A Little South Of Sanity
Aerosmith
(This review originally appeared on the Classic Rock
channel of about.com, March 1999)
Back in the 70s, Aerosmith used to catch a
lot of flak because of their Stonesy similarities. There was, of course, the
rubbery-lipped lead singers -- the Stones' Mick Jagger and Aerosmith's
Steven Tyler. Saddled up next to the singer, there was the guitar-slinging, swashbuckling
junkie -- the Stones' Keith Richards and Aerosmith's Joe Perry -- who cut through the
clutter and produced some of rock's most monumental riffs. Indeed, the Toxic Twins
-- Tyler and Perry -- were every bit as notorious and feared as the Glimmer Twins
-- Jagger and Richards -- who single-handedly invented rock and roll debauchery. Of course
years later when Guns N' Roses came along and attempted to jumpstart the whole decadent,
bad-boy slant again, it just didn't seem to have the same appeal.
Today, many of the similarities remain, just in a different context. Now in their 50s,
The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith are no longer
just blues-based rock and roll bands; they're vast empires, burgeoning corporations who
will cater to just about any money-making scheme thrown down on the bargaining table. They
know they're both quivering on their last leg; their well is drying up and they're going
to wring it for everything it's worth. Whereas the Stones have conducted themselves in a
far more germane, ceremonious manner, Aerosmith
have simply gone over the edge and joined the ranks of those repugnant, bean-counting
schmucks who think a hit is something that must be manufactured, manicured and molded into
an unsinkable rage. Ever since Aerosmith
reinvented themselves in the late 80s, it's only gotten worse. Their latest live opus, A Little South of Sanity clearly confirms any other
suspicions.
Actually, I really wanted to hate these 2 CDs because of where Aerosmith
stands in the music biz equation. However once you cut through all the glitter, gimmicks
and insipid videos, Aerosmith remains a viable
rock and roll force that still manages to touch a nerve -- wherever that nerve may be at
any given moment. The first disc is an exercise in pop-cockery I could live without. It's
made up mostly of Aerosmith's "newer"
hits -- Love In An Elevator, Livin' On The Edge, Cryin'
and Jamie's Got A Gun, to name a few. For me,
these tunes do not register the same affinity I have for the "old" stuff. On the
other hand, this disc will definitely satisfy the appetite of all those dreamy-eyed
Gen-Xers who think that Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler are the quintessential rock and
roll babes.
At the beginning of the second disc, Tyler asks the imitable question: "Where were
you in '78?" Chances are, a good portion of Aerosmith's
current fan base were in diapers or graduating to finger-painting. For the rest of us
30/40-somethings, we might well have been pumping our fists at an Aerosmith
concert. And why not? This was when the band last truly played the "kick ass"
stuff they've been marketing to us ever since. Here, the performances of Back In The Saddle, Last Child, Mama Kin, and Sweet Emotion are a bit more polished, but the magical
quality is intact. The guitar work of Perry and Brad Whitford still massage and carry the
songs. Bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer maintain a steady rhythm, unparalleled
by many from days of old or new.
It's also nice to see the band ditched people like Bruce Fairbairn and brought producer
Jack Douglas back into the fray for this album. Douglas is the man responsible for giving
us Toys in the Attic, Rocks, and the band's
last live album from '78, Live Bootleg. We can
only hope that Aerosmith realized they were
losing touch with their roots, and figured Douglas could recapture some of the firepower
from the early days. Now if only they could stop with the blatant commerciality and
participation in such cinematic drivel as Armageddon,
we might be onto something.
Shawn Perry
For submissions, comments, suggestions and offers of sponsorship
Send E-mail to stperry@inetworld.net
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