AEROSMITH - discography (& related)

I love this comp, mostly because it doesn't contain any "hits". To the casual fan, most of these songs are probably unknown, but this selection is simply awesome. Skip the Greatest Hits. This would be the cd I would recommend to anyone just getting into Aerosmith (didja hear me, Schmedric?). This is one comp album that gets consistant spins from me. Can't say enough good about this cd.

On a side note, I'm not positive, but I think that this may have been the very last vinyl lp that I purchased as a brand new release back in '88 at the local Sam Goody (or maybe Strawberries). I made a tape dub so I could listen to it on my Walkman until I upgraded to cd in the early 90's.

Quote :

Have a small gripe about this one, why wasn't "Lightning Strikes" included?

Just a wild guess here, but maybe it's because that song was from the Joe Perry-less era of 'smith.?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Just a wild guess here, but maybe it's because that song was from the Joe Perry-less era of 'smith.?

So is "Jailbait", but it made the cut.

ultmetal wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Just a wild guess here, but maybe it's because that song was from the Joe Perry-less era of 'smith.?

So is "Jailbait", but it made the cut.

Ahhhh, yes. Well, that shoots hole in my theory.

I buy comps usually for the unreleased song etc, and most comps are disappointing, that being said, I feel this is an excellent comp and album in its own right.

Like ULT and MG stated, not your usual tracks and has some great deep cuts and is a way better introduction to Aerosmith then 'Greatest Hits'

Aerosmith released alot of compilations at this point in their career!!!

thejokeriv wrote:

Aerosmith released alot of compilations at this point in their career!!!

Yea, for awhile there [in the later years especially], they were running neck and neck with Maiden & Kiss with live albums/greatest hits comps. Most of 'em are crap, but Gems digs a little deeper past the hits, which makes it an essential disc. For me anyway.

"Chip Away At The Stone" is like my favourite 'Smith song or at least tied with "Draw The Line" and "Sick As A Dog"!

Aerosmith - Pump (Geffen) 1989

1. "Young Lust" (4:19)
2. "F.I.N.E." (F**cked, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional) (4:08)
3. "Going Down/Love in an Elevator" (5:38)
4. "Monkey on My Back" (3:56)
5. "Water Song/Janie's Got a Gun" (5:40)
6. "Dulcimer Stomp/Other Side" (4:56)
7. "My Girl" (3:10)
8. "Don't Get Mad, Get Even" (4:48)
9. "Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man" (4:41)
10. "What It Takes" (6:28)

OK, so" Permanent Vacation" seemed a little overwhelmed in pop sheen, and did not concentrate as much on the hard rock that Aerosmith were known for. Pump reveled in the same pop sounds yet without ever losing sight of Aerosmith's dirty metallic sound. In other words, I don't see this album as a sellout, although it did sell millions of copies and had a few top ten singles in "Jamie's Got a Gun" and "Love in an Elevator.' "What It Takes" may be a power ballad but it has more emotion and grit than any of their other recent ballads; "The Other Side" and "Love in an Elevator" rocked hard, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars. Pump is an eclectic album but I think it ranks up there with Rocks and Toys in the Attic. This was the first Aerosmith album I bought new on CD format. Pump sold over 7 million copies. Yikes! (RIAA Certified: 7x Platinum - 02/10/1995)

This one was also released in a limited edition leather digi-pack.

Aerosmith's last truly great album in my book. I burned up two cassette copies of this one over the years before finally upgrading to CD a couple of years ago. I really don't ever need to hear "Love in an Elevator" or "Janie's Got A Gun" again as long as I live as they became overplayed as HELL via MTV and radio, but "Young Lust," "Medicine Man" and "Monkey On My Back" still hold up well today.

I got to see Aerosmith twice on the PUMP tour (January of '90 and again in August of '90) and they were at the top of their game at that time. Both were fantastic shows!! Skid Row opened the first time and the second show had The Black Crowes in support. After getting screwed out of seeing them on the PERMANENT VACATION tour a few years earlier it was fantastic to get a double dose this time around.

Anybody else remember Aerosmith's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" to pimp this album? Their guest shot on the weekly "Wayne's World" sketch (with guest host Tom Hanks playing Wayne's cousin, an Aerosmith roadie) was classic!!

Played the heck out of this one as a new release. Pretty much to the point where I'm pretty burned out on it. Haven't played it in quite some time, but hear plenty of the hits on sattelite radio all the time. Never cared for the song 'Janie's Got A Gun'. Something about Aerosmith trying to make some deep statement never sat right with me. Sure, they sang about weird 'Uncle Salty' back in the day, but it just seemed weird to me. These are the same guys that sang 'Lord of the Thighs'.

It was on this tour that I got to see Aerosmith live for the 1st time in my life. I think I saw them twice on that tour, once with Skid Row and once with the Black Crowes. I've seen them multiple times since then. Aerosmith are probably tied or a close 2nd behind Megadeth for acts I've seen the most.

About a year or so ago, I found a pristine copy of the limited-edition leather digi pack in a used shop downtown for $10. Snapped that one right up. Sill have the regular cd version for trade if anyone is looking for a copy.

Quote :

Anybody else remember Aerosmith's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" to pimp this album? Their guest shot on the weekly "Wayne's World" sketch (with guest host Tom Hanks playing Wayne's cousin, an Aerosmith roadie) was classic!!

I used to have a VHS copy of "SNL's Best of Mike Myers" tape with that skit on there. I also have a casstte single for 'The Other Side' that has the band performing the Wayne's World theme song from that sketch. ***NERD ALERT***I used to end all my mix tapes with that song.

"Check, check one. Sibilence. Sibilence."

Quote :

Skid Row opened the first time

I'll never forget Skid Row opening for Aerosmith because they played a souped-up version of 'Train Kept A Rollin' as part of their set. I remember thinking it was sacraligious that they would perform Aerosmith's big closing number. How dare they!!

When this album came out and I loved it, I must have played the hell out of the album, I rarely spin it now, not because I disliked it but because I have played it so many times.

Again this album's deep cuts are excellent 'Monkey On My Back' and 'FINE', which has a great groove some of Steven Tyler's best street poetry.

'What It Takes' is a great ballad, and while I may have burnt myself on this album, I have alot great memories of this album.

After the success of Permanent Vaction, Aerosmith head back to the studio with Mr Horns. "PV" had been the best selling studio Aerosmith album since "Toys". Pump was even bigger - critics and fans liked it better than "PV".

I think this one is better than PV and had the huge hit "Janie's Got a Gun" that seems like it was on MTV ever 30 minutes minutes for a period of 2 years! Aerosmith were bigger than they ever where before and Steven Tyler had re-built his fortune from the 70's that he had blown on drugs.

Gems is a nice little comp, I like Chip Away At The Stone (studio) a lot, mine came from Japan but it's not different at all.

Pump even though it saturated with the flavors of its time is still one fine record. The guitars are a little more like the Whitford/Perry tone I like as opposed to P. V. Fave tracks are My Girl, Young Lust, F.I.N.E, Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man.

Aerosmith - Get A Grip (Geffen) 1993

1. "Intro" (:24)
2. "Eat the Rich" (4:10)
3. "Get A Grip" (3:58)
4. "Fever" (4:14)
5. "Livin' on the Edge" (6:07)
6. "Flesh" (5:56)
7. "Walk on Down" (3:38)
8. "Shut Up And Dance" (4:56)
9. "Cryin' (5:08)
10. "Gotta Love It" (5:58)
11. "Crazy" (5:17)
12. "Line Up" (5:17)
13. "Amazing" (5:56)
14. "Boogie Man" [instrumental] (2:15)

"Get a Grip" is one of the most successful Aerosmith albums, selling somewhere in the neighborhood of 7x platinum. Not too shabby for a band that was said to be washed up old geezers. Having been a fan since 1976, it's difficult for me to say any of the new discs are quite as good as the 70's albums that I grew up listening to. That said, however, "Get A Grip" is far from a slacker. As a matter of fact, I've come to list it as one of Aerosmith's best as it rocks harder and has far more grit than albums like "Permanent Vacation" and "Pump." Songs like "Shut Up & Dance", "Flesh" and "Eat the Rich" are pure Aero-rock. Since the band is no longer writing all their own material, this disc has its share of radio ready hits. "Amazing" and "Crazy" are just crying out for airplay, and they received plenty of it. Over the years I've heard people say songs like this were Aerosmith's attempt to sell out. The problem with this is that Aerosmith have always done their share of blues-based ballads. "Amazing", another big radio hit, was co-written with Richie Supa who has worked with Aerosmith since the 70's and has written such great songs as "Chip Away At the Stone" and "Lightning Strikes." "Living on the Edge" is a heavy rocker that did well on MTV and is one of my favorite songs on the disc. "Walk on the Down" featured Joe Perry on vocals and would replace "Red House" in the band's live set. "Get A Grip" is a great disc by a band that is no where near sounding old and outdated. The album also featured guest performances by Desmond Child (vocals, keyboards); Don Henley, Lenny Kravitz (vocals); Thom Gimbel (saxophone, keyboards, background vocals); John Webster (keyboards, programming); Richie Supa (keyboards) and a host of lesser known musicians.

The cover art is very cool as well. I always found it humorous. I had read that it fueled some fires when animal rights activists thought the picture of the cow with a pierced utter was real. (It was obviously just a Photoshop trick. Geez, get a life ,will ya!) Some activists also argued that the photo of a branded cow with a pierced utter promotes animal cruelty. There was also a limited edition, cowhide digi-pack version of "Get A Grip".

Livin' On The Edge" won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, and was nominated for Best Rock Song; "Cryin'" was also nominated for Best Rock Song in 1994."Crazy" won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. RIAA Certified: 7x Platinum (11/07/1995)

Get a Grip was and still is Aerosmith's best selling studio album. It had the huge hits Amazing and Cryin. What is truly 'amazing' is that the album was released in 1993 and still went on to be Aerosmith's best selling studio album - a Hard Rock/Metal band selling MILLIONS of copies of an album during the height of the grunge age? How did they do it? Well, they had a couple manufactured 'radio' hits and stuck to what they do best. It just goes to show that if many of the other Hard Rock/Metal bands and stuck to what they do best, they still could have sold more albums than trying to "follow the trend". That said, this is another good album from Aerosmith - they really had a great run with a trilogy of great albums.

Another solid album from a band not even a decade earlier was declared creatively dead a few years prior, personally I think it is a great album. Once again it is due to the deep cuts 'Walk the Line' pure rock n roll attitude and the title track which is sort of metal-funk number, and 'Fever' a fast r n r number.

Co-writers on the Aerosmith album did not bother me at all, since it still retained Aerosmith identity. It may not match the heaviness or have as many great songs as ' Toys in the Attic' or 'Rocks' but still a solid release and sounded modern and fresh and not like a band trying to recreate their past.

I played this album a way too often in the 90s. It ended up that I was tired of the songs. But after not listening to it for years, I re-discovered it again some month ago. Great music.

I burned myself out on Get a Grip when I bought it as a new release. I think this was the first Aerosmith album that I bought as a new release in the cd format. Up to that point, I was still buying tapes. A few years ago, I found the faux-cowhide version in a used shop and upgraded to that one.

Good music, but I think that the "Let's write for a radio hit" formula was kicking into full swing here. At this point in their career, Aerosmith was getting their 2nd chance at financial success and they weren't about to stray from that format. Yea, the songs rock to various degrees, but the outside writers and radio hits were taking away from the sleaze & grit that Aerosmith were known for.

Not a bad album, I don't listen to the ballads but Eat The Rich is lyrically and overall one of Aerosmith's best songs ever.

fantastic albums from DONE, PERMANENT, PUMP, GRIP.
always enjoing them, of cors the last one is best, still diggin it.

permanent playing pumping my veins cutting by blades from mirrors, gettin my grip.

Hey ULT are you going to review 'Pandora's Box' ?

manny wrote:

Hey ULT are you going to review 'Pandora's Box' ?

OK!


Aerosmith-Pandora's Box (Columbia) 1991

DISC 1
1. When I Needed You (Tyler) (by Chain Reaction)
2. Make It (Tyler) (3:45)
3. Movin' Out (Perry/Tyler) [altemate version] (5:42)
4. One Way Street (Tyler) (6:59)
5. On the Road Again [unreleased] (3:36)
6. Mama Kin (Tyler) (4:25)
7. Same Old Song and Dance (Perry/Tyler) (3:53)
8. Train Kept a Rollin' (Bradshaw/Kay/Mann) (5:33)
9. Seasons of Wither (Tyler) (5:39)
10. Write Me a Letter (Tyler) [live '76] (4:18)
11. Dream On (Tyler) (4:25)
12. Pandora's Box (Kramer/Tyler) (5:42)
13. Rattlesnake Shake (Gilmore/Griffith) [live radio broadcast '71] (10:28)
14. Walking the Dog (Thomas) [live radio broadcast '71] (3:13)
15. Lord of the Thighs (Thomas) [live from the Texxas Jam '78] (7:13)

DISC 2
16. Toys in the Attic (Perry/Tyler) (3:05)
17. Round and Round (Tyler/Whitford) (5:02)
18. Krawhitham (Hamilton/Kramer/Whitford) [unreleased/instrumental] (3:59)
19. You See Me Crying (Solomon/Tyler) (5:12)
20. Sweet Emotion (Hamilton/Tyler) (4:34)
21. No More No More (Perry/Tyler) (4:33)
22. Walk This Way (Perry/Tyler) (3:40)
23. I Wanna Know Why (Perry/Tyler) [Live Texxas Jam '78] (3:04)
24. Big Ten-Inch Record (Weismantel) [Live Texxas Jam '78] (4:01)
25. Rats in the Cellar (Perry/Tyler) (4:06)
26. Last Child (Tyler/Whitford) [remix] (3:52)
27. All Your Love (Rush) (5:27) [unreleased]
28. Soul Saver (Tyler/Whitford) [rehersal recording] (:53)
29. Nobody's Fault (Tyler/Whitford) (4:22)
30. Lick and a Promise (Perry/Tyler) (3:05)
31. Adam's Apple (Tyler) [Live in Indianapolis '77] (4:48)
32. Draw the Line (Perry/Tyler) [remix] (3:43)
33. Critical Mass (Douglas/Hamilton/Tyler) (4:51)

DISC 3
34. Kings and Queens (Douglas/Aerosmith) [live '78] - (5:31)
35. Milk Cow Blues (Arnold) (4:14)
36. I Live in Connecticut (Perry/Tyler) [rehersal recording] - (:56)
37. Three Mile Smile (Perry/Tyler) (3:44)
38. Let It Slide (Perry/Tyler) [unreleased] - (2:54)
39. Cheese Cake (Perry/Tyler) (4:15)
40. Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy) (Perry/Tyler) (2:59)
41. No Surprize (Perry/Tyler) (4:26)
42. Come Together (Lennon/McCartney) - (3:44)
43. Downtown Charlie (Aerosmith) [unreleased] - (2:35)
44. Sharpshooter (St. Holmes/Whitford) (5:29)
45. smurf poo House Shuffle (Perry) [rehersal recording] (:35)
46. South Station Blues (Perry) (4:10)
47. Riff & Roll (Crespo/Tyler) [unreleased] - (3:16)
48. Jailbait (Crespo/Tyler) (4:38)
49. Major Barbara (Tyler) [alternative version] (5:05)
50. Chip Away the Stone (Supa) [alternative version] (4:06)
51. Helter Skelter (Lennon/McCartney) [unreleased] (3:13)
52. Back in the Saddle (Perry/Tyler) (4:40)
53. Untitled/unlisted [instrumental] (3:44)

Fifty two Aerosmith songs on three CDs filled with unreleased live tracks, out-takes, demo versions, remixes, and a 64-page color book. The book includes a bio, discography, tons of photos, a song by song commentary by the band and quotes by other artists. Do I really need to explain why I have this? This is an Aerosmith fan's dream. My one criticism is that they could have left off the song by Tyler's pre-Aerosmith band, Chain Reaction, and included another early live cut instead. Also, why wasn't "Lightning Strikes" included? Otherwise an excellent package. My generous wife bought me this as a gift. How can you not love a woman like that?

Love this box set. One of my favorites. Of the few box sets I own, this one probably gets the most amount of spin time from me. All 3 discs are great all the way through. Sometimes box sets can get a little light on bonus material, or the artist may have put out some questionalble material from an era in their career where they lost their way. Not so with Pandora's Box. This covers their 70's and early 80's output where they were still hitting it out of the ballpark. Like most box sets, it's mostly for the hardcore fans and this one hits that mark perfectly.

FYI, the untitled hidden track and the end of disc 3 is titled 'Circle Jerk'.

This was the second box set I ever owned (Bob Dylan's Biograph being the first), a good overall of Aerosmith's original Columbia Records era.

An interesting glimpse at Steven Tyler's formative years with the song 'Chain Reaction' from his pre Aerosmith years. It has good cross section of rarieties and deep cuts and comes with lyrics to select songs, etc.

One of the earlier and better boxsets of a classic American rock n roll band