Our list of Aerosmith Album Opening Songs Ranked shows that over the course of a 50-year career filled with ups and downs, they never forgot how to make a grand entrance.
From their humble origins as a glorified bar band to their commercial reign as MTV superstars, the Boston rockers always kicked off their albums with strong tracks, even if the accompanying full-lengths varied in quality.
And even though Aerosmith’s career can be clearly cleaved in two — their pre- and post-sobriety eras — this ranking is far from chronological. Even the staunchest ’70s purists would struggle to deny the hard-rocking pleasures of the ’80s and ’90s cuts on this list.
Read on to see our list of Aerosmith Album Opening Songs Ranked.
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15. “Luv XXX”
From: Music From Another Dimension! (2012)
If you can get past the Twilight Zone-esque narration and annoyingly juvenile title, “Luv XXX” opens Aerosmith’s most recent studio album to date in impressive fashion. Joey Kramer‘s drums sound like a wrecking ball, and the Beatlesque vocal harmonies offset the old-school hard rock riffs. Steven Tyler‘s voice sounds ever-so-slightly weathered compared to previous works, but he and his band of fellow sexagenarians still set a mighty high bar.
14. “Road Runner”
From: Honkin’ on Bobo (2004)
Aerosmith purported to get back to their raw blues-rock roots on the covers album Honkin’ on Bobo. They don’t quite make good on their promise — this is a 21st-century Aerosmith album, after all, with all the bluster and baggage that come with that designation — but they certainly rock hard and sound like they’re having a good time, especially on the rollicking rendition of Bo Diddley’s “Road Runner” that opens the album.
13. “Beyond Beautiful”
From: Just Push Play (2001)
The opening track on Just Push Play gives listeners a false sense of security before the rest of the album veers off into garish rap-rock and schmaltzy power ballads. By contrast, “Beyond Beautiful” tastefully incorporates modern sonic flourishes amid its slamming drums and jagged riffs. Tyler’s superb vocals help mask the cliche lyrics, and a fiery guitar solo pushes the track over the top.
12. “Jailbait”
From: Rock in a Hard Place (1982)
“Jailbait” has all the hallmarks of a classic Aerosmith song — raunchy riffs, driving rhythms, Tyler’s lewd, raspy snarl — they just feel somewhat … diminished. That’s partly because guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford had both jumped ship, and partly because Tyler was so strung out he could barely stand, let alone write and record an album. Despite the dysfunction that plagued Aerosmith at the time, “Jailbait” kicks off the uneven Rock in a Hard Place on a promising note.
11. “Heart’s Done Time”
From: Permanent Vacation (1987)
“Heart’s Done Time” sums up all the elements that made Permanent Vacation — and the next decade of Aerosmith’s career — such a commercial juggernaut, even as it alienated some of the band’s old-school fans. Sinewy riffs, titanic drums and soaring vocal harmonies abound on this slick, mid-tempo rocker, polished to a blinding sheen by producer Bruce Fairbairn. It’s a bit too self-conscious to match their best work, but an impressive opening volley nonetheless.
READ MORE: Top 15 ’80s Aerosmith Songs
10. “Nine Lives”
From: Nine Lives (1997)
Often regarded as the album where Aerosmith’s multi-platinum comeback formula began to feel stale, Nine Lives is more sonically diverse than its handful of power ballads would suggest. The title track opens the album in blistering fashion with one of Tyler’s wildest screams, backed by greasy riffs and an urgent, almost punkish groove. These cats still had a few lives left to spend.
9. “Intro / Eat the Rich”
From: Get a Grip (1993)
Aerosmith nods cheekily to their ’70s heyday in the hip-hop intro to “Eat the Rich,” which quickly gives way to one of the hottest riffs they ever concocted. The song is a perfect blend of sleazy, monolithic hard rock and soaring, radio-friendly hooks, and its irreverent lyrics (“So take your Grey Poupon, my friend, and shove it up your ass!“) assured listeners that even as Aerosmith grew older, they had no interest in growing up.
8. “Make It”
From: Aerosmith (1973)
Aerosmith still sounded like a glorified bar band on their self-titled debut album. But even in their infancy, they already had a large-scale, cinematic ambition. Tyler introduces the band like a fast-talking ringmaster (“Good evening, people, welcome to the show“), detailing his dreams of stardom and exhorting his bandmates to “make it, don’t break it.” Aerosmith would soon go on to do plenty of both.
7. “Let the Music Do the Talking”
From: Done With Mirrors (1985)
After years in the wilderness, Aerosmith had a lot to prove when their classic lineup reunited for Done With Mirrors. Although the album underperformed commercially, its opening song “Let the Music Do the Talking” offered a thundering statement of purpose. A remake of a Joe Perry Project song featuring updated lyrics from Tyler, the track rocks with clarity and braggadocio, setting the stage for their proper comeback on 1987’s Permanent Vacation. It was good to have the real Aerosmith back in the saddle.
READ MORE: Top 15 ’90s Aerosmith Songs
6. “No Surprize”
From: Night in the Ruts (1979)
On the brink of collapse at the end of the decade, Aerosmith made the savvy move to recount their hardscrabble origins on “No Surprize.” The lyrics overflow with snappy one-liners (“Vaccinate your ass with a phonograph needle“) while the raucous guitars evoke the band’s glory days from just a few years earlier. Too bad it was all about to go to hell.
5. “Same Old Song and Dance”
From: Get Your Wings (1974)
The night-and-day difference between Aerosmith’s self-titled debut and Get Your Wings becomes apparent as soon as the needle drops on “Same Old Song and Dance.” Gritty and groovy, with a driving backbeat and saxophone solo highlighting their R&B influences, it revealed a lean, focused hard rock band on the verge of world domination.
4. “Draw the Line”
From: Draw the Line (1977)
If Draw the Line as a whole marked the beginning of Aerosmith’s downward spiral into debilitating addiction and dysfunction, then the title track represented their last shot at glory. Rife with swampy riffs, raucous slide guitar and one of Tyler’s filthiest, raspiest vocals, it shows the Boston rockers at their ragged, hedonistic best — right before they crossed that proverbial line into oblivion.
3. “Young Lust”
From: Pump (1989)
Permanent Vacation gave Aerosmith their desperately needed comeback; Pump proved they could still kick ass. “Young Lust” takes all the strongest elements from the band’s ’70s prime and recontextualizes them for the glam metal era. Kramer bangs the drums incessantly as Perry and Whitford trade slinky riffs, while Tyler’s vocal cords and libido work in dual overdrive. It’s a breathless tour de force full of indelible hooks — an appropriate introduction to Aerosmith’s best comeback-era album by a long shot.
2. “Toys in the Attic”
From: Toys in the Attic (1975)
Aerosmith entered the big leagues with Toys in the Attic, and the album-opening title track offers all the proof needed as to why. Melding punk rock ferocity, heavy metal riffage and sublime vocal harmonies, the song flexes the quintet’s ever-growing chemistry and musical playfulness as they transformed into one of the preeminent hard rock bands of the decade. “Toys in the Attic” wasn’t even a single, but it resonates like a greatest hit.
1. “Back in the Saddle”
From: Rocks (1976)
Following the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Aerosmith doubled down on the star-making elements of Toys in the Attic and delivered another platinum-plated masterpiece with Rocks. The album contains many of the most vicious rockers they ever recorded, including opening track “Back in the Saddle.” The galloping rhythms and growling guitar and bass riffs propel the song, but Tyler’s the real star here, honing his trademark scream to a razor sharp, blood-curdling point. It doesn’t get tougher than this.
Aerosmith Albums Ranked
Any worst-to-best ranking of Aerosmith must deal with two distinct eras: their sleazy ’70s work and the slicker, more successful ’80s comeback. But which one was better?
Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff