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| Aerosmith - Gems Band: Aerosmith Tracks: - Rats in the Cellar - Lick and a Promise - Chip Away the Stone - No Surprize - Mama Kin - Adam's Apple - Nobody's Fault - Round and Round - Critical Mass - Lord of the Thighs - Jailbait - Train Kept A Rollin' Hardest of Them All "Gems", the 1988 Columbia release from Aerosmith, has come to be known to diehard Aeroheads as the "hard-rock greatest hits album", and the disk surely lives up to this title. While practically everyone in the world owns "Greatest Hits" (1980,Columbia Records)and the comeback compilation "Big Ones" (1994,Geffen Records), "Gems" is the lesser known of the three greatest hits packages but, is no less impressive. In fact, for longtime Aerosmith fans, the tracks on "Gems" blow the "Big Ones" right out of the water. The album begins with the all-out hard rock of "Rats in the Cellar" and closes with the classic "Train Kept A Rollin'", a Yardbirds cover that is actually more closely associated with Aerosmith than The Yardbirds themselves. As far as filling goes, "Gems" does not dissapoint - "Lick and a Promise", "No Surprize", and the excellent "Lord of the Thighs" are certified classics that are a joy to listen to over and over again. Also here si the really rare studio version of the awesome "Chip Away At the Stone", which sports some great licks and harmonies. One of the heaviest hitters is the Immortal Mama Kin, which includes one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time and a different but cool vocal from Steven. Yes, there is some Garbage here too. "Jailbait" is a desperate attempt to recapture some of the spirit from the "Rocks" (1976,Columbia Records) era but is barely able to keep the listener interested. Overall, though, this is one great package of lesser-known, yet still powerful Aerosmith songs that will delight the ears of both longtime and newer fans. Kinda pointless, but still a lot of good songs This album was released in 1988 by Aerosmith's old label (now their current label again) to Cash in on their big "Permanent Vacation" comeback. It was intended to be sort of a "Greatest Hits Volume 2", and there are a handful of songs on here that definitely deserves such status - "Mama Kin", "Train Kept A-Rollin'", "Lord of The Thighs", and the rare single "Chip Away The Stone" are Bona Fide Aerosmith classics. There are a few more second-tier classics here, like "Jailbait", "No Surprize" and "Rats In The Cellar" which are also quite worthy of inclusion. As for the rest of them, it's baffling what criteria they used in picking the songs. There are so many great Aerosmith songs which inexplicably didn't make the cut, and a bunch that are here that only provoke the question "Why?" Where's "Toys In The Attic"? "Big Ten Inch Record"? "No More, No More"? "Lightning Strikes"? "Sick As A Dog"? How do ho-hum songs like "Critical Mass" or "Adam's Apple" get on here over any of those? Two obscure songs here that I really like are "Nobody's Fault" and "Round And Round", two of the heaviest songs they've ever done, but those two still should've been shelved in favor of some of the more well-known tunes. Some have described this as "Aerosmith's Hard Rock Greatest Hits" album since some of the songs are heavier than their more well-known hits, but then again songs like "Mama Kin", "Lord of the Thighs", "Lick And A Promise" and "Critical Mass" hardly Fall into that category. They're pretty straightforward commerical sounding 70's rock. A perplexing compilation, really only worthy for the otherwise hard-to-get "Chip Away The Stone" (it is also available on the pricey "Pandora's Box"). I would personally pass on this and get all of Aerosmith's first seven albums. You won't go wrong. Not a bad place to start... When paired with the better-known "Greatest Hits", "Gems" is the second half on an excellent primer to pre-comeback Aerosmith. However, much like any compilation package, this is only supposed to begin the journey. The ideal end result for the label is that you purchase more old Aerosmith albums. And, honestly, that's what you should do. In the interests of Space (the album only clocks in at 53 minutes, average length by 1988 standards), a number of classic Aerosmith songs have been left off - there is no "Big Ten-Inch Record", "Seasons Of Wither", or "No More, No More" on here. But "Gems" is what it is - a jumping-off point for the Aerosmith novice, and a boarding pass for an amazing journey. Buy this. Buy Aerosmith Gems at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
