Get A Grip [Remaster] - Aerosmith (Cassette 2001)

When I was in seventh grade, I learned that, lo and behold, there are other radio stations out there besides the ones my parents listen to. I also learned that MTV isn t as bad as I was taught it was (at least it wasn t when they played music). So before my quest for a favorite station ended at 107.3, I found out about Aerosmith. They had recently put out an album called Get a Grip, and the videos were getting lots of airtime thanks to the lovely Alicia Silverstone. The singles were stuck in my head, so sometime in the summer of 94 I headed to the record store to buy the album.

My hefty CD collection was just budding at the time, so I deemed Get a Grip the best I had thus far. I loved it so much that I listened to it every single night that summer. One of my favorite memories of that summer is of me and two friends sitting in a convertible as my friends mom drove, the three of us singing Crazy at the top of our lungs. I believe this was the same summer we were singing TLC s Waterfalls and Hootie and the Blowfish s Only Wanna Be With You. Ah, seventh-grade dorkiness.

Since I had yet to discover Pearl Jam or punk rock or anything like that, Get a Grip was the loudest, most outrageous thing in my collection. Back then, for me, it was so edgy to hear a song like Flesh or lines like, The buzz that you be getting from the crack don t last/ I d rather be O.D.ing on the crack of her a*s or When you re splitting hairs with Mr. Clean, it s like getting head from a guillotine. While the shock value has worn off, I still consider the lines clever and funny. In fact, there are a lot of clever lines complementing the music on this album.

Get a Grip opens with a short but cool rap before blasting off with Eat the Rich. I guess this was a single since it was included on Big Ones, but I ve never heard it on the radio. Too bad it s loud, angry, and sarcastically fun. It mocks all the stuck-up rich folk and tells them to take your Grey Poupon, my friend, and shove it up your a*s. They keep moving along with the fast tunes after that. The title track is pretty cool, but Fever is much better. The guitar playing is excellent, and the fast-paced lyrics are cleverly entertaining. It s got some good harmonica playing in it too, harking back to earlier days.

Of the songs that were released as singles, Livin on the Edge is clearly the best. The lyrics tell us that we need to change our moral outlook ( We re seeing things in a different way and God knows it ain t His ), and the music fits perfectly, giving the song an epic feeling. This is easily one of my favorite Aerosmith tunes.

The other singles were powered by a trilogy of videos, all staring Alicia Silverstone (and Steven Tyler s daughter Liv in Crazy). I was never a huge fan of Cryin , but it is a good tune nevertheless. I just always thought it could have rocked a bit harder. Crazy is a sad song ( You turn it on/ Then you re gone ), but it s a lot of fun to sing along to trust me on that one. Amazing is more uplifting, as it tells how when you re down and out, it s amazing how in the blink of an eye you finally see the light. The piano, the furious guitar solo, and Tyler s vocals, come together for a very emotional feeling and an outstanding song.

The rest of the songs are not great (except for Flesh with its heavy screams and risqu lyrics), but they re still pretty cool. Walk on Down is simple but fun rock, and Shut Up and Dance is kind of fun to sing along with as well. Gotta Love It is boring, but Line Up is far from. It s an amusing fight song, which again could have rocked a lot harder, but it s still enjoyable despite being somewhat wimpy.

Many people, myself included, are longing for Aerosmith to return to their older song. Well, that ain t happening. But I would certainly be happy with a return to the sound of Get a Grip. This album has some aspects of their current sound, but it also has a lot of good hard rock tunes that they made themselves famous with.

I exhausted the CD that summer so long ago, but every once in a while, I pull out this great album and rock out like I m back in seventh grade and Hootie and the Blowfish are still cool.

What am I saying? They still are!