If you thought you heard all AEROSMITH, you better keep reading. We already featured at plotn08 all AEROSMITH classic first era albums in its Japanese Blu-Spec CD2 pressing, the best sounding version you could get… until now.
Those Japan releases used the 1993 remastering job, which are good, but wait to listen to this new 2023 CD release of AEROSMITH’s sixth album ”Night In The Ruts” featuring a new remaster – this simply blows out of the water anything you heard before.
Housed into a transparent jewel case and discrete artwork – poor, if you ask – oddly, the back cover art states this is the 1993 20-bit remaster. Someone must have forgotten to scrub it before it went to the printers.
Anyway, what matters in this fresh 2023 release of “Night In The Ruts” is the defined, pristine warm sound of this CD. You’d never heard this album so good. And it isn’t ‘quiet’ at all – it’s potent yet not distorted.
So yes folks, this is the definitive version of the underrated “Night In The Ruts”, featured in exclusive at plotn08.
American hard rock institution Aerosmith grudgingly acknowledged the dire state of affairs within their operation with the title of their sixth studio album, ”Night in the Ruts”, which arrived on Nov. 1, 1979, like some kind of condemned spirit of good times past, returning to haunt those left behind.
If anything, it was no small miracle that Aerosmith — overworked, overtired and over-drugged — had even managed to keep their leaky ship afloat that far. The already trying conditions surrounding 1977’s Draw the Line and the grueling tour regimen that interrupted the recording of “Night In The Ruts” finally pushed guitarist Joe Perry over the edge.
By the time the shambles that was now Aerosmith reconvened in late summer of ’79 to complete “Night In The Ruts”, Perry was gone. The remaining guitar workload had to be shouldered by his six-string partner Brad Whitford, plus session hires Richie Supa, Neil Thompson and Jimmy Crespo (who later became Joe’s official replacement).
And still, many songs convincingly sound like vintage Aerosmith, namely the rambunctious opener “No Surprize,” “Three Mile Smile” and eventual concert favorite “Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy).”
And this album includes a great cover, the Shangri-Las’ “Remember (Walking in the Sand)”, one of my favorite songs from first-era Aerosmith.
But while Aerosmith went on to pull a Kiss-type, “No, Ace Frehley is still in the band, seriously” ruse by placing the already departed Perry on the “Night In The Ruts” cover photo, their charismatic guitarist and songwriting force was as good as gone, and his former guitar foil, Whitford was soon to follow.
Despite its recording studio session troubles, “Night In The Ruts” is a surprisingly coherent and inspired album. Although it’s not up to par with such classics as Toys In The Attic or Rocks, it was definitely focused, rocking, and very well produced, something you can fully appreciate on this stellar remastering job.
Highly Recommended
01 – No Surprize (Remastered)
02 – Chiquita (Remastered)
03 – Remember (Walking in the Sand) (Remastered)
04 – Cheese Cake (Remastered)
05 – Three Mile Smile (Remastered)
06 – Reefer Head Woman (Remastered)
07 – Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy) (Remastered)
08 – Think About It (Remastered)
09 – Mia (Remastered)
Steven Tyler – lead vocals, keyboards, harmonica, piano
Joe Perry – guitar, slide, backing vocals
Brad Whitford – guitar
Tom Hamilton – bass
Joey Kramer – drums
with:
Jimmy Crespo – lead guitar on “Three Mile Smile”
Neil Thompson – guitar on “Chiquita”
Richie Supa – additional guitars on “No Surprize” and “Mia”
George Young – alto saxophone on “Chiquita”
Louis del Gatto – baritone saxophone on “Chiquita”
Lou Marini – tenor saxophone on “Chiquita”
Barry Rogers – trombone on “Chiquita”
Mary Weiss – backing vocals on “Remember (Walking in the Sand)”