Album · Compilation · 15 years old this year
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads is a compilation from Aerosmith, released on 10 May 2011 through Geffen. As the title makes plain, it gathers the band's slower, more emotional songs in one place, rather than the swaggering riffers that fill their studio albums.
It arrived in the gap between Honkin' on Bobo in 2004 and Music From Another Dimension! in 2012, so it works as a stopgap for fans waiting on new material. For anyone who knows the band mainly for their blues-soaked hard rock, it offers a different angle on a group that has spent decades moving between grit and melody.
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:18:20Tracklist
- 1I Don’t Want to Miss a ThingDiane Warren5:01
- 2AngelDesmond Child and Steven Tyler5:09
- 3AmazingRichard Supa and Steven Tyler5:35
- 4Love in an ElevatorJoe Perry and Steven Tyler5:24
- 5PinkBallard, Supa, Tyler3:57
- 6Cryin’Perry, Rhodes, Tyler5:10
- 7What It TakesChild, Perry, Tyler5:13
- 8Rag DollVallance, Perry, Knight, Tyler4:27
- 9CrazyChild, Perry, Tyler5:17
- 10Deuces Are WildJim Vallance and Steven Tyler3:36
- 11Livin’ on the EdgeHudson, Perry, Tyler6:20
- 12Blind ManPerry, Rhodes, Tyler3:59
- 13Magic TouchVallance, Perry, Tyler4:39
- 14Janie’s Got a GunTom Hamilton and Steven Tyler5:29
- 15Sweet EmotionTom Hamilton and Steven Tyler4:38
- 16Dream OnSteven Tyler4:26
- Produced by
- Matt Serletic, Bruce Fairbairn, Aerosmith, Kevin Shirley, Michael Beinhorn, Adrian Barber, Various
- Recorded at
- The Hit Factory, Little Mountain Sound, Avatar Studios, Studio A, Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Intermedia Studios
- Recorded
- 1972
- Mixed by
- David Thoener, Mike Fraser, Kevin Shirley, Brendan O’Brien, Ray Colcord
- Mixed at
- The Hit Factory, Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Can‐Am Recorders
- Engineered by
- David Thoener, Mike Fraser, Bob Rock, Rory Romano, Kevin Shirley, Ken Lomas, Adam Kasper, Adrian Barber, Caryl Weinstock, Ray Colcord
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 1:18:20
Line-up
- Drew Arnott · mellotron · guest
- Tom Hamilton · electric bass guitar, background vocals, bass
- Joey Kramer · percussion, drums (drum set)
- Joe Perry · guitar, background vocals, Appalachian dulcimer, vocals
- Steven Tyler · harmonica, lead vocals, background vocals, keyboard, mandolin, percussion, flute
- Brad Whitford · guitar, guitar family
- Bob Dowd · background vocals · guest
- Catherine Epps · vocals · guest
- Bruce Fairbairn · background vocals, trumpet · guest
- Paul Baron · trumpet · guest
- Tom Keenlyside · saxophone, clarinet, tenor saxophone · guest
- The Margarita Horns · guest
- Ian Putz · baritone saxophone · guest
- Bob Rogers · trombone · guest
- John Webster · keyboard · guest
- Henry Christian · trumpet · guest
- Jim Vallance · organ · guest
- Desmond Child · keyboard · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2011 | 42 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2011 | 109 |
| US Hard Rock · 2011 | 8 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2011 | 29 |
| Scottish Albums · 2011 | 39 |
| Swiss Albums · 2011 | 87 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
32.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
42
ListenBrainz listeners
4.4k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
13k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith (2006)Music From Another Dimension! (2012) →
Released the same week
Also released on 10 May
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Full discography →
Aerosmith
1973
Get Your Wings
1974
Toys in the Attic
1975
Rocks
1976
Draw the Line
1977
Live! Bootleg
1978
Night in the Ruts
1979
Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
1980
Rock in a Hard Place
1982
Done With Mirrors
1985
Classics Live!
1986
Permanent Vacation
1987
Vacation Club
1987
Gems
1988
Pump
1989
Pandora’s Box
1991
Get a Grip
1993
Pandora’s Toys
1994
Big Ones
1994
Box of Fire
1994
Nine Lives
1997
Made in America
1997
A Little South of Sanity
1998
Classic Aerosmith: The Universal Masters Collection
2000
Just Push Play
2001
Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology
2001
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
2002
Honkin’ on Bobo
2004
Rockin’ the Joint
2005
Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith
2006
Music From Another Dimension!
2012
Greatest Hits
2023
One More Time
2025
The best of 2011
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 January 2011 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 10 May 2011 | |
| Wikidata | 2011 | |
| Deezer | 24 May 2011 | |
| US release | 23 May 2011 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 23 May 2011 | earliest UK or European date |
7 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | TH | Geffen | 602527696287 | other |
| 2011 | — | — | other | |
| 1 January 2011 | XW | Aerosmith P&D – Geffen | 00602527669267 | original |
| 1 January 2011 | — | Aerosmith P&D – Geffen | 00602527696706 | original |
| 23 May 2011 | GB | Universal Music TV | other | |
| 23 May 2011 | US | Geffen | 602527669267 | other |
| 7 June 2011 | DE | Geffen | 602527696287 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1443x1443, upscaled to 1500 (x1.04)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1443×1443 | upscaled: minor: best source 1443x1443, upscaled to 1500 (x1.04) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |