Pump!

JoeTyler said:

Moonbeam said:

Dr. Feelgood is pretty excellent through and through! There are moments of total excess like "Time to Change" as has been mentioned, but that's part of the greatness.

for me, their most solid album is Shout At the Devil, and even that album has two or three songs of pure filler (God Bless the Children of the Beast , the cover of Helter Skelter and Danger). I prefer the Crue when they made badass & dark songs like Bastard, Looks That Kill or Knock'em Dead. Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls were basically 2 singles + 8 fillers , even the band admitted that lol

The only songs of Dr.Feelgood that I still truly dig are the title-track, Kickstart My Heart (their best song for my taste), Same Old Situation and ...that's all lol. The production is awesome, though, the drums are so hard that they could make your ears bleed!

Too Fast For Love is probably my fav Motley Crue album but I don't like/need that sound anymore, Motley did rock for teenagers & sluts lol (like Ratt, Twisted Sister, Dokken, etc) while bands like Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Van Halen or GN'R made timeless hard-rock for everybody, in my opinion...

We'll just have to disagree then. I think Dr. Feelgood is excellent! Too Fast for Love is also great, and I quite like Shout at the Devil too.

How do people feel about Honkin' On Bobo? I'm certainly not nominating it for best album but I finally heard it and it is much, much better than I was anticipating.

lastdecember said:

badujunkie said:

I know my fave is Get A Grip but what's other ppls

Without a doubt PUMP, i wore that thing into the ground back then and whenever i put it on now its a straight ride, perfect album, one of the best rock albums ever!

Agreed. "PUMP" is Aerosmith at their best. Hitting on all cylinders.

rialb said:

lastdecember said:

disagree. PUMP to me was the rawest sound they had since Toys in the Attic, i think that album gets lumped in with the 80's hair metal because it just happend to come out in 1989, but i would never even lump this album in with say.....Cinderella, Posion or even a Guns N Roses type record. "The making of pump" documentary shows how far seperated they were from bands like that.

OK, I admit, if you judge them based on their early image (like this album cover):

[img:$uid]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hq4xnAZtQ6w/TDlXYvgKw4I/AAAAAAAAAbk/-n_xM7dn9y0/s1600/cinderella+night+songs.jpg[/img:$uid]

then, yeah, they seem like a typical '80s hair band but if you listen to Long Cold Winter and, especially, Heartbreak Station, it's obvious that they had a lot more going for them than most hair bands. Is Pump a "better" album than Heartbreak Station? That's a matter of opinion but I think that both albums share many of the same sensibilities, they are both basic hard rock albums.

I think that one area that Pump really has an edge over other Aerosmith albums circa 1987-present is that there are not a ton of co-writers on board. Pop songs are fine but that's not really what I want from an Aerosmith album and it seems like the more outside writers an album has the more diluted it is.

[Edited 2/6/11 8:57am]

I disagree with your assessment of "PUMP" but we are very much in agreement about Cinderella. Great band, and "Heartbreak Station" is indeed an overlooked classic rock album. It deserved a wider audience.

rialb said:

How do people feel about Honkin' On Bobo? I'm certainly not nominating it for best album but I finally heard it and it is much, much better than I was anticipating.

I enjoyed that album a lot back in 2004 (how time flies ) but somewhere in 2005 I realized that it's pretty uneven lol . Many of the songs are overproduced (specially Baby Please Don't Go and You Gotta Move) the new song is crap and the Aretha cover was just bizarre.

My fav songs are still the acoustic blues numbers (Back Back Train, Jesus Is On the Main Line) plus Road Runner (great) and Stop Messin' Around . The rest I can live without...

Not the great comeback it was supposed to be, but certainly better than the crap of the sellout 97-02 era...

JoeTyler said:

rialb said:

How do people feel about Honkin' On Bobo? I'm certainly not nominating it for best album but I finally heard it and it is much, much better than I was anticipating.

I enjoyed that album a lot back in 2004 (how time flies ) but somewhere in 2005 I realized that it's pretty uneven lol . Many of the songs are overproduced (specially Baby Please Don't Go and You Gotta Move) the new song is crap and the Aretha cover was just bizarre.

My fav songs are still the acoustic blues numbers (Back Back Train, Jesus Is On the Main Line) plus Road Runner (great) and Stop Messin' Around . The rest I can live without...

Not the great comeback it was supposed to be, but certainly better than the crap of the sellout 97-02 era...

I got a sealed copy of it for two bucks so that may colour my feelings about the quality. Had I paid full price for it I may not be so kind. It was very refreshing to listen to a full Aerosmith album without any schlocky ballads and lots and lots of guitars.

Speaking of the '97-'02 era I also gave Just Push Play a spin and, quality aside, it seems like a very odd album. Whatever you may think of Nine Lives at least it was somewhat cohesive and a consistent listen, Just Push Play is a bit of a mess. Songs like "Trip Hoppin'" and "Fly Away From Here" are pretty bad but most of the rest of the album isn't terrible but it is awfully bland. I think you could take any three or four songs from it and they would sound ok on a stronger album but so many of these songs are completely indistinguished and interchangeable, none of them really leave any impression. I can't imagine how poorly the album would have sold without "Jaded" on it. I really can't imagine that they were satisfied with the album and believed in it.

[Edited 2/8/11 18:40pm]

rialb said:

JoeTyler said:

I enjoyed that album a lot back in 2004 (how time flies ) but somewhere in 2005 I realized that it's pretty uneven lol . Many of the songs are overproduced (specially Baby Please Don't Go and You Gotta Move) the new song is crap and the Aretha cover was just bizarre.

My fav songs are still the acoustic blues numbers (Back Back Train, Jesus Is On the Main Line) plus Road Runner (great) and Stop Messin' Around . The rest I can live without...

Not the great comeback it was supposed to be, but certainly better than the crap of the sellout 97-02 era...

I got a sealed copy of it for two bucks so that may colour my feelings about the quality. Had I paid full price for it I may not be so kind. It was very refreshing to listen to a full Aerosmith album without any schlocky ballads and lots and lots of guitars.

Speaking of the '97-'02 era I also gave Just Push Play a spin and, quality aside, it seems like a very odd album. Whatever you may think of Nine Lives at least it was somewhat cohesive and a consistent listen, Just Push Play is a bit of a mess. Songs like "Trip Hoppin'" and "Fly Away From Here" are pretty bad but most of the rest of the album isn't terrible but it is awfully bland. I think you could take any three or four songs from it and they would sound ok on a stronger album but so many of these songs are completely indistinguished and interchangeable, none of them really leave any impression. I can't imagine how poorly the album would have sold without "Jaded" on it. I really can't imagine that they were satisfied with the album and believed in it.

Joe Perry said in 2010 that it's probably their weakest album since the comeback and that it showed him "how NOT to make an Aerosmith album" lol lol http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._Push_Play

in my opinion, the best tracks were Jaded and Beyond Beautiful. The rest was decent, but overproduced (Sunshine, Light Inside, Under My Skin, etc.) or just plain crap (title-track, Fly Away From Here, Luv Lies, Outta My Head...puke:) omg and let's not forget that awful 2002 single, Girls of Summer, the band finally lost it there

Nine Lives? Hmm, back in the day I didn't like the Alanis Morrisette-like production, the overusing of professional songwriters, and I also thought that the album tracks were not as good as the singles...Taste of India and The Farm were probably the best non-singles tracks off the album...but other songs like Full Circle, Crash, Kiss Your Past Goodbye, etc showed that Aerosmith was entering the second songwriting slump of their career, even with the help of professional songwriters... I'd only rank Nine Lives higher than Just Push Play and Rock In a Hard Place ...

I hope they finally release a new strong album in the fall of 2011 ...

JoeTyler said:

rialb said:

I got a sealed copy of it for two bucks so that may colour my feelings about the quality. Had I paid full price for it I may not be so kind. It was very refreshing to listen to a full Aerosmith album without any schlocky ballads and lots and lots of guitars.

Speaking of the '97-'02 era I also gave Just Push Play a spin and, quality aside, it seems like a very odd album. Whatever you may think of Nine Lives at least it was somewhat cohesive and a consistent listen, Just Push Play is a bit of a mess. Songs like "Trip Hoppin'" and "Fly Away From Here" are pretty bad but most of the rest of the album isn't terrible but it is awfully bland. I think you could take any three or four songs from it and they would sound ok on a stronger album but so many of these songs are completely indistinguished and interchangeable, none of them really leave any impression. I can't imagine how poorly the album would have sold without "Jaded" on it. I really can't imagine that they were satisfied with the album and believed in it.

Joe Perry said in 2010 that it's probably their weakest album since the comeback and that it showed him "how NOT to make an Aerosmith album" lol lol http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._Push_Play

in my opinion, the best tracks were Jaded and Beyond Beautiful. The rest was decent, but overproduced (Sunshine, Light Inside, Under My Skin, etc.) or just plain crap (title-track, Fly Away From Here, Luv Lies, Outta My Head...puke:) omg and let's not forget that awful 2002 single, Girls of Summer, the band finally lost it there

Nine Lives? Hmm, back in the day I didn't like the Alanis Morrisette-like production, the overusing of professional songwriters, and I also thought that the album tracks were not as good as the singles...Taste of India and The Farm were probably the best non-singles tracks off the album...but other songs like Full Circle, Crash, Kiss Your Past Goodbye, etc showed that Aerosmith was entering the second songwriting slump of their career, even with the help of professional songwriters... I'd only rank Nine Lives higher than Just Push Play and Rock In a Hard Place ...

I hope they finally release a new strong album in the fall of 2011 ...

No love for Rock in a Hard Place? I quite like that one. I would probably put it above Nine Lives and Just Push Play and on par with Done With Mirrors and Draw the Line. For me there aren't really any stinkers on that album. It's probably true that there are no fantastic songs on it either but I find it a very consistent listen. I kind of went backwards with Aerosmith, I had heard all the Geffen albums as they were released (except for Done With Mirrors) and I didn't get into the "classic" stuff until I got Box of Fire in the year 2000. Both Night in the Ruts and Rock in a Hard Place have such terrible reputations that I really expected them to suck but when I first heard them I thought they were pretty good, much better than the overly slick and bland albums post Pump.

kumala75 said:

Now Mr. Big: Love this band, don't know how many times I've listened to Mr. Big and Lean Into It. Can't wait to listen to their new album now the original line-up is back.

.

It's amazing!!!!

rialb said:

JoeTyler said:

Joe Perry said in 2010 that it's probably their weakest album since the comeback and that it showed him "how NOT to make an Aerosmith album" lol lol http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._Push_Play

in my opinion, the best tracks were Jaded and Beyond Beautiful. The rest was decent, but overproduced (Sunshine, Light Inside, Under My Skin, etc.) or just plain crap (title-track, Fly Away From Here, Luv Lies, Outta My Head...puke:) omg and let's not forget that awful 2002 single, Girls of Summer, the band finally lost it there

Nine Lives? Hmm, back in the day I didn't like the Alanis Morrisette-like production, the overusing of professional songwriters, and I also thought that the album tracks were not as good as the singles...Taste of India and The Farm were probably the best non-singles tracks off the album...but other songs like Full Circle, Crash, Kiss Your Past Goodbye, etc showed that Aerosmith was entering the second songwriting slump of their career, even with the help of professional songwriters... I'd only rank Nine Lives higher than Just Push Play and Rock In a Hard Place ...

I hope they finally release a new strong album in the fall of 2011 ...

No love for Rock in a Hard Place? I quite like that one. I would probably put it above Nine Lives and Just Push Play and on par with Done With Mirrors and Draw the Line. For me there aren't really any stinkers on that album. It's probably true that there are no fantastic songs on it either but I find it a very consistent listen. I kind of went backwards with Aerosmith, I had heard all the Geffen albums as they were released (except for Done With Mirrors) and I didn't get into the "classic" stuff until I got Box of Fire in the year 2000. Both Night in the Ruts and Rock in a Hard Place have such terrible reputations that I really expected them to suck but when I first heard them I thought they were pretty good, much better than the overly slick and bland albums post Pump.

Rock in a Hard Place is a very weird album. Similar to Music from the Elder (Kiss). Both bands were unsure about their future during the 79-81 era and tried to release a "serious" rock album but the results were average and/or bizarre. Lightning Strikes was a very weak single, in my opinion, and I don't dig those prog experiments at all (Joanne's Butterfly, Cry Me a River, etc) and the rockers were pretty forgettable, hell, I can't even remember the names of some songs of that album ! . I do admit that Jailbait is tough as hell but I can't stand the fact that it doesn't feature Perry/Whithford Crespo and Dufay were uncharismatic guys Best track? Push Comes to Shove Done With Mirrors was a true return to form, in my opinion, even if it struggled to "only" go gold...

Night in the Ruts was critized back in '79 by the inclusion of three covers in an album of only 9 songs, and critics/fans were also VERY upset about Perry's departure. Some fans also viewed the cover of Remember (Walking in the Sand) as a sellout move. But, like you, I think is a very fine/underrated record. Actually, I enjoy it more than the debut or Draw the Line, even if the material is clearly not as good as the 74-77 classic singles...only the hardcore remember songs like No Surprize or Three Mile Smile/Reefer Head Woman...and even those songs were hardly as good as Last Child or Walk This Way lol Steven Tyler was also miserable during that time and his performance on stage was pathetic (he collapsed several times during the tour). And let's not forget that during the 79-81 era rock fans embraced AOR (Journey, Boston, Foreigner, Fleetwood Mac), so Aerosmith basically lost their 70's mainstream fanbase...

Just found this thread. A lot of great stuff that I agree with from Joe, LastDecember and Rialb.

The classic stuff speaks for itself. It's why they have the reputation for being one of the best rock bands. What's weird is I don't think anyone has referenced the first album.

Songs like Mama Kin, Make It, One Way Street. Top shelf material.

Any way, the self titled debut through Night in the Ruts are mostly brilliant. There are a ton of album tracks that are phenomenal.

Rock in a Hard Place is decent, but choppy.

With the return of Joe Perry -

Done With Mirrors was suprisingly solid despite the fact that it is largely ignored. Nothing lavish and no monster songs, just a sold group of material for a band trying to find it's feet again.

I probably disagree with most on Permanent Vacation. It's OK, but there a lot of songs that don't quite work for me. Angel kills me (in a bad way). It could have been written by Dianne Warren.

Regarding Mattyjams comments on Pump, all I can say is maybe he's too focused on Love In An Elevator. Because while I find that song laughably bad, (WHOAH YEAH) the rest of the album is beyond brilliant. F.I.N.E. and Voodoo Medicine Man are outrageously good. I agree that the production is timeless. I think Pump fits in right along with the rest of the classic material as top shelf material.

I don't have any comments post Pump except to say the song writing went to hell and like Joe said, Just Push PLay was so over-produced it's absolutely unlistenable. Literally. Every song on that record hls EVERY instrument on eleven. (Spinal Tap reference) It's just a cacophany of sound. Even Jaded, which has a great riff and verse music is a total clusterfuck because of the production.

[Edited 3/5/11 3:53am]

i am a relatively "new" fan but i have become a fa of the group anyway and have listened to pretty much every album except the last one. I am going to say its a three way between rocks, toys in the attic and pump If i had to pick one, i'll probably say rocks. It has everything ranging from hard rock (Back in the Saddle) to heavy metal (Nobody's Fault) funk-rock (Last Child) and a great ballad (Hone Tonight) to top it off. Nobody's fault is an absolute classic IMO but the whole album is really really good. What are everyone's top 10 songs from the band?

Mine go something like this (in no order):

Walk This Way

Train Kept a rollin

Love in an elevator

Uncle Salty

The Other Side

Dream On

Last Child

Nobody's Fault

Back in the Saddle

Home Tonight

[Edited 3/5/11 17:26pm]

Its tough really to rate something when you didnt really grow up on it, i mainly didnt mention early records because i got introduced to those because of PUMP for the most part. Though i was born when they first came out, by the age when you really absorb music around you and form your own tastes, they were pretty much a done deal which would be that "dark" period they mention, splits, drugs etc... So when i was getting into bands and forming tastes of what i wanted to hear, i had Inxs and u2 and a-ha and rem etc...Prince and others that were stealing the show, sure i was getting into the classic stuff of Stevie and Queen and others, but i didnt grow up on them when they were coming out with alot of their stuff, i mean i didnt start buying music on my own with my own money till 1982-83 for the most part, but i still had my brothers around me who had tons of music and were doing that and playing it so i was surrounded by it even when i couldnt afford it myself. So PUMP to me was the best because it really came at a time when i was more into rock, guitars, etc...not metal and bang your head stuff, to me i still need arrangements and song structure.

Top ten songs? This would change depending on the day you ask me but for right now I'll say:

I Ain't Got You (Great cover)

One Way Street

Write Me

Woman of the World

Toys in the Attic

No More No More

Sick as a Dog

Home Tonight (I love it but it's too short)

No Surprize

Young Lust/F.I.N.E. (I can't really separate these two. I didn't think that Aerosmith were capable of writing great rock songs like this anymore and it was wonderful to hear them prove me wrong. Unfortunately nothing they've done in the last twenty years is anywhere near as good.)

rialb said:

Top ten songs? This would change depending on the day you ask me but for right now I'll say:

I Ain't Got You (Great cover)

One Way Street

Write Me

Woman of the World

Toys in the Attic

No More No More

Sick as a Dog

Home Tonight (I love it but it's too short)

No Surprize

Young Lust/F.I.N.E. (I can't really separate these two. I didn't think that Aerosmith were capable of writing great rock songs like this anymore and it was wonderful to hear them prove me wrong. Unfortunately nothing they've done in the last twenty years is anywhere near as good.)

great picks. The ones that didnt make my top 10 would def make my top 30