Permanent Vacation [Remastered] - Aerosmith

...prove that their sucess with Permanent Vacation wasn't a fluke, and this album sure is a masterpiece. It's hard rock from start to finish.

This album explores social territory in songs such as Monkey On My back, which deals with Joe and Steven's drug abuse, and the haunting Janie's Got A Gun which delves in to child abuse.

The album cover features 2 trucks. One on the back of the other, the one one top saying "PUMP" ...
...couldn't stop laughing at it when they produced it. The logo has been altered to look like runny oil also. Inside there is also a mini poster of the band incorporated in to the album cover which also includes details of the songs and the production of it.

The people that make up Aerosmith and their roles are as follows:

Steven Tyler: Lead Vocals/Harmonica
Joe Perry: Lead Guitar
Tom Hamilton: Bass Guitar
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Pump - Aerosmith, Geffen Records, September (1989)

Following the sucess of 'Permanent Vacation' after their collaboration with RUN DMC on a self cover of the classic track 'Walk This Way' (From the 1975 Toys In The Attic album).

The album Pump was then released. It's pretty obvious when listening to both their previous releases and this one that the post-rehab Aerosmith was heading in a much more mainstream, pop, direction than it had been in the seventies. This in my opinion isn't a problem as I like both eras of the band. Tyler says that the Pump album never loses sight of "that saw-tooth, rough edge that Aerosmith is known for."

The band said that they wanted to work really hard to prove that their sucess with Permanent Vacation wasn't a fluke, and this album sure is a masterpiece. It's hard rock from start to finish.

This album explores social territory in songs such as Monkey On My back, which deals with Joe and Steven's drug abuse, and the haunting Janie's Got A Gun which delves in to child abuse.

The album cover features 2 trucks. One on the back of the other, the one one top saying "PUMP" on it. It's an amusing looking cover and the band couldn't stop laughing at it when they produced it. The logo has been altered to look like runny oil also. Inside there is also a mini poster of the band incorporated in to the album cover which also includes details of the songs and the production of it.

The people that make up Aerosmith and their roles are as follows:

Steven Tyler: Lead Vocals/Harmonica
Joe Perry: Lead Guitar
Tom Hamilton: Bass Guitar
Brad Whitford: Guitar
Joey Kramer Drums and Percussion

Track Listing
Track 1. Young Lust
Track 2.F.I.N.E.
Track 3.Love in an Elevator
Track 4. Monkey on my Back
Track 5.Water Song/ Janie's Got a Gun
Track 6.Dulcimer Stomp/ The Other Side
Track 7.My Girl
Track 8.Don't Get Mad, Get Even
Track 9.Hoodoo /Voodoo Medicine Man
Track 10. What it Takes

The album opens with 'Young Lust'. It starts heavy but slow, Tyler soon starts screaming as the music picks up speed as an harmonica sounds. The first lines soon comence,. 'Young Lust happy just to be young lust! Never have to eat no dust!' Tyler does a great job keeping up with the pace of the fast music and delivers his lines perfectly. The song slows down but around the 1:51 marker the music builds up with fantastic drums beats and harmonica. One of my favourite parts of this track has to be the 1:59/2:00 marker when Tyler sings 'You better keep your daughter inside, or she's gonna get a dose of my pride, yea everybody talks about it!'. Shortly after the 3:00 marker there is some terrific guitar work on display, before the song builds back up more heavier than before, the final portion of the song consists of really fast drumming which leads of perfectly to the next track.....F.I.N.E.

F.I.N.E leads straight on and is another hard rocker, begining with a shout from Tyler. This has one of the best guitar riffs and bass playing on the album! The track is full of innuendo (not unusual for Aerosmith) and it' s a great song to listen to. Hard rock from the start to the end. This is one of my personal favourites. The song turns slightly softer for the line: 'I feel like I'm hung up on the line, i'd die for you but we were partners in the crime' which is one of my favourite bits, before leading on to the ending portion which consists of the hard rock riff and more innuendo. The way the song builds up to Tyler's scream repeats and fades at the end of the track is great.

This leads to 'Going down' a short intro to Love In An Elevator, which consists of an elevator women asking Mr.Tyler if he is going down. Suddenly the start of Love In An Elevator blasts on. This is probably one of the more well known tracks, and what a good one it is! It lasts 5:38 minutes and has a great guitar solo from 1:45 - 3:37. Tom and Joe help with the backing vocals on this track.

Next up is 'Monkey on my Back', which is about about Joe and Tyler's substance addiction, which lead to their decline in the 80's. Starting off with some slightly distorted vocals the track soon starts with some drums and various effects that are really effective. Tyler gives a few trademark screams in this song. It's one of my favourites, all though at first I didn't really like it.
It's hard rock from start to finish.

The Water Song serves as an intro to 'Janie's Got a Gun'. The track starts with Dum dum dum honey what have you done, dum dum it's the sound of my gun'. It's a very serious and eerie intro to the serious song about child abuse which has driven a girl to shoot her father. The guitar solo on this track is fantastic and the bass is great on this track. There is also "gun shot' noises present in the song. After a steady build up the song becomes really powerful. I think one of the best lines is: 'They say the spell that he was under, the lightning and the thunder knew that someone had to stop the pain'.

The 'Dulcimer Stomp' is the intro to 'The Other Side'. 'The Other Side' is a jazzy rock and roll song. It's an uplifting track and lightens things up from the previous track.

Track 7 is the 3:10 long 'My Girl'. It's a fast rock song from start to finish. Some fans aren't too keen on it and claim they would rather have had 'Deuces Are Wild' on in its place. I however think that this fast short rocker is great.

This track. 'Don't Get Mad, Get Even', is a bluesy song which opens with a didgeredoo. It has a very a catchy chorus, and Tyler's shouts on it are great. The guitars that finish off the choruses are brilliant! I didn't use to be a fan of this track but it sure has grown on me over time. This leads on to Hoodoo, the slow eerie intro to Voodoo Medicine Man. (Interesting to note that Hoodoo contains spoken lyrics from the Outtake song 'Buried Alive' which did not make it on to the album)

Voodoo Medicine Man starts with didgeredoo's and tribal rhythms. The track mixes tribal instruments and hard rock, this song is very over looked I feel! It's a great track that should definetly be heard. The chorus which pauses slightly in between each line is great, especially how the guitars fade ready for the next line of the chorus to be sang by Tyler. The track builds up and leads to silence....

Then, the final track, What It Takes begins. It's an emotional rock power ballard, and isn't as over produced as Angel from the previous album 'Permanent Vacation'. Angel can sound very cheesey, but What It Takes never does, It's a great ballard and is followed by some strange music similar to the Dulcimer Stomp.

In my opinion this is an album you should definetly try and get to hear at least once. I really could not pick one track on this album that I would want replacing. I brought this album from the local CD store, so you are bound to find one about most likely. Or you could just purchase it from the internet at a low cost.

There is one fault among all this pleasure though - The album appears to be too shor!! Or perhas time just flys while you are having fun listening to it. Although it may be short, it gives me an excuse to listen to all the tracks over and over again!
 

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