SirAlex's Full Review: Permanent Vacation [Remaster] by Aerosmith
(Edited 5-26-00)
This is the album that landed Aerosmith back on the charts. They were introduced to a whole new audience with this album's release. With Permanent Vacation, viewers of MTV learned who Aerosmith was. I have mixed feelings about this album myself. To me, it's not rock and roll enough. With the outside writers contributing so much to the songs, a lot of these tunes sound a little too much like someone else's concept and not like Aerosmith. But still, this is an important album in that it marks the return of an American legend and one of the greatest bands of all time. Also, they were completely sober when they recorded this album in 1987.
This album contains the hits "Rag Doll", "Angel", and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". "Rag Doll" has great pounding and repetitive drums. I dare you not to bob your head to the beat while you are driving and listening to this song. Of all the band's ballads from their Geffen records, "Angel" is my favorite. Sure, the song is kind of sappy, but you can’t deny that it’s great. "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" rivals the Kinks’ “Lola” as the best song about a transvestite that's ever been recorded.
"Heart's Done Time" is great example of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford's guitar interplay. Not only are the guitar riffs hot, but also the two guitarists trade solos during the bridge of the song. It’s sounds very cool. "St. John" is arguably the best blues tunes that Aerosmith has ever done. Steven Tyler supplies some great lyrics and Joe Perry goes off on a fantastic guitar solo. On “Hangman Jury” the band incorporates an old Huddie Ledbetter song into their own. It is sort of a country, blues, and rock hybrid. The acoustic guitars and harmonica playing make this song a little known gem.
"Girl Keeps Coming Apart" is one of the more rocking tunes of Permanent Vacation. It has some cool horn work and amazing guitar solos at the end. It also features a Frank Zappa lyric, and you have got to love that. The title track is a great Brad Whitford tune that builds up to some neat steel drums featured during the outro. "I'm Down" is a brilliant cover song, and I like this version better than the one the Beatles did. "The Movie" is a four minute instrumental that is very different from anything the band had ever recorded. Tom Hamilton’s slap bass playing really make it stand out.
Two songs that I really don't like on this album are "Magic Touch" and "Simoriah". For the life of me, I can't picture this band recording songs like this in 1975. Songs with a more pop sound like this are obviously the result of the outside writers. If these two songs were trimmed and the album was only ten songs, Permanent Vacation would have been a much better album. Still, it's a pretty solid effort. I would recommend getting Pump or Nine Lives if your looking for the band recapturing their 1970s magic. Permanent Vacation is more for fans of the bands radio friendly sound.
Song Selection:
1. Heart's Done Time
2. Magic Touch
3. Rag Doll
4. Simoriah
5. Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
6. St. John
7. Hangman Jury
8. Girl Keeps Coming Apart
9. Angel
10. Permanent Vacation
11. I'm Down
12. The Movie
Top Picks: Rag Doll, St. John, Hangman Jury, Angel, I’m Down
Songs to skip: Magic Touch, Simoriah
Band Members:
Steven Tyler: vocals, piano, harmonica
Joe Perry: guitars and vocals
Brad Whitford: guitars
Tom Hamilton: bass
Joey Kramer: drums
Additonal Musicians:
Bruce Fairbairn: background vocals, cello, trumpet
Christine Arnott: Gaelic voice-over on “The Movie”
Jim Vallance: organ
Morgan Rael: steel drums
Scott Fairbairn: cello
Tom Keenlyside: tenor sax and clarinet
Ian Putz: baritone sax
Bob Rogers: trombone
Henry Christian: trumpet
Drew Arnott: mellotron
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