Tag: Aerosmith

Picking Five Songs From 1989

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year6 Comments

Welcome back to the “five songs from a year” series. Simple premise, as always – I choose five of my favorite songs from a particular year (not necessarily my five favorite, just five favorites). I started at 1967 and will run all the way through 2025.

Today is bittersweet as I’m now 22 entries into the series, which is really good. But it’s also sad since this is the final entry from the 1980’s. I grew up in that decade and it was a wonderland of entertainment of all avenues. It’s an era that hasn’t been, and probably can’t be, replicated.

All things must come to an end though, and here we are at the end of the ’80’s. Let’s get into my five picks from the end of the line.

Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart

The Crüe had themselves a banner year in 1989. Their album Dr. Feelgood was a well-produced and written affair that saw them ride the end of the hair metal wave on top. The album contained this song, which ranks among the band’s very best. This is a total ass kicking burst of adrenaline that celebrates the band’s triumph of adversity and Nikki Sixx’s cheating death a few years prior. It doesn’t get much better.

Neil Young – Rockin’ In The Free World

Neil Young did NOT have a good decade in the 1980’s. He recorded some off the wall stuff and literally got sued for not sounding like himself. He spent the latter part of the ’80’s righting the ship and then lightning struck at the ass end of the decade with what has become one of his most well-known songs. Neil wrapped up criticism of the first George Bush administration in both poignant and noisy form. The political ramifications of the song have lived on for nearly 40 years since and the track is one of Young’s most beloved cuts from a discography that has roughly 9,000 albums in it.

Nine Inch Nails – Sin

The times they were a changin’, and the proof was in the pudding even before the decade turned. One signpost of the change was the advent of industrial and electronic music, and Nine Inch Nails would lead the charge into the next decade. This one has a bit of a dance beat to it, which isn’t really my thing in general but I’m cool with what Trent Reznor gets up to here. The song is about power struggle, control, lust and other cool stuff like masochism. It’s a twisted good time.

Aerosmith – What It Takes

When that gal who you had that crazy fling with in the last song is done with you, you can lean on this somber ballad from Steven Tyler and company to pull you through the tough times. This isn’t just a breakup song, it’s a lament of the most painful kind of loss, the end of that deep relationship that was supposed to be “the one.” The band did work with Desmond Child to craft this one but wanted to capture a different essence than the “big-time” ballad they went for on the album prior. I’d say they hit a home run.

Faith No More – Epic

Another sign that things were about to get a lot different was Faith No More’s 1989 hit album The Real Thing. It was their first with new singer Mike Patton and the band would become one of the harbingers of the coming weirdness of the next decade. This one would combine hard rock and a rapping vocal style, so feel free to direct the blame for nü-metal right here.

But there’s a lot more here than the primordial ooze that Korn and Limp Bizkit would crawl out of. This has pounding verses and a soaring chorus that will get wedged into any listener’s head. It’s full of musical movements and switches, including a moving piano outro that really flips things on its head. Faith No More were out in left field even for the coming alt-rock revolution, and the next decade would have their stamp all over it.

That does it for 1989 and the golden decade of the 1980’s. Next week I press on into the sea of changes that turned popular music on its head.

Picking Five Songs From 1975

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

My job has been absolutely kicking my ass this past week or so. Between it and me desperately trying to find a new job, I haven’t had as much time to work on the site. But I can bang out these five songs from 1975 real quick.

Nothing much to note here, I was still two years away from being born so I have no great memories of ’75. Let’s check out the music.

Heart – Crazy On You

I’m altering the timeline again with this one. This song was released on album in 1975 – in Canada. It wasn’t released as a single or in the US until ’76, but here it is on my list for this year anyway because guess what – 1976 is when things get super crowded on these lists.

Anyway – great blast of a song here. Heart were at times part folk, part psychedelic and part heavy metal – this tune fits the first two more. Very groovy guitar and keyboard passages here and Ann Wilson gives a super smooth performance throughout. Plus a great mix of acoustic and electric guitars here, not something you get all the time, at least to this great of effect.

As we go through these, you’re going to find out that Heart is one of my favorite bands, in all their phases. We’re just getting started here.

Led Zeppelin – Kashmir

So Robert Plant drove through the desert in Morocco and was inspired to write this song about a disputed region between India and Pakistan. Regardless of the geographic blasphemy, it helped Zep record one of their most epic movements. This song is totally majestic and awe-inspiring. Not much else for me to say about it.

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

While this song is full of subtle twists, especially the full album version (which should be posted below), this one is actually pretty straightforward for a Pink Floyd track. It is a somber affair looking back on lost dreams, set against minimal acoustic passages. The song is popularly regarded as being about troubled former bandmate Syd Barrett, though Roger Waters has discounted that idea before. Regardless, it’s a masterpiece of a song.

Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion

We’ll just ignore all of the things this song could possibly be about and focus instead on how kick ass of a tune it is. Aerosmith added a few psychedelic elements to their hard rock groove and came out big winners for it. An electric jam all the way through.

What I posted is the 1991 remix video, which brought Aerosmith up straight up against grunge, and Aerosmith won that unlikely battle.

Waylon Jennings – Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?

Every genre of music has its formulas for success and acts that were herded into the spotlight, used for a hit, then discarded for the next. But no music scene had its formula down quite like Nashville and country. While that machine keeps plugging away today, it was a group of artists in the ’70’s, spearheaded by Waylon and the creative freedom afforded to him contractually, that sparked a whole new movement in country. The outlaws were riding, and they would reshape country through the decade.

Here Waylon pokes fun at the establishment and highlights how far they’ve drifted from the spiritual father of their genre, Hank Williams. It’s not a comedy tune but some of the lyrics are low key pretty funny, like the one about the five piece band looking at his backside. But the song does carry its weight and then some, directly targeting the tired old formula of Nashville and offering a refreshing change.

That’s all for 1975. Next week will be ’76 so I’ll have to pick some really patriotic stuff to celebrate the bicentennial of my great nation. I’ll get right on that.

Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week6 Comments

Given the announcement recently that Aerosmith are pretty much hanging it up, I figured it was a good time to pull out this classic album that really got the ball rolling for them nearly 50 years ago.

Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic

Released April 8, 1975 via Columbia Records

Aerosmith had very light success with their first two records. They had gained a bit of notice but were dismissed as a bit of a “dumb” act and didn’t bring a ton to the table, even with a few of their now classic songs being on those records. But after a year of touring behind Get Your Wings, the band were tighter than ever before and ready to let loose in the studio. They convened with Jack Douglas, who had produced the prior album and would handle this and two more.

The line-up is the band’s classic formation and honestly the same folks they’ve had in the band for the vast majority of their existence. Steven Tyler commanded attention at the mic, while Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were on guitar. Tom Hamilton was on bass and Joey Kramer on drums. There are some other performances credited on this album, including something called a marimba. I don’t know what the hell that is.

Today we have 9 songs that wrap up in a tidy 37 minutes. I don’t honestly know of any real “deluxe” versions of this with bonus tracks, Aerosmith typically park their bonuses on other sorts of releases.

Toys In The Attic

The balls gets rolling right out of the gate with scorching hot rocker. Flying guitar work takes center stage here, this is a vehicle that would get flagged for speeding down the freeway. This isn’t a high concept song by any means. The phrase generally refers to being crazy. There are other interpretations of the song’s meaning but no need to dwell on those. This is a massive way to open an album, great sequencing work here. Grade: A

Uncle Salty

The song itself is a pretty sweet jam, this one gets down with melodic rhythm parts while Steven Tyler goes down and dirty on some of the vocals. Lyrically the song is pretty damn dark – it’s about a young woman who grows up in abuse and later becomes a prostitute. Fairly brutal stuff to contemplate on a ’70’s hard rock record. Grade: B+

Adam’s Apple

Here we have the Shakespearean combination of the Adam and Eve story from the Bible and a blowjob. The music plays out nicely here – a good groove without doing too much. Tyler has the sole writing credit on this song but has admitted he has no memory of composing the song, which is fair given the state he used to run around in way back when. Grade: B

Walk This Way

Bands who “make it” for a brief time usually do so on the back of one signature song, and bands who last over half a century still have a signature song. While Aerosmith have no shortage of ammo in their “great song” chamber, this one is the one that made them. Twice.

We have a simple yet very infectious main riff, with some additional playful guitar notes running through. Steven Tyler employs vocals that in 1975 didn’t really have a term, it could be called scatting. His main impetus for the vocals was that he used to be a drummer so he employed a percussive rhythm to his words. It all adds up to a massively catchy and entertaining song, all about some kid in high school who’s looking to lose his virginity.

I’ll be brief for this last part – Run DMC did a remix of the song in 1986, this would help launch a new act in Aerosmith’s career that saw them become megastars. The full story is really interesting but can wait for another time. Grade: S

Big Ten Inch Record

We can save a fair bit of space here – this is an old blues cover. It’s a pretty decent song to listen to musically. Lyrically it’s one of those things that’s funny the first time. It’s not out of place for Aerosmith, hell it fits right in. But it doesn’t set the world on fire either. Grade: C+

Sweet Emotion

And now on to what was the lead single from the record and another song that has become a staple of the band’s catalog. This one sets a mood with some different instruments (and apparently sugar packets for shakers) and some ungodly guitar riffs. Aerosmith could play a basic rock song and make it compelling but here they threw in elements to really up the boogie and sleaze.

And yeah, this one is sleazy. It’s an ode to everyone’s favorite pastime of sex. Maybe too sleazy, especially in light of certain news items from the past few years. But overall this song glistens in its grime and remains a favorite Aerosmith jam.

This song also got a second lease on life in 1991 when it was remixed to promote a box set (that the remixed single isn’t even on). It came with a funny music video about phone sex operators (that’s pre-Internet stuff for any of you under 40). Grade: S

No More No More

A really fun rocker that’s just about life on the road for a young, partying band. It’s nice and bright but also has some power behind it, a really cool song. Grade: A

Round And Round

For those who frown on Aerosmith and knock them for sounding too much like Led Zeppelin, we would call this Exhibit A. It’s a cool song and it definitely has Page and Plant vibes all over it. Nothing really wrong with that. Grade: B+

You See Me Crying

The album closes with a ballad and yet another song that Steven Tyler forgot he wrote. This has some pretty elaborate stuff going on, it’s a song more loaded with stuff than any prior Aerosmith track. It’s a ballad for sure and it’s also very, very 70’s – this isn’t the prototypical power ballad of the 1980’s. Overall it’s really well put together and makes its mark, all of the extra arrangement doesn’t hurt it at all. Grade: A

Toys In The Attic was a move up for Aerosmith, who hadn’t made many waves with their first two records. The album would do a slow roll, eventually charting at number 11 on Billboard. It would go gold around the same time.

But the album’s success wouldn’t stop there. Aerosmith rose from the ashes and became a massive record-moving machine years later, and now this album has nine platinum certifications in the US.

This album pairs along with its successor Rocks as an immortal one-two punch from Aerosmith, these are widely hailed as the band’s best works. And my view is no different than many others – this is a great triumph of a rock record, offering up a wonderful listening experience.

Album Grade: A

Toys In The Attic is a hallmark moment in American rock, showing that the US could rock out on par with their former colonial overlords across the pond. And while the story on Aerosmith might have come to a sad end recently, their work and especially this one remains as an immortal piece of an unparalleled American legacy.