound particularly good on Night in the Ruts. And, yes, it’s true that nothing on here would be considered classic Aerosmith like “Dream On” or “Train Kept A Rollin’.” But a good two-thirds of this albums rocks pretty hard (“Bone To Bone,” “Chiquita,” “No Surprize,” “Three Mile Smile,” “Think About It”), and even the ballad “Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand),” which sounded pretty lame at the time for Aerosmith, sounds like Master of Freakin’ Puppets compared to some of the tripe that followed (“Angel,” “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”). In fact, you’d have to be pretty jaded (I am sooo sorry about that) to dismiss this album as inferior Aerosmith. Ruts lacks the calculated double-guitar riffs that marked their best work, and it does sound tired in spots (an impression no doubt aided by the album cover), and sure they were probably so wasted that their pee could peel paint, but calling it the worst Aerosmith album ignores the fact that all of the original Aerosmith albums deliver the goods on some level.

TRACK LISTING

1. NO SURPRIZE    (Steven Tyler/Joe Perry)    4:26
2. CHIQUITA    (Steven Tyler/Joe Perry)    4:25
3. REMEMBER (WALKING IN THE SAND)    (George Morton)    4:05
4. CHEESE CAKE    (Steven Tyler/Joe Perry)    4:16
5. THREE MILE SMILE    (Steven Tyler/Joe Perry)    3:43
6. REEFER HEAD WOMAN    (uncredited on elpee)    4:03
7. BONE TO BONE (CONEY ISLAND WHITE FISH BOY)    (Steven Tyler/Joe Perry)    3:00
8. THINK ABOUT IT    (Keith Relf/Jim McCarty/Jimmy Page)    3:35
9. MIA    (Steven Tyler)    4:13

CREDITS

TOM HAMILTON --
JOEY KRAMER --
JOE PERRY --
STEVEN TYLER -- cover concept
BRAD WHITFORD --
Lou Delgotto -- baritone sax (2)
Lou Marini -- tenor sax (2)
Barry Rogers -- trombone (2)
Richard Supa -- guitar work (1,9)
Neil Thompson -- electric guitar (9)
George Young -- alto sax (2)
David Krebs and Steve Leber -- executive producers
Gary Lyons -- engineer
Rod O'Brien -- additional engineering
Peter Thea -- additional engineering
Berg/Kosh -- art direction and design
Jim Shea -- photography

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