''Honkin' on Bobo'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
, released on March 30, 2004, by
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
and
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
songs from the 1950s and 1960s, with one new song, "The Grind". The album pays tribute to Aerosmith's earliest influences and showcases a rawer sound, reminiscent of their 1970s work, when compared to their more recent commercial efforts. ''Honkin' on Bobo'' was produced by Jack Douglas, who was Aerosmith's producer on a vast majority of their 1970s output.
The album sold over 160,000 copies in its first week, reaching number five on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Honkin' on Bobo'' was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
on May 11, 2004.
Background
The band wanted their first post-
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
release, in the nineties, to be a blues album. "Then," said singer
Steven Tyler
Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...
, "we caught wind that Clapton was doing it, and we went, 'Fuck!'… We did such incredible research for this album, too… We also thought about our roots, about paying homage to the stuff we loved: early Yardbirds and all. Some of
Little Walter
Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...
's early stuff. Really obscure names… I did some digging around myself in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. We had some great songs to work with – and then Clapton came along and did it."
''Honkin' On Bobo'' was recorded in Joe Perry's ranch near Boston, with the band playing only when they were in a good mood. "We wanted to do something we haven't done before and that excites us," Perry said. "That's what makes us want to do another record. Otherwise, we'd say, 'OK, we've done everything we can do, so why bother even going in again?’"
The album title was suggested by Tyler, who heard the phrase somewhere, possibly the song by Canadian country/bluegrass band
The Good Brothers
The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo).
B ...
, and amused the band with it. Perry stated during a radio interview, "We just know that it's a phrase that sounds... jazzish, nastyish, so it works for us."
Many tracks feature harmonica by Tyler, including Little Walter's "Temperature". This was played on an episode of the ''House of Blues Radio Hour'' that was about the harmonica. A
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...
keychain was included with the limited edition version. Provisional artwork featured the cover's harmonica stuffed into a model's denim cutoffs. This was vetoed, said its proponent Tyler, "because I'm in a band with four other guys."
" Stop Messin' Around" – a Fleetwood Mac cover, sung by Perry – had never before appeared on an Aerosmith album, despite being a staple of the band's concerts for more than ten years.
Reception
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gave the album a score of 69 out of 100 based on 12 generally favorable reviews.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
said that the album is the best the band has done since ''
Pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...
'' 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. In his ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
'' magazine review of the album,
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Chris Willman of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' 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.
David Fricke
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine wrote an article for the magazine comparing and contrasting Aerosmith's ''Honkin' on Bobo'' and
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...
's '' Me and Mr. Johnson'' which also explored blues influences. 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 1960s blues-rock bands – and considers the album to be overdone, which is what Aerosmith is good at.
Track listing
Per liner notes:
Personnel
Per liner notes:
*
Steven Tyler
Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...
– lead vocals, harmonica, piano on "Never Loved a Girl", backing vocals on " Stop Messin' Around", percussion, production
* Joe Perry – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Back Back Train" and "Stop Messin' Around", production
* Brad Whitford – rhythm and lead guitar
* Tom Hamilton – bass guitar
*
Joey Kramer
Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Life and career
Kramer was born in the Bronx, New Yor ...
– drums
Additional musicians
*
Tracy Bonham
Tracy Bonham (born March 16, 1967) is an American alternative rock musician, best known for her 1996 single "Mother Mother".
Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Bonham is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and is also a self-taught guitarist. ...
– 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
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...
on "Never Loved a Girl"
*Paul Santo – piano, electric piano, organ,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
Production
* Jack Douglas – production
* Paul Caruso – engineering
*Jay Messina – engineering
*
Bob Ludwig
Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Que ...
Marti Frederiksen
Martin Harold "Marti" Frederiksen (born July 1, 1962) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. He writes and produces music primarily in rock, country, and pop. He is best known for his work with many artists and bands incl ...