Looking at the behind-the-scenes information, it appears that most of the rock performers of the Seventies had at least one album that was almost entirely fuelled by cocaine. There was even a scandal where Columbia Records would basically be pushing the drug on their performers to keep them going and get the albums out quickly.
The effects are evident, perhaps, in the frenetic tempo of the track Rats In The Cellar but, I think had I not learned this, I wouldn’t have assumed that this was a coke-fuelled album. Sometimes the drop in quality is clear in hindsight – Black Sabbath 3 is not as varied and deft as Paranoid, Station To Station seems like a pale (or thin, white) imitation of earlier Bowie. This album, however, is probably on a par with Toys In The Attic.
Steven Tyler has developed the most rock scream of rock screams – when he shrieks out the word “back” in the track Back In The Saddle, it sounds like a scalded cat, but in a good way. The sense that he’s channeling Robert Plant, and that the band are influenced by Led Zeppelin, is also clear on the track Nobody’s Fault, a real monster of a tune. On the other hand, Last Child is surprisingly funky, going back to their style of Walk This Way.
Again, as with a lot of hard rock albums, my brain started turning to mush by the end of it – these kinds of track are great for a while, but a whole album of it has never been an enjoyable experience for me; I’ll usually break up listening to it, otherwise it’s too easy to become numb to the full-on ear assault. Which I think also does the music a disservice.
On balance, I’d say Toys is still the better album for me, by a whisker.
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