Honkin' on Bobo
| Honkin' on Bobo | ||||
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| Studio album by Aerosmith | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 at the Boneyard, the Bryer Patch, Pandora's Box | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 43:57 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
Steven Tyler Joe Perry Jack Douglas Marti Frederiksen |
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| Aerosmith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Honkin' on Bobo | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| Rolling Stone | |
| USA Today | |
Honkin' on Bobo is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 30, 2004 by Columbia Records. 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. The album sold over 160,000 copies in its first week, reaching #5 on the Billboard 200.Honkin' on Bobo was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on May 11, 2004.
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." 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.
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.
A harmonica keychain was included with the limited edition version.
Metacritic gave the album a score of 69 out of 100 based on 12 generally favorable reviews.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that the album is the best the band 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. 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. 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.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.
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