Random Music Review: Aerosmith

It's the age old question: is it better to burn out or fade away?  Be The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

The story of Aerosmith is nothing new.  A band that was once great, then larger than life, then slowly descended into lame, boring, marginality.  They used to sing about banging ladies in an elevator, now they have a so-so roller coaster in Disney World (it's okay, but like love in an elevator, over much too fast).  

Steven Tyler used to be the model rock star.  Howling, untouchable, with the occasional drug problem.  Then he became a gracefully aging woman sitting next to J-Lo on American Idol.

J-Lo can only pray she looks that good when she's 65.

Aerosmith fans still worship the band while also being convinced that they are perpetually snubbed by the rock gods and are the Rodney Dangerfields of rock n' roll.  Are they right?  Well, it depends which era of 'Smith you look at.

Peak of Their Quality: Toys in the Attic (1975)

Like early Scorcese, Aerosmith was largely overlooked during their greatest years in the mid-late 70s.  They would go on to greater success but they'd never match the musician ship and raw energy of their early classics, "Dream On", "Back in the Saddle" and "Sweet Emotion".  That energy would inspire many a future rocker including legendary rock band: Guns N' Roses.  Guns idolized Aerosmith, and much of their early musical stylings are modeled after 1970's Aerosmith.  They would later far surpass their 70s fame, but never again reclaim the quality.

Peak of Their Fame: Get a Grip (1993)

The band was churning out radio hits like babies from a catholic maternity ward in the 80s.  Four years made the gap between Aerosmith's pinnacle of success between 89's Pump and 93's Get a Grip.  Both spawned a slew of radio hits and while there is little question which was the better album (Pump, which also had one of the band's best songs "Janie's Got a Gun"), success is built up like a garbage heap and Get a Grip tops it off.  Also, "Cryin" played a very important role in my developmental years with the 17-year-old daughter of Tyler performing a strip tease for Alicia Silverstone in what is still a pretty risque music video to this day.

Peak of Their Hubris: Armegeddon (1998)

Michael Bay doesn't just ruin movies.

The downfall of Aerosmith began with one of their biggest hits.  While I personally always begrudged the existence of "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for it's topping the Goo Goo Doll's "Iris" (My first love in music) there was no denying it was everywhere.  EVERYWHERE, like on my mom's easy-listening radio station light 100.5 WRCH everywhere.  It's not a terrible song, but the full orchestra and sheer schmaltzy-ness of it all were signs of things to come.  It wasn't long before they were emploring us to "Just Push Play" and everything was "Jaded".  Blech.

In the end, I paraphrase Stannis Baratheon:  Love them for the band they were, not the band they became.  Underrated (early career)  Rated Right (prime years) Overrated (Late Career).