Draw the Line

Draw the Line is a fulfilling work on which Aerosmith’s earthy blues sense and the powerful drive of urgent hard rock collide fiercely. A record made during a period when the band, though at its commercial peak, held various internal tensions. The guitars of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford deliberately layer un-neat riffs and slides, and Steven Tyler’s voice powerfully fills their gaps with screams and a distinctive sensuality. From the tense-rhythm title track “Draw the Line” and the dramatic, grand expanse of “Kings and Queens” to the forward-driving “Get It Up,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “I Wanna Know Why” and “Critical Mass” convey the work’s fullness. Content on which the band’s rough yet sure force strongly appears. A record on which the very playing, strongly holding its precariousness, turned into a sure force particular to Aerosmith of this period. It has an appeal full of tension, distinct from the perfect balance of the previous two works. An engaging record powerfully conveying the momentum of the peak period — a record where the band’s roughness shines.