A good album, but not great

Nine Lives was the much anticipated follow up to Get A Grip. Aerosmith has never been content to release the same album over and over under a differnet name, but has been successful in adding new life to their sound while still maintiaining the Aerosmith sound. Nine lives is no exception.

Unfortunatley, when compared to 'classic' Aerosmith like Toys in The Attic or more recent efforts like Get A Grip, Permanent Vacation, or Pump, Nine Lives falls short.

It is not a bad album, containing great songs like Nine Lives and Pink, but it is not a great album either.

If your Aerosmith dollar is limited, choose one of the other albums I already mentioned. If you have those already and are looking to sate your Aerosmith fix...Nine Lives is a good place to look for it.

A Sweet Taste of Aerosmith

From the opening of the album, there's no doubt that Steven Tyler is back and singing his considerable lips off. Not quite as hard as some of their earlier releases, with "Nine Lives" Aerosmith makes their most radio-friendly album in years.

There are several standout songs on this one, including the opening title track and the beautiful ballads "Falling in Love" and "Hole in my Soul". The exotic "Taste of India" and the strangely sexual "Pink" also received significant air-time, and the entire album fed off the success of the previous "Get a Grip" recording.

My only gripe with the album is some of the weaker tracks later in the lineup... although not bad they're just not up to the level the album starts off with, and took me a few more listens to become accustomed to. Needless to say, the 3 or so weaker tracks don't detract significantly from the album, and when Aerosmith is on they are absolutely fantastic.

All told, it's a very enjoyable record from a group I've come to expect a lot from over the years. Aerosmith has matured as much as they're capable of, and grown into their role as Rock'n'Roll icons. Their almost childlike enjoyment of all things carnal is definitely in evidence here, so whenever you're in need of a positive "Attitude Adjustment" just pop this disc in and let it roll.

Aerosmith still rocks

Just when the music climate started to become a conglomerate of intangible tunes of gloom, Aersomith breezes back to Earth, sucker-punching the world with their newest release, Nine Lives. It's been four long years since the public has heard some new noise from the Boston Bad Boys. The wait may have been a long one, but the rewarding end result has been sweet.

Nine Lives begins it's musical journey with a meow (literally). The heavy-hitting, ass-kicking, Aerosmith-licking title track sets the stage for what's left to come. The first single, Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees), a rocking number jammed packed with plenty of amusing, tongue-in-cheek lip, follows. Things slow down a pace with Hole In My Soul, an aesthetically written ballad with a haunting, splendid melody, hearkening to the more classical-sounding Aero ballads of yesteryear.

Next up at the plate is the rhythm-grooving tune, Taste of India (and Mr. Tyler ain't talking about the country, folks). With it's funky, driving beat and hypnotic lyrics, this one proves to be a unique gem. Full Circle, a swing ballad-type, is brimming with clever sing-along lyrics that you can easily sing to while sitting around a campfire, chugging a brew. A cool-sounding drum beat opens Something's Gotta Give, a hard-rocking tune that jams ("Does the noise in my head bother you?"). Ain't That A Bitch starts out slow and mellow, kicking into a straight ahead upbeat song, full of clever hooks ("Love is like the right dress on the wrong girl").

A bit of experimenting on the next two songs, The Farm and Crash, end in pleasing results. The Farm starts out with bits of dialog from The Wizard of Oz, providing a whimsical touch, telling a tale of jest (and it's not Kansas). A bit different, but easily likable. Crash is a furious-sounding, fast-paced rocker with an awesome harmonica and drum solo that totally jams.

Two more ballads, Kiss Your Past Good-bye and Fallen Angels, add to the collection of ballads on this album. Kiss Your Past Good-bye has some well-penned prose, making it one of the most meaningful songs on the album. The song starts with simple vocals and guitar, and the melody builds with euphonious keyboards and some beautiful guitar work. Fallen Angels, the finale, sounds much like the ballads from Get A Grip, with the exception of the instrumentation at the beginning and end of the song. Tin-sounding drums, tambourines, a flute, and some other horns supply a vastly cultural sound to the song. Lyrically, it's one of the deepest songs on the album, which makes up for a drawn-out ending that could have been a tad shorter.

Pink and Attitude Adjustment are sandwiched between the last two ballads, continuing the well-planned song placement on the album. Pink is extremely sexy, with it's playfully seductive lyrics. It has an almost country-rock flavor to it, peppered with some mean harmonics and acoustics, and complimented with a steady drum beat. Attitude Adjustment is an upbeat, fast-paced, in-your-face, guitar-laden rocker with inventive lyrics.

Not able to take Nine Lives out of my CD player, the wait seems well worth it. Nine Lives should not disappoint fans, old or new. The album flows from one song to the other, providing a nice mix between ballads and rockers. The lyrics are so cleverly penned: From the songs that go straight-for-the-heart, to the ones that go straight-to-the-groin, to the ones that make you chuckle, to the ones make you think. Musically, the band has never sounded better. You can hear tones of classic Aerosmith, mixed with the modern sound they have adopted in recent years.

All the same -- it's still Aerosmith. It's easy to see why the band has lived within the hearts of their fans. Aerosmith, after all of these years, can still rock your bootie off or touch your soul with their own brand of hard-hitting, funky-rhythm, blues-flavored music that's exciting, sexy, sincere, and full of balls.

As an added bonus, for the computer-geek generation, there's a free Music Media game that can have even the most intelligent scratching their head with frustration.

Nine Lives will disappoint very few who still believe in the power of real rock n' roll. Nine lives and twenty-plus years later, the Boston Bad Boys can still kick the spunk out of the younger, trendier bands of today. Thank God for Aerosmith -- someone needs to show `em how it's really done.



© By Diane Trautweiler. Written April 1, 1997.

Forgettable

Awful, murky production and a shortage of memorable songs makes this 1997 album an uneven listen at best.

Songs like "Full Circle", "Hole In My Soul", and to a certain extend also "Falling In Love" and "Pink" are quite good, but the remaining eight or nine songs are forgettable at best and some of them are just awful.

The ballads "Kiss Your Past Goodbye" and "Fallen Angels" are slick and clichéd, and several tracks sound like an old, scratchy LP, buried as they are in feedback, annoying sound effects, and assorted noise and distortion.

Aerosmith's attempt to sound vibrant and hip fall completely flat...I don't know why they don't just settle for being Aerosmith, they used to be such a good, tough rock n' roll combo back in the 70s.

Not anymore, though. No wonder that you can get a used copy of this CD for $.47.

Overlooked and Undervalued

I was one of those Aerosmith fans who were disappointed with GET A GRIP. It had a few good tunes but also had a lot of drivel. However I ended up enjoying two of the 3 songs that came out after that album(Deuces Are Wild and Walk On Water). After hearing the lead off single for this album, "Falling In Love(Is Hard On The Knees)", I was convinced Aerosmith was back to where they should be. And when I bought the album, I was not disappointed. The album felt raw and less contrived for success. The songs were not in vogue with the music world of 1997. No, this was Aerosmtih as they shuold be. Great hard rock n roll. Even the big ballad "Hole In My Soul" was tolerable this time was the vocal performance from Tyler was top notch. Who didnt want to raise a tall frosty one to "Full Circle"? What a great vibe on that tune. "Nine Lives" the song was an instant favorite as well as it just blew right out of the gate as the lead off track. Consequently I never enjoyed "Pink" too much and yet now that seems to be the "hit" from this album. I just never seem to know how to pick 'em. I do think this was a great Aerosmith album in the tradition of their 70s stuff but with the pop sensabilities Tyler and Co. just could not turn off. This album is a masterpiece next to their follow up cd "Just Push Play." I think many people should give this one another try and check it out once more.

Please Retire

This album is completely embarrassing and only a *little* bit better than their worst album, Get A Grip.

This sounds SO flat and tired. The lyrics are crap (I still gag when I hear the whole "crayon/lay on" rhyme in the awful "Pink")and the music is totally uninspired and uninteresting.

To hear the REAL Aerosmith, listen to anything PRE Done With Mirrors....and only Pump is worthy after that.

This one is just horrible.