Rock in a Hard Place

by Aerosmith

Overview

Rock in a Hard Place is the sound of Aerosmith at their most "out of it." Not to say it's a horrible album by any means -- in fact, there are more than a few pleasant surprises -- but without the guitar team of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, it didn't possess the magical chemistry of their '70s classics. Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay filled in for the departed duo, and it turned out to be the group's most studio-enhanced and experimental record up to this point. To keep up with the then-current musical climate, vocoders and synthesizers can be subtly detected, as heard on the space-age "Prelude to Joanie" and in the beginning to the otherwise tough rocker "Lightning Strikes," which served as the album's lone single/video. "Jailbait," "Bitch's Brew," "Bolivian Ragamuffin," and the title track showed the band could still rock out despite their three-year layoff between albums, a cover of "Cry Me a River" showed their gentle side, while the psychedelicized "Joanie's Butterfly" was the album's surprise highlight. But it didn't take an expert to know that Aerosmith was not the same after the loss of the aforementioned members. And so did the band, who welcomed Perry and Whitford back into its ranks two years after Rock in a Hard Place. ~ Greg Prato

Product Details

Release Date:	08/25/2023
Label:	Capitol / Umr
UPC:	0602455685575
Rank:	31736

Tracks

1. Jailbait
2. Lightning Strikes
3. Bitch's Brew
4. Bolivian Ragamuffin
5. Cry Me A River
6. Prelude To Joanie
7. Joanie's Butterfly
8. Rock In A Hard Place (Cheshire Cat)
9. Jig Is Up
10. Push Comes to Shove

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Aerosmith   Primary Artist
Paul Harris   Piano
Steven Tyler   Bass,Piano,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards,Percussion
Jack Douglas   Percussion
Joey Kramer   Drums,Vocals
John Turi   Saxophone
Jimmy Crespo   Guitar
Brad Whitford   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Tom Hamilton   Bass,Guitar,Bass (Vocal)
John Lievano   Guitar
Reinhard Straub   Violin
Rick Dufay   Guitar

Technical Credits

Tony Bongiovi   Engineer,Producer
Steven Tyler   Composer,Producer
Jack Douglas   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Garry Rindfuss   Engineer
Josh Abbey   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Jimmy Crespo   Composer
Richie Supa   Composer
Bruce Hensal   Assistant Engineer
George Marino   Mastering Engineer
Malcolm Pollack   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
John Agnello   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Godfrey Diamond   Mixing,Engineer
Jim Sessody   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Zoe Yanakis   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Richard Supa   Composer
Gary Rindfuss   Assistant Engineer