Oddly enough I like the idea of doing a split, two-parter post as it gives me something resembling a structure to post on rather than ramble – especially when current events are something I need to stay away from if only for the sake of my blood pressure and keeping that black dog at bay.
Earlier this week I got the Pre-Milk Spillage Aerosmith compilation up having been inspired by Jim over at Music Enthusiast’s post-trilogy on the Toxic Twins. Turns out that one was the easiest of my original comps to recreate on Spotify and share. For some reason Falling Off isn’t included on the streaming version of Nine Lives (I guess it was cut from international versions of the album) which meant I head to substitute it for the lesser Walk On Down and Can’t Stop Messin’ has been culled from Get A Grip but once you start substituting….Well, I wanted to get something from the latest Music From Another Dimension on there and Out Go The Lights seemed the only one to fit (I guess because the tune has its origins from the Pump era) which meant I was able to slice out some of those awful ballads that I’d no longer want to hear (and clog up most of Big Ones).
But then with an extra minute or three do any of the tracks from the period between Nine Lives and Music… warrant selection? Well, no. I, like Mr Perry (2010: “I don’t think we’ve made a decent album in years. Just Push Play is my least favorite. When we recorded it there was never a point where all five members were in the room at the same time and Aerosmith’s major strength is playing together. It was a learning experience for me: it showed me how not to make an Aerosmith record”) don’t care for Just Push Play. And, yes, I open with three from Pump and even include two more including the only one of their ballads that I can still enjoy (if you’ve seen them live and been part of the crowd that sings along to the start so loudly it shuts Steven Tyler up you’ll have a soft spot for it too) but Pump is to their latter-day period what Rocks is to their initial run; unimpeachable.
So, it was possibly the trickiest to compile and is by no means perfect but if I were to compile for CD length, tunes from the Post-Rehab (I can’t really call this one Post-Milk Spillage as I’ve selected nothing from Done With Mirrors) now it would probably look like this:
Honourable mentions go to:
Heart’s Done Time
Mumbling About... 
Not to be a bummer but do you know that when Perry collapsed the other night he went into cardiac arrest? Tyler says he’s working too hard
Yeah I’ve read the same. I can see it being the case if you look at the tour itinerary for the band he’s playing in now (not a fan). But he’s always wanted to play more and I recall a scene in, I think, You Gotta Move where he questioned the lack of change in the set list (“are somebody’s wrists tired?”) that hints at his frustration with Aerosmith’s current touring practice; one 1hr 40 show a week, identical set lists. I don’t like the idea and wouldn’t stump up for a ticket – back when I saw em and they were promoting Nine Lives there was a good mix of new and old with easily four or five tracks from that album. These days I don’t think there’s any variety in their show and I guess it leads to a sense of boredom for him?
But yeah there’s got to be a middle ground given their age and er… history with chemicals, I wouldnt expect em to pull out Springsteen style shows at the point either.
I don’t know how Springsteen pulls out Springsteen-style shows. He and Perry are just about the same age (mid-60’s). Granted, Bruce has probably led a way healthier lifestyle. But pulling out those marathons at that age is truly unique. (Just recall a generation or two ago, people were barely living till their 60’s and if they did, were probably coughing up a lung on a regular basis).
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