4/13/15 Aerosmith

[Niveous]

What is your favorite Aerosmith song?

[user]

Probably "Nobody's Fault", from the early, bordering-on-metal Rocks. Or for the more poppy Aerosmith, "Deuces are Wild". But it's hard to choose in any case.

[johndisk0]

Another artist with too many good songs. (Although, I will say that Mr. Tyler has overstayed his welcome in the public spotlight. American Idol anyone?)

My fave is the live orchestral version of "Dream On" from the 1991 MTV 10th anniversary.



Other than that, "Sweet Emotion" gets play on my shuffle. And, I don't know if this counts, but their crossover with Run DMC for "Walk This Way" was one of the songs that got me into Hip Hop and genre crossing. Of course, I just realized my favorite song above is a genre-cross, too!

-jd0

[Niveous]

My fave is the live orchestral version of "Dream On" from the 1991 MTV 10th anniversary.

So. Damn. Good.

[JonPorobil]

"Dream On," "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," they're all pretty good, but for my favorite, I think I have to go idiosyncratic and pick "Rag Doll." In the 80s, Aerosmith got big and bombastic, incorportating horn sections and exploring other subgenres (like the sleazy New Orleans brass-band vibe in "Rag Doll"). I think that style suited them surprisingly well, and had more personality than their (admittedly excellent) 70s hard rock material.

[Niveous]

When it comes to these favorite song DRCs, this is the hardest one for me. In high school, I skipped school and stood outside in the cold for hours outside a Tower Records just so I could get a chance to meet them. I once bought a 24k gold CD version of Toys in the Attic. My love of Aerosmith is expansive and ridiculous. That being said, after some listening, I was able to pick a fave. Honorable Mention to Dream On, Chip Away The Stone, Kings and Queens, and Amazing. My favorite is What It Takes.

[fluffy]

Do they have any silent tracks before an obligatory hidden track? If so, that.

[JonPorobil]

When it comes to these favorite song DRCs, this is the hardest one for me. In high school, I skipped school and stood outside in the cold for hours outside a Tower Records just so I could get a chance to meet them. I once bought a 24k gold CD version of Toys in the Attic. My love of Aerosmith is expansive and ridiculous. That being said, after some listening, I was able to pick a fave. Honorable Mention to Dream On, Chip Away The Stone, Kings and Queens, and Amazing. My favorite is What It Takes.

"What It Takes" is another song that benefitted from their mid-career bombast and adventurousness. That accordion comes seemingly out of nowhere, but it makes the chorus.

[josh]

I used to be pretty into them. I liked "Train Kept a Rollin'" a lot. My old favorite was "Mother Popcorn" but then I heard the original (only recently!) and well... no contest.

[glennny]

Rocks is my favorite album by them. It's one of those albums that doesn't sound right on CD or mp3. It's on my short list for "must be listened to on vinyl"

Sick as a Dog is my pick.

Honorable mentions: all of Toys in the Attic. Chip away at the Stone, Nobody's Fault, Home Tonight.

Did Aerosmith invent the power ballad? They certainly made bank on it. I remember being horrified, the day I walked by someone's cubicle to hear "....soft rock classics , like Aerosmith....."

I hate most power ballads , but Home Tonight on Rocks is awesome.

[Caravan Ray]

Thankfully, they were a band that never really "crossed the pond", and I remained blissfully ignorant of them until Run DMC. I quite liked the Run DMC song. Never heard the original.

[Niveous]

Thankfully, they were a band that never really "crossed the pond"

Fact: Aerosmith had 2 #1 hits on the ARIA chart, which is one more than they've had in the US.

[JonPorobil]

Did Aerosmith invent the power ballad? They certainly made bank on it. I remember being horrified, the day I walked by someone's cubicle to hear "....soft rock classics , like Aerosmith....."

I hate most power ballads , but Home Tonight on Rocks is awesome.

I believe there's room for argument as to who "invented" the power ballad. I might be mistaken, but I think the term was coined in the 80s, to describe the string of hair-metal bands who scored hits by showing their emotions ("Every Rose Has Its Thorn" being one perfect example). Other hard-rock ballads had come out before then, such as "Home Tonight," as you pointed out. If they predated the coining of the term, are they still "power ballads?" Is "Stairway to Heaven" a power ballad? Heck, for that matter, is "Dream On" one?

Anyway, yes, Aerosmith are definitely one of the progenitors of the subgenre, and unarguably one of the bands who's made the most money recording them (right up there with Journey). Most of Aerosmith's big hits in the 80s and 90s count. "What It Takes," "Crazy," "Cryin'," "Amazing," "Deuces Wild," "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," and "Fly Away from Here" were all pretty huge hits designed to capitalize on showcasing the sweeter side of the hard-rock group. And those last two weren't even written by anyone in the band! I loved most of those songs when I first heard them, convinced myself they were terrible in my cynical teenage years and twenties, and now I'm coming back around to liking them, though still sometimes wondering if they're "guilty pleasures."

But hey, I already explained why I dig 80s Aerosmith more than 70s Aerosmith. If that makes me a heretic, then so be it.

[glennny]

Power ballads, yeah Journey, Air a Supply, Night Ranger, 80s Chicago all sappy stupid songs with metal guitar solos.
Beth by Kiss is a good song, but there's no power in that ballad. It's pure ballad. The Styx ballads were pure ballads too, though not their best stuff.

I liked What it Takes.

To me a power ballad has to be about Love. Stairway and Dream On therefore do not qualify. There has to be a lack of blues as well.

[Caravan Ray]

Thankfully, they were a band that never really "crossed the pond"

Fact: Aerosmith had 2 #1 hits on the ARIA chart, which is one more than they've had in the US.

ARIA is probably not a great measure of significance.

I gather they were a 1970s band - but in the 1970s in Aus, unless a band appeared on "Countdown", they simply didn't exist. Very few people would have ever heard of them (I know I hadn't) until the Run DMC song appeared on Countdown. After that, I vaguely recall some horrible power ballads on commercial radio, probably the ARIA #1s. If I recall correctly, ARIA didn't start until the mid/late 80s. Anyway, they never came across as a band that anyone would take seriously from my limited exposure to them.

[fluffy]

All of the Aerosmith songs I know came out in the 90s during their giant revival (apparently they are all on Get a Grip). And I wish I could burn them from my brain because they are incredibly catchy earworms that I hate with the burning passion of a thousand fiery suns.

[HeuristicsInc]

Yeah, I'd say "Walk This Way" with Run-DMC.
-bill