Big Ones - Aerosmith (CD 1994)

First things first: I like new Aerosmith, probably more than old Aerosmith. I feel that Aerosmith has only gotten stronger after they kicked the drug habit--Steven Tyler s voice has gotten better and more distinctive, the band is probing more risky territory, and they ve gotten closer to the rock aspect of things. Ever since they made their comeback in the mid-80 s, they ve been churning out hit after hit, as well as making some real contemporary hard rock classics. Aerosmith can not only hold their own with the young kids, but they can put the young kids to shame even today. As much as I love Aerosmith s 70 s material, Aerosmith s newer (I use newer to describe anything they ve made post-1986) material is top-notch, eclectic, and versatile, and their combination of new rock and past blues really appeals to me, making them my favorite band on the face of the earth. I can t say enough about them. I own all of their albums, their self-titled 1973 through their latest spacey 2001 offering. That said, Big Ones isn t the very best of Aerosmith s material.

However, the album does serve its purpose: to offer up the biggest hits of Aerosmith s career ever since they switched from Columbia to Geffen. I mean, take something like Crazy. I personally loathe the song, but it deserves to be on here because it was a big hit for the band.

This was one of my very first Aerosmith albums, because that s how you get turned on to a band--collecting their greatest hits compilations and moving on from there. I d heard things like Crazy, Cryin , and Janie s Got A Gun on the radio, of course. That was my inspiration to buy the album, basically. Of course, I ve discovered that, now that I m a full-fledged fan, Aerosmith has had lots better material. Still, though, a good chunk of Big Ones is perfectly listenable, and some songs are even downright great.

I mean, take Janie s Got A Gun. That right there is a really great song. I mean, it just reeks of greatness. I m sure if you were to actually bite into the portion of the CD that contained Janie s Got A Gun, it would taste like greatness. I m not willing to do that, though, mainly because I shelled out twenty bucks oh-so-long ago to buy this CD. But you re getting it, right? Janie s Got A Gun is one killer song. So is Love In An Elevator. I love that song. That song is so much fun, and it has so many double entendres and great guitar solos (Perry and Whitford RULE!). Rag Doll is a great song too. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) is the coolest transvestite song this side of Lola. Amazing remains the best power ballad that the band has made since Dream On, especially with that great Joe Perry guitar solo crescendo. Livin On The Edge is a particularly amazing song, ranking right up there with Janie s Got A Gun as the best two compositions that Aerosmith has made since they kicked the drugs.

Of course, if you love a band, you got to take the good with the bad. Despite all the good on this CD, there IS some bad. Crazy and Cryin are two of the worst songs of the band s career, despite the ultra-hot Alicia Silverstone videos that accompanied them on MTV. I mean, I can appreciate Liv Tyler prancing about in her underwear as well as the next guy, but a good video does not a good song make. What It Takes is pretty cool the first few times, but it really gets old. The Other Side is just a pretty bad song to begin with. I hear it lots on the radio. Gets on my nerves. Oh well. Eat The Rich always was an annoying song, despite the cool log drums in the beginning. Its 24-second intro on the Get A Grip album is better.

With the good and the bad on a compilation album there s always the new. There are two new compositions and a soundtrack song on this CD, so even if I was an Aerosmith fan long before buying Big Ones, I still would ve bought it. Walk On Water is cool, if forgettable. Blind Man is even more faceless pop-rock. I can see why it wasn t an album track. Bad song. I like Deuces Are Wild a lot, though. It was on the album The Beavis And Butt-Head Experience originally, appearing alongside such young ins as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana.

So, overall, yeah, there s some bad tunes here. Probably some songs that shouldn t have been hits in the first place. But the record does serve it s purpose--compiling the stuff that the general public loved on to one CD. And let s face it--a lot of the time, the general public loves crap. So some of the crap here has its place. And there are some really good tunes here. I d recommend buying the albums, of course, for Aerosmith s real top-notch stuff.

THE BAND

Steven Tyler : Lead vocals, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica
Joe Perry : Guitars, dulcimer, background vocals
Brad Whitford : Guitars
Tom Hamilton : Electric bass
Joey Kramer : Drums, percussion

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Jim Vallance : Organ on Rag Doll
Drew Arnott : Mellotron on Angel
Bob Dowd, Bruce Fairbairn, Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry : Background vocals on Love In An Elevator
Catherine Epps : Elevator operator on Love In An Elevator
John Webster : Keyboards
Richie Supa : Keyboards on Amazing
Don Henley : Background vocals on Amazing
Desmond Child : Keyboards on Crazy
The Marguerita Horns

THE TRACKS

1. Walk On Water (4:54)
2. Love In An Elevator (5:22) *
3. Rag Doll (4:24)
4. What It Takes (5:10)
5. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (4:23)
6. Janie s Got A Gun (5:29) *
7. Cryin (5:07)
8. Amazing (5:55)
9. Blind Man (3:57)
10. Deuces Are Wild (3:33)
11. The Other Side (4:03)
12. Crazy (5:14)
13. Eat The Rich (4:09)
14. Angel (5:04)
15. Livin On The Edge (6:20) *