Night in the Ruts
| Night in the Ruts | ||||
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| Studio album by Aerosmith | ||||
| Released | November 1, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | Spring - Summer 1979 | |||
| Studio | Mediasound Record Plant |
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| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 35:41 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Aerosmith, Gary Lyons | |||
| Aerosmith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Night in the Ruts | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Robert Christgau | (C+) |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Night in the Ruts is the sixth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 1, 1979, by Columbia Records. Guitarist Joe Perry left the band midway through its recording. The album was initially produced at the Bands Wherehouse/Rehearsal space by Jack Douglas, who had produced Aerosmith's previous four albums, but later Columbia Records brought in Gary Lyons to replace Douglas as the producer.
Recording of Night in the Ruts began in the spring of 1979, but right from the beginning there were delays. Hampered by rampant drug use, vocalist Steven Tyler had difficulty completing lyrics and vocals, with bassist Tom Hamilton recalling later, "We worked on the album, but we couldn't finish it. It was supposed to come out in June and be called Off Your Rocker, but there were no lyrics. It was a big crisis." The band members were also in dire financial straits, with Perry owing $80,000 to the band for room service, which he planned to repay by recording a solo album. The relationship between Aerosmith and Jack Douglas also became frosty when the producer divorced his wife, a woman the band liked personally, and this, combined with the weak sales of Draw the Line, led to Columbia stepping in, with Douglas reflecting in the band memoir Walk This Way, "I think the label finally put a lot of pressure on them. It was: "Look at these sales numbers. Come up with another hit or there's gonna be trouble.' David [Krebs, Aerosmith's manager] thought I no longer exercised control over the band, which was true. No one did." When it was only halfway finished, the record label and management ordered the band to go out on tour in order to generate some revenue, as they had quickly burned through the budget allotted to them. This premature tour during the summer months pushed the album's release to late in the year. Even worse, substance abuse among the band members was getting worse and they started fighting among themselves. This led to a number of missed and sloppy live performances, finally culminating in a violent fight involving the band members and their wives. Perry quit the band halfway through the tour. Prior to his departure, Perry had completed guitar parts for "No Surprize," "Chiquita," "Cheese Cake," "Three Mile Smile," and "Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)." The guitar parts for the remaining songs were recorded by Brad Whitford, Richie Supa, Neil Thompson, and Jimmy Crespo (who later became Perry's official replacement from 1979–84). Perry's last session with the band was on May 30, 1979. He later remembered:
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