Nuggets
Ted got me reminiscing about my high school days at West Point, a subject I intend to post on a bit more this morning, and that took me back to the basement of our house at 69 Schofield Lane. The basement was where we listened to music back then.
And there is one record that comes to mind vividly from those days.
It's called Live Bootleg and its from Aerosmith, pre drug problems, pre MTV. My Aerosmith.
Songs like Dream On, Back In The Saddle Again, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, Toys In The Attic.
They were a great hard rock band. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. The Glimmer Twins part two.
And this record captures pretty much the end of that band, during the Draw The Line Tour. The band was already coming unglued and you can hear it at times on the record.
But there are three songs at the end of this record that make it a Nugget, I Ain't Got You, Mother Popcorn, and Train Kept A Rollin (which is abbreviated).
Mother Popcorn, a James Brown tune, is a super fun listen. Apparently this version was recorded in 1973 at a WBCN event. Tyler goes nuts on this song. It's a lot of fun.
Sadly this record is not available on Rhapsody or iTunes. It should be. Why don't bands put their back catalogs up online?
You can get it at Amazon though in CD form. If you like old Aerosmith and haven't heard this record, I suggest you do that.
WoW! I haven't seen that album in years. Got the original Double LP back home. My father got it while working at a radio station during college. It is a great album. And, I still think that 'Walk This Way' sounds better on the LP than on a CD.
Posted by: Chris Bauman | December 02, 2005 at 07:21 AM
I love this record, I love it's flavor, it's completely live, no touch-ups. The Toxic Twins at their best. You can hear fireworks on stage, amps crapping out, and Tyler swearing between songs. It's just a very cool record, and listening to it brings me back to 1978.
Posted by: jackson | December 02, 2005 at 11:02 AM
I have asked the same question of myself re: this classic: why isn't it on iTunes? I think it has far less to do with back catalog issues than it does with publishing rights. I don't recall if Aerosmith has made any changes in recording companies. If I look at what's available vs. what's not on iTunes, though, the only stuff available are the post-recovery albums. I'd guess they got dropped by their record company as the drrug problems mounted and sales faltered and that they or Apple don't yet have a digital distribution deal with that former company. You get similar questions on many albums. Where's track 8? Why only 2 tracks? My guess is someone in the content creation/distribution value chain is holding up the iTunes deals on those songs and albums.
Posted by: James Kahler | December 02, 2005 at 12:45 PM
They were on Columbia in the 70's, when they 'reformed' (one could argue they never broke up), they signed to Geffen.
Considering I'd never buy anything they've done since they signed to Geffen, I assume many others feel the same way.
Posted by: jackson | December 02, 2005 at 03:46 PM
Aerosmith's Pump is one of their very very best albums, and its on Geffen.
Posted by: steve | December 02, 2005 at 09:56 PM
Pump is crap.
Posted by: jackson | December 04, 2005 at 11:30 AM
Fact: ALL the Aerosmith Columbia records rock on the highest level (assuming "Rock In A Hard Place" isn't a Columbia release).
Fact: the before mentioned live record is one of the best live albums ever.
Fact: Not all the Geffen Aerosmith efforts suck out right. There are lightweight poppy tunes that I don't like, but they don't suck. It's just not anywhere close to the Columbia drug haze days material.
Posted by: Tony Alva | December 05, 2005 at 02:21 PM