  
Due to the amount of time that has elapsed since
this album was confirmed I had completely forgotten
all about it, with all the controversy that has
lorded over this band with feuds between Joe Perry
and Steven Tyler reaching breaking point where
Tyler almost found himself replaced a couple of
times but avoided it with legal action, I guess
I’d just stopped caring as I thought it’d
never actually see the light of day. 8 years,
that’s how long it’s been since the
last Aerosmith album was released, 2004’s
“Honkin’ on Bobo” is the last
full studio album from the rock icons and now
that they’ve come back in 2012, a time where
the music scene has changed that drastically it
will be a can they still push their legendary
status not only with the long standing fan base
but with a younger generation to contend with
or are they facing a decline from the top?
With the band’s style over the years twisting
and turning in regards to style and approach it
was impossible to have any assumptions here, the
previous album focused more on the classic rock
and roll approach which is also present here with
this new material also but not as retro feeling.
I really am finding myself struggling to put words
to the material, it’s there though the rock
and roll style, their grittier side is still present
too and Tyler’s voice is still going strong
but I just don’t know. I have a standing
connection to the song “Beautiful”
for me that really is the kind of thing the band
should push forward because whilst songs like
“Oh Yeah” and “Out Go The Lights”
are good they just don’t have that feeling
that the classic Aerosmith hits have which is
what made them hits, I really can’t put
my finger on it.
Honestly I think I should post another review
in about 6 weeks time as this may be a grower,
over time this material may become more and more
appealing as a lot of the material out there is
but as it stands my first impressions aren’t
bad, but they aren’t over the moon fantastic
like they were for “Pump” or “Nine
Lives”. To be fair to live up to songs like
“Walk This Way”, “Dude (Looks
Like A Lady)”, “Going Down –
Love In An Elevator”, “Crazy”,
“I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”
– I could go on all day – is a hard
task even if they hadn’t missed a step but
after an 8 year gap it brings with it a lot of
hype and excitement which is hard to match and
in this case has been unsuccessful on that level.
3.5/5
Review By James Webb
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