Published on Jul 29, 1998
Few bands have used as many lives as the boys from Beantown. If
you’ve read their autobiography, you may be amazed that they are
even alive – much less making records. After their sudden return to
the limelight with their get-together with Run-DMC and the success
of
Permanent Vacation, the band was out to prove themselves to
the world that the success wasn’t a fluke. So they worked hard (How
hard? Bassist Tom Hamilton injured himself while working on the
album) and the result was
Pump. Walk this way and learn why it’s probably the best
album of their 80s comeback.
Now granted, you could tell from
Permanent Vacation and from
Pump that the band was heading into a more mainstream, pop,
version than they were before. Some of the songs – like “Young
Lust” and “My Girl” – could probably have fit rather well in
Get A Grip. Aside from that, I don’t think you could find a
flaw in here.
Some examples of the quality are: “F.I.N.E.” – a straight rocker
that is given life by the vocal delivery of Mr. Steven Tyler. It
leads into the neoclassic “Love In An Elevator,” which is a monster
of a track. The song about losing one’s inhibitions will have you
singing and swinging (or you might be dead!). Also, there’s “Monkey
On My Back,” where the band swerves into kicking the habit. I just
love the mean intro by Joe Perry and Joey Kramer.
There’s also “Janie’s Got A Gun” which stands out because of the
seriousness it presents as does “Voodoo Medicine Man.” Here you
have two of the most serious topics to emerge in the nineties –
child abuse/rape and destruction of the environment – being sung
about by one of the biggest party bands in rock history! Not only
that, but they are doing it before it becomes trendy to do so!
Add to all of that their pop ditties – “The Other Side,” “Don’t
Get Mad, Get Even” and “Young Lust” – and you will enjoy this album
even more. These songs are fun and offset the seriousness of some
of the other material rather well. On top of all that, there’s
probably their best current ballad – “What It Takes.” This song is
clearly above many of their other current ballads.
To many of the fans that think that Aerosmith’s current material
is subpar to their earlier, classic, stuff, I say: whatever. One
must remember that this is a band that had to get reacquainted with
itself (during the hairy eighties, no less). Hear this album and
you will see Aerosmith’s power remains the same.