Honkin' on Bobo
| Honkin' on Bobo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Aerosmith | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2004[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2003 at the Boneyard, the Bryer Patch, Pandora's Box | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal[1] | |||
| Length | 43:57 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
Steven Tyler Joe Perry Jack Douglas Marti Frederiksen[2] | |||
| Aerosmith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Honkin' on Bobo | ||||
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Honkin' on Bobo is the 14th studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 30, 2004 by Columbia Records.[1] The album includes 11 covers and one original track titled "The Grind". The sound reflects Aerosmith's blues-based influences and showcases a rawer sound (reminiscent of their 1970s heyday) compared to their recent commercial efforts and was also produced by Jack Douglas, who was Aerosmith's producer on a vast majority of their 1970s' output. Reaching #5 on the Billboard 200. Honkin' on Bobo was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on May 11, 2004.[3]
In reference to the origin of the title of the album, Joe Perry stated during a radio interview that "We just know that it's a phrase that sounds... jazzish, nastyish, so it works for us."[4] It may also be a reference to the early 90's single, "Honk On Bobo", by Canadian country/bluegrass/folk music group, The Good Brothers.
Harmonica
Many tracks on the album feature harmonica work by Steven Tyler, including Little Walter's "Temperature" which was played on an episode of the House of Blues Radio Hour which was about the harmonica.[5]
A harmonica keychain was included with the limited edition version.[1]
Reception
Metacritic gave the album a score of 69 out of 100 based on 12 generally favorable reviews.[6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that the album is the best the group has done since Pump in 1989, and that it cannot be called a "blues" album because it is a rock album. He called the album a "surprise" in that, even though the album's artwork and title are bad, it marks a return to Aerosmith.[7] In his Blender magazine review of the album, Jon Pareles said that the band did their blues album different than most others because, instead of making "respectable" cover versions, they make quite unrespectable cover versions like "You Gotta Move". The album, to him, proves that Aerosmith can still rock.[8] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly felt that the album didn't live up to what it should be because it is too loud, but some songs on the album are good.[9] David Fricke of Rolling Stone magazine wrote an article for the magazine comparing and contrasting Aerosmith's Honkin' on Bobo and Eric Clapton's Me and Mr. Johnson. He said that Clapton's album was mostly about pain, while Aerosmith's album was about sex and running away from lovers. He also considers Bobo to be a double-tribute album – one tribute to the original musicians and one tribute for 1960's blues-rock bands – and considers the album to be overdone, which is what Aerosmith is good at.[10]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [7] |
| Blender | [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| USA Today | [11] |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Road Runner" | Ellas McDaniel | 3:46 | |
| 2. | "Shame, Shame, Shame" (Originally sung by Smiley Lewis) | Ruby Fisher, Kenyon Hopkins | 2:15 | |
| 3. | "Eyesight to the Blind" | Sonny Boy Williamson | 3:09 | |
| 4. | "Baby, Please Don't Go" | Joe Williams | 3:24 | |
| 5. | "Never Loved a Girl" | Ronny Shannon | 3:12 | |
| 6. | "Back Back Train" | Fred McDowell | 4:23 | |
| 7. | "You Gotta Move" | Rev. Gary Davis, Fred McDowell | 5:30 | |
| 8. | "The Grind" | Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Marti Frederiksen | 3:46 | |
| 9. | "I'm Ready" | Willie Dixon | 4:13 | |
| 10. | "Temperature" | Joel Michael Cohen, Walter Jacobs | 2:52 | |
| 11. | "Stop Messin' Around" | Clifford Adams, Peter Green | 4:29 | |
| 12. | "Jesus Is on the Main Line" | (Traditional; arranged by F. McDowell) | 2:51 |
| Japanese Edition | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 13. | "Jaded" | Tyler, Marti Frederiksen | 3:34 | |||||||
Personnel
Per liner notes[2]
- Steven Tyler – lead vocals, harmonica, production
- Joe Perry – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Back Back Train" and "Stop Messin' Around", production
- Brad Whitford – guitar
- Tom Hamilton – bass
- Joey Kramer – drums
- Additional musicians
- Tracy Bonham – vocals on "Back Back Train" and "Jesus Is on the Main Line"
- Johnnie Johnson – piano on "Shame, Shame, Shame" and "Temperature"
- The Memphis Horns – brass on "Never Loved a Girl"
- Paul Santo – piano, electric piano, organ, engineering
- Production
- Jack Douglas – production
- Paul Caruso – engineering
- Jay Messina – engineering
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Marti Frederiksen – production, mixing, engineering
Charts
- Album
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Top 100 Albums[12] | 59 |
| Austrian Top 75 Albums[13] | 22 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums[14] | 44 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[15] | 5 |
| Finnish Top 40 Albums[16] | 35 |
| French Top 200 Albums[17] | 52 |
| German Albums Chart[18] | 32 |
| Irish Top 75 Albums[19] | 60 |
| Japanese Top 30 Albums[20] | 6 |
| Netherlands Top 100 Albums[21] | 64 |
| Swedish Top 60 Albums[22] | 38 |
| Swiss Top 100 Albums[23] | 17 |
| UK Albums Chart[24] | 28 |
| US Billboard 200[25] | 5 |
| US Blues Albums[26] | 1 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Baby Please Don't Go" | US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAJ - Japan | Gold[27] | April 10, 2004 |
| RIAA - USA | Gold | May 11, 2004 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Honkin' on Bobo - Aerosmith : Overview". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Honkin' On Bobo (Media notes). Aerosmith. United States: Columbia Records. 2004. CK 87025.
- ↑ "RIAA Gold & Platinum Search Results". RIAA. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ↑ Aerosmith - Making of Honkin' On Bobo Pt. 1 on YouTube
- ↑
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Honkin' On Bobo Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Review : Honkin' on Bobo". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pareles, Jon. "Review : Honkin' on Bobo". Blender.com. United States: Alpha Media Group. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Willman, Chris (April 2, 2004). "Review : Honkin' on Bobo". Entertainment Weekly.com.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Fricke, David (April 15, 2004). "Review : Honkin' on Bobo". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Edna Gundersen (March 29, 2004). "Clapton, Aerosmith dabble in the blues". USA Today. Gannett Company.
- ↑ "The ARIA Report (Issue 737)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. p. 5. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith Album & Song Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Chartverfolgung / AEROSMITH / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending April 1, 2004" (JSP). GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "2004年04月第2週の邦楽アルバムランキング情報" (PHP). Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – April 10th, 2004". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "Aerosmith Album & Song Chart History: Blues Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ↑ "ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2004年3月". RIAJ (in Japanese). 2004-04-10. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
External links
- Honkin' on Bobo at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Honkin' on Bobo at Metacritic
