I hear much about the amount of ballads on this album, but nobody says it also has 15 songs on the standard edition, 20 on the deluxe. So even if you take out 4 ballads it’s still 11 rocking tunes. It is not a perfect album, but it is damn good. The production is warm and not over compressed. You hear everything. All the band members (still original) write and contribute. Many different sides and stuff that hints at classic Aerosmith. “Street Jesus”, “Luv XXX”, “Beautiful”, “Out Go The Lights”, “Oh Yeah”, all just vintage sounding Aerosmith. Joe Perry on vocals for two tracks “Freedom Fighter” and “Something” which also features Tyler on drums. The Zeppelin-ish Legendary Child features Tyler in top form, spitting out the story of the band in a way only he can. Monster riffing and the ageless Joey Kramer laying down the signature pocket like only he can. Having seen three live shows so far on the tour, the band STILL gets it done on stage too. Great accomplishment for a band at this stage in their career and after waiting so long for it they delivered. For me the best Aerosmith album since Pump. Also check out the band drawing in the CDs booklet, it was done by Slash when he was a kid. Pretty cool!
33 Responses
I am the biggest Aerosmith fan on the planet. No questions asked. I support the guys like no other. I’m also a musician and listen pretty deeply to songs and production. This album wasn’t 10 years of writing songs and this was the finished product. This was 10 years of all kinds of shit going on in the band and a year or writing, recording, and post production. I like the album. I think it’s good. I think it’s a lot like done with mirrors in that it just sounds a little incomplete. Not production wise but in just plain writing. The thing that saved this one is the live feel. Lots of natural reverb, back round “whoo!” and mic bleed. That is pretty cool. It has the same humor we come to love in Tyler’s lyrics ( livin on coochie and romance!) It has some great riffs in there and I think ” oh yeah” is just a great classic Joe Perry rock n roll song. “Luv XXX” is a great example that Perry/Tyler can grab you by the balls and hit you with a great riff and witty lyrics. Probably my favorite lyrics on the record.
I think what it’s missing is the bravado we are used to. Yes it’s very obvious Steven Tyler is broken up over the divorce of him and Teressa. The lyrics go from angry to down right sad. If you’re going through a break up, buy the album. But look at the standard in which they are judged with Pump. First three songs ( Young Lust, F.I.N.E., Love in an Elevator )… All songs about confident, dirty, and fun sex. Nothing on this one about it. Yes Pump covered other topics with drug abuse, child molestation, break ups but largely it’s a record that sounds like dinosaurs eating cars. It’s awesome. MFAD is missing that aggressiveness. It hints at it then loses it’s momentum with a ballad or another direction. Three songs in then it switches up on the third.
That being said I think that if the band continues to let Whitford and Hamilton continue to have more input on songs… If they can capture the energy of their latest live shows … If Joe Perry can put to tape some of the riffs from the latest tour… If they just say to hell with writing another “Jaded” and NOT try to create something they did 35 years ago… Another album would come out great. Have some flow to the album.
You can’t recapture the hunger you had when you were 25 when you’re pushing 65. But these guys have made a living proving people wrong when people said they’re done.