I’m not the biggest Aerosmith fan on the planet, but I do enjoy a good guitar album where I can find it. Rocks is a good guitar album, so I enjoy it. Of all the Aerosmith releases, it’s the one I like the most. I can get into most of the songs and it’s got some great hooks.

“Lick and a Promise” and “Rats in the Cellar” are my two favorite tracks off the LP. “Sick as a Dog” is another deep cut that really does it for me. The two lead tracks and Classic Rock staples, “Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child” aren’t too shabby, either. The only song I simply can’t take in large doses is the ballad at the end, “Home Tonight.” I choose to live my life without that song, and I’m doing just fine, thank you very much.

Overall, this is a fun album, but I don’t find it as compelling as other discs in my collection. Yeah, it’s fun, and I like it, but if I had to choose between saving this album and, say, a Tommy Bolin LP from a burning building, you’d be roasting your marshmallows with Aerosmith-fueled flames. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.

If I was a die-hard Aerosmith fan, I’d give this a 10 because it is the best album the band produced. If you find yourself in the situation of being a die-hard member of the Blue Army, then you are a sham if you do not yet own this album. Forgive me, though, for giving this a solid 7 out of 10, because I’m not a huge fan of Aerosmith. This is a solid piece of work, no question about it. It’s great rock and has been influential for a big wave of rock acts that followed in Aerosmith’s footsteps. It’s just that I find Aerosmith to be formulaic and although the formula is at its best on this release, a formula is still a formula.