Gems

Aerosmith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DSAC
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,857 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

AEROSMITH Gems (US Columbia label 12-track CD album picture sleeve. Apart from a small deletion pinhole through the barcode both the sleeve and disc are in excellent condition! CK-44487)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a must-have for Aerosmith fans..., May 6, 2007

By 

whipitgood "whipitgood" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gems (Audio CD)

I've read that this release was merely Columbia/Sony's attempt to capitalize on the resurgence of Aerosmith following the success of their 1987 come-back album "Permanent Vacation" financed by Geffen. And, since they had already emptied the vaults of all the group's biggest hits on the 1980 release "Aerosmith's Greatest Hits", there wasn't anything left to compile other than deep album cuts that would appeal mainly to dedicated fans rather than the casual listener. This is true enough. I don't believe that there are any top-40 singles on this disc, which is probably why it didn't even crack Billboard's top 100 albums at the time of it's release.

HOWEVER, if you are someone who enjoyed "Big Ones" by Geffen and "Aerosmith's Greatest Hits" by Sony/Columbia, or you own some of the other compilations and live records that exist (and there are many!), you may eventually reach a point whereby you are a bit bored with top 40 hits (which all sound the same after repeated listening) and are looking for something more obscure, edgy and challenging. This disc fits the bill. It contains many live staples and 70's-fan-favorite album tracks.

This group took the two-guitar attack (used so effectively by their pedecessors-The Rolling Stones) and infused it with energy and attitude at a time when vague experimentations with punk, disco and reggae were threatening to swallow popular music whole (see The Rolling Stones' "Black and Blue" album for details). This disc is a thoroughly engaging listen that I keep comimg back to when I'm bored with reverb, sampling and the various "Pro Tools" that have now become a recording industry standard. Remember when rock music was raucous, ragged,sweaty,defiant-or at the very least inconvenient? If you missed that the first time around, then buy this disc-you won't be sorry!

Footnote: The version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" found here is probably worth the price of admission. It contains the best guitar solo Joe Perry has ever played.

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Hits, Volume II. Includes non-album track "Chip Away at the Stone"., April 4, 2011

By 

Bill M. "bill_m1" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gems (Audio CD)

If you're a casual fan of old Aerosmith and only own "Greatest Hits", then this disc is a perfect follow-up. "Gems" spans the same classic years as "Greatest Hits", without repeating any of the same tracks.

You get two more tracks from "Get Your Wings" (Lord of the Thighs, Train Kept a-Rollin'), three more tracks from "Rocks" (Rats in the Cellar, Lick and a Promise, Nobody's Fault -- this last one having just been covered at the time by Testament), two more from "Toys in the Attic" (Adam's Apple, Round and Round), and one more song each from the rest of their studio catalog with Columbia Records (No Surprise, Mama Kin, Critical Mass, and Jailbait). They certainly went for more of their heavier songs for this compilation.

But the main reason people were buying Gems at the time was for the remaining track, "Chip Away at the Stone". Until then, it had only been released as a single. The studio version had not been released on any album. Some time before the release I remember Mtv's Headbangers' Ball playing the video for it, which revived it as a hit and raised the anticipation for "Gems".

So if your copy of "Greatest Hits" isn't enough, but "Pandora's Box" is too much, then go for "Gems".

5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome old Aerosmith album tracks, July 27, 2008

By 

deadringer22000 "funboy" (Kennett Square PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gems (Audio CD)

Wow, this is an awsome collection if you are on a budget and kicks major butt. Starts off with "Rats in the Cellar", "Lick & a Promise", and "Chip Away at the Stone" and just keeps on kicking. Like Creedence's Chronicle Vol. 2 it has no hits, but just great album cuts(well, I hear "Train Kept A Rollin'" on the radio here and there, but I don't think it was a hit). A few tacks are missing "Seasons of Wither" comes to mind. But hey, the albums are important, too. Buy it.