Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Rock In A Hard Place

After a long period of time with the Finn brothers of Split Enz and Crowded House, I needed something different, and nothing seemed more contrast to zany and quirkiness to the vocals of Steven Tyler. Diving headlong into the band's first 1980's entry, I was blasted in the face with Tyler screaming and howling, which as odd as it may seem, was a refreshing change of pace.

Rock In A Hard Place has a favorable variances going for it in 2024 as I listen to it, that it most likely didn't have in 1982 when it was first released. For starters, in retrospect, it doesn't come with all the drama and burnout that Aerosmith were experiencing in the early 80's. This isn't Aerosmith struggling for relevancy. Rather, it's just "new" material to my ears from a band that's already established themselves as the classic rockers they are.

Further, I'm not impacted by the absence of guitarist Brad Whitford, and lead guitarist Joe Perry, who had both left the band at this point (Whitford in 1981, and Perry in 1979), and were replaced by Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo, respectively.

Steven Tyler, who was struggling with increased substance abuses, along with other band members who had their own vices, toiled with completing the album for two years. In a 2008 interview, Dufay would tell the story of how Tyler was really in a bad place. Along with producer Jack Douglas isolated him, and nursed him back to health, breaking him of his addictions over three months

When Rock In A Hard Place was released, critics weren't kind. They called the band irrelevant, past their prime, and in comparison to the groups 70's material, stated the magical chemistry was gone. In short, Aerosmith was checked off the list, and labeled as done.

Was this a fair assessment? Well, I don't think so. Again, I reiterate that my impression of the album isn't tainted by the time of its initial inception. To me, it's just another Aerosmith album in a long running catalog. As I played through it, I heard good material, on par with past and future music which I have also come to know over time.

In fact, it may even be because of its overall lackluster reception and lack of spotlight that it makes it all the more enjoyable for me. I have long since been a bigger fan of the songs Aerosmith hasn't overplayed these past fifty plus years. The hits are great, but the hidden gems are the ones that truly shine, and that's what I get when listening to the album.

With that said, I will also be honest. Hearing it, there is definitely a struggle in Tyler's vocals, which are often off key. Whether this is intentional, or a product of the time, it's both unique and detracting. Despite this, the overall "package" is enjoyable.

Call me crazy, but I actually ended up adding the whole thing to my shuffle list. I dug it, and I dug it a lot. It was both fresh to me, but familiar at the same time, and I think this worked to its advantage. I could easily sit down and play this one again.

At this point, I probably don't need to finish this post off in the same fashion I normally would. I don't really think I need to tell any of you about where Aerosmith went from there, and get into the finite details. There's also not much to say about their remaining 80's albums, as I've covered all their other studio releases from this era already.

I guess we'll just call this one a day.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
May 25, 1985

Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Pump

 

By 1979, Aeorsmith was waning in popularity, and dying off in a sea of more popular acts. By the time the 1980's rolled around, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thought the group could make a comeback. So frustrated with each other, Joe Perry had left in 79', while Brad Whitford would depart in 1981. However, their departure also served to be a blessing in disguise for Steven Tyler who was heavily into hard drugs by this point. With the help of new member, Rick Dufay, and Producer Jack Douglas, Tyler was able to kick his habits, getting back on his feet.

Clean, and reinvigorated, Perry and Whitford would rejoin Aerosmith in 1984, and with all the original members back in place, release 1985's Done With Mirrors. Despite it being considered a fan favorite, Aerosmith themselves have stated their dislike for the record. Overall its release didn't push the band back into the spotlight either. But, something was on the horizon. Something which would usher in a comeback like never before seen, and it wouldn't even be Aerosmith themselves who would lead the charge,

Go ahead and push play. You know you want to.

Enter three young men from Hollis, New York, Joseph "Run" Simmons, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, better known as Run-D.M.C. Infusing Aerosmith's 1975 classic, Walk This Way with their style of rock and roll rap, not only propelled the young rappers into mainstream fame, but revived the classic rock group on the brink of death, introducing them to a whole new generation of fans. In truth, this was mine and my brother's introduction to Aerosmith, with my sibling getting so hooked that he would soon give me a decade more of schooling by way of playing all their albums over and over and over daily.

Riding this new wave of success, Aerosmtih returned to the studio to release the highly successful Permanent Vacation (1987). However, the band would quickly return to the studio in 1988 to begin their final album from the decade, 1989's Pump.

Let's just cut to the chase. If you haven't heard it, you're missing out. In a period of relatively new hard rockers hitting the scene, Bon Jovi, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Guns 'N Roses, and all the others, Aerosmtih stepped forward and showed all those kids how it was done. How the classic lineups are classics for a reason. They're seasoned. They've been through the ringer, the ups and downs, and they're back bigger than ever.

Pump remains Aerosmith's second biggest and best selling album to date, and there's good reason for that. It's solid from front to back. An album worthy of being played on vinyl because there's frankly no songs that should be skipped. Bottom line, you need this album in your music collection. Even if you don't have a music collection. It's as important to the 80's as Michael Jackson's Thriller, Def Leppard's Hysteria, Prince's Purple Rain, and all those other iconic albums you can think of. In fact, buy all those too!

Hot on the heals of its September release, the band embarked on a major world tour, which ran from October 18, 1989 to October 15, 1990. In total, the show encompassed nine legs, and featured one hundred sixty four shows. This tour also gave birth to the band's private Citation II airline which they named Aeroforce One.

The band would take a four year break before releasing their biggest album to date, Get A Grip (1993), and from their, only continued to boom in popularity, poised to take over yet another decade. However, from there, things seemed to slow down a bit. Not necessarily in hits, but the group's desire to release albums. The 90's saw one final release, 1997's Nine Lives, and between 2001 and 2012, they've only released three new studio albums.

Sadly, there appears to be no new music on the horizon. Joe Perry has stated many times that his focal point is on touring. That he's happier playing live for the fans. He also stated that as a whole, Aerosmith has so much music that they aren't able to play it all, so it doesn't make sense to record new material. I guess that makes sense.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
April 10, 1982

 

Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Done With Mirrors

I inherited my appreciation for Aerosmith from my brother, and coincidentally all of his albums. He blared these guys daily from 1989 through the day he finally moved out of our parent's house in 1995. However, unlike my brother, I find myself more so appreciating their non-hits. You know, the stuff that hasn't been overplayed for fifty years...Wow, has it really been that long?

Because of my stance on their music, I was really looking forward to having a listen of their 1985 album, Done With Mirrors. I looked at the back of the jacket and said, "Great. I know none of these songs." However, just to prepare myself, I contacted my brother and asked, "What are the hits on this album?" He told me there were none, but that Let The Music Do The Talking, was the only real standout track for him. Things were sounding better by the minute.

I threw the album on and was immediately treated to the track he just told me. It was great! This was followed by My Fist Your Face, which I equally loved. Man, this was getting good!

The album continued to rock on from there. Shela got added to my shuffle list, but I really didn't hear much more that made the cut.

Overall, and if for nothing else, I got to hear some new Aerosmith stuff. Well, old Aerosmith stuff that I wasn't familiar with. It was a decent album. Not their best, but a good entry. It served its purpose. It laid the foundation for the ground paved with their follow up, Permanent Vacation and on through Nine Lives, or Just Push Play, if I'm being generous in how good their latter stuff lasted.

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Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation

Aerosmith may have been around for two hundred years, but in the late 80's they were brand new to me. My brother got into them big time with their 1989 released Pump, and I don't think a day went buy that he didn't blast one or more of their albums through his stereo on any given day. Personally, I didn't see the appeal - Certainly not to the extent he did. Cassette, vinyl and CD. He had them all. For every album. Then there were the "limited" releases, such as the leather bound Pump, felt adorned Get A Grip and so many more.

Fast forward to around 2002.

It took another decade+ for me to finally come around to the band, and it was all because of a whim of picking up a cassette of Permanent Vacation - Yes, I still listened to cassettes in 2002. That thing went with me everywhere I went. I think I went through a good month or two long stint of listening to it everyday as I traveled up and down the road in my truck.

From there, I branched out into a little more Aerosmith, listening to albums such as Pump, Get A Grip, Nine Lives and Just Push Play. What I found myself liking the most about the band was their non commerical tracks. I preferred the "freshness" to them vs. what the radio had pummeled me with - Especially during the Get A Grip years when you couldn't swing a stick without hearing the likes of Crazy, Amazing, Cryin' or Living On The Edge.

But I'm getting a little off track. Today, I want to talk about the 1987 album, Permanent Vacation. The one which started it all for me.

To me, the record is crafted to perfection by the band. I can't imagine one track without the other. It just wouldn't work if Rag Doll and Dude (Looks Like A Lady) weren't separated by Simoriah - Even though the aforementioned tracks became hits off the album on their own merits. Equally, you can't jump straight into Angel from Dude. You need that transition through St. John, Hangman's Jury, and Girl Keeps Coming Apart.

This album also holds a special place in my music history because it got me through a lot of confusing times during my young adult life. Despite all the changes which were happening around me at the time, good or bad, Permanent Vacation was always there, and was always the same. It was essentially my one consistent. An old friend who wanted to do nothing more than cheer me up. And it did.

While I never really got into the "older" stuff of Aerosmith, I would eventually inherit it all from my brother when he moved on from the band and CD's in general. These days, while I'm by no means their biggest fan, it means a lot to me to be the keeper of his collection. I know how much it meant to him when he was growing up, and it will be here if he ever wants it back.

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Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Aerosmith

 

I'm an odd one when it comes to Aerosmith. For starters, I didn't start to really get into them until their 1987 album Permanent Vacation, and I much prefer their non-hits to the actual songs that get (over)played on the radio.

My introduction to Aerosmith was an unwanted one. My brother got into them big time when he was in his very young teen years. He was so into them that he had all their albums on cassette, then got them all on vinyl, and then on CD. He also got my dad to go see them live when they toured for their Get A Grip Album, which in turn made my dad somewhat of a fan. Countless days of my youth I was subjected to album after album, which I suppose in a way turned out to be okay because I would eventually start to like(ish) them. In fact, I inherited my brother's CD's when he got out of owning physical media, which makes owning their albums all the more special to me.

I suppose it's cheating in a way to write a post on an album I've heard numerous times, but on the other hand, it would have felt weird to get through an entire year of Retro Spins based on classic rock and to not have them somewhere in the roster.

The band's 1973 debut has definitely invaded my ears on many occasions, and today is nothing more than yet another listen. More so to refresh myself on what exactly was on it. Though I did have to skip past Dream On. That song has been played to death between my brother and the radio. If I'm tired of hearing it, I can only imagine how tired the band is of having to play it. How boring it must be to have a catalog of hundreds of songs over decades to have to sing the same twenty over and over again, night after night.

But I digress.

What stands out within their debut album is how rhythm and blues oriented it is. Hearing this puts into perspective why they took such an approach with their 2004 Honkin' On Bobo. What people felt was a different direction for the band was actually a return to their roots, and I can appreciate that album more so for that aspect.

A song which doesn't get all that much acknowledgment, but is definitely one of the better on their debut album, is Walkin' The Dog. If you haven't heard it, I definitely recommend it. It not only captures the sound of the whole album within it, but the guitar work is amazing.

Their debut album will never be my favorite from Aerosmith, but for what it's worth, I like it. It's solid. Yes, the hits from it are very overplayed at this point in life, but it's still amazing to see that from their very first album the band knew how to craft songs that would last a lifetime and beyond.

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