When did Aerosmith go bad? Even their most forgiving fans, the ones who lapped up "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", seem to have jumped ship. It's been 13 years since the band had a hit ("Jaded"), making this an even longer dry spell than the one that Run-D.M.C. infamously dragged them back from. Some will claim that Aerosmith jumped the shark when Steven Tyler joined American Idol, or when they brought in song doctors for Permanent Vacation, or at the peak of the drug years in the late 70s, or when a group of New England kids decided to form a band that sounded like a louder, dumber Rolling Stones. Whatever the case, at some point in history, Aerosmith decidedly started to suck.
I'm in the boat that claims Pump, which turns 25 this year, was Aerosmith's last great album. Get a Grip was more popular, and amazingly is still their highest-selling album, but by then they were already drowning in the pop-rock sound they had embraced on their comeback, shooting off McBallads like "Cryin'," "Crazy" and "Amazing" that could almost make you forget they were performed by the same five guys who wrote Rocks. It was also memorably the tour where they kicked openers Megadeth off the bill and replaced them with Jackyl. We should have known it would get worse from there.
But Pump is a different story. Yes, it's from their pop era, but it showcases Aerosmith changing pop rather than pop changing Aerosmith. It sounds more like classic rock than glam metal, with "Young Lust" and "F.I.N.E." roaring out like a pair of hidden toys in Aerosmith's attic. The Tylerisms were in their prime ("Love in an Elevator"), but he wasn't too self-conscious yet to let his heart get broken ("What it Takes") or give the world a chill over murder and sexual abuse ("Janie's Got a Gun"). Perhaps it was the need to distance themselves form an abundance of third-rate imitators, or maybe a need to compete with newcomers like Guns N' Roses who trumping Aerosmith at their own game. Whatever the case, Pump stands as one of Aerosmith's best albums, and a triumph for hard rock.
Showing posts with label steven tyler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steven tyler. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Santana, "Samba Pa Ti"
Earlier this week I was caught in an argument over whether Carlos Santana had ever written any good songs. He's played on them, for sure, just as he's played on a few that are so awful I can barely type the titles (see his biggst hit, or the Steven Tyler collaboration that came about 30 years too late). True, he's an excellent player, but most of his best songs, including "Oye Como Va," "Evil Ways," "Black Magic Woman" and "Jingo" were written by other people.
However, he did write my favorite song that he ever recorded, "Samba Pa Ti."
Does he even play this at shows anymore? Could he? It sounds naked next to anything from his Supernatural era. It's the kind of thing you'd hear an extra talented band play at a restaurant where you're the only one paying attention.
As of 1998, enjoying "Samba Pa Ti" meant liking one of Santana's biggest hits, but after watching him smother the last fifteen years of his music in inferior guest artists, it feels like being in on a secret. Give him all the hell you want for inviting Chad Kroeger into his discography, but few musicians have ever given the world anything as beautiful as this.
However, he did write my favorite song that he ever recorded, "Samba Pa Ti."
Does he even play this at shows anymore? Could he? It sounds naked next to anything from his Supernatural era. It's the kind of thing you'd hear an extra talented band play at a restaurant where you're the only one paying attention.
As of 1998, enjoying "Samba Pa Ti" meant liking one of Santana's biggest hits, but after watching him smother the last fifteen years of his music in inferior guest artists, it feels like being in on a secret. Give him all the hell you want for inviting Chad Kroeger into his discography, but few musicians have ever given the world anything as beautiful as this.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Steven Tyler: J-j-jaded
A few weeks into its shelf life, Aerosmith's new album has fallen off the charts without a hit that Columbia Records didn't pay for. None of the shows on their current tour have been selling out. Steven Tyler is reportedly blaming the label, which is easy to understand. He's made bad albums (Just Push Play, Nine Lives) and released overwrought singles before ("I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"), but those have been hits, too. Why not Music From Another Dimension?
Honestly, it's no worse than the past few Aerosmith albums, maybe even a little better. But for the first time ever, people know that Aerosmith isn't Steven Tyler's top priority. He's been pushing back this album for six years so that he could spent two seasons as an American Idol judge, promote a self-congratulatory autobio, star in a Hilfiger ad campaign and indulge himself with a solo project that was embarrassing enough to include a Pussycat Doll. In the past month, he's flung himself into feuds with Nicki Minaj (presumably for relevance) and KISS (presumably, shockingly, for credibility) to drum up publicity. Maybe these aren't the most egregious acts ever committed by a formerly great musician, but the fact is that they seem like all he's been doing. Now that Aerosmith's first studio album in eight years is finally out, it feels like an afterthought to years of Steven being Steven.
People don't want to listen to Aerosmith if Steven Tyler doesn't act like he wants to be there. Music fans want to know that their artists are putting thought into their work. "Jaded" may be no "Back in the Saddle," but it felt like Tyler giving it his best shot, which is all he really owes us in exchange for our attention. Music From Another Dimension sounds like he mailed in his vocal tracks from Bermuda. As Rolling Stone's critic pointed out, "Sometimes it's easy to hear that Tyler and his bandmates aren't on the same page, or the same planet. When he duets with his fellow American Idol alum Carrie Underwood for 'Can't Stop Loving You' (rhymes with 'because it's all I wanna do'), it sounds like the rest of Aerosmith is off hiding in the next studio."
For all his career missteps, Mick Jagger is foremost a Stone. Even Bono has gone on record as saying that his music is more important to him than his philanthropy, which is exactly as it should be. Who would want to listen to the biggest rock star in the world if he'd rather be someplace else? Steven Tyler should ask himself the same question as Music From Another Dimension sinks into America's bargain bins.
(Music that actually sounds like it came from another dimension)
Honestly, it's no worse than the past few Aerosmith albums, maybe even a little better. But for the first time ever, people know that Aerosmith isn't Steven Tyler's top priority. He's been pushing back this album for six years so that he could spent two seasons as an American Idol judge, promote a self-congratulatory autobio, star in a Hilfiger ad campaign and indulge himself with a solo project that was embarrassing enough to include a Pussycat Doll. In the past month, he's flung himself into feuds with Nicki Minaj (presumably for relevance) and KISS (presumably, shockingly, for credibility) to drum up publicity. Maybe these aren't the most egregious acts ever committed by a formerly great musician, but the fact is that they seem like all he's been doing. Now that Aerosmith's first studio album in eight years is finally out, it feels like an afterthought to years of Steven being Steven.
People don't want to listen to Aerosmith if Steven Tyler doesn't act like he wants to be there. Music fans want to know that their artists are putting thought into their work. "Jaded" may be no "Back in the Saddle," but it felt like Tyler giving it his best shot, which is all he really owes us in exchange for our attention. Music From Another Dimension sounds like he mailed in his vocal tracks from Bermuda. As Rolling Stone's critic pointed out, "Sometimes it's easy to hear that Tyler and his bandmates aren't on the same page, or the same planet. When he duets with his fellow American Idol alum Carrie Underwood for 'Can't Stop Loving You' (rhymes with 'because it's all I wanna do'), it sounds like the rest of Aerosmith is off hiding in the next studio."
For all his career missteps, Mick Jagger is foremost a Stone. Even Bono has gone on record as saying that his music is more important to him than his philanthropy, which is exactly as it should be. Who would want to listen to the biggest rock star in the world if he'd rather be someplace else? Steven Tyler should ask himself the same question as Music From Another Dimension sinks into America's bargain bins.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Song of the Day: The Melvins, "Goin' Blind"
Steven Tyler had a great idea this week. Sensing the need to promote a terrible new album and distance himself from the self-parodic, cartoonish image he's earned over the past 20 years, he took care of both causing by going on the radio and insulting KISS.
"KISS is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits but they're more of a comic book. You see them in their spackled faces," said the former American Idol judge. "It is different: a KISS lick, a Joe Perry lick--two different worlds, and sometimes depending on the time of day get offended. I hear that and I go, 'Yeah, that's alright. Do they really mean it? And what's this all about?'"
Anyone who's been lucky enough to hear Rocks and unfortunate enough to suffer through Just Push Play can tell what he's doing. But for better and worse, he's right. KISS is a comic book band. Still, once upon a time, KISS were a colorful, multi-dimensional, auditory comic books series.
On Hotter than Hell, KISS' second album, they were still figuring out how weird they could be if their ultimate goal was world domination. Thus, they were still brave enough to write and record "Goin' Blind," a plodding depiction of an old man despairingly ending his affair with a young girl. "I'm 93, you're 16/Can't you see I'm going blind?" howls Gene Simmons. Within months, the band sensed that kids would rather get down to "Rock and Roll All Nite," and stopped playing "Goin' Blind."
20 years later, an uncompromising sludge-metal band got a deal with Atlantic Records on Kurt Cobain's behest. The result was Houdini, which included a cover of "Goin' Blind."
The Melvins' version of "Goin' Blind" is darker and more ingratiating than KISS'. King Buzzo and Dale Crover's performances embrace the bizarre elements of the original without any conflicts of trying to be the world's biggest band. But I also like hearing how KISS at their weirdest still sound downright catchy in the hands of the Melvins. A bleak reboot of the original comic book band.
"KISS is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits but they're more of a comic book. You see them in their spackled faces," said the former American Idol judge. "It is different: a KISS lick, a Joe Perry lick--two different worlds, and sometimes depending on the time of day get offended. I hear that and I go, 'Yeah, that's alright. Do they really mean it? And what's this all about?'"
Anyone who's been lucky enough to hear Rocks and unfortunate enough to suffer through Just Push Play can tell what he's doing. But for better and worse, he's right. KISS is a comic book band. Still, once upon a time, KISS were a colorful, multi-dimensional, auditory comic books series.
On Hotter than Hell, KISS' second album, they were still figuring out how weird they could be if their ultimate goal was world domination. Thus, they were still brave enough to write and record "Goin' Blind," a plodding depiction of an old man despairingly ending his affair with a young girl. "I'm 93, you're 16/Can't you see I'm going blind?" howls Gene Simmons. Within months, the band sensed that kids would rather get down to "Rock and Roll All Nite," and stopped playing "Goin' Blind."
20 years later, an uncompromising sludge-metal band got a deal with Atlantic Records on Kurt Cobain's behest. The result was Houdini, which included a cover of "Goin' Blind."
The Melvins' version of "Goin' Blind" is darker and more ingratiating than KISS'. King Buzzo and Dale Crover's performances embrace the bizarre elements of the original without any conflicts of trying to be the world's biggest band. But I also like hearing how KISS at their weirdest still sound downright catchy in the hands of the Melvins. A bleak reboot of the original comic book band.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
