Greatest Hits (1972-1979) - Aerosmith (CD 1993)

The Beatles. Elvis Presley. Frank Sinatra. Aerosmith. What do all these artists have in common? They each have too many damned "greatest hits" compilations.

It seems that every five years or so, Aerosmith comes out with yet another retrospective collection of hits. I can think of at least five off the top of my head, and that's not even counting live albums (to their credit, Classics Live and Classics Live II were released without their consent). That's not to say Aerosmith isn't good, but to me, releasing that many "best of" albums is presumptuous, to say the least. It's kind of like sending people christmas cards with pictures of yourself on them. You may think you're good looking, but your friends will get sick of it after a while.

But that has always been the essence of Aerosmith. They have always been self-important and egotistical. They talk about their band and their music as though it were a religion. Since day one they have acted like they were the best band in the world, and they kept saying it until enough people believed it was true to put them on top of the world. Twice. The problem is that they never went away the second time. Now they're just pumping out mundane record after mundane record in the hopes that the world will begin to care again.

I know that sounds mean, and it may surprise you to find that, of all my childhood favorites, Aerosmith is one of the few bands that I still really like. At least, I like the stuff I was listening to then (but don't dare come near me with a copy of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing").

Fortunately, Aerosmith's Greatest Hits covers the era of stuff I like. (And when did they add dates to the title? My copy never had that.) Sure, it's every bit as cheesy as the Blue Oyster Cult, but there was something exceptional about Aerosmith in the 70's. This is what rock and roll was supposed to sound like.

The first of only two real mistakes on this album is that it's presented in chronological order. As a result, it begins with the biggest emotional downer of their career. "Dream On" is presented here in its original format, straight off their self-titled debut. This is probably the one song they have performed each and every time they have taken the stage since the dawn of their career, and over the years it has evolved into, perhaps, a better song. Vocalist Steven Tyler has embellished the melody and the words at times, and the guitar solo usually tends to be a bit more flashy now. But there is something haunting about the original recording that Aerosmith will never capture again, live or otherwise. Maybe it's the youth in Tyler's voice. Maybe it's the simplicity of the song. Whatever the case, "Dream On" remains to this day Aerosmith's finest moment.

As a way to begin an album, though, "Dream On" is a poor choice. The second track, "Same Old Song And Dance", would have made a far better opener. This is typical 70's Aerosmith. It's raw, bluesy, and catchy. The version featured here is the radio edit, which has been cut down in length somewhat, but the bulk of the song is still present, and it's enough to inspire the listener to seek out the original.

The third and fourth songs on Greatest Hits are probably the two that helped it sell more copies than all the other 8 songs combined. The funny thing about that is that both "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" originally appeared on the same album, 1975's Toys In The Attic. If you bought this one for those two songs, you've missed out on one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

"Walk This Way" appears exactly how it did on Toys In The Attic. If by some chance you're only familiar with the Run DMC cover a few years later, do yourself a favor and check this version out.

"Sweet Emotion", one of Aerosmith's best-loved songs, is featured in the form of a radio edit, meaning that Joe Perry's incredible guitar solo has been cut in favor of a fade-out chorus. The only real use I ever had for this version was, back in the days of the dinosaurs, as a space-filler at the end of a mix tape that didn't have room for the original version.

"Last Child" and "Back In The Saddle" are the two songs they opted to use from 1976's Rocks. The first is not a bad choice at all, and the second was obvious.

One of the band's best moments is the title track from the album that almost never got made. "Draw The Line" was recorded in the middle of enough tension to kill most bands (as it was, it took one more record to kill Aerosmith). But the end result is a good, solid song that stacks up well against the rest of their catalogue. The other inclusion from Draw The Line is another radio edit, this time of "Kings And Queens". And while it is obvious to even the least observant listener that this song isn't much more than an attempt to cash in on the fantasy genre so skillfully exploited by other bands of the day, the fact of the matter is that Aerosmith pulls it off well. The piano-laced bridge (which has been severely butchered here) is one of the most haunting moments ever caught on tape, and it was most likely that one moment that made me love this song so much.

Most people have heard the next song, but few remember where it came from. Aerosmith's version of "Come Together" is one of the best cover songs ever. Too bad it was recorded for the Bee-Gees' remake of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That's right, kids - though history has managed to obscure this little piece of trivia, there are those of us who have never forgiven Aerosmith for it. If it weren't for the fact that "Come Together" was the best cover since Hendrix tried his hand at Dylan, Aerosmith may never have crawled from the wreckage of their Bee-Gees association.

And finally, though I dread to dig it out of my buried memories, we have the second mistake - the only inclusion from 1978's Night In The Ruts. And while Night In The Ruts was a damned good record in its own right, despite the turmoil surrounding it, it will baffle me to star's end why they chose to add its worst moment to their greatest hits package. If "Come Together" is the Raiders Of The Lost Ark of cover songs, then "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" is the Pokemon Movie. No, really, it's that bad.

It's not that Tyler can't sing it or that the band can't play it. It's just that the song doesn't work for them. And something always bothered me about the lyrics - I can't quite put my finger on it, but it seems Tyler's subject changes gender at one point. Maybe I'm imagining it. Maybe memory has just clouded the song - I haven't listened to it since the third time I listened to the album, and that was damned near twenty years ago (see, I gave it a fair chance).

Overall, Aerosmith's Greatest Hits worked because it didn't take any chances (well, except for that last song). Which is a shame - it would have been interesting to see how well it would have worked had they included rarities like "Chip Away The Stone" or "Rattlesnake Shake" instead of taking the safe route.

I have rated this "above average" not because it's an exceptionally planned and packaged album, but because once you get down to it, it does contain 9 of Aerosmith's best early songs, even if they are all available elsewhere.