10 Hard Rock Albums Saved By One Song
5. No Surprize - Aerosmith
After dominating the American rock scene for the first half of the '70s, Aerosmith were beginning to free fall. Coming off the disastrous recording sessions for Draw the Line, the band's massive drug intake and infighting led to Joe Perry quitting the band shortly after the accompanying tour. Though Perry played a bit on the band's followup Night in the Ruts, this is looked at as the beginning of the dark times.
However, the band did have one ace in the hole with "No Surprize." First written before the band even hit it big, the whole track is a detailed account of the band being discovered at Max's Kansas City by the legendary Clive Davis. From the Stones-y riffing to the swagger exuding from Steven Tyler's vocal performance, this has everything you could possibly want in an Aerosmith rocker.
Even though the band had a great breakout single, the rest of the record verges between moments of greatness and faint wisps of the boogie rock band we used to know. Aerosmith have made plenty of albums better than Night in the Ruts, but if the record had more songs like "No Surprize" among its ranks, it might not be looked at as the start of the band's downward spiral.