Aerosmith – Draw the Line (1977): Album Review, Tracklist & Fun Facts
Released in December 1977, Draw the Line is Aerosmith’s fifth studio album and the final release of their classic 1970s run. Arriving after the raw power of Rocks, the album captures a band at a crossroads—still capable of explosive hard rock, but increasingly affected by exhaustion, excess, and internal tension.
Album Overview
Produced by Jack Douglas, Draw the Line continues Aerosmith’s aggressive hard rock approach while introducing a rougher, more chaotic edge. The recording sessions were famously troubled, with the band struggling through heavy touring, substance abuse, and creative burnout.
Musically, the album blends blues-driven hard rock, proto-metal aggression, and moments of funk and swagger. While not as focused as Rocks, it delivers a darker, more dangerous atmosphere that reflects the band’s unstable state at the time.
Tracklist – Aerosmith: Draw the Line (1977)
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Draw the Line
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Critical Mass
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Get It Up
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Bright Light Fright
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Kings and Queens
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The Hand That Feeds
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Sight for Sore Eyes
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Milk Cow Blues
Album Review
The album explodes open with the title track “Draw the Line,” a ferocious, chaotic rocker featuring slashing guitars and manic vocals. “Critical Mass” continues the intensity with paranoid lyrics and a grinding riff, capturing the album’s unstable energy.
“Get It Up” and “Bright Light Fright” deliver fast, sleazy hard rock, while “The Hand That Feeds” slows the pace with a darker, blues-inflected groove. The standout track, “Kings and Queens,” shifts gears entirely—introducing acoustic guitars, medieval imagery, and epic storytelling, making it one of the most ambitious songs in Aerosmith’s catalog.
The album closes with a gritty, bluesy cover of “Milk Cow Blues,” recorded live in the studio, reinforcing the band’s deep blues roots. While Draw the Line lacks the consistency of Toys in the Attic or Rocks, its rawness and unpredictability give it a unique place in Aerosmith’s discography.
Fun Facts, Trivia & Did You Know
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• Fun Fact: Draw the Line was recorded partly in an abandoned convent in New York, adding to its dark atmosphere.
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• Trivia: The album cover features the band members partially buried in cocaine—a controversial image reflecting their excess at the time.
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• Did You Know? “Kings and Queens” became one of Aerosmith’s most successful singles of the late 1970s.
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• Fun Fact: The band later admitted that creative and personal tensions heavily influenced the album’s chaotic sound.
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• Did You Know? Despite its troubled creation, Draw the Line still went platinum in the United States.
Draw the Line stands as a raw, unfiltered snapshot of Aerosmith at the end of their first golden era—dangerous, uneven, but packed with powerful moments that would influence hard rock for decades.
