Without a doubt, Aerosmith was best when they were coked out of their minds. After kicking the habit by the mid-80's, they got snatched up by MTv as hip pop-rock stars, and ain't been worth shit since. (Sigh.)

Although I absolutely detest Aerosmith's current garbage, I really liked the "live orchestral version" of "Dream On" that got massive MTv airplay, and have a copy of it on the Last Action Hero soundtrack. On the other hand, their contributions to The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience and the Less Than Zero soundtrack are nothing to write home about.

"Aerosmith"

1. "Make It" (3:40)
2. "Somebody" (3:45)
3. "Dream On" (4:27)
4. "One Way Street" (7:02)
5. "Mama Kin" (4:28)
6. "Write Me a Letter" (4:12)
7. "Movin' Out" (5:02)
8. "Walkin' the Dog" (3:12)

The music here is raw and very cheaply produced, which perfectly suits the band's style of chugga-chugga blues rock. This is the remastered edition, which is annoying because there's no title on the spine -- apparently the band wants me to repurchase all of their CD's so they form the eagle-wing Aerosmith logo when I put them all together. As if!

"Mama Kin" has been covered by Guns'N'Roses; "Walkin' the Dog" has been covered by Ratt. There's also a tribute album which contains a BLISTERING version of "Dream On" by Ronnie James Dio and Yngwie Malmsteen, which I have on an mp3 collection.

"Get Your Wings"

1. "Same Old Song and Dance" (3:53)
2. "Lord of the Thighs" (4:14)
3. "Spaced" (4:21)
4. "Woman of the World" (5:49)
5. "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" (2:51)
6. "Train Kept a Rollin'" (5:33)
7. "Seasons of Wither" (5:38)
8. "Pandora's Box" (5:43)

Probably my favorite album by the band, since "Lord of the Thighs" is one of my favorite songs EVER by ANY band!! It's also got the catchy "Same Old Song and Dance", plus a semi-live, house-burning rendition of "Train Kept a Rollin'".

"Toys in the Attic"

1. "Toys in the Attic" (3:06)
2. "Uncle Salty" (4:10)
3. "Adam's Apple" (4:34)
4. "Walk this Way" (3:40)
5. "Big Ten Inch Record" (2:14)
6. "Sweet Emotion" (4:34)
7. "No More, No More" (4:34)
8. "Round and Round" (5:05)
9. "You See Me Crying" (5:12)

The most hit-laden of Aerosmith's early albums, featuring the timeless classics "Walk this Way" and "Sweet Emotion". The title track and "Big Ten Inch Record" are cool songs, too.

"Rocks"

1. "Back in the Saddle" (4:40)
2. "Last Child" (3:26)
3. "Rats in the Cellar" (4:06)
4. "Combination" (3:40)
5. "Sick as a Dog" (4:11)
6. "Nobody's Fault" (4:25)
7. "Get the Lead Out" (3:41)
8. "Lick and a Promise" (3:05)
9. "Home Tonight" (3:16)

Regarded by many fans as the most "solid" Aerosmith album ever...well, I've already selected Get Your Wings as my favorite, so I must disagree. :) In any case, I'm rather sick of the two "hit" songs "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child", although other tracks such as "Combination" and "Lick and a Promise" are quite tasty. "Nobody's Fault" has been covered by Testament.

"Draw the Line"

1. "Draw the Line" (3:22)
2. "I Wanna Know Why" (3:08)
3. "Critical Mass" (4:50)
4. "Get it Up" (4:01)
5. "Bright Light Fright" (2:19)
6. "Kings and Queens" (4:53)
7. "The Hand that Feeds" (4:21)
8. "Sight for Sore Eyes" (3:51)
9. "Milk Cow Blues" (4:10)

My oh my, but this album ROCKS!! Some of the heaviest, bluesiest stuff the band has ever done. "Draw the Line", once again, has been covered by Testament.

"Aerosmith's Greatest Hits"

1. "Dream On" (4:24)
2. "Same Old Song and Dance" (3:02)
3. "Sweet Emotion" (3:12)
4. "Walk This Way" (3:30)
5. "Last Child" (3:26)
6. "Back in the Saddle" (4:38)
7. "Draw the Line" (3:21)
8. "Kings and Queens" (3:46)
9. "Come Together" (3:44)
10. "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (4:03)

For the longest time, this was the only CD I owned by the band (upgraded from a cassette copy, which for a long time was the only Aerosmith music I had on ANY format!) About all I can say now is at least it's got "Come Together" (a Beatles cover, duh), which isn't available anywhere else that I know of. Many of the songs are crappy single edits; for instance, they totally cut out the groovy intro to "Sweet Emotion"!!! Yack Bleck Blah.

"Rock in a Hard Place"

1. "Jailbait" (4:38)
2. "Lightning Strikes" (4:26)
3. "Bitch's Brew" (4:13)
4. "Bolivian Ragamuffin" (3:32)
5. "Cry Me a River" (4:06)
6. "Prelude to Joanie" (1:20)
7. "Joanie's Butterfly" (5:35)
8. "Rock in a Hard Place (Cheshire Cat)" (4:45)
9. "Jig is Up" (3:10)
10. "Push Comes to Shove" (4:28)

At this point, the band was so fractious and drug-addled that Joe Perry and Brad Whitford didn't even bother showing up for the recording sessions, and Steven Tyler slurs the vocals so badly, it sounds like he's speaking French! So it's quite a surprise that the songs here aren't all that bad. "Lightning Strikes" is a MONSTER tune (and the only one you'll likely hear on the radio), and other tracks like "Jailbait", "Bitch's Brew", and the title track all have their moments as well. Too bad the actual musicianship is sloppy and unfocused, this could have been quite a good album.

"Done with Mirrors"

1. "Let the Music Do the Talking" (3:48)
2. "My Fist Your Face" (4:23)
3. "Shame on You" (3:22)
4. "The Reason a Dog" (4:13)
5. "Shela" (4:25)
6. "Gypsy Boots" (4:16)
7. "She's on Fire" (3:47)
8. "The Hop" (3:45)
9. "Darkness" (3:43)

The last CD put out while Aerosmith was still a worthwhile band. Don't take that as meaning this is a worthwhile album, though. It's got a couple good songs, namely "Let the Music Do the Talking" (originally a Joe Perry solo number, apparently) and "My Fist Your Face"; the rest is, well, badly recorded filler. "Shela" has a nice riff, but the vocals suck horribly; ironically, one of the best songs here is "Darkness", which is a bonus track on the CD version! And at least these songs don't get massive airplay, so I'm not totally SICK OF IT ALL by now...

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