Customer Reviews

Honkin' On Bobo

5 star:		(148)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I think it is funny that the record company and the band promoted this as a Blues record prior to its release. This is a blues record only in the sense that Disraeli Gears by Cream or Beck-Ola are blues records.

Honkin on Bobo is a Blooze-Rock record that Rocks with a capital R and would not have been out of place in the early 70's. This is a stunning return to rock and roll form for a band that has made way too many trips to the power-ballad ATM in recent years. Keep it coming guys, I love it.

Back in the day, I was a humongous Aerosmith fan. Around the time that Pump and Get A Grip came out, they were my favorite band. I loved all their old records. Yeah, I also loved the Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam and all, but there was just something so great about Steven Tyler's voice, and Joe Perry's guitar style, that was and is still unique. Unfortunately, starting with that terrible "Armaggeddon" song, their music became buried in overproduction, overdone vocals, flat lyrics, pop cheese. They just weren't the same band--they just didn't have the same magic, the same glorious immediacy and mischievous fun. I don't know what they were thinking, and I feel sorry for people who only really know them from thin, pop-innuendo songs like "Jaded".

I'm not sure if this album is just a fun side project for them, or if it represents a return to their original energy. If this is the direction they're going in, it's been a long time coming. They really needed to stop being a tame old amusement, and get up and start kicking some s--t around again. Sounds like they have. I personally love this record, especially "Road Runner" and "Grind". It has the old Aerosmith touch, but is really creative and different, in comparison both ot their old work and what they've been putting out in the last decade.

Finally, I can start listening to the Bad Boys again.

And for everyone out there dissing the recent music as "crappy chick ballads", you can stop now! Chicks like rock too. ;)

While this is not a blues album in the traditional sense (like Clapton's ME AND MR JOHNSON, which was released the same day), HONKIN' ON BOBO is Aerosmith's hardest rockin' album since such mid-Seventies' classics as TOYS IN THE ATTIC and ROCKS.

The album kicks off with the Bo Diddley classic "Roadrunner" and doesn't look back. The heavy riffs, snarling guitars and larger-than-life vocals grab the listener and don't let go for the next 44 minutes. Of the more familiar covers, Aerosmith turn in a rendition of "Baby, Please Don't Go" that rivals Them's British top 10 version of Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go." And as they tear through a rousing version of Mississippi Fred McDowells' "You Gotta Move," you're left puzzled that this is the same song the Stones covered on STICKY FINGERS.

Things slow down a bit on the cover of Aretha Franklin's "Never Loved a Girl" and the Joe Perry vocal on "Back Back Train" (Perry also does lead vocals on the Peter Green original "Stop Messin' Around," an obscure song from Fleetwood Mac's second album from 1968). The album closer is the traditional "Jesus Is on the Main Line." Throughout, there is plenty of harmonica, Dobro and slide guitar, and Chuck Berry sideman Johnnie Johnson shows up on piano for a couple songs ("Shame, Shame, Shame" and "Temperature") to remind listeners that this is, after all, a blues album--at least Aerosmith's version of the blues. And you know what? It works. It's one of the strongest albums of their career. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

1. Road Runner

Excellent, hard-driving rocker to start the album. It's a traditional first song on an Aerosmith album, but it also sets the tone for Bobo's bluesy feel.

2. Shame, Shame, Shame

Very fun song. Extremely short, but this is one you could picture hearing while swing dancing in the '40s or '50s. Steven does a great job on the vocals and Tom and Joey keep the rhythym moving. Just wish it was longer!

3. Eyesight To The Blind

This song establishes that Honkin' On Bobo is a true blues project. Very genuine and raw: I picture myself in a smoky New Orleans bar when I listen to this tune.

4. Baby Please Don't Go

From the live performances, I didn't think BPDG was as heavy and hard rocking as it's turned out to be. This is a truly blistering song: it's so heavy at the end that it's bordering with overbearing, but the boys keep it in control just enough. This track is a masterpiece: if you go back and listen to the Big Joe Williams version, you realize how difficult it must have been to turn this into a hard rock/heavy metal song. Fantastic.

5. Never Loved A Girl

Many think The Grind is the obvious Top 40 single, but I think this one would play even better on the radio. It really hooks you off the top and pulls you in, and I think Steven's vocals haven't sounded better since some of the Nine Lives recordings. Full of emotion, style, and when you listen to it: it sounds like a true Aerosmith work.

6. Back Back Train

Atmospheric, but Back Back Train doesn't do much for me overall. Joe's lyrics are intentionally devoid of emotion, but I actually think it detracts from the song. It's still very effective musically, and the female voice is haunting.

7. You Gotta Move

Definitely catchy and hip shaking. However, I think the very beginning could have a harder edge and pull you in more effectively. If it was a tad shorter, it could be radio material, however. I think the song is very good, don't get me wrong, but I also think it could have been great.

8. The Grind

Here's why I like The Grind. It fools you at the outset into thinking it's a blues song, then shifts into a ballad, but stays raw and hard (that sounds raunchy, sorry) long enough to prevent being an IDWTMAT or FAWH. This could be a big single *and* help the album because it's got the feel of a traditional Aerosmith hit, but it will also make average listeners think "hmm...Aerosmith sounds a little different, I wonder what their new album is like." I think this should be single #2 or #3...I'm hoping they'll release Never Loved A Girl as well.

9. I'm Ready

WOW. This is my favorite song on the album, by far. Talk about a risky song to cover: this could have been a disaster if approached any differently than the boys approached it. Tom, Brad, and Joe are completely in sync the whole way through, and Steven's vocals are stinging. After three listens, I was hooked on this song, I can't stop listening to it. Different? Yes. But this one stays with you.

10. Temperature

Another genuine blues song. Kind of blends together with I'm Ready and Eyesight in some respects, and doesn't exactly stick out, but another solid tune nonetheless.

11. Stop Messin' Around

Is this a great rock 'n' roll song or what? It's so great to finally hear a studio version, and it doesn't disappoint, that's for sure! Honestly, I think this is the most polished song on the album...it's so much better than I thought, and Joe really sounds like he's having a blast. Again, this is just a great rock 'n' roll song, and Aerosmith's been doing this one for so long, that they can almost claim it as their own.

12. Jesus Is On The Main Line

I feel like I'm in a baptist church in Arkansas when I put this one on. Another risky tune, and it certainly isn't for everyone, but this really shows the depth and conscience of Aerosmith's musical ability.

Honkin' On Bobo is finally the '70s throwback we've all been waiting for. It's the first step into gaining back the rock and roll credibility the band surrendered for musical success, although I believe PV, Pump, GAG, and Nine Lives are all superb albums that shouldn't be penalized for being successful. However, IDWTMAT, Just Push Play, and the Super Bowl halftime was really sending Aerosmith in a direction where people could make a valid argument that they were over-the-hill "sell-outs."

Honkin' On Bobo ends that criticism. This is a true rock band, and an American musical treasure. Congratulations to the band for taking a big risk, and knocking everyone's socks off.

BAND: Steven Tyler (vocals, piano, harmonica), Joe Perry (guitars), Brad Whitford (guitars), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (2004) 12 songs clocking in at approximately 44 minutes. Included with the disc is a 14-page booklet containing band photos, song titles/credits, guest artists, and thank you's. Recorded between the studios at The Boneyard and Pandora's Box. Label - Columbia.

COMMENTS: Without a doubt a great release from Aerosmith. Old traditional blues tracks with a definite rock & roll edge that few bands could pull off. By no means is this radio-ready. The year 2004 (31 years after their first album came out) has Aerosmith releasing an album that pays tribute to the blues influences that they have always been close to. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford play with a slightly distorted, fuzz-guitar tone, perfectly complemented by Steven Tyler's equally rough-and-rowdy vocals. Tyler's harmonica playing is off the charts here - especially on "Eyesight To The Blind". Note several guest appearances - must notably pianist Johnnie Johnson. Jack Douglas, the producer for many of Aerosmith's classic 1970s rock albums is back in the director's chair! The swagger of old is here on "Bobo". Classic blues tracks represented from Willie Dixon ("I'm Ready"), Sonny Boy Williamson ("Eyesight to the Blind"), Big Joe Williams ("Baby, Please Don't Go"), and my favorite song on the disc by Mississippi Fred McDowell ("You Gotta Move"). My hat's off to Aerosmith for choosing to record an album that THEY wanted to make... not necessarily what their listening audience wanted to hear. For an album with all cover tunes, this is the most original piece of work the band (or anyone else in their class) has done in years.

Just when I had written these guys off for selling out they reunited with producer Jack Douglas and created their best album since "Rocks". The new disk focuses on cover tunes instead of original material. Most of the tunes are blues covers or early rock and roll tunes. Even though there are some blues covers on the disk, they rock! Blues purists will balk but even though Aerosmith's music was blues influenced, the influences came via the second generation of British blues. The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, and early Fleetwood Mac appear to be more influential than Muddy Waters anyway. I do not know if it was the presence of Jack Douglas or lack of pressure for coming up with new hit material but the band sounds more inspired than they have in a number of years. I have seen them in concert a few times and the new disk sounds more like the excitement they can generate in concert.

There are no clinkers and the songs themselves are all interesting. My favorites include Bo Diddley's "Road Runner", Big Joe Williams "Baby, Please Don't Go", and Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move" and "Jesus Is On The Main Line". The sass that Steven Tyler injects into the songs is great. He also plays a lot of harmonica on the album. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford add a bluesy tinge to the proceedings with their vast array of guitars. Joe Perry even takes the lead vocals on Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Back Back Train" and Fleetwood Mac's "Stop Messin' Round". An example of the vibe the album emits would be to imagine an Aerosmith cd that contained "Walkin' The Dog", "Train Kept A Rollin'", "Big Ten Inch Record" and "Milkcow Blues" from Aerosmith's earlier career. My only regret is that the disk clocks in at only about 44 minutes. Hopefully, they have more high quality material in the can from these sessions that will be issued at a later date. I guess these guys really do have nine lives!

I'm a long-time Aerosmith fan, and I'm also a big fan of american root music, especially blues. I don't throw my hat in the "reviewing ring" often, but some of the reviews saying "this is not blues" made me write.

This is the greatest tribute Aerosmith can do for their influences. It is amazing to listen to it, and to re-discover all those great styles.

The blues is defined as a musical framework in which every musicial develop his own style. this is precisely what Aerosmith are doing. Roadrunner, Shame Shame Shame, Baby Please Don't Go, Back Back Train, Stop Messin' Around, I'm Ready, Temprature, You Gotta Move, Jesus Is On The Mainline are all 12-bar blues form. The album is so versatile that it features songs of electric-blues inspired by the great Muddy Waters (such as I'm Ready), Country-blues spiritual (the wonderful Jesus Is On The Mainline, Back Back Train), soul (Tyler's vocals on the cover of Aretha Franklin's Never Loved A Man/Girl is crossing him over as a truly amazing soul singer), early rock'n'roll (Shame Shame Shame)and even a stint with British Blues (Stop Messin' Around).

All of these songs are done in the Aerosmith style, and that's the beauty of it. This is what blues is all about: the ability to invent yourself and create a whole new thing in 12-bars. And Aerosmith are doing it in style.

As a blues fan, this album goes together with great electric blues records and Muddy Water's "Hard Again" and SRV's "Texas Flood". ...and I still said nothing about Tyler's mezmorizing Harmonica playing, Joey Kramer's best drum works since the 70's, Tom Hamilton's fat backbone, and... well, what can you say about a guitar duo as Whitford/Perry? Just listen to them throwing licks and trading solos on Stop Messin' Around. In terms of Dynamincs and co-operation, I believe they are the best guitar duo I have ever heard.

The funny thing about blues purists is that they forget that the artists they admire weren't purists. Robert Johnson made a mayhem with his stories about the devil. Sonny-Boy Whilliamson (I) shocked many people as he played harmonica with the blues for the first time, and T-bone Walker didn't know what's going to happen when he first plugged-in his electric guitar in the 30's. Blues is about progression in a given framework, and that is exactly what Aerosmith are doing on this extraudinarre record.

Since Aerosmith's comeback in the 80s, fans have been crying themselves hoarse, urging the band to go back to making the mind of music that took them to the pinnacle of their success in the mid 70s. Professional song-writers, and outsiders helping with arranging songs saw Aerosmith diverging from the sleazy, no-holds barred music they were known for, and headed towards mainstream rock. MTV only encouraged this trend. Aerosmith did produce a lot of good music in this period, but decided that it was time to go back to their roots and do an album like the old times.

They got back their old producer and regained their old magic. This album in my opinion is the best they've put out since the 1977 classic 'Rocks'. Every song rocks.

People might be put off by the fact that only one song is an original, while all the others are covers of old blues numbers. A lot of people might also not want to hear Aerosmith 'doing the blues'. But this album is infact Aerosmith putting the blues in an entirely new perspective.

The album starts off with a bang with the riff-roaring 'Roadrunner', and keeps the beat with 'Shame Shame Shame'. Following this is 'Baby Please Don't Go' - really pushes the tempo. Do not play this song while driving!! It slows down for a while with an amazing rendition of Aretha Franklin's 'Never Loved a Man' (retitled 'Never Loved a Girl' of course!). Guitarist Joe Perry then takes over the lead vocals, and plays his heart out on 'Stop Messing 'Round', one of the best guitar interplay put on view by Aerosmith. JP also sings on 'Back Back Train'. A very dark sounding song, which you'll find impossible to put out of your head. Fans of Aerosmith ballads such as 'Cryin' and 'Hole in my Soul' will be very pleased with Steven Tyler's vocals on 'The Grind'.

In all, the album is very polished, yet retains the crass grittiness that makes Aerosmith America's greatest Rock n' Roll band. Great guitar interplay for the connoisseurs. Thumping drums and Tom Hamilton's bass give the band great groove. And Steven Tyler is at his screamin' best, on the vocals, and on his harmonica, giving this legendary band the vibe that makes them the best in the business.

Aerosmith forgets to invite the orchestra on their 14th studio production- Thank God! It's about time guys get to hear a consistently guitar driven album without loads of sappy violins festering throughout their music. Ever since 92's Get A Grip, their management sought to redefine "Aerosmith" from Joe-cool nonchalance to chicky-sweet affectionate, wishing to harvest a bumper crop of album sells from a more pampered audience. All the while pop-rock radio stations were gobbling this stuff up single release after single release, opting for predictability over innovation (Amazing, Hole In my Sole, Fly Away From Here) Guys were becoming embarrassed to tout to their buddies how much they loved this way cool band even though their full length studio albums were exceptional besides the occasional anchovy.

Thankfully, "Honkin' On Bobo" is definitely a venture project, providing a refreshing and consistent formula throughout the cd. The tunes focus on a whole gauntlet of stuff from ego, excess, love, lust and yes faith and divine providence too. With cranking guitars, slamming drum rolls, bar room piano and slabbering harmonica, Bobo is the essence of honky tonk blues staples cut with amps cranked up to near clip, rhythm set to relentless and Tyler's vocals propelled over the top, out of control and across the entire scale (for both better and worse), and so it will require a listening adjustment for the uninitiated. Just forget your issues and crank this bobo up on a good system. -enjoy!

First impression, strange name, but one of the best covers of all time, and the album is as advertised, Tyler puts his harp to good use in most songs on this album. Although the album contains 11 covers and only one original it sounds more like Aerosmith than Just Push Play did. Billed as an album where 'Aerosmith does the blues' do not expect a blues record. It is more closely comparible to the bands work in the 70s when you could still hear there obvious blues influences. Many of the tracks covered here are obscure as well, so the material sounds fresh and new.

The songs range from rockers like the first single Baby Please Don't Go and Shame Shame Shame to slower blues tunes such as Back Back Train sung by Joe Perry no less. In fact Perry lends lead vocals to two tracks on the album with the voice of the talented Tracy Bonham backing him up. This album is a welcome surprise from start to finish, fans of old Aerosmith will not be disappointed and fans of new Aerosmith will be introduced to a whole new world, with no boring power ballads (as good as Aerosmith does them) to break the mood.

In short, even if you haven't bought an Aerosmith album in years, this is the one to help renew your faith in the greatest Rock and Roll band of our time.