Re-visiting Aerosmith's Pump

I first got into Aerosmith in 1989, as an 11 year old lad who was discovering rock n' roll at a mile a minute. I could not keep up with all the stuff that was coming at me, by way of MTV, friends and metal mags.

So Pump seemed like a good place to start at the time, since I saw all the videos on MTV. I think I obtained the cassette via trade with a friend at school.

And I dug it.

But over the next two years, between my brother and I, we filled out the Aerosmith catalog, on cassette, up to Pump. With Rock and GYW and Toys and so on at my disposal, I rarely felt the urge to pop in Pump any more. And once I got rid of my tapes, it never got replaced on CD. So as an album, not counting singles that get played still on the radio, I had not heard Pump since some time in the early 90s.

I have to say, after jamming it on Spotify, it really is a good album. It's definitely not as good as the 70s stuff, but that's not saying much. I can see blasting this in the car and having a good, rockin' time.

Do you like Pump? Did you ever?

I like it. Agreed that it's not better than their 70's and early 80's albums, but I think it's nearly as good as those albums. The 80's studio sheen definitely robs the band of some of the grit that might otherwise have been there.

I was formally introduced to Aerosmith with Permanent Vacation, and by the time Pump was released, I was a full-blow Aerosmith junkie. I played the hell out of the tape and it was touring to support that album when I got to see Aerosmith live for the first of many times since.

I revisit that album every now & then for nostalgic reasons, but I've over-played that one too many times to make it a frequent spinner for me. I liked it then and I do like it now. It hasn't aged as well as their 70's classics, but it's a solid rock album.

Pump was the last Aerosmith album I bought. Rock 'n' roll stripped of all spontaneity and neutered by the way-too-polished production. I bought it, played it a couple times, sighed and gave it away.

Pump, for me, is the best of Aerosmith's "pop" era. Lots of good jams in there, heavier than Permanent, good production. As for the singles, I always skipped 'em since they were readily available on radio and MTV.

At time the album was released and I loved it. It sounded slick even then but still had a hint of sleaze and the songwriting was good.

I was 19 when it was released and I played it so much that rarely do I have the urge to revisit the disc.

It's probably the warm & fuzzy memories that cloud my judgement of that album, but I think it's aged better than most of the stuff that followed it. I'm looking at you, Nine Lives.

I think the singles are pretty good. When I was, I did not like "What it Takes", but over the years that song as grown on me. "The Other Side", too. "Love in an Elevator" and "Janie's Got A Gun" obviously have been played to death, but I don't think they are actually bad tunes.

This was the last Aerosmith album I got whole-hog into. I saw them twice on the Pump tour and they were phenomenal both times.

Unfortuantely, by the time they released the follow up Get A Grip, the formula was already starting to show (i.e. "Hey fellas, we sold a f*ck load of Pump, so let's make another album that sounds exactly like it!") ... then there was that damn "Armageddon" soundtrack song and a whole lotta other "yuck."

Though I gotta say, I recently took a chance on a used copy of their Honkin' On Bobo disc after hearing Ult give it props around here a few zillion times, and some of it's actually pretty rock'n... but still, nothing that made me wanna get back on the Aero-train in a big way.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Unfortuantely, by the time they released the follow up Get A Grip, the formula was already starting to show (i.e. "Hey fellas, we sold a f*ck load of Pump, so let's make another album that sounds exactly like it!") ... then there was that damn "Armageddon" soundtrack song and a whole lotta other "yuck."

Though I gotta say, I recently took a chance on a used copy of their Honkin' On Bobo disc after hearing Ult give it props around here a few zillion times, and some of it's actually pretty rock'n... but still, nothing that made me wanna get back on the Aero-train in a big way.

Agreed on both counts.

I like Honkin' On Bobo, that was really the first Aerosmith album I've heard all the way through since Pump was released. Reminded me of why I liked their 70s stuff so much in the first place...and also why I've lamented their musical direction for the past 25 years.

I never understood why so many people had a problem with Get a Grip. Ballads aside, that was a rockin' album, and out of the three (Permanent, Pump, Grip) the closest to their classic sound. Hooky and memorable throughout.

corplhicks wrote:

I never understood why so many people had a problem with Get a Grip. Ballads aside, that was a rockin' album, and out of the three (Permanent, Pump, Grip) the closest to their classic sound. Hooky and memorable throughout.

Agree, I'm not a fan of Aerosmith but I do like that album A LOT!!

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I never understood why so many people had a problem with Get a Grip.

I don't hate it but on the rare occasion that I do listen to it I feel like I'm sitting thru a re-run.

Fat Freddy wrote:

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I never understood why so many people had a problem with Get a Grip.

I don't hate it but on the rare occasion that I do listen to it I feel like I'm sitting thru a re-run.

That's me too. Like you mentioned, they hit on a successful formula with Pump, and more-or-less stuck with it for the last 20+ years. It gets kinda boring after a bit.

I've lamented this fact in the offical Aerosmith thread shortly after Music From Another Dimension came out. They are sticking with a 90's format (ie power ballads, slick production, outside hit writers) that no longer seems relevent in 2013.

Although I've enjoyed MFAD, I wish they would have knicked a page from the last few KISS albums. No ballads, no outside writers, no million dollar productions, just the band cranking out ball-melting rock.

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ball-melting rock

Ouch!!

Not as strong as their 70's out put. My favorite of theirs from Permanent Vacation on. Still a great band live. Their albums....another story.

Rocks is their finest hour IMHO. Nobody's Fault was ahead of its time.

Commercially a success just look at all the singles they released. This for me was the gateway album into Aerosmith but I have to say I like alot of the 70s stuff better but Pump is one of my fav Aerosmith albums

corplhicks wrote:

Rocks is their finest hour IMHO. Nobody's Fault was ahead of its time.

Absolutely. I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan, but Rocks is killer.

Never been a huge Aero-fan, I just never really liked Tyler's voice or Perry's trumpet-like guitar phrasing. The songs were good enough that I wouldn't turn off the radio back in the day and I didn't complain if it was on the juke box. All three albums )Vacation, Pump, Grip) seem like one double album to me.......

I like Aerosmith I havent gotten their latest album yet but I have pretty much everything else (studio album) speaking.... I think from Pump my favs always have been

The Other Side
Janie's Got a Gun
What it Takes

Its been awhile since ive spun pump

I've always been kind of take em or leave em with Aerosmith. They certainly have some really good tunes from their earlier stuff but their 80s-early 90s stuff I found to be rather lacking. And I always thought that Tyler has to be the most annoying, obnoxious, odious (and whatever similar adjectives you can think of) frontman in the history of rock/metal. He just gets on my last nerve.

corplhicks wrote:

Rocks is their finest hour IMHO. Nobody's Fault was ahead of its time.

I agree. Rocks is easily my favorite Aerosmith album. As far as Pump goes I like it but haven't played it in ages.

It was my first Aerosmith album. Before that, I would just hear their songs on the radio. Looking back now, it sounds too polished... though I still like some of Joe's trademark solos.

'Rocks' is by far their finest hour (well finest 38 minutes or so anyway) but 'Pump' is still a good album. They wanted a radio friendly but hard hitting album that appealed to fans outside of the metal/hard rock base and they were successful in accomplishing that goal.