Pump
From a storming debut of British rock juggernauts Led Zeppelin to the powerhouse comeback statement of America’s biggest rock band; Aerosmith’s Pump. There’s something that stops Aerosmith being recognised as much as they should be other here, it could be that they became victims of the MTV posturing their rejuvenation sparked or simply that all that big rock balladry went out long ago. It could be that there’s nothing like an over-the-top film tie-in hit to turn off the critics. Of course; it could simply be that they’ve still not topped this album since its release in 1989.
Something, I can’t remember what, led me to Aerosmith’s Big Ones – the compilation of their Geffen albums sometime around 1996 before the release of Nine Lives. From their this was my next purchase and the radio fodder of singles What It Takes and Love In An Elevator didn’t really prepare me for what this album contain, with the exception of the sleaze of ..Elevator. From the kick off this album is a power house full of heavy riffs and thumping drums underpinned with melody and basically great songs.
Young Lust is exactly what you’d expect from an Aerosmith song with such a title; charging guitars and storming rhythm as Tyler sings the words that sums the album up entirely:
“a little bit o’ nasty
you look a little sleazy
but don’t get any on you
young lust
you better keep your daughter inside
or she’s gonna get a dose of my pride
yeah, everybody talks about it”
As an opener it perfectly sets up what follows. Young Lust starts almost with a falter before picking up an energy that carries it along and rams it straight into F.I.N.E and sets up the rest of the album.
The songs (with the exception of Janie’s Got A Gun) don’t deal with heavy issues, it’s lust and the energy of youth perfectly captured by men nudging their middle ages but injected with a fresh sense of urgency since cleaning up their act and at the very peak of their game. Joe Perry lays down startling lead and solo after startling lead and solo while showing off more versatility (check out the slide work of Monkey On My Back) than most guitarists of the MTV late 80′s rock scene.
This album is the sound of a band getting back their edge. While Permanent Vacation threw them back into the limelight and the charts, it really didn’t sound like the hard edged rockers that had produced the classics like Rocks and Toys In The Attic. Here they retain the precision that came with their comeback but they lose the shine and gloss in favour of something harder, grittier and raunchier. Most importantly, the best songs on the album are written without outside help showing that while their addictions may have robbed their earlier fortunes, it never took their ability to create great music. Every member makes his presence known on this album be it Joey Kramer’s never-miss drums, Tom Hamilton’s co-creation of Janie’s Got A Gun or Brad Whitfords nail-it-down rhythm guitar and titling of the album (thankfully stopping it being called Here’s Looking Up Your Old Address) every band member brings this album kicking and screaming into touch.
While at the time of release Janies Got A Gun was heralded for tackling the taboo of child molestation, today the lyrics no longer shock in the same way. Musically though the track is a milestone. String arrangements, distorted guitars and THAT Korg intro showed a band moving forward and willing to take risks with their sound (if only they hadn’t tried the rap folly of Just Push Play on 2001′s album of the same name). With musical interludes expertly splicing the gap from the sublimely fast paced to the bluesier laid back numbers, the pacing of this album means the listener loses interest and even the now-obligatory power ballad What It Takes is a cut above the average.
There’s not a song that gets skipped when this album hits my cd player and I strongly recommend this album gets the listening it deserves. Maybe steer clear of the Spinal Tap like Making of Pump dvd in which Tyler suggests that he and his comrades are “like ladder makers” without a trace of irony. It’s just a shame they never pushed it further.
Check out:
Young Lust and F.I.N.E rightly lodged together
Don’t Get Mad, Get Even; boogie-woogie-raunch-rock as it should be
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