SirAlex's Full Review: Pump [Remaster] by Aerosmith
(Edited 5-29-00)
Aerosmith returns to where they left off with 1976's Rocks. Pump is truly one of the best albums that Aerosmith ever recorded. Heck, it's one of the best rock albums of all time. This really shows the band doing what they do best. The guitars are cranked and Steven Tyler is singing about women with his usual wry sense of humor. These ten songs are all classics in my mind. One interesting thing to note is the song "Deuces are Wild", which appears on 1994's Big Ones was written for this album. However, when Steven Tyler wrote "The Other Side" it made it onto the album instead. Although "Deuces are Wild" is a great song, this album did not need another slow song.
Pump contains the hits "Love in an Elevator", "Janie's Got a Gun", "The Other Side", and "What it Takes". Four songs out of ten are hit singles. Not a bad percentage by anyone's standards. The thundering bass line of "Janie's Got a Gun" is instantly recognizable. "Love in an Elevator" with its incredible guitar work by Joe Perry and Brad Whitford and lyrics of Steven Tyler made this song an instant classic. "The Other Side" with its great horn work and harmony vocals is one of my favorites on this record. The album's closer "What it Takes" asks the question that we all ask when a relationship ends, "Tell me what it takes to let you go..."
"Young Lust" starts the record off right with its cranked guitars and furious pace that never relents in its energy. It ends with a fury of drums and segues into "F.I.N.E.". This song features Tyler confessing what we knew all along, "Ill-gotten booty's not my style." "Monkey on my Back" is an awesome slide guitar driven sensation. Check out the live version on A Little South of Sanity for a prime example of how rock and roll is supposed to sound. "My Girl" is a cool little pop song. After listening to "Rag Doll" backwards Joe Perry came up with the guitar part for "Don't Get Mad, Get Even". For a truly kick butt guitar riff check out "Voodoo Medicine Man", one of my favorite songs of all time.
I can't say enough good things about this record. Aerosmith closed out the 1980s with a masterpiece. What really made it good was the band was trying to gain more control of the creative process that they had lost while making 1987’s Permanent Vacation. Outside writing was kept to a minimum on Pump. There are ten incredible songs here that really “speak to the groin.” If you don't own this one, what the hell are you waiting for?
Song Selection:
1. Young Lust
2. F.I.N.E.
3. Love in an Elevator
4. Monkey on My Back
5. Janie's Got a Gun
6. The Other Side
7. My Girl
8. Don't Get Mad, Get Even
9. Voodoo Medicine Man
10. What it Takes
Top Picks: Love in an Elevator, Voodoo Medicine Man, Janie’s Got a Gun, Young Lust
Band Members:
Steven Tyler: vocals, keyboards, harmonica
Joe Perry: guitars, vocals, dulcimer
Brad Whitford: guitars
Tom Hamilton: bass, vocals
Joey Kramer: drums
Additional Musicians:
John Webster: keyboards
Bruce Fairbairn: background vocals
Catherine Epps: elevator operator
Bob Dowd: background vocals
The Margarita Horns: Tom Keenlyside, Ian Putz, Henry Christian, Bruce Fairbairn
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