Released December 1, 1977
Recorded New York City, 1977
Producer Aerosmith/Jack Douglas
Singles from Draw the Line
1. "Draw the Line"
Released: 1977
2. "Kings and Queens"
Released: 1978
3. "Get It Up"
Released: 1978
The album was recorded in an abandoned convent near New York City, rented out for that purpose.
The band lived there while recording the album, doing drugs, sleeping, eating, shooting guns, and driving their sports cars in between recording sessions.
Side one
1. "Draw the Line" Steven Tyler, Joe Perry 3:23
2. "I Wanna Know Why" Tyler, Perry 3:09
3. "Critical Mass" Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Jack Douglas 4:53
4. "Get It Up" Tyler, Perry 4:02
5. "Bright Light Fright" Perry 2:19
Side two
1. "Kings and Queens" Tyler, Brad Whitford, Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Douglas 4:55
2. "The Hand That Feeds" Tyler, Whitford, Hamilton, Kramer, Douglas 4:23
3. "Sight for Sore Eyes" Tyler, Perry, Douglas, David Johansen 3:56
4. "Milk Cow Blues" Kokomo Arnold 4:14
Also Included is The Greatest Hits Edit Of Kings And Queens (The single version is also different but is not included)
Come Together and Chip Away The Stone.
Personnel
* Tom Hamilton - bass, additional guitar
* Joey Kramer - drums, percussion, backing vocals
* Joe Perry - guitar, lead vocals on 'Bright Light Fright', backing vocals, percussion, slide guitar
* Steven Tyler - lead vocals, harmonica, percussion, keyboard
* Brad Whitford - guitar
Additional personnel
* Stan Bronstein - saxophone
* Scott Cushnie - piano
* Jack Douglas - mandolin
* Karen Lawrence - background vocals
* Paul Prestopino - banjo
Production
* Producers: Aerosmith, Jack Douglas
* Executive producers: David Krebs, Steve Leber
* Engineer: Jay Messina
* Assistant engineer: Sam Ginsberg
* Mastering: George Marino
* Arrangers: Aerosmith, Jack Douglas
* Art direction: David Krebs, Steve Leber
* Cover illustration: Al Hirschfeld
Renting out an abandoned convent on the outskirts of New York City to record the follow-up to the hellacious Rocks may not have been the best idea, but 1977's Draw the Line still managed to be another down and dirty Aerosmith release. While it wasn't as awe inspiring as their last two albums — the members have said that the music suddenly got "cloudy" around this time (due to in-band fighting/ego-clashes, excessive living, etc.), Draw the Line catches fire more times than not. Unlike their most recent album successes, the band shies away from studio experimentry and dabbling in different styles; instead they return to simple, straight-ahead, hard rock. The album-opening title track features a gloriously abrasive Joe Perry slide guitar riff and has been featured in concert ever since, while the punk-esque "Bright Light Fright" featured Perry's first ever lead vocal spot on an Aerosmith record. Other highlights include a re-working of the blues obscurity, "Milk Cow Blues," which Perry's pre-Aerosmith group, the Jam Band, played live, as well as "I Wanna Know Why," "Critical Mass," "Get It Up," "Kings and Queens," and "Sight for Sore Eyes." Draw the Line would turn out to be the last true studio album from Aerosmith's original line-up for nearly a decade.