| Aerosmith | review #2 | 1973 |
| Get Your Wings | review #2 | 1974 |
| Toys In The Attic | review #2 | review #3 | 1975 |
| Rocks | review #2 | review #3 | 1976 |
| Draw The Line | review #2 | 1977 |
| Live Bootleg | 1978 |
| Night In The Ruts | 1979 |
| Greatest Hits | review #2 (compilation) | 1980 |
| Rock In A Hard Place | 1982 |
| Done With Mirrors | review #2 | 1985 |
| Classics Live | 1986 |
| Classics Live 2 | 1987 |
| Permanent Vacation | review #2 | 1987 |
| Gems (compilation) | 1988 |
| Pump | review #2 | 1989 |
| Pandora's Box (box set) | 1991 |
| Get A Grip | review #2 | 1993 |
| Big Ones (compilation) | 1994 |
| Nine Lives | review #2 | 1997 |
| Made In America | 1997 |
| A Little South Of Sanity (live) | 1998 |
| Just Push Play | 2001 |
Hmm... where to begin with Aerosmith. These five boys from Boston are widely considered to be the definitive American hard rock band in their prime, and the purveyors of commercial sell out shit music in their latter period, two ideas that both have some grain of truth to them, but aren't all the way true in my humble opinion. Their gritty and sleazy sound, drawing heavily from much predecessors Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, The New York Dolls, and The Rolling Stones, isn't really all that original, which, along with their often inconsistent songwriting, is a big reason why I can't exactly rank the band up there with the very best of them. It is, however, a very groovy pleasure if you're looking for very well played, catchy rock and roll, because if there's anything these guys always had, it's energy and enthusiasm.
Steven Tyler in particular has a lot to do with that aspect of the band, as his screeching voice does as much to define the sound as anyone. Those pipes can definitely border on obnoxious sounding at times, and his lyrics can also get overwhelmingly raunchy (particularly in the later period), which is bothersome when the music and melodies aren't good enough to justify them, but at his best (and also funniest), he's an entertaining frontman. And then there's lead guitarist Joe Perry, probably my favorite member of the band, as he can certainly turn out killer hard rock riffs from time to time, and a good amount of his solos are more towards the melodic and well-constructed side than the aimless wanking of many of his peers. The other members of the band (rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer) are among your more standard, though still professional, hard rock musicians.
The band actually went through what I can call three seperate periods in their history. The first period, 1973 to 1976, saw them establish their signature gritty sound, and of course, this is where their reputation has been built, with classic staples like "Walk This Way", "Back In The Saddle", "Same Old Song And Dance" and "Dream On" very much defining all aspects of their somewhat limited, but exciting when it's on fire, sound. The second (very drug addled) period from 1977 to 1985, saw a serious decline in songwriting and commercial fortunes, and for a time in 1982 (on Rock And A Hard Place), the tension in the band was so great the two guitarists were even replaced, and of course, I'm sure certain members of the band don't even remember a lot of the sessions for the albums in this time period.
The third period, from 1987 to the present, saw their fortunes drastically rise with slick, commercial albums that featured a lot of outside songwriting and flashy videos. Many fans believe this period to be a waste, and while it's certainly weaker than the first (a lot of overly generic crap here), certain songs and/or albums (the biggest example being Pump) in my mind are catchy and well-written, with enough drive and energy that ensures that they shouldn't be dismissed as completely passable commercial product - you'll never convince me that "Janie's Got A Gun" or "Amazing", for instance, aren't great tunes that rank right up there with anything the band ever did.
Basically, that's the band for you, who, incidentally, are still going strong in their quite respectable longevity, recording albums and touring for almost 30 years. They've also even been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame recently (now get Black Sabbath and Yes in there). At the moment, this page is now pretty much complete as far as studio albums go, with only the live (and compilation) stuff missing, but who really cares about those?
--Nick Karn
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Dream On, Movin' Out, Walkin' The Dog. LOW POINTS: Write Me, Make It.
Right from the beginning, Aerosmith released their self-titled debut with the considerable ambition of becoming, in their own words, 'the biggest band ever'. Maybe they had their head in the clouds pictured on the album cover just a bit here, but judging by this release, they certainly don't hit that mark. That certainly doesn't mean this is a bad first outing - it's just that the songwriting here is a bit undistinguished (for one thing, the early Beatles, James Brown and Stones influences are fairly obvious), plus several of the grooves and melodies here don't really have very much of an exciting edge or tightness that would develop later. Steven Tyler's vocals are also somewhat atypical of future Aerosmith records in his singing tone here, which sounds more rough and bluesy than normal for whatever reason.
There is, however, one early classic here in the well known, mellotron dominated "Dream On", which is an inifinitely more likeable and spectacular ballad than many of their future efforts in this vein, and it easily makes its' way into the top 5 songs of their catalog. With a really exceptional atmosphere due to its' sound, yearning vocals, melody, and effective guitar fills throughout, it's no wonder it would be the only thing on the album to become a staple of their live shows throughout the years. But two other tracks do qualify as at least very solid - the more traditional blues of "Movin' Out" is a quite interesting showcase of Tyler singing really odd lyrics over a fantastic guitar line (a good sign of both his and Joe Perry's promise) and "Walkin' The Dog" (a song the Rolling Stones also covered on their debut) presents an incredibly fun, groove-based sound that would be in full force on the next album.
The rest of the material, while hardly awful, is a lot more routine. "Write Me" and the opening "Make It" are completely forgettable tracks that don't make any impression after they're playing, just your basic hard blues. "Somebody" and "Mama Kin", meanwhile, are both really well played numbers, though they're almost exactly the same song - apart from the guitar solo in the former and the chorus in the latter, just about everything, from the vocal melody to the tempo, is virtually identical in both, and they're slightly simplistic as well. And despite a fun opening piano groove, "One Way Street" kind of meanders around for 7 minutes without really developing a solid structure. Nevertheless, the elements of the classic Aerosmith sound are present here in parts, just not all the way developed over a full album, and the highlights ensure that this is a promising, if not all that exciting, debut.
The first from this long-lived group and it shows them before they developed their gritty and sleazy style they are known for. It contains the mellotron-laced hit "Dream On" which sounds unlike anything else on this album. Mostly regular hard bluesy rock songs on this release, many of them having lots of energy. Steve Tyler hasn't found his voice yet on here, but there are many good cuts. Some of the highlights are "Somebody", "Mama Kin"(with its great intro), and "Movin' Out".
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Seasons Of Wither, Train Kept A Rollin', Same Old Song And Dance, Lord Of The Thighs. LOW POINTS: Pandora's Box, S.O.S. (Too Bad).
A big improvement over the debut. While that album mostly found the band probably just anxious to put something out on record, Get Your Wings showcases the band getting ever closer to their trademark style, and on several occasions, they come up hugely successful. The overall songwriting focus is generally a lot better, the sound is more varied, and, at its' best, the groove exhibited throughout is highly addictive and powerful. Plus, Steven Tyler's voice is getting closer to that wonderful shriek of his, and more cool riffs abound. A hard rock paradise? Well, it's not quite that good. The overall mix of songs still isn't all the way consistent, as there are still some excursions into really boneheaded, almost melodyless cock rock, but those highlights... let's just say there's enough pure entertainment here to keep listeners like me highly interested in spite of the lack of originality that characterizes most of Aerosmith's work. And check out that album cover! Is that a... oh, never mind.
This thing sure gets off to a fiery start, too, with the biggest hit "Same Old Song And Dance" - this tune has to boast one of the finest riffs in the Aerosmith canon, and not only that, the catchiness of the vocal melody is at a high, the attitude is nice, and the way the whole thing is driven by horns just makes it even more infectious. Combining with the fantastic "Lord Of The Thighs", it creates a classic 1-2 punch - in this song, I particularly like the effect created the repetitive piano line meeting the guitars to create one unstoppable groove, not to mention Tyler's voice suits something like this perfectly. And if you're looking for something more unique, check out the cold, unsettling atmosphere of "Spaced" - with that type of sound and the ominousness of the melody, it makes for a type of mood that's completely unlike anything else in their catalog.
Side two boasts a couple of songs that are even better than the opening three. "Seasons Of Wither" is arguably the absolute highpoint of the whole album, and a sure candidate for best song they ever did in the ballad department. The whole mood of this one is just so underground, solitary and dark, and it also helps that the actual melody here is probably the finest on the album, also showing Steven Tyler coming into his own as a singer. Coming in a close second is probably the lone cover here, a rendition of the Yardbirds' classic "Train Kept A Rollin'". Though I'm not familiar with the original, I'd say this performance here is a classic - the energy level is at an incredibly electrifying high, and even the cheesy fake audience noises can't ruin the great highpoint of the track, which is perhaps Joe Perry's greatest guitar solo on record. Fantastic!
Unfortunately, with the good must come the bad here. Well, the side one closer "Woman Of The World" certainly isn't bad, as it merges acoustic with electric guitars in a nice way in an effective, if generic and overlong, direct rock number, but the other two tracks are decidedly weaker. "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a completely average and mostly primitive short rocker, and the closing "Pandora's Box" is a completely plodding and almost melodyless cock rock dinosaur, epitomizing whatever bad qualities there are about the early style of the band, seriously paling next to most everything else on here, and frustratingly enough, it's also well over 5 minutes long, costing the album a little in the rating. Nevertheless, despite the flaws of the weaker moments here, overall Get Your Wings, for me, qualifies as the band's first truly confident album before their pinnacle, coming up next.
Aerosmith's sleazy and gritty rock n' roll comes together on here. The album starts out with a bang on the hit "Same Old Song And Dance", but then comes "Lord Of The Thighs" with its distinctive drum intro that immediately grabs your attention. Next comes "Spaced", a great song, in which the highlight of it is the exciting middle part. To end the first half is "Woman Of The World" and then comes the short and snappy rocker "S.O.S (Too Bad) which opens the second half. "Train Kept A Rollin'" is the focus and highlight of the album with its hardhitting guitars keeping the beat going strong. After two minutes the song quiets down and then comes the sound of an audience, and all of a sudden the bluesy stomp of the guitars come in and steal the show. The nice acoustic "Seasons Of Wither" is next and then we end with "Pandora's Box", one of the weaker songs which only gets going because of the strong playing. One of Aerosmith's best albums and one you can get used to easily, but even better was to come from them.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Toys In The Attic, Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion, Uncle Salty. LOW POINTS: Round And Round.
The third time was the charm for these guys, to use a pointless little cliche. But it really was true in this case, as Toys In The Attic marked a breakthrough in Aerosmith's commercial fortunes, boasting the two biggest pre-sell out (Permanent Vacation and onward) hits in their career, and they're almost nauseatingly overplayed on the radio - but you knew that already. But as for the whole album itself, maybe the overall sound isn't that much different, but this time around they've come up with more hooks, better riffs, and overall entertainment in one place than anywhere else in their catalog, so that makes it their pinnacle. Maybe the whole thing isn't as great as I thought it was at first, but hey, it's still the quintessential Aerosmith sound at their best, so unless you really hate these guys, how can you go wrong?
Before I get into the hits on here, there are also quite a few excellent lesser known songs here that the average listener who doesn't own this might not know about. One of these, in fact, is actually the highlight of the album, and the best fast rocker of their career, no doubt. The main riff of the song just completely kicks ass, the echoing 'toys, toys, toys...' in the vocals rules, the melody is incredibly catchy, and the overall energy might knock you to the floor if you're not paying attention. Its' followup, "Uncle Salty", is undoubtedly one of the most underrated songs of their whole career. It's a sort of ballad, sort of rocker, with a powerful groove and melody in the verses and a really great moody masterpiece of a chorus ('ooh it's a sunny day outside my window...'). The lyrics are also surprisingly well-written and heartfelt to add to the uneasy drama of the song.
There's also quite a bit of sexual sleaze in the hilarious swing cover of "Big Ten Inch Record" - the way the whole thing is sung, along with the pause after 'big ten inch' and the whole groove this number swings on makes it a nice breath of humor to close off side one. "No More, No More", meanwhile, finds Steven Tyler in reflective mode, with lyrics focusing on the band's past, and it's a fantastic combination of 'rocking out' and quite pretty vocal melody as well - that chorus gets in my head quite a bit. "Adam's Apple", meanwhile, is a decent slice of hard pop that might not be all that memorable in the long run apart from the verse melody, but while it's on, you might as well get your kicks out of it.
Of course, these songs, as fine as most of them are, aren't what everyone knows this album for. Although I never want to listen to these two anymore due to severe overplay, I have to admit "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are utterly awesome hard rock compositions. I've heard the first of these described as 'what dance music should be', and I can't disagree at all. The brilliant groove here is so influential it prompted them to remake the song with Run DMC 11 years later to pioneer rap-rock fusion, the riff is completely great, the lyrics are among the most clever in their catalog, and the chorus, primitive as it is, is very memorable. And of course, the second of these has that famous 'talk box' guitar from Joe Perry combined with a great bassline, more sexual energy, and hook-filled bliss. Of course, it's not exactly bliss to me anymore since I've heard it way too many friggin' times, but that doesn't detract from its' greatness at all.
The only two tracks I haven't mentioned here are also the two closing ones, and maybe the most controversial in my mind. The closer "You See Me Crying" does as much to define the Aerosmith power ballad as anything they ever wrote, and that alone might make some people shudder. I think it's good, even if flawed, though - the combination of the uneasy lyrics and string arrangements (plus the vocals in places) are awkward, it's pretty and mildly affecting, anyway. Certainly better than the only real stinker here, the really slow grind of "Round And Round", which has, by far, the weakest melody and arrangement on the album. The other songs here, however, ensure that this is definitely Aerosmith's most excellent and consistently enjoyable album, so a high 8.5 it is, maybe even a weak 9 on the right kind of day.
A full representation of their sound as it shows with the opening title track. The guitars are beefy and sleazy, with Tyler using his voice to full effect at the end of each line. "Uncle Salty" and "Adam Apple" are also good, the first one having a nice minor melodic quality to it. Also two of Aerosmith's biggest hits "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are here with the throwaway 50'ish flaired "Big 10 Inch Record" sandwiched in between them. "No More, No More" starts out in the same acoustic mode as "Seasons of Wither", and is an average midtempo song. "Round and Round" is a neat condensed sounding bluesy midtempo rocker that goes into a crescendo of 'rounds and rounds'.
The last song "You See Me Crying" is the first of many power ballads that Aerosmith would do in the future such as "Home Tonight" and "Amazing". Overall it's a consistent album that is a bridge between early 1970's hard rock like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and late 70's hard rock bands such as Boston, AC/DC, and Van Halen.
Don't you hate Hate HATE being BLOODY SICK?????!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRR....I do, and I so happen to be "down on the frown" as Neil Young put it in Mr. Soul because I have a stomach bug. Heh, I just made it sound like Neil Young wrote Mr. Soul about me having a stomach bug if you read that sentence the right way. Woo-hoo. Well, when I'm sick, I like listening to really loud music. So I dug out my Aerosmith. Since I'm online and able, I figured why not punch out a review or two, eh? Beats doing my make-up work for school. Anyways, I'm gonna do something positively SCANDALOUS and announce my ratings right now while I STRIP TO NOTHING BUT MY BOXERS AND DANCE AROUND TO WALK THIS WAY. OK, only part of that is accurate; I am going to spill my ratings for this and Rocks. Why? Because I've reversed them from what you usually see. Yep, Toys In The Attic only gets a 9 while Rocks gets a solid 10. Why would I do such a thing? Simple. I like Rocks more.
This is not to be down on Toys In The Attic; far from it. Toys is an excellent hard rock listen, and it DOES have some GRRRREAT ditties on it. For example, you've got the absolutely classic Sweet Emotion on here. Great groove, great riffs, great vocals, excellent rhythm....just an all-around great song. Furthermore, you've got Walk This Way on here, and we all know how much butt it kicks. I totally dig the funked-up groove of the song, and if you can manage to not giggle a little at the smutty lyrics, then you're a Baptist. Or Orrin Hatch.
What else do the Aerosmith-types bring us for our pleasure? Why, Big 10 Inch Record! I laughed till I cried the first time I heard that song. I regularly cover it when playing gigs to amuse my friends. Heck, gigs my foot---it's called "bringing one's guitar to social events and either annoying people or making them laugh." Ooh, we've also got the title track----fast, fast, fast and rawkin'. However, here is where the problems start for me. I don't find Uncle Salty to be all that hot. I mean, it's a good song, but nothing to write home about. Adam's Apple is another rocker, No More No More is good but a little dull, Round and Round is an attempt to sound like Black Sabbath that's passable, and You See Me Crying is a pretty good ballad. Well, it's no Dream On, but hey, it's not overbearing. This is why I'll only give this one a 9. It's still an excellent listen, but it's just not nice and consistent. It's only nice.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Wiener, Glenn)
This disc is almost an exception to the rule that the only good Aerosmith records are greatest hits compilations. Catchy riffs galore exists here on the spunky My Big Ten Inch Record, the bouncy lead hits Sweet Emotion and Walk This Ways, and the charging No More No More and Mr Salty or is it Uncle Salty. The closing ballad is pretty nice and the other songs are tolerable so I do agree with the masses that this is Aerosmith's premiere non greatest hits recording.
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Nobody's Fault, Back In The Saddle, Rats In The Cellar, Last Child. LOW POINTS: Combination, Get The Lead Out.
Aerosmith's followup to Toys is considered to be an even better album than its' predecessor, and though I can never share that opinion, I definitely understand the reasons for it. While a lot of Toys had a lighthearted, almost party-like, vibe to it (with only rare darker moments like "Uncle Salty"), Rocks has a darker, drug-fueled vibe much of the way through. On several occasions, this does work to the benefit of the album, but there are a few moments here that do sound overly tossed off, even if the overall songwriting isn't in a noticeable decline just yet. Understanding the history of the band, though, shows that being in the grip of drugs was definitely not a positive for them, as it took a toll on both their songwriting and commercial success. But as for this album, it's another solid, if slightly inconsistent, hard rock record with its' share of excellent highlights.
The first three tracks, however, get the album off to a fantastic start, with another great full-throttle rocker "Back In The Saddle" opening things up. This one certainly has an awesome opening riff, but what really makes this song are the vocals - sometimes Steven Tyler's over the top wailings can be very effective, and this is one of the best exhibits of that. Then there's another excellent cocky groove in "Last Child", which has another exceptional riff to go along with a defiant streetwise atmosphere in the music and lyrics, and "Rats In The Cellar" is a fabulous speed rocker very much patterned after "Toys In The Attic" - it might not be quite as classic as that song, but still, the fast tempo and overall excitement of the number is hard to resist, and that does make it a major highlight.
As for the rest, the material is somewhat more mixed. A much more unspectacular rocker in the form of "Combination" fits that 'tossed off' vibe to a tee, sacrificing hard rock power and groove for actual melody and decent songwriting, which makes it definitely the least memorable track here. Likewise, "Get The Lead Out" foreshadows the material on the next album a lot, and that's not a good thing - pretty nice groove, but again, not much of a melody or actual point to the tune. If you want something more fun and convincing in that style, "Lick And A Promise" does the job better - that one at least has a really catchy chorus and tight band playing. The counterpart ballad to "You See Me Crying", though, is just as good if not better - the 'wailing off in the distance' vibe of "Home Tonight" is a satisfying, more relaxed way of ending the album.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the best song here yet - as awesome as the stretch of the first three songs are, the politically oriented "Nobody's Fault" actually has them all topped. It's definitely one of the darkest tracks the band ever attempted - an odd little moody intro leads into an intense, in your face rocker with an ominous melody to go along with it, and the way it all comes full circle with that refrain ('sorry... I'm so sorry') is absolutely fantastic. And as for the last remaining track, "Sick As A Dog", is a pretty good groove-based song, with an exciting, though slightly generic, chorus. So there's your album. Enjoy it, because it's the last taste of excellence Aerosmith would have for a very long time.
Aerosmith were riding high on the heels of success by now and came up with Rocks, arguably their best album. Their sleazy, hard hitting rock n' roll sound was in place and the songs themselves are now more in your face. From the opening chords of "Back In The Saddle" you know you are in for a good ride. The highlights include the grooving and funky "Last Child", the boozy, haunting "Nobody's Fault", and the great "Lick And A Promise". Rocks is formed in almost the same way as Toys In The Attic by closing the album with another power ballad in the form of "Home Tonight" and having 9 songs each. Basically their are no weak cuts on here and it's very consistent. After this album, though, Aerosmith was about to go into a spiraling downfall in the quality of what they put out, as drugs overtook the band.
OK, so just why am I giving this a 10? I DIG THE VIBES AND ATMOSPHERE. It's funky, sleazy, but dark. Toys was a party album; this is a coke-fueled backstage rompin' with the groupies album. Not that I would know about that. Ok, ok, this one has emotional baggage, too. I won't bore you with the details....I've seen Airplane, and I don't want Nick to be proofing this and suddenly get the urge to hang himself or douse himself in gasoline and become a human fireball. Basically, Lizzy (ok, her name's Elizabeth and I'm only person who refers to her as Lizzy, though sometimes I refer to her as Lizbet....I'm pathetic aren't I???) is my current love interest and we first really started talking and growing our friendship while I was listening to Rocks.
(cut to scene of Nick swinging from ceiling fan)
And she likes Aerosmith. Early Aerosmith. I think. Her favorite band is Limp Bizkit, though. This just proves that nobody's perfect.
(cut to scene of Rich Bunnell setting self on fire and Phil Maddox jumping off a tall bridge)
OK, back to the music. Now, what "classics" may be found here? Back In The Saddle kicks my butt. Last Child makes me dance. So does Get The Lead Out, which nobody else but me in the Web Reviewing Community seems to like. I like the groove. Meanwhile, we have an excellent power ballad in Home Tonight. Fabulous ballad, it is.
Oh, Rats In The Cellar is a purty good sequel to Toys In The Attic. Heck, all the songs are good to great---this is a consistent listen as far as I'm concerned. Consistency is your friend. This is a very nice 70s hard rock listen as far as Kevin Baker is concerned. This is actually his highly literate poodle typing. Kevin passed out a few minutes ago and has now come to. It sounds as if he is raiding the kitchen trying to find the soup, which I hid because I am a snobby witch of a dog. This has been yet another self-indulgent review by Kevin Baker. Yee-friggin-haw.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Draw The Line. LOW POINTS: Milk Cow Blues.
Although Rocks overall was still a fine, even excellent, set of songs, it showed signs that not all was right in the Aerosmith camp, and the small crack in the wall gets even bigger here, signaling the beginning of the dreaded 'dark ages' for the band. While not a bad record by any means, Draw The Line is a considerable disappointment after the last three albums in song quality. It's been said that this album is the Aero version of the Stones' Exile On Main Street, and while there are similarities there (a lot of the songs are based on groove and overall drug-fueled decadence), there are also substantial differences. Exile had a ton of diversity, a lot of great melodies and a successful epic vibe to the whole thing, while this thing is so uniform all the way through, with very little inspiration or catchiness.
It's not even that the songs are horrible - they're just so... average. Take a song like "Critical Mass", for instance. It has a cool groove that's really quite a lot of fun while it's on (plus a fun 'celebrate!' chant that pops up occasionally), but the melody is near non-existent. Then there's "The Hand That Feeds", which has a hilarious 'doctor! doctor!' shriek and an okay riff, but there's nothing else memorable about it. "Sight For Sore Eyes" has a nice swagger in the chorus, the Joe Perry contribution and lead vocal spot "Bright Light Fright" is a decently paced metallized tune, and "Get It Up" has a mildly memorable bludgeoning riff, but none of these songs cause me to get excited at all apart from few moments in each. These just symbolize the entire album. Even the hit ballad "Kings And Queens" is subpar, as its' mystical feel, while definitely boasting a very solid melody, just sounds so fake on the surface.
Luckily, there is one minor classic here in the form of the opening title track, which is a really well constructed hard rock tune, from its' nice descending riff, fun verse sections, effective false ending, shrieking ending verse and catchy chorus. Good stuff. "I Wanna Know Why" is almost as good, as it's quite an exciting and memorable uptempo tune that might not be spectacular, but it sure is pleasurable. Finally, out of all this stuff there's only one real blah song in the form of the closing cover "Milk Cow Blues", whose performance doesn't even sound like blues at all to me - it just sounds like poorly played half-baked, melodyless punk, and it really ends the record on a down note. So in all, due to some nice grooves, a couple very good numbers, and not many real low moments, this is still a decent album, but still, there's hardly much to admire about it, and it might bore the hell out of you the first couple listens. Proceed with caution.
Plain and simple, this is a weaker carbon copy of the previous album. The great riffs and good hooks that justified the sleaziness of Rocks are washed away on this cash-in success of an album, Draw The Line. You see, Aerosmith were so widely successful at this time that they didn't have to worry about writing good songs; anything they did now would probably turn to gold as long as it was catchy cock-rock (at least for a short while they wouldn't have to worry). Here they just worry about being raunchy and sleazy as hell, ultimately resulting in their most muggish and sweaty record to date. The songs could have been good, as the similar-styled Rocks proved with its' material, but no, here the band is just being raunchy for raunchy's sake.
The band's soon-to-be dramatic decline begins here folks - first quality-wise and then commercially. They wouldn't become commercially successful again until a whole decade later with 1987's Permanent Vacation, but in terms of good material, they wouldn't make a decent album until the following Pump two years later. For what its' worth though, being that it's just the beginning of the decline, their are a few songs that stand out a bit. Not great, but the title track and "I Wanna Know Why" are mighty catchy and work well in the sleazy mold, and "Kings And Queens" has a riff neat enough to sustain some amount of interest. The acoustic verses of the latter are pretty inspired too. Bar the hard-hitting and memorable (not in a particularly great way) "Get It Up", the rest is a bit of a pain to wade through. "Milk Cow Blues" is a much less memorable cover than the underrated Kinks version of that blues classic, and the other four songs are typical Aerosmith muck that might annoy, but thankfully not get stuck in your head once they are over.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: No Surprize. LOW POINTS: Reefer Head Woman, Remember (Walking In The Sand), Three Mile Smile, Cheesecake, Bone To Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy).
Well, Draw The Line might not have been much of an inspiring record, but at least the songs, as melodyless as most of them might have been, were at least entertaining to listen to while they were on. But what kind of redeeming stuff can be said about this one? Not only is the typical sleazy attack of the band forgettable and unconvincing here, but over half of these songs also go out of their way to be really openly awful and annoying, something that I couldn't even say about the filler of before. With maybe one or two exceptions, there aren't any attractive, memorable riffs or melodies anywhere in the drug-fueled sight of this album - most of the moments that stand here are horrible ones, whether it be a woefully inappropriate backing vocal here or a dreadful blues solo there. In other words, this record sucks.
Alright, it isn't a totally hopeless listening experience like I might have implied, as there is at least one honestly very good song here in the opening "No Surprize". It's a midtempo riff-rocker a little in the "Draw The Line" vein, and while it might be weaker than that, at least it's a song you can sing along and groove to, no problem. There are two or three other tracks that are also tolerable listening, mostly because they actually sound okay while they're playing, but absolutely refuse to stick in my head after they're over, and it's hardly a great comment about the album as a whole that the uptempo "Chiquita" and the closing power ballad "Mia" aren't even memorable in the least, and yet they're among the highlights of the record. The Yardbirds' cover "Think About It" at least has a very nice vocal melody, though credit for that should go to the original songwriters and not Aerosmith themselves, especially since in terms of fire and inspiration, it's miles away from their previous cover song from the band ("Train Kept A Rollin'").
Think those songs were uninspiring? Well, I haven't even gotten to the truly bad yet. You might question the inclusion of "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" on the hits album a year later, but for better or worse, it's one of the rare songs here that has any sort of hook. That's not a compliment, though, since the hook is just an incredibly irritating one - I hate those stupid whispering backing vocals and the lifeless blues groove in the verses. And the very next song "Cheese Cake" repeats that same atrocious backing vocal mistake, only making this pathetic mess even more painful. Both are definitely weaker songs than anything the band had done previously, but the completely ugly and shitty blues of "Reefer Head Woman" is even worse. "Three Mile Smile", which reminds me of the really generic Zeppelin moments of Presence and Coda, isn't much better, and what kind of poor excuse for a song is "Bone To Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)"? At least this record has the sense to end at around 35 minutes or so before it has a chance to get 1 or 2 level unlistenable, but still, this is awful stuff that any band should be ashamed of.
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COMMENTS
when you are a junkie and you want delicious cocaine you neeeeeed that tasty cocaine! steven is high! on reefer headed woman. GOTTAAAAAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FER HEDED WOMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!! UUUUUUUUUUUUU NO THIS IS NOT RIGHT I GOT ROBOTS INSIDE MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET OUTTA HERE OR I FUCKING KILL YOU I LOV U! I WAS THE BEST BAND MEMBER IN DA WORLD NOW I'M DA KING OF THE NOOOOOOOOOOTHINGS! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM SUPERMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKED UP WORDS I KNOW. GOTTTTA REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFER HEDED WOMAAAAAAAN SHE RIP RIDE DOWN TO DA SKY! KA SHA DOOWA DOOPA HEY DONA! CHIN CHING CHING DOKAUUUUUU UU UU! FUCKED UP! MIA IS A SWEET BALLAD WITH A DARK EDGE HUSHA BYE MY BABY SOFT A NUUUUUUUUUUU EEEEYOW! PANG! A SOAP OPERA! AEROSMITH PLACE! WIVES SHOUTING AND BITHCHING NOT COOL! I N THE CONCERT IN 1979 BUMPANU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STEVE AND JOE ARE FULL HARDCORE JUNKIES! MAYBE TOO STONES OR TOO STRUNG OUT TOO PREFORM
CHEESE KAKE HE R SUGAR GETS ME HIGH! OOOOOO TASTY BRITNEY SPERS! SLUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!!!!!!!! TASTY CUCU DELICIOUS SEX! OW! FUCKED UP ALBUM THEY CAN BE TOUGH AND HARDCORE!
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Dream On, Walk This Way, Same Old Song And Dance, Back In The Saddle. LOW POINTS: Remember (Walking In The Sand).
During this time period, Aerosmith was firmly in the grip of mediocrity with their last two albums Draw The Line and Night In The Ruts, both of them downward spiral albums trashed by fans and critics. So the logical thing for a struggling band this far in their career to do in order to gain some momentum back commercially was to put out a greatest hits collection. Not surprisingly, it was a success, going several times platinum and becoming, if I'm not mistaken, their best-selling album to date. It isn't, however, the most ideal package imaginable. Don't get me wrong - for a good introduction to the band for casual listeners, the song selection here is mostly fine, but there's still something empty about it. For one thing, a few of these songs come in disappointingly shorter versions, which continues to baffle me, because it's not like the unedited versions of the songs couldn't have fit with plenty of room to spare.
Also, this thing gets somewhat weaker within the last few tracks - "Kings And Queens" is merely decent, and the awful groove "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" certainly doesn't belong here at all (though to be fair, there's not much quality on that album). Plus, the band's cover of "Come Together" (guess who did this one), while well played, doesn't really have the spark of the original, and it's been overcovered so much that it's hard to get excited about this version. But with these complaints out of the way, I can't complain about the selection otherwise. How about "Dream On", "Same Old Song And Dance", "Walk This Way", "Sweet Emotion", "Back In The Saddle", "Last Child" and "Draw The Line"? As you might have guessed from my high and low point listings in earlier reviews, these are all highlights from the respective albums, so it's difficult to argue with those choices. So in all, this could certainly an enjoyable listen for the beginner, but since these packages are evil, I'd invest in one of the 74-76 albums first to get a better overview of the band, not this.
What can I say about this; it contains all their monster hits from the first half of their career which makes it an excellent way to get into Aerosmith. "Dream On", Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way", "Last Child", and a few others are all on here. Towards the end it gets weaker, though, but just because Aerosmith went into a bad period of creativity after 1976 that they luckily got out of. "Come Together" a Beatles song, is one of the better versions I've heard another band do, with Aerosmith really making it rock. Fortunately this album came out when it did to remind everyone how great Aerosmith were in the glorious mid-1970's.
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COMMENTS
Don't be so quick to dismiss Draw The Line or Night In The Ruts - both albums have moments that are right up there with anything on Rocks or Toys In The Attic. Popular opinion is fickle, and for some reason those two records are the victim of them.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Joanie's Butterfly. LOW POINTS: Cry Me A River.
Oh, an album in the Aerosmith catalog has never been more appropriately titled. Considering that during this time period the band had lost not only Joe Perry, but also their second guitarist Brad Whitford, and that it comes in two melodyless and almost totally non-descript efforts that were deservedly forgotten, I'm supposed to royally bash this album. But surprisingly, I just can't do it. It's too decent! An Aerosmith album during this period which has semi-inspired guitar work (courtesy of newcomers Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay), individual melodies that I can actually remember (and most of them, at that!), and at least a little bit of diversity? Now you're talking! I mean, not that its' too great or anything, far from it. The style is still somewhat generic, and none of the songs really compare with the best of their classic period.
But as far as actual quality of the overall material goes, there's very little I can really complain about. The opening speed rocker "Jailbait" (with nice vocal/guitar interplay) and the single "Lightning Strikes" (which actually has keyboards in the intro and outro, a rarity for this band) both have a fine amount of energy and a good hint of catchiness to them. Plus, "Bolivian Ragamuffin" and "Jig Is Up" have a kind of groove and swagger that's sorely missed on the surrounding albums, with the former's fast-paced vocal delivery and the latter's catchy chorus being attractive.
The best song here, though, would have to be the rather nice "Joanie's Butterfly", a song slightly in the vein of something like "Seasons Of Wither", and it's attempted beauty is really benefited by a melody that's clearly the strongest of the album, with the generic, but exciting, rocking portion of the song fitting in pretty nicely (I also really dig the robotic introduction "Prelude To Joanie"). Elsewhere, there's really only one stinker in the bland soul-styled cover "Cry Me A River", but even that one isn't horrible. And the rest is the rest - decent quality midtempo stuff ("Bitch's Brew"), an okay rewrite of "Same Old Song And Dance" (the title track) and the enjoyable lounge-ish closer "Push Comes To Shove". Decent stuff, most of it is. I know I'm only faintly praising this, but you've gotta understand that it usually gets bashed just as much, if not more, than the other 'dark age' era albums, when in fact, it's the only one with actual melodies on it. This is unfairly overlooked, and I'll never understand why.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Darkness. LOW POINTS: She's On Fire, The Hop, Shame On You, Gypsy Boots.
This is probably one of the more non-descript and unmemorable albums I've ever heard. From my listening experience, it's really hard to believe the All Music Guide called this Aerosmith's comeback instead of Permanent Vacation (why? because Joe Perry and Brad Whitford are back? come on, they didn't bring that much to the band), since the music here is just about as uninspired and lame as the album's title and cover art. There are several factors that make Done With Mirrors a rather forgettable generic mid 80s hard rock album. The riffs are watered down and drugged out with hardly any sense of energy and memorability, the production is weak, and there's next to no melodies on the whole thing. For all the commercial tendencies of the later albums, anyone would have to admit that they're at least way more memorable than this crap. It's not even like the songs are horrid either, like with Night In The Ruts - it's just severe mediocrity almost straight through that inspires absolutely nothing in me.
A couple of them actually do foreshadow the success of Permanent Vacation and Pump, but the poor melodies hurt whatever potential those songs may have, particularly the otherwise good arena rock energy of "My Fist Your Face". I might as well call the swinging blues of "Darkness" that closes the album the best, since it's the only one that actually sounds particularly exciting while it's on - too bad I can't remember how it goes after it's over for the life of me. Elsewhere, "The Reason A Dog" has a clever chorus but just about nothing else. That's about all I can say about the rest of these songs, except that the opening track epitomizes the weakness here. "Let The Music Do The Talking" was supposedly done a lot better by The Joe Perry Project, but here his own band makes it perhaps the most unmemorable and limp opener they've ever done. The only reason I listed the remainder of the songs as the lows is because I can't tell you anything about them at all. This album as a whole just proves Aerosmith were pretty much incapable of writing a quality record on their own. Fortunately, they'd get a bit of help later on.
After nearly a decade Aerosmith were finally making a comeback; but is this the album that would break them through again? No, not really, as most of the songs are just mediocre. The problem is that their is almost no distinction between tracks, making nothing stand out as being particularly memorable. Sure, it is pleasant enough, it's just not anything that gets you excited in any way. It's just straightforward hard rock, fortunately having no dated mid-80's synths in it. Some songs include "My Fist Your Face", "Shela", and "Gypsy Boots".
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: The Movie, Angel, Dude (Looks Like A Lady). LOW POINTS: Hearts Done Time, Magic Touch, Permanent Vacation.
After Done With Mirrors continued Aerosmith's commercial slump, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry teamed up with Run DMC in 1986 for a rap-rock remake of "Walk This Way", which boosted their commercial fortunes considerably. For their next studio album, they teamed up with a few professional songwriters such as Jim Vallance and Desmond Child to assist them in the creative process, and thus came out with one of the most improbable and successful comebacks in rock history. While the end result of Permanent Vacation in large places is a bit too generic and undistinguished (not to mention quite overrated), it's still a much better album than Done With Mirrors, since, for all its' commercial soullessness, there are really quite a few catchy hooks here, and several of the songs don't exactly stray far from their bluesier roots, making it at least a partial success.
The two biggest hits, of course, I've heard way too many times to the point of disgust (just like "Walk This Way"), but I'll admit the horn-filled tunes "Rag Doll" and "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" are definitely catchy and enjoyable, even if not very distinguishable from the rest of the radio at the time. The latter one in particular, though, is very clever and funny in the lyrics, and musically, it has a good amount of addictiveness in the groove. The other hit, "Angel", is a completely commercial ballad, sure, but for some reason the melody just grabs me, and the way it builds to the ultra-memorable chorus is quite a highpoint. And there's also the closing track "The Movie", a really friggin' fantastic instrumental, and my absolute favorite on the album - the main guitar melody, structure, and spoken samples are perfectly soundtrack-ish, and it's really quite dramatic in its' arrangement.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album has quite a bit of filler within its' running time, worst of them being the two opening tracks "Hearts Done Time" and "Magic Touch", two completely non-descript and uninteresting generic rock songs. As for the rest, there's a fairly boring Latin-flavored number that doesn't do anything (title track), another average runthrough of a Beatles cover ("I'm Down"), a vaguely Eastern sounding pop song ("Simoriah"), an okay more energetic number ("Girl Keeps Coming Apart"), and those two aforementioned forays into bluesier territory (the swinging religious ode "St. John" that builds up to a nice hard rocking chorus and the very swampy, interesting blues intro of "Hangman Jury"). These songs may not be that great, but I can actually remember distinct things about most of them, and that counts for something. Though there's too much filler here in all, the inspired highlights here scattered throughout make this worth a possible purchase if you see it cheap.
This is Aerosmiths late 1980's "comeback" but it is on the same par as Done With Mirrors. Well, actually, it's probably a little better with the inclusion of two hits instead of no hits at all. We have "Rag Doll" and "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" on here which are the two strongest tracks. In away this album is partly successful because of having a more radio friendly type sound with the inclusion of some horns and synths added to the mix. There is no substance in the songs though, so only a few of them stand out. "Girl Keeps Coming Apart" is a fine catchy tune and "The Movie" is interesting and self explanatory.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Janie's Got A Gun, Monkey On My Back, Don't Get Mad Get Even. LOW POINTS: My Girl.
Now riding a renewed momentum of commercial success, the band followed up Permanent Vacation with an album that sounds closer to their classic style than anything they'd done since Rocks. There's still an undeniably commercial feeling to the sound here, but the hooks are even more catchy this time around without being generic or boring, and it's actually a very fun listen in the Aerosmith spirit - the lyrics are enjoyably tongue-in-cheek without getting overly tasteless, there are quite a few excellent riffs and a whole lot of energy. This might also be their most consistently satisfying effort, and by far the best example of the virtues this late period era of the band has. For once, the huge commercial success the band was having during this time was well deserved, and pretty much all the various radio hits (and videos) the album spawned are very solid entries in their catalog.
The best of these is undoubtedly side one's closer "Janie's Got A Gun", whose supporting video is perhaps their most popular and well made. The song itself, though, is just as fantastic - Steven Tyler really dives into the social problems of abuse lyrically, and surprisingly, this doesn't come off as cheesy, but only makes the song more affecting. The 'boom!' sounds after his singing of each line in the verse, the soaring chorus ('run away from the pain'), and Joe Perry's guitar solo midsong also help to make it perhaps their best post '76 number. As for the other hits, "Love In An Elevator" is definitely the album's raunchiest and bluesiest moment, and while it's a little overlong and repetitive, the mess of guitar riffs and exciting playing make it worthwhile. "The Other Side" (with a great intro called 'Dulcimer Stomp') is a really fun horn-filled number that has as equally catchy of a hook as the other two songs.
There are also a couple lesser known songs that are just as great as the hits, though. "Monkey On My Back" is certainly one of them, with an extremely fun and energetic guitar dominated romp with a groove that ranks right up there with several of the best classic Aerosmith songs in that vein. Then there's the heavily bitter, but really really entertaining slow blues of "Don't Get Mad, Get Even" - the melody is very engaging, the slide guitar works extremely well with the atmosphere, and the chorus is really memorable like most of the album. "F.I.N.E." is another really down and dirty rocking paradise, and while the song might be overly raunchy, it pretty much defines the spirit of the album well. And "Young Lust" is quite the enjoyably fast and furious opener, with an appropriately speedy, well-written melody and nice guitar soloing.
Of course, I can't call the album perfect or anything. Besides the still overly commercial sound, the album is merely a really impressively performed modern rehash of their classic period, even if a very good one. And nitpicking some more, there's also two other tracks here that don't stand up to the rest, but even they're okay, which isn't something I could say about the lows from any other album. "My Girl" is a somewhat fillerish, almost generically fast, tune (but it's still fun) and the closing harmonica driven ballad "What It Takes" isn't one of their better efforts in that vein, but it's quite nice to listen to anyway, and hardly offensive at all. Basically, like I said before, this is your best bet for late period Aerosmith, and best of all, it can easily be found cheap in the used bins.
Aerosmith hit the big time with this album and became a huge success again. With it's overtly commercial sound it spawned several hit singles like "Love In An Elevator", "Janie's Got A Gun", and "The Other Side". Aerosmith were finally back to making good music again, it shows with the exciting energy and attitude they put into it. Another interesting thing is that half the songs have interludes before them; I especially like the one called "Dulcimer Stomp" which is placed before "The Other Side". Their are some well crafted songs on here like "F.I.N.E." which is more than just a fine song, the fastpaced "Young Lust", and the power ballad "What It Takes" which unsurprisingly closes the album. After Pump Aerosmith took 4 years off to tour and rest before they released another album which ultimately became another big hit.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Amazing, Shut Up And Dance, Line Up. LOW POINTS: Flesh, Walk On Down, Get A Grip, Eat The Rich.
Predictably, the long-awaited follow up to Pump was even more of a commercial success than before, continuing Aerosmith's hot streak of massive hit singles, and this time there were even more of them. While maintaining their popularity wasn't exactly a bad thing here, I very much question the results, which are a huge letdown from its' predecessor. While on the last album the band very much sounded rejuvenated in terms of energy, excitement and catchy melody, this is just a weak repeat of the same formula. Not to mention that the album is 62 minutes long, which gives them the opportunity to put a lot more filler on here than before, making this a very frustrating experience. But thankfully, they didn't forget to write very good songs throughout the running time and there are just as many that rank among their better modern performances, just more that rank among their worst.
As for these 'bad' tracks, several of the melodies here, while not forgettable, are just so obvious that they make me cringe. The title track, for instance, has a decent groove, but the melodies are just pathetically generic. "Flesh" compounds that problem by adding irritatingly disgusting lyrics onto it, and it's hard to imagine a more bland and boring rocker than the one Joe Perry contributes with "Walk On Down". Oh, and then there's "Eat The Rich", which definitely has a cool opening guitar riff, but the mindless lyrics and melody (the song's chorus is literally 'eat the rich, that's the only thing they're very good for') just completely kill the song for me. Even the hugely successful ballads are subpar - "Cryin'" and "Crazy" are both enjoyable listens for sure, but the difference between the melodies and pace of them are so similar that I can't help but say they're the exact same song (personally, I slightly perfer the latter for its' more striking chorus).
There are a few great tracks among all the filler, though. "Amazing" seemingly sums up all of Steven Tyler's philosophy all in one really well-written ballad - it might sound stupid, but the melodic buildup here really can be breathtaking, and the way the expressive guitar solo effortlessly flows to the end of the song is simply phenomenal. The rocker "Shut Up And Dance" probably has a stupid simple riff, but somehow they came up with a melody for it that's an incredible amount of fun. The Lenny Kravitz collaboration "Line Up" (actually he just says 'come on, Joe!' before the solo) is almost as rousing a success, another fine, well-played catchy groove.
Too bad these songs can't really save Get A Grip from high-level mediocre status, though. The remaining tracks don't do such either - there's a pointless 24 second introductory bit, a ho-hum short bluesy instrumental ("Boogie Man"), an overlong social statement that has a really good chorus hook, but the remainder of it kind of falls flat ("Livin' On The Edge"), an uptempo song so suited for line dancing that Garth Brooks even covered it ("Fever"), a fun but insubstantial little rocker ("Gotta Love It"). Nevertheless, like the last two albums, don't be afraid to pick this up if you see it cheap, since if you wade through the countless filler songs you will find a few rewarding ones. At least if don't have a tremendous hatred towards this period.
The next Aerosmith album after Pump was basically the same thing. This time around it had even more hit singles with it that were played nonstop on the radio the whole year following its release -- "Livin' On The Edge", "Eat The Rich", and the ballads "Cryin'", Crazy", and "Amazing". By now, though, Aerosmith ballads were starting to become generic and a little boring. Videos featuring hot babes were made out of the ass on some of the songs. There are some pretty weak, tired songs like "Fever" and "Shut Up And Dance" but all in all there was still enough of good Aerosmith to go around to feed the hunger.
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COMMENTS
Damn Bruce Fairbairn - never had any use for the guy. Sure, he's one of those guys (like Bob Rock) who gained hard rock a mass audience, but only through a homogenized, muddy sound that's never suited the music. I'll be damned as to why everyone seems to think he was such a great producer.
It's a shame, because in my mind Get A Grip has a great collection of songs (except, strangely enough, three out of the four hit singles: Cryin', Crazy and Livin' On The Edge all suck pooch IMHO), some of which are better than Pump and some moments that even hold up nicely to the classic '70s period. Wish I could be more helpful on actually pointing those moments out, but it's been a long time since I've heard the album. All I know is that during my heavy Aerosmith-listening period of a few backs (which was, incidentally, very '70s biased), Get A Grip was on heavy rotation.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Janie's Got A Gun, Amazing, Angel, Dude (Looks Like
A Lady). LOW POINTS: Walk On Water, Blind Man..
This time, Geffen cashes in with an Aerosmith compilation from the 'sell out' period, this time assembling the hits from the Bruce Fairbairn-produced 'Vancouver trilogy' of albums (Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get A Grip). Since these records were filled with smash hit singles, it would be impossible not to represent them effectively by putting all the hits in one place, and that's exactly what this compilation does. So although there are a few non-hit album tracks from this period that are certainly worth your listening time, I admit this is almost certainly a better investment for casual listeners to get acquainted with, especially since fans are divided on Pump, and the other two are overflowing with filler material. All the big hits are here, and if you want to know what they were, see the above reviews.
Unfortunately, the hits aren't all this collection includes. There's also two new tracks scattered within the non-chronological sequencing, and they're both iffy - the innuendo-laced opener "Walk On Water" and lead single "Blind Man" both remind me of the weaker Get A Grip tunes, with obvious, blah melodies all over the place. The other non-album tune, the soundtrack song "Deuces Are Wild" (from The Beavis And Butthead Experience) isn't really much better - the hook isn't as obvious, but it just passes me by without doing anything special. Needless to say, I had to knock a point off for these subpar songs, but most of the meat from here is quite acceptable to get new listeners interested.
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[email protected] (Wiener, Glenn)
Agree with you totally on this one. In general Aerosmith has alot of great songs in their catalogue. However as complete albums go, many of them are quite flawed and that is even more aparent with the later period Aerosmith sound. Here you only get the quality amterial. Truthfully Blind Man and Deuces are Wild are great songs. However, three new tracks are enough for these guys because should the number get increased to ten, three or four will be clunkers.
aerosmith! aerosmith! areosmith! seems to me like all of you were thinking that they are a singles band! but check out the tracks!
1.WALK ON WATER: BOOM this track chugs along as if you are in the indy 500
with weird lyrics hotpants bookah hooyah fastcar skullcap nosebleed pissed on what are you talking about?!
2.LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR:(PUMP) sweet sex cheap sex turth you better learn boy! 'cause aerosmith gets raunchy! i wanna make out with liv tyler!!!!!!!
3.RAG DOLL:(PERMANENT VACATION) rag doll is sexy because it has a jazz groove and some horns!
4.WHAT IT TAKES:(PUMP) sort of a country song but i heard it was a hit it sounds like a song that came out of days of thunder!
5.DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY:(PERMANENT VACATION) I KNOW THIS WILL GET ON YOUR NERVES BUT HEY I KNOW ONE CATCHY SONG BECAUSE OF THE HORNS
6.JANIE'S GOT A GUN:(PUMP) a friend of mine told me that the video for the song was disturbing but i say it is a good video and the song is a hit
7.CRYIN'(GET A GRIP) LOVE THAT VIDEO WITH MY GIRL ALICIA SILVERSTONE
8.AMAZING:(GET A GRIP) another cool video with the sexy alicai silverstone
9.BLIND MAN; BOOOOOOORING! SORRY DON'T LIKE THAT TRACK
10.DUECES ARE WILD! TOO COUNTRY NEXT!
11.THE OTHER SIDE:(PUMP) SOUNDS LIKE RAG DOLL WITH MORE HORNS IT IS ON THE MOVIE TRUE ROMANCE
12.CRAZY!:(GET A GRIP) i hear this song in 1994 all the time but the video OOOOO YEAH! HOT ALICIA SILVERSTONE WITH A HOT COMPANION LIV TYLER (DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!) sweet tasty and oh so sexy liv tyler is my dream girl i had a wet dream because i was so in love with liv tyler in a this one part in the movie empire records where she has that skirt! then she has red bra and white panties!!!!!!!!!!!! ooooooooooooo yeah! delicious looking figure that girl has hey it is not a fucking porno but hey at least i love the girl so much that i wanna caress her oh man i hope i shocked you with my wet dream let's go!
13.EAT THE RICH:(GET AGRIP) A NASTY BLAST OF SMASHING DRUMS HOWLING VOCALS AND NASTIER DELIVEREY! A SWIPE AT THE RICH FOLK WE SAY FUCK YOU ASSHOLES ALL YA'LL ARE A BUNCH OF OLD FARTS
14.ANGEL:(PERMANENT VACATION) ballad time well i love angel but ya'll think it was some sappy shit well who cares i love angel
15.LIVIN' ON THE EDGE:(GET A GRIP) YAY HARD ROCK WELL KEEP ON ROCKIN' GUY S WE ARE SICK OF THE FUCKING NU METAL SHIT I WANNA SEE YOU WITH KISS SEE YA!
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Hole In My Soul, Attitude Adjustment, Taste Of India. LOW POINTS: Pink, Ain't That A Bitch.
Following their biggest commercial success yet, Aerosmith returned from a really long tour to cut a new album with Alanis Morrisette producer Glen Ballard. Unfortunately, the sessions didn't quite go so well, and coupled with tensions in the studio, among other things (like Joey Kramer's depression), the new record was delayed a bit. When it was finally released, Nine Lives was still a commercial success, but somewhat less of one than the previous albums. But more importantly, while Get A Grip screamed formula on several tracks, this album admirably goes for a more diverse and experimental pop sound to go along with the typical hard rock sound. And despite what some think, I actually think this venture was, more often than not, a success, enough to call it arguably the most underrated album in their catalog.
Don't get me wrong - this album is still far from a masterpiece. For the first time in their career, the band has employed various outside songwriters on every song, and that alone kind of takes a bit away from the overall product. Also, just like Get A Grip, it's much too long at 62 minutes, and not surprisingly, that again means there are several fillers. The songs in the middle of the album in particular don't sound as memorable or well-written as the others - "Something's Gotta Give" is a pretty bland faster number, "Ain't That A Bitch" is a strange combination of lounge jazz and hard rock that just doesn't work at all, and "The Farm" is a fairly standard tune with really dumb Wizard Of Oz samples that pretty much kill the potential of the song. And the biggest hit here, "Pink", is just an obnoxious burst of sleaze with an 'infectious' melody that I wish wasn't such.
However, I'm not sure I can name any real big complaints against the rest of the songs. The best of them is yet another hit power ballad in "Hole In My Soul", which this time around is actually closer to their mid 70's style in this vein, with a powerfully dramatic refrain and arrangement that really makes an impression. "Kiss Your Past Goodbye" also works really well in combining the ballad and rocker sides of the band in building up to a solid chorus, and the title track continues the Aerosmith tradition of opening the album with a really high energy number, and that definitely begins the album on a high note. Even their Eastern pop experiment, "Taste Of India", really works, with relaxed, spiritual and poppy verses combining with the aggressive hard rock throughout. And by the time the subtle hook of "Attitude Adjustment" gets in your head, before you know it, the song turns into a pounding, catchy riff rock force.
Rounding out another endless list of tracks (by Aerosmith standards, anyway), there's another venture into almost punkish territory featuring really weird lyrics ("Crash"), a really unconventional, horn-filled, almost forced sounding lead single that can be a lot of fun if you're in the mood for it ("Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)"), an uplifting pop ballad with an almost sea chantey-like melody ("Full Circle"), and finally, an epic 8-1/2 minute mantra like closing song that ranks as an affecting moment ("Fallen Angels"). So in all, despite the very uneven flaws, almost schizophrenic songwriting tendencies of several songs and almost embarassingly juvenile moments in others, this is a pretty good return to form as a low 7. Maybe Nine Lives is far from classic or even substantial, but at least this material isn't wallowing in unlistenable, totally faceless, territory.
This Aerosmith album was another hit, though substantially smaller than the successes of Pump and Get A Grip. The band was, and has been trying to appeal directly to teenagers since around Pump, so it isn't surprising that this record does just that with its' gimmicky fun cover and 'immature' commercialized hard rock inside. The sound is just as raunchy and catchy as ever, but Nine Lives is a soft and minor improvement over the previous release because the material is a bit more carefully-written and there is slight air of diversity to some of the tracks (albeit in a somewhat corny kind of way). The band adds a bit of pop to their sweaty hard-rock crunch on "Taste of India" (some sitar is used on this fun song) and the nice 'highlight' "Full Circle" (a catchy sing-a-long chorus on this one).
There is the solid title track opener as well, along with one of the greatest generic power ballads from Aerosmith of the decade (out of the two albums' they actually released during the decade that is) in "Hole In My Soul", where Tyler belts out an emotional and gut-wrenching performance. Nothing will probably beat the bands' first successful power ballad "You See Me Crying", but still, this one comes fairly close. It was one of the minor hits too. Unfortunately, the other two hits are as generic and obnoxious as can be. The more obnoxious one is "Pink", an irritatingly catchy tune with a very typical and over-used Aerosmith melody and cringe-worthy lyrics, and the other is the sax-fueled "Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees)", a tune that is nice-sounding but which tries too hard to sound exciting and interesting (a dumb-sounding bridge is one of the results of this). The album is a bit too long (sixty-two minutes and some seconds), and a few unmemorable tracks litter the middle of it ("The Farm", "Crash", etc.), but overall its' a worthwhile effort. It would be another four years until they would release the follow-up to this.
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(reviewed by John Sieber)
First things first - people, I like Aerosmith! Before the 1990's that is. So this should be a good little EP for me to have, as it puts six classic Aerosmith tracks in my dirty little hands, right? However, it looks like a sorry attempt at these aging rockers to make money (it was released in 1997, and I think for the most part, it probably is. The opener "Back In The Saddle" is a nice rocker, though, and a good choice for track #1. The next cut "Toys In The Attic" sucks the genitals of some large domesticated animal, though. God I hate this song. And the next one, "Seasons Of Wither", is not too much better, but the heroin-driven boys put a nice atmosphere in the verse and pair it with a classic 70's-sounding chorus. It's bearable. "Walk This Way", the next cut, is the real ringer of the album, and the only reason I originally bought it. It's a good song - what the hell do you want from me?
"Chip Away The Stone" follows, a lame, lame Skynyrd rip-off. Mr. Tyler changes his usually pleasant screech into a Southern-rockish screech, a move at which he fails miserably at. Sorry, Monkey-face (as I have grown fond of calling him), you're no Ronnie Van Zant. You're not even a Johnny Van Zant. You're not even a Johnny Rotten! Ugh. To round out the record we get a "previously unreleased" live bonus track (another obvious attempt to sucker people into buying this dismal release), a live version of "One Way Street", a song in the same Skynyrd-ish vein of the last one, but a little better. Only a little though. Maybe because Tyler uses his own perfectly good screech? Thank God. So! What do we have? Two good songs, two okay songs, and two horrible songs? Hmmm, give it a 4, maybe? But it only costs like 6 bucks! Fitting, since it don't even pass the 30-minute mark and only about 11 or 12 of those minutes are any good. Yuck. For completists (and those who want to hear "Walk This Way") only.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Beyond Beautiful. LOW POINTS: Avant Garden.
Aerosmith aren't even really a band anymore - they've a corporate machine that employs a lot of outside songwriting. In between Nine Lives and this album, they hit an all time low in that department in the horribly generic string-laced ballad "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" on the Armageddon soundtrack. This time around, the latest mandatory release for the 'let's put out a new record every four years' format they've been pulling off recently actually incorporates electronic elements and has been called their worst album ever by several critics. Remarkably, though, there are no real offensive moments here, and like the last album, there are attempts being made in the sound that are something more than just generic commercial hard rock and interchangable balladry. Unfortunately, there are no true great tracks here, either, as the material is all just 'decent' and rarely more or less. While this certainly makes for an okay listen, there isn't all that much to look forward to throughout the course of the album.
Fortunately, though, there are a few tracks that come close to very good in the first half of the album. The Eastern-flavored opener "Beyond Beautiful" has a fine hard rocking majesty to it while it's on (even though it's a bit unmemorable afterwards), and "Trip Hoppin'" is a fun little horn-flavored groove piece with a catchy chorus. The title track, while featuring electronic elements that are a bit distracting, is fairly hook-filled too, with clever lyrics ('just push play, FNA, they're gonna bleep it anyway'), and lead single "Jaded" is one of those rock songs that sounds great at first but quickly gets a bit stale, mostly because the riff ain't that great and the hook is competent at best. Second single "Fly Away From Here", though, is a fairly standard formulaic ballad (though still an enjoyable one) and "Sunshine" does exhibit a degree of prettiness to it.
The second half is even more standard in terms of quality. Mostly combining the electronic nuances with hard rock and memorable, though insubstantial, ballads, "Under My Skin", "Outta Your Head" and "Luv Lies" are all fine while they're on, but the hooks just aren't developed enough for a thoroughly satisfying and lasting impression, like "Drop Dead Gorgeous" at least contains a semblance of a strong hook (especially in its' chorus) and it's fun and groovy. The last two tracks, though, are probably the weakest of the set - the bass-heavy "Light Inside" is almost entirely unmemorable, and the closing "Avant Garden" doesn't even come close to living up to its' intriguing title, just dragging and dragging as a slow ballad. Ehh, nothing here is intolerable, but the merely decent quality of most of these songs guarantees that I can't go higher than low 6, and even then, it would undoubtedly be lower if the first half didn't contain its' share of enjoyable tracks or if the album was as long as the last two releases. Thankfully, it's a sensible 49 minutes.
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