Aerosmith Album By Album Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Rose River Bear, May 1, 2022.

  1. BDC

    BDC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tacoma
    Makes sense to me.. and I didn't know, nor had I thought about it...For me, when Tyler sings the line "In the blink of an eye you finally see the light"----that melody really grabs me--think its the way the melody descends on the last 3 words.... Probably corny to lot of guys.....
     
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  2. JeffHunt

    JeffHunt Stray Cat Strutting

    Location:
    Pennsylvania, USA
    IDWTMAT was included on UK re-issues of Nine Lives and it was a Japanese bonus track on Just Push Play.
     
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  3. JeffHunt

    JeffHunt Stray Cat Strutting

    Location:
    Pennsylvania, USA
    There's a promo only release called "Gripping Stuff" that's a bit more in line with a true Geffen-era best-of.

    1 Let The Music Do The Talking
    2 My Fist Your Face
    3 Rag Doll
    4 Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
    5 Angel
    6 Love In An Elevator
    7 Janie's Got A Gun
    8 The Other Side
    9 What It Takes
    10 Eat The Rich
    11 Livin' On The Edge
    12 Cryin'
    13 Amazing
    14 Line Up
    15 Crazy
     
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  4. Doomster

    Doomster Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    most people - misled by the video!!
     
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  5. Goldtop33

    Goldtop33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    ‘To me it was like the band did a modern day version of Home Tonight - with the epic guitar outro
     
  6. Doomster

    Doomster Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Perhaps Stockholm Syndrome is setting in, having been held hostage by Get A Grip for a few listens for the purposes of this thread, I do realize and acknowledge there is good stuff, or moments, on there.

    As I reflect, sure there are songs I flat out don’t like, but often I might like a lot of a song, but it will then have a segment I can’t stand, spoiling the whole.

    So here is my (no doubt TLDR) song-by-song notes:
    • Turns out, the opening riff and verse to “Eat the Rich” is actually super damn killer, and the bridge is cool and works (even if it’s familiar from somewhere), but it builds to that chorus - yuk!
    • Aside from the juvenile burp, “Get a Grip” is decent, until the irritating, ear-worm “Skin and bones …” sub-“Rag Doll” rap, which for me is c-rap (yeah, I score it a c-minus).
    • “Fever” is a good romp with no cringe missteps. Sure, it’s no more than a good album cut, but I’m getting along with it quite nicely right now. Must’ve caught it.
    • “Living on the Edge” I’ve discussed - the sentiment is insincere, and the lyric demands sincerity for the song to really hit home - musically, it sounds like a song by a different band, and one that probably should’ve been recorded by that other (Irish folk??) band.
    • “Flesh” is a filler-ish bit of sweaty cock rock, I can’t figure out how I feel about it. Don’t hate it, but it frankly isn’t really funky or dangerous enough to actually be sexy
    • “Walk on Down” is either a welcome bit of rock grit or is so straight, it jars when sat alongside the other glossy Tyler-elasticated material. As a song itself, it’s fine, but I’m in the latter camp - it doesn’t fit here. I might like an album it did fit on more, mind you!
    • “Shut Up and Dance” - I should like this. There’s a good song somewhere in here, and if the band played it more loose, and Tyler sang it with a mean sneer and swagger, it could even have a “Jailbait” vibe. But it’s too tight and slick to breathe right now.
    • “Gotta Love It” - no I don’t. More too-precise pop funk, perhaps better left to the Chili Peppers. The slappy chorus is yet another irritating ear-worm, memorable for the wrong reasons.
    • “Line Up” - kind of lost towards the end of the album, this is a nice enough upbeat rocker. Doesn’t demand much of the listener - if you told me it was filler, I wouldn’t fight you - but, hey, I like it.
    • The “Silverstone Ballad Trilogy” - you know, technically, these may just be the three best, most completely written songs on the album. Never thought I’d write that, but there. Decent moments in all three songs - I like the verses in each single ballad (and the verses unlike the videos are all varied), but the BIG power choruses are a BIG turn off for me personally (and the choruses are not varied, with Tyler wringing what feels like the same emotion out of a single word in each chorus, in a pretty similar way in terms of tone, cadence and phrasing - the SNL skit stands). “Amazing” is the winner for me, and in fact, now I’ve learned it is about Tyler’s drug addiction and not Alicia Silverstone’s teen travails, it’s even more impressive. All told, I’d agree the album only needed two of these three.
    So there we have it - my thoughts after a fair minded listen nearly 30 years later. Aside from my now boring gripes about the sound choices, it seems that what I like least are some of the “manufactured-to-be-ultra-hooky” hooks, which, for my brain at least, seem to fall into the “irritating ear-worm” territory. If I could put that to one side (I can’t) there are lots of cool guitar licks dotted around the place.

    From here on in, I’m gonna be hearing parts of the catalogue I haven’t heard a note of, bar “Jaded”, so here goes.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  7. Berlin SO 36

    Berlin SO 36 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Orange NJ
    I'm sure this has been suggested before but it would be helpful to have the list pasted below pinned to the top of every page in these long album-by-album threads (maybe in a smaller font so it doesn't take up too much vertical space?) so readers can easily go back to discussions about earlier albums.

    Aerosmith Album By Album Thread

    1. Aerosmith
    2. Get Your Wings
    3. Toys in the Attic
    4. Rocks
    5. Draw The Line
    6. Live Bootleg
    7. Night In The Ruts
    8. Joe Perry Project-Let The Music Do The Talking
    9. Joe Perry Project-I’ve Got The Rock and Rolls Again
    10. Whitford/St. Holmes
    11. Rock in A Hard Place
    12. Joe Perry Project-Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker
    13. Done With Mirrors
    14. Classics Live I & II
    15. Permanent Vacation
    16. Gems
    17. Pump
    18. Pandora’s Box
    19. Get A Grip
     
  8. Johnny Rock N' Roll

    Johnny Rock N' Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I listened to "Walk on Water" the other day for the firs time ever. That track smokes. Big Ones is a comp that was relentlessly in the used bins, but I was not interested in anything Aero-related at that time with a date stamp past 1993, ha. It woulda been worth a pickup though for that track.
     
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  9. Doomster

    Doomster Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Have not heard any of the Big Ones extras … looking forward to it from some of the comments here
     
  10. Johnny Rock N' Roll

    Johnny Rock N' Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    A lot of people are big on "Deuces are Wild". I think it's okay, but it does not do as much for me as others.

    I was familiar with that one from the Beavis & Butthead Experience album, but honestly it feels like a song they woulda made fun of on the TV show, ha.
     
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  11. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    Sorry, it's really about Alicia Silverstone having virtual sex with the guy from Dazed & Confused.
     
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  12. Orthogonian Blues

    Orthogonian Blues A man with a fork in a world full of soup.

    Location:
    London, UK
    Anyone else think that 'Boogie Man' is the best track on 'Get A Grip'?

    No? Just me then? Fine!
     
  13. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Problem with Get a Grip besides it's CD bloat is that other than "Eat The Rich," all of the rockers/uptempo tracks on it pretty much fall flat.
     
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  14. Johnny Rock N' Roll

    Johnny Rock N' Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I also feel like that version of the GAG CD with the fake cow skin cover should be mentioned. That packaging was the worst in my opinion, ha.
     
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  15. Doomster

    Doomster Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    agree - should have been real cow skin, and with an udder that released a sachet of milk for you coffee.
     
  16. whisper3978

    whisper3978 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Apex, NC
    Someone else may have said this already, and it might sound dumb, but I got the new Modest Mouse CD and found that taking a picture of the tiny, tiny print is the best way to go. Take a picture, then zoom up on the text that way. It works!
     
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  17. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    One other thing about Get A Grip: "Don't Stop" and "Can't Stop Messin'" were somehow b-sides, but both had better hooks than most of the non-ballad album tracks. Makes no sense. Neither is like, an A-level track or hit single but both would've been solid album tracks.
     
  18. EgaBog

    EgaBog The Dreadful Great

    Location:
    Brazil
    Let's go then: GET A GRIP

    Cover

    I never had a problem with it. It's always been whatever to me, a little on the better side of the covers. At least it has a minimally original idea, a juvenile though a perfect fit for Aerosmith. Get a grip on that cow's tit, friend! Oh, and it's a hard rocker cow, none other.

    Album
    I think I liked it better when I was younger? I don't know. Or maybe I always held it in high regard because some of the songs are among the best Aerosmith has ever made. THIS is the album that contains the Alicia Silverstone trilogy, three music videos that were HOT back in the day and got airplay for many years after the release. I like it a lot less today.

    Like many people said previously, it suffers from CD bloat and it's pretty clear. The clunkers are notable and could've been cut without any damage. The album is also VERY badly sequenced. It begins well with the "Intro" and the seamless transition to "Eat the Rich", which is a great Second Wind Hit in the same vein as "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". It has some great lines that make it very memorable. Who else could sing this in a more epic way?

    "So take your gray poupon my friend; And shove it up your asssssssssssssssssssss"

    Title track is ok. Not the best of the album, but way above the clunkers that come later on. "Living on the Edge" follows it and it's another highlight. It's no wonder it became popular among fans and also appeared on some compilations. The album then hits the first bump with "Flesh" with that unfortunate intro to the song. I complained about the intros on "Pump" and this time it's even worse. Why does it take so long to finally get to the song? The worst part is that the music is good, it just takes forever to start.

    I have always liked "Walk on Down". At least it has that old-school flair that some songs lack in GAG. It's a little bit too Joe Perry Project-ish, in a second album kind of way, as it gets a little repetitive toward the end. Still, it's a great breather for those craving hard rock. As for "Shut Up and Dance", well, it's filler. Not the bad filler, but also not a highlight by any means. At this point, this album doesn't flow nicely, it's bumpy and not because of a lack of good songs.

    Now comes the BIG one: "Cryin'". Say what you want, I have always adored this song. And not because of a young, hot Alicia Silverstone, but because it's a damn fine song because of Tyler's vocals alone. Not long ago someone created a thread about rock and roll's most epic screams. The one here cuts it without breaking a sweat. It's on par with Daltrey's scream on "Won't Get Fooled Again" and I saw them both live. In 2013, Tyler still chilled the whole audience with his wail and I'm getting chills again as I write this and remember the show.

    "Gotta Love It" is the first real clunker. It's such a throwaway song, it breaks the flow once again and makes it hard to get through the rest of the album. It's fortunate that it still has two great songs before it's over. "Crazy" is, of course, one of them. Such an instant classic. Stylish, charming song that doesn't seem so out of place in Aerosmith's canon. "Com'ere baby..." makes the song great from the first line.

    "Line Up" is the other real clunker. Could've done without it. Now, as for "Amazing", it's the perfect ending for the album if you just pretend that "Boogie Man" does not exist. It's a ballad, a good one and goes in line with Aerosmith's trademark to close albums with ballads. Great guitar work from Joe Perry saves what could've become a synth-fest toward the end of the song. Screw "Boogie Man".

    I'll resequence the album and post it here later when I'm done testing the possibilities.
     
  19. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    I bought Get A Grip around the time of release. I still like it a lot!
     
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  20. Mark7

    Mark7 Forum Resident

    I like it too...I always here the lyric "sooner or later" in there...well, it's not there, but in my mind!
     
  21. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    those are songs that the label, john kalodner , cut from the original GaG
     
  22. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    For a guy with that kind of track record, it's kind of baffling. Again, I don't think either would've been big hits or anything, but IMO they're stronger than a lot of what did make the LP.
     
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  23. MechanicalAnimal6

    MechanicalAnimal6 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    dang, the hate towards Eat the Rich....

    my favorite song on Get A Grip by a landslide and i still love that song.
    probably the song from that mid 80's til early 90's era i play the most still.

    dang good song, imo!

    i can't find one song i full on dislike on Get A Grip either, but i will admit that
    i rarely do play the full album. kinda weird i guess!
     
  24. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    have you seen the video of steven tyler performing the song "amazing" at a drug rehab event about 10 years ago? sparse arrangement and after the first chorus he clearly gets visibly chocked up
     
  25. EgaBog

    EgaBog The Dreadful Great

    Location:
    Brazil
    Perhaps because it's very badly sequenced. It's by far the worst slogger in their discography.
     
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