AEROSMITH — Get A Grip (review)

Album · 1993 · Hard Rock

3/5 · 2010-03-26
Sleepwalker

In 1993 Aerosmith released an album that’s quite nostalgic for me. When I was just getting into music in general I had a few Floyd albums and a Rush album or two. I knew a few Aerosmith songs, which I quite liked and saw this hilarious cover in a record store. So, I bought it.

Get A Grip album opens with a quite unusual intro that features Steven Tyler rapping. After those 30 seconds one of the best tracks on the album starts. “Eat The Rich” is a crunchy rocker of which part reminded me slightly of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”, actually. After those lovely four minutes a burb takes us to the title track. “Get A Grip” is probably the heaviest on the album. Joe Perry proves himself to be a very fine guitarist on this track. The next song, “Fever”, is quite an unexpected one. It’s a bluesy rocker, with some psychedelic touches. Lovely rough guitar playing is heard throughut the song and a nice addition is the harmonica.

Next is a power ballad. “Livin’ On The Edge” is musically one of the very best tracks on the album. I couldn’t care less about the lyrics though, but that’s mainly because I completely disagree with them. “Flesh”, the next track, starts with some atmospheric noises before turning into cranky rocker. It’s not a bad song, though not among the best of this album. The same goes for the more conventional rocker “Walk On Down”. The heavy “Shut Up And Dance” is a rough song featuring some very nice solo guitar by Joe Perry. After this rough song we move to what might very well be the best song on this album “Cryin” is one of Aerosmith’s best known songs. Usually a song being a single doesn’t say much to me, but this track really is the highlight of the album. The melody in the verses is truly stunning, and the song doesn’t lack any power either.

“Gotta Love It” is a song driven by a heavy rythm section. Pounding drums and roaring bass make this track a pleasure for my ears. Apart from this it isn’t among the highlights of the album though. “Crazy”, which is part of the “Cryin/Crazy/Amazing” trilogy, isn’t among the best of the album either. It’s a power ballad that just doesn’t manage to enjoy me much at all. I must mention though that it is quite an ambitious song, featuring some jazzy chords, frequent harmonica fills and I can hear some eclectic touches in it as well. The following piece is a heavy rocker somewhat in the vein of “Fever”, that’s not all too interesting. Apart from “Cryin” there is another astounding piece on this album. “Amazing” is, simply amazing. It reminds me somewhat of Aerosmith’s best known song “Dream On”. The song features a string section in the choruses, giving it a pretty epic feel. The closing track, “Boogie Man”, is unlike the title might suggest a melancholic piece. It’s a big surprise, as it’s not like anything else on the album at all. It’s a bluesy and more or less psychedelic instrumental.

Get A Grip is a very fine album, though I really wouldn’t have minded if some tracks were excluded. The albums tends to drag a bit because of this. For that reason, I rate the album three stars. It’s a very enjoyable album but lacks consistency.