Classics Live II - Aerosmith (CD 1993)

INTRODUCTION
Hello, everybody. This is John Bishop typing, the DeadMilkboy of Epinions.com. Before I launch into the following review, I d like to mention that this is part of a series of reviews I m writing based on one of the greatest American rock n roll bands in history, AEROSMITH! I d like to thank Aerocat (another Arizona native, bless her soul) for giving me the chance to do something other than write reviews of classic B-movies and current CD/DVD releases, and besides AEROSMITH F*CKING ROCKS! Posted here is the URL to Aerocat s official Epinions.com Aerosmith Write-Off page, and a list of names of other hopeful Aero Force fellas and freaks joining me in the write-off. For reference purposes, I got the lyrics and and quotations/information from www.rockthisway.de and aerosmithlyrics.homestead.com.

URL: http://aerowriteoff.bravepages.com/index.html
MEMBERS: Aerocat, hipyx, matta75, thevoid99, deaser26, netnut746, pt-paratroopa, pmills1210, pearl-drum-man, jeff_wilder78, kcfoxy, fartzarellah, sparkospunky, joubert, mattbjorke, shilmafone, donignacio, ned1, fuche_bu, and frostiepekkle.

CLASSICS LIVE! 2
Aerosmith s first concrete live album, CLASSICS LIVE!, wasn t the essential documentation of how superb Aerosmith are of a rock band on stage for two key reasons: one is that as good as Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo are, they are no live substitute for Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. The other reason is because Columbia Records chose the worst live performances for recording Aerosmith live even Sweet Emotion and Lord Of The Thighs sagged. But Aerosmith heard about a planned follow-up to CLASSICS LIVE! was in the works, so they decided to fix the game for the better.

Every song on CLASSICS LIVE! 2 is performed by the original Aerosmith, no substitutes or stand-ins. And like the live album before it, the album is regrettably short in length (39 minutes), and some of the songs showed up in a different light on the double-LP LIVE! BOOTLEG. But this album is more cohesive, focused, and superb than the original CLASSICS LIVE!, mostly because a lot of these songs were recorded New Year s Eve 1984 at the Orpheum, when Perry and Whitford were back in the saddle again.

Speaking of which, the opening piece is Back In The Saddle, always sounding good whenever performed live by Steve, Joe and the boys. Steven Tyler does a great job bringing out the fire in his vocal performance, although the end of the song doesn t pack a real punch like the previously released versions before did, since Tyler s voice goes soft and Perry fails to make his guitar talk. But still, this song is one of my favorites, and it would ve sucked to hear it performed by somebody else.

Steven Tyler leads the audience into singing Happy Birthday to Tom Hamilton before kicking into Walk This Way. Tyler s voice sounds deeper than ever when he raps his verses, but he picks up the steam in the choruses. And Joe Perry finally gets some nice noise out of his guitar here. Although it seemed as if these Toxic Twins needed some rehab on the double, they do a damn good job onstage.

The first ever collaboration Steven Tyler and Joe Perry had was Movin Out, a classic nugget which is busted out in a faithful and extremely great live version. Joe Perry makes up for his lack of guitar bite in the previous songs with a really great lead electric melody and rhythm balanced by Whitford, Hamilton and Joey Kramer. And Steven also sounds rejuvenated here, screamin and singin with flawless intensity.

Draw The Line is presented here in a performance from Ontario, CA, on 3/18/78. The band is in tip-top shape here, belting out a ferocious performance all around. Tyler sounds good, and the so does the band, even though the tension was obviously building between them around the late 70s.

We are taken back to New Year s Eve 1984 for Same Old Song And Dance, which retains its hard-edged blues rock riff and even allows Joe Perry to belt out his patented guitar solo without delay. This Aerosmith hit wasn t featured on any live albums before it, which makes it seem so good to have it featured here. And the song even ends with a brief little jam and some more of Steven s screechy scatting. An easy highlight.

Last Child is belted out with a hard charging march beat and a smoking guitar solo, whereas Steven Tyler sings his verses with that deepness I mentioned from Walk This Way, only to belt out his bridge chant ( I was a last child, just a punk in the street ) with newfound strength.

Let The Music Do The Talking is presented in a rare live version from Worcester, MA, 3/12/86. The band finally got themselves really together at this point, and were on their way to the comeback trail at this point. Steven Tyler gains control of his natural voice here, and the band doesn t miss a single beat here. This is the best performance on the entire album.

Last of all, Toys In The Attic closes the New Year s celebration gig with the best performance of the entire Orpheum Theatre gig. The band is dead-on here, like they were on Let The Music Do The Talking, and it brings a nice conclusion to Aerosmith s most rockin concert album to date.

Things shaped up for Aerosmith by the time CLASSICS LIVE! 2 was released in June 1987, and the boys and their toys would razzle a whole new generation. Enough so to release one more live album in 1998, A LITTLE SOUTH OF SANITY. But whereas that album captured Aerosmith at their best in the 90s, and LIVE! BOOTLEG in the 1970s, CLASSICS LIVE! 2 does their 1980s era total justice. The train kept a rollin alright, only this time it got faster.