-= The All-Purpose AEROSMITH Thread =-

[ImpulseUCF]

Aerosmith is a very interesting group in the context of classic and modern rock music. Spanning 4 decades in which they achieved commercial success in all 4 for different reasons, they are one of the few classic bands that remains relevant among contemporary as well as classic listeners. Blurring the lines between rock and metal at their hardest and leaping over the lines between rock and pop at their most accessible, Aerosmith has something to offer almost everyone interested in classic rock, modern rock and pop music. Any particular moments or songs you really love or think are over/underrated?

Personally, I think the Nine Lives album is far, far underrated and is easily the stronger album of their 90s career. Particularly, the song Taste of India is extremely interesting, textured, melodic and heavy, bordering on metal at moments with a strong rhythm throughout. The Farm is catchy and zany with a crunchy, heavy main riff and great groove. Something's Gotta Give and Crash recall a mixture of classic garage rock and border on punk. The radio friendly fare remains credible to a rock audience with Falling in Love and Pink, and they even have the classic guitar-driven rockers and anthems in Full Circle, Kiss Your Past Goodbye, and Attitude Adjustment. Nine Lives, the title track, recalls the ripping album-openers of their glory days like Toys in the Attic, and it even has the obligatory crappy ballad with Fallen Angels. The very best Aerosmith albums always had a crappy ballad I always skip on playback. Even Hole In My Soul is decent filler.

So, why did the album get so little critical and commercial attention and acclaim? I may be biased as it was my gateway album into Aerosmith during my formative musical discovery years into rock, but I think it is much stronger overall than, say, Get a Grip. Thoughts?

Oh, in my opinion, Rats in the Cellar and Get the Lead Out are the two best and underrated songs in Aerosmith's entire catalogue.

[jesse_custer]

The Permanent Vacation album is very overrated, although it contains an overlooked Aerosmith rocker ("Girl Keeps Coming Apart"). But yeah, in general it sucks. Its three hits, "Rag Doll," "Angel," and "Dude Looks Like a Lady," all showcase Aerosmith at their worst.

I think you can't go wrong with either Toys in the Attic or Rocks and, to a lesser extent, their self-titled debut and Get Your Wings.

As far as their '90s output is concerned, I hate it more with each passing day. I really couldn't tell you whether Get a Grip is better or worse than Nine Lives. The main problem with these albums is they sound so overproduced.

Honkin' on Bobo was a step in the right direction. What we need now is original Aerosmith tracks with the same philosophy.

Edit: Besides the live track of "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," the live album Rockin' the Joint is not bad.

[ImpulseUCF]

The Permanent Vacation album is very overrated, although it contains an overlooked Aerosmith rocker ("Girl Keeps Coming Apart"). But yeah, in general it sucks. Its three hits, "Rag Doll," "Angel," and "Dude Looks Like a Lady," all showcase Aerosmith at their worst. I agree that the album is overrated, but I think Rag Doll and Dude Looks Like a Lady are fine within the context of the 80s. They are memorable, if disposable, pop music, but the rest of the album is pretty much a waste. I like the title track when I'm at work. ;)
I think you can't go wrong with either Toys in the Attic or Rocks and, to a lesser extent, their self-titled debut and Get Your Wings. Rocks and Toys are easily their best efforts. The self-titled debut has some solid songs, but the majority clearly show the bands' inexperience with songwriting. The songs lack hooks, riffs, good flow or general catchiness and serve more to put the band on the map. Get Your Wings is their first flirtation with greatness, particularly the cover of Train Kept a Rollin' which they made their own.
As far as their '90s output is concerned, I hate it more with each passing day. I really couldn't tell you whether Get a Grip is better or worse than Nine Lives. The main problem with these albums is they sound so overproduced. The production is pretty much basic rock for Nine Lives except for the obvious singles. It's pretty damn good and isn't the obvious vehicle to deliver power ballads Get a Grip was.

Honkin' on Bobo was a step in the right direction. What we need now is original Aerosmith tracks with the same philosophy.HELL. YES. Not only the best album Aerosmith has put out in 20 years, but arguably the best album any classic band has put out in that time. Stripped down, inspired, blueesy rock and roll. No filler, no crazy pop production, no compromises for commercial appeal. Straight up dirty rock.

Edit: Besides the live track of "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," the live album Rockin' the Joint is not bad.Not a bad live album, though Joe Perry takes some liberties on dumbing down his solos on the classic tracks, so if you're a purist or really like his solos, he doesn't hit all the notes and you might be disappointed. However, the You Gotta Move live DVD filmed a year later for the Honkin' On Bobo tour is PHENOMONAL. I was actually at the show they filmed for that DVD, and MAN, the band was on fire. Coming of the excitement of doing an album they loved instead of another attempt at radio play, they were blistering.

[jesse_custer]

I also think Pump is one of their stronger records. Especially the first five songs: "Young Lust," "F.I.N.E.," "Love in an Elevator," "Monkey on my Back," and "Janie's Got a Gun." If anything, the album completely destroys the best hair metal albums out there.

And now that I think about it, I would probably rather listen to Nine Lives than Get a Grip, if only because the latter contains so many annoying ballads and songs I'd rather forget forever.

Have you listened to Done With Mirrors? Man, that is a bad, bad album. It's not mainstream by any means, but it's not worth a fuck, either.

[ImpulseUCF]

I also think Pump is one of their stronger records. Especially the first five songs: "Young Lust," "F.I.N.E.," "Love in an Elevator," "Monkey on my Back," and "Janie's Got a Gun." If anything, the album completely destroys the best hair metal albums out there. Pump was the pinnacle of their 80s career with some very solid songs. A great rock album of the times with minimal filler.

If I hate to pick a best album of each decade for them my personal choices would be:
70s: Tie between Toys & Rocks. Rocks has more good songs, but Toys has some of the undeniably best classic rock songs of any band
80s: Pump. Not that there was much competition.
90s: Nine Lives was stronger than Get a Grip overall, but both had good spots.
00s: Not that there is much choice, but Honkin' on Bob was fantastic.

And now that I think about it, I would probably rather listen to Nine Lives than Get a Grip, if only because the latter contains so many annoying ballads and songs I'd rather forget forever.Don't get me wrong. Get a Grip has some damn fine songs, but it's just full of so many crappy ballads that overshadow the memory of the experience overall. TO be honest, though, I hated Crazy.... until I saw the music video. :eek: ;) Liv Tyler, Alica Silverstone, and teenage years overpowered good musical judgment at the time. ;)

Have you listened to Done With Mirrors? Man, that is a bad, bad album. It's not mainstream by any means, but it's not worth a fuck, either.Heh. Yes, it's dreadful. One good song as far as I'm concerned, that being "She's On Fire." One bit of brilliance on an otherwise forgettable piece of crap. I have all of their studio albums, and that one is probably my least favorite. Rock in a Hard place is a close second worst for me, followed by... this may be unpopular, but Draw the Line didn't do much for me. I found its follow up, Night in the Ruts, much stronger.

Also it seems we are the only two people on the boards who give a shit about Aerosmith, LOL.

If I ever get the band going that I want to start, I already have full intentions of doing a really hard, metallic cover of Rats in the Cellar. I love that song!

[leonaozaki]

The only proper Aerosmith album I own is Pump, but I love it. I know Aerosmith mostly through the collections of theirs that I own, Big Ones (pretty good) and Pandora's Box (great). While I do really like latter-day Aerosmith it's the Box that I keep coming back to.

rob

[beetheb]

Gah, all I know of Aerosmith is what I've heard on the radio, but I do remember borrowing Nine Lives from a friend and liking a lot of the songs off it. "Taste of India" is cool, as is "Hole in my soul".

Does anyone else remember the time during the early-mid 90's when Aerosmith were the biggest rock band in the world? It seems that period of their career has been sort of forgotten, but they released probably their most successful stuff during that time.

[Deathstroke]

Pump is a great album. And it gave us Janie Got A Gun, which in turn gave us a rather spectacular video for the song.

Saw them twice in concert, once with Guns N' Roses and once with The Black Crowes.

[ImpulseUCF]

The only proper Aerosmith album I own is Pump, but I love it. I know Aerosmith mostly through the collections of theirs that I own, Big Ones (pretty good) and Pandora's Box (great). While I do really like latter-day Aerosmith it's the Box that I keep coming back to.I'm pretty sure Box of Fire collects a really good proportion of their best early stuff, so I doubt you even need the older albums.
Gah, all I know of Aerosmith is what I've heard on the radio, but I do remember borrowing Nine Lives from a friend and liking a lot of the songs off it. "Taste of India" is cool, as is "Hole in my soul".Oh, Bee, dude, you have to check them out. The radio is a good representative of their 70s career, but after that it's mostly the worst of the band. Toys in the Attic and Rocks are some of the best classic rock albums and you will see why James had the poster of Joe Perry on his wall when you hear the solos. Aerosmith was my gateway band into rock and metal, so I may be a tad biased. :)
Does anyone else remember the time during the early-mid 90's when Aerosmith were the biggest rock band in the world? It seems that period of their career has been sort of forgotten, but they released probably their most successful stuff during that time.You know, I do remember that, and I think it's funny. They were all over the place...Wayne's World, posters, all over.
Pump is a great album. And it gave us Janie Got A Gun, which in turn gave us a rather spectacular video for the song.

Saw them twice in concert, once with Guns N' Roses and once with The Black Crowes.Nice. I ended up seeing them 4 times. My first concert was Aerosmith with my Dad and two friends. I saw them again with my parents. Later, I took my girlfriend since she had never been to a big-venue concert, and that was the Honkin' on Bobo tour. Floored me. I finally took my friend from back home again for Christmas two years ago (one of the ones who went with me the first time). Lenny Kravitz was supposed to open, but he pulled out because he said his voice was shot. Ah, well.

[howyadoin]

The 70s stuff is definitely the best. Whether it's a matter of timing or of doin' the most drugs, I'm honestly not sure. Since then? Well, I'm one of the few who likes Done With Mirrors, and from what I've read, the band hated it, too. It certainly sounds more like classic 'Smith than Permanent Vacation, which - let's be honest, here - is basically a Bon Jovi album. I liked Vacation when it was new, but mainly just because I was glad to have Aerosmith back, and because they hadn't done a couple dozen mind-numbingly boring power ballads at that point.

Pump and Honkin' are the only ones worth buying since then.

And my single favourite tune of theirs would be the versions of "Dream On" and "Chip Away the Stone" on Live Bootleg. Best album overall? Probably a tossup between Rocks and Draw the Line.

[gary bolt]

I listened to a lot of Aerosmith in the 70's, especially Rocks and Toys in the Attic but I lost interest in them a long time ago. You can't blame aging musicians for hanging in there, especially if they are doing well commercially. They are doing what they love, after all.

But Aerosmith pretty much heads up my list of aging dinosaur bands that I wish would retire, already.

[ImpulseUCF]

Permanent Vacation... is basically a Bon Jovi album.Heh. It's funny because it's true. I don't know...most of those songs are just utterly disposable 80s rock. I think the album's biggest accomplishment was putting Aerosmith back on the map, which it did. Plus, I really like Rag Doll for a sleezy cheesy bluesy rock song.
Pump and Honkin' are the only ones worth buying since then.I don't know, have you given Nine Lives a shot outside of the singles? Really, really strong album. There's some great rockers. I think The Farm is the best shining example of what "new" Aerosmith is capable of, that zany, over-the-top thing.
And my single favourite tune of theirs would be the versions of "Dream On" and "Chip Away the Stone" on Live Bootleg.
They don't do many covers, but when they do, they usually blister (aside from Love Me Two Times, which I found exceedingly generic. They completely took Train Kept A' Rollin' from a great blues song to a patented, trademarked Aerosmith ROCK song. Also, their cover of Walkin' the Dog' from their first album is among my favorites.
Best album overall? Probably a tossup between Rocks and Draw the Line.Really? I love Rocks and totally understand the love it gets, but I never got the appeal of Draw The Line. To me, the decline in their songwriting and performance from the drug abuse getting completely out of hand is really apparent here as most of the songs are forgettable and the best song was a cover. Milk Cow Blues rocked that album. It had a few good songs, but I preferred Night in the Ruts.
But Aerosmith pretty much heads up my list of aging dinosaur bands that I wish would retire, already.Have you listened to Honkin' On Bobo or seen them live lately?? They are still INCREDIBLE and definitely still have it.

[howyadoin]

They completely took Train Kept A' Rollin' from a great blues song to a patented, trademarked Aerosmith ROCK song.To me, once you've heard Motörhead's version, there's no point in listening to anybody else's.

[ImpulseUCF]

To me, once you've heard Motörhead's version, there's no point in listening to anybody else's.Motorhead did it??? Hmm.where can I get a hold of that track? That I need to hear.

[howyadoin]

Motorhead did it??? Hmm.where can I get a hold of that track? That I need to hear.It's on their first album (http://www.imotorhead.com/discography/albums1.htm).

[Catman_3]

Particularly, the song Taste of India is extremely interesting, textured, melodic and heavy, bordering on metal at moments with a strong rhythm throughout.

I agree, great underrated Aerosmith song.

I'm more of a 70's era Aerosmith fan and think Night In The Ruts is a very underrated Aerosmith album.

[ImpulseUCF]

I'm more of a 70's era Aerosmith fan and think Night In The Ruts is a very underarted Aerosmith album.I completely agree. I have no idea why Draw The Line is often considered part of their best few albums when I found Night In The Ruts to be much, much better overall. I also agree the 70s were their best period, but I think Nine Lives was underrated and Honkin' on Bobo is the best they have sounded in 20 years.

Aside from Pump and a few other songs, the 80s were mostly worthless as far as output. I guess the best thing they did was get clean and back in the public eye with the Run DMC collaboration.

Anyone have interesting concert stories? Has anyone been to a 'Smith concert? I can't recommend it enough. As they have always said, they are a live band first.

[ImpulseUCF]

I have a kind of theory, so bare with me...

I think bands that are firmly rooted in rock that sometimes edge over into metal just seem a whole lot harder than bands that are full blown metal all the time because of the contrast. If you see a metal band that is acting metal, it seems normal, but if you see a rock band that rocks so damn hard that they're almost freakin' metal, it resonates more.

The best example I know of is Stone Cold Crazy by Queen. Queen's original is much harder and more raw than the Metallica cover, which was very distorted and fast. Just the raw, intense ripping tone of the guitars and the fact that it was Queen make it hit that much harder than just Metallica doing a fast distorted song. I think Aerosmith and AC/DC benefit a lot from this.

Aerosmith has songs that edge into metal territory which just makes them seem more frantic, heavy, and hard rockin, like Something's Gotta Give, Crash, Beyond Beautiful, Angel's Eyes, Rats in the Cellar, Toys in the Attic, Train Kept a Rollin, etc.