Customer Reviews

Just Push Play

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(81)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

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

THE DISC: (2001) 12 tracks clocking in at just under 51 minutes. Included with the disc is a 14-page booklet containing band pictures, song credits, song lyrics, and thank you's. Recorded and mixed at the Bone Yard (South Shore, MA). Label - Columbia.

COMMENTS: There are two types of Aerosmith. The 1st is the hard rocking raunch & roll band from Sunapee, NH... wrote great songs during the 1970's because they wanted to and that's what they loved doing... whether they got paid big bucks or not. The 2nd is the commercially successful corporate american business version of the band. Depending on which Aero you like - this will either be middle of the road noise, or it will be wonderful music to your ears. Aerosmith is growing - they are keeping up with the times and incorporating the sounds that are popular today. You will hear drum loops and even rap ("Just Push Play") present. They are growing with the times and I can accept that. If your a fan of the old Aero, like me, this probably isn't going to floor you. In my book, the classics "Get Your Wings", "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" were probably three of the greatest rock records of the (70's) decade. If you enjoy the new & more recent releases by Aero (90's), you will dig this album. Previous albums like "Nine Lives" and "Get A Grip" were saturated with the power ballads and were not the true band in their best form (also - movie soundtracks like Armegeddon's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" is a great example). While containing some familiar tongue in cheek rockers, most of the songs were middle of the road AOR tunes with mixed fillers of soft "heartbreak" lullabies geared toward the female audience. On "Just Push Play", the same format is used. While a few hard rockers are present (the best being "Outta Your Head), this album lays down to many ballads ("Avant Garden", "Beyond Beautiful" and "Luv Lies" may be the best of a mixed bag of 'em). I have to admit, when this album first come out I wasn't impressed (not to mention hating the album cover). However, over the years it has absolutely grown on me (especially the title track). The album starts off with an extremely solid 1-2-3 punch ("Beyond Beautiful, "Just Push Play" and "Jaded"). In my opinion, the Aero of 2001 is closer to FM-Lite radio than it is to rock & roll. Not that it's a bad thing, but rather where your likes & dislikes are (3.5 stars).

Ok, so you've picked up this Aerosmith album, and you're looking at the cover thinking, "What the h-e-double hockey sticks is up with this robot lady and all that dang pink?" I mean, we all know that Aerosmith isn't a band that one would associate with the color pink. (At least not until 1997, that is.) This was my big problem when I gave the record its first spin. I couldn't get past that cover. It's just so...NOT Aerosmith! And to tell you the truth, the first time I listened to the album, it didn't really strike me as worthy. But I love this album. There is just a certain way you have to listen to this album. If you listen to it with "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" as the last Aero song you've heard, you're gonna think it's a bomb. You're approaching the music in totally the wrong way. Put down the cd case. Bury that cover under your bed somewhere and don't look at it at all. Now take out "Toys". Take out "Pump". And listen. Listen to that. NOW, put "Play" back in. And listen to it again. I think you'll find it's a different experience, and I'll tell you why. Because this time, you're not listening for something to explain that cover. This time, you're listening to the music. You're hearing what Steve, Joe, Tom, Joey and Brad heard when they wrote the stuff. You're hearing the connections between songs like "The Other Side" and "Under My Skin". You can feel the way that "You See Me Crying" evokes the same kinds of emotion as "Fly Away From Here", and that Steven's harmonica hasn't rusted between "Crazy" and "Luv Lies". Can you hear it? Once you get past all the hype and the promos, you'll realize it's still Aerosmith, and it's still rock'n'roll. And it just rocks. What's that? You don't hear anything? Well, my friend, just push play.

I first heard a few of these songs at a school dance. When the DJ put "Jaded" on, i thought at first it was a Matchbox 20 song~ surprised to find out that it was a lousy and overrated song from one of my favorite classic rock bands. Stay away from this, Rock band gone pop's album. If you want some Aerosmith stuff from when they were still good, get "The Greatest Hits."

Before I start this review I want to say that when I was in school in th UK in the early 80s The Beatles were almost universally reviled, and I was always a "closet" fan to avoid ridicule. And yet today in th US they're highy regarded. The same band. It makes you realise just how prone to the whims of fashion rock music is!

I lived through the peak of the Aerosmith witch-hunt hysteria (for that's what it truly was) back in 2001. I got so tired of hearing people go on about how horrible Aersomith were, and I gradually stopped trying to convince people that they weren't that bad. All the "Aerosmith have sold out!" cries is about as lame as the "Arthur Miller dined with Communists!" stuff of the McCarthy early '50s.

So burn effigies of Steven Tyler if you must, but the truth is that most people treat bands like sports teams, they cheer their own bands on and revile the opposition bands. Actually, with pop/ rock music, it seems that "credibility" is the over-riding concern of most, not the music itself. In truth if just Push Play had been released by , say Dave Matthews, many would praise it. Why? Because Dave Matthews is a fresh face while Aersomith are seen as an anachronism. In fact, speaking from experience now, I now realise that people who slam bands are displaying some deep rooted insecurity. They need to villainise something. I used to do it myself. But I'm all grown up now. In truth if you don't like something you'd just say to yourself "nah,it's not really my cup of tea" or something. If you let out howls of derision at something, it says more about your insecurities than anything else. I actually wish people would consider themselves fans of songs, rather than bands. It would make things a lot easier. If the only songs I'd heard from The Beatles were Revolution 9 or Wild Honey Pie I'd probably dismiss The Beatles as rubbish. No, those *songs* are rubbish, but overall The Beatles are a good band. Apply the same scenario to the band of your choice!


Gawd people what does it take to please you? Objectively this album is musically quite strong. It has strong melodies, racous guitar work, funk, attitude,Beatle-esque harmonies and lots of energy. And as always Steven Tylers voice sounds great. And it's also their oddest album. Hard rock, electronica and pyschedlia meet head on. It doesn't always work to perfection, but often it does. There are few throw away songs, but alot of the songs hold up to repeated listens. For me the best tack is undoubtedly The Light Inside. A chilling song that raises the hair on the small of my neck. And Avant Garden is a good example of the type of ballad that Aersomith do well. Not too mushy, but highly atmospheric.

In some ways this album can be compared to The Door's Soft Parade. That album is hated by many. The Doors orchestrated is clearly too much for many. And yet they were only trying to sound like The Beatles Sgt Pepper. And yet too, The Soft Parade, objectively speaking, has some good music on it, like Just Push Play. It's not a monstrosity like some claim just an attempt by The Doors to go more mainstream.

In truth I long stopped believing the herd who say that Aerosmith are bad. They're a long running band, and with anything that's long running, the latest work always get criticised beyond reason. People look back throguh rose tinted glasses.


I'm 35 now. I've been a fan of Aersomith since 1987. If I was a high schooler wanting credibilty among my peers, I'd say I'd hate this album ( even if I didn't really mean it). But I've outgrown that. My music tastes have expanded, and I actually listen to more classcial than rock these days. But I still enjoy bands like Motorhead, Queen, Iron Maiden and Aerosmith. And I like Just Push Play.

So, if you're still an Aerosmtih hater, then:

1)Give it up, because no band is worth such lame vitriol.
2)I reccomend that you put a sticker with the name of a band of your choice over the Aerosmith name and who knows, without the Aerosmtih connotation you might enjoy some of this album!

Thanks for reading!

Since the band's reincarnation in 1985 (with the rejoining of Joe Perry after an extended hiatus), we were able to forgive them for the fact that they began their songs with professionals outside the band because, quite simply, 'Permanent Vacation' (1987) and 'Pump' (1989) ranked among Aerosmith's very best records. But the band's slip began with a penchant for power ballads, some that worked ("Cryin" and "What It Takes") and some that did not ("Crazy" and "Angel") and became more pronounced on 'Get a Grip' (1993) and 'Nine Lives' (1997). (Coincidentally, this is also the time when band members other than Steven Tyler and Joe Perry stopped participating in the songwriting.)

On their first self-produced record, 'Just Push Play' (2001), the trend continues. If you can get past the image of Aerosmith performing live at the superbowl with Britney Spears, then I suppose the record's first single, "Jaded", is not so bad. However, the record's second single, "Fly Away from Here" is the culmination of all that has precipitated the band's demise - a god-awfully predictable ballad written entirely by non-band members.

To be sure, the band adds a few touches of electronica in an attempt to update their sound ("Outta Your Head"). But even the record's strongest cut, "Just Push Play", a return to Aerosmith's riff-rockers, lacks the lyrical play that Steven Tyler characteristically brought to such classics as "Walk This Way" and "Rag Doll".

In summary, while 'Just Push Play' is a bit of a disappointment, there is still hope that the band could still produce another classic record someday. (...)

...as in down the toilet!Steven,Joe,guys--What were you thinking?All I kept hearing before this record came out was how they were gonna return to their roots(blues-based raunch & roll),write their own tunes,and then produce it themselves.Wha' happened?Just Push The Corporate Greed Button!Not an original rock'n'roller on the whole disc!These guys seem to be doing it just for the green these days cause it sure ain't about the music anymore,that's for sure!Sad too,because there wasn't a band in the land to compete with these Boston bad boys in the mid-70's.Hell,even the lp they did in the early 80's(which I might add didn't even include Perry & Whitford)"ROCK IN A HARD PLACE" makes this disc seem like slop."Jaded"??? Come on guys--enough with the sappy ballads already!!Didn't we get enough of that with Journey?Been following ya since '73 but my patience is wearin' thin.Prove to us all that you still can do it!Look people...if ya really wanna hear Aerosmith,start with ROCKS or TOYS IN THE ATTIC.Definitely give AEROSMITH & GET YOUR WINGS(with classic cuts Train Kept a Rollin' & S.O.S.)a listen,but do yourself a favor and avoid this one at all costs!Hey Steve..what's next?A duet with Britney or Nelly?Keep me posted.Or better yet,JUST PUSH NO LONGER INTERESTED.

For a long time, I had thought that Aerosmith's album track record was reduced to a series of good but redundant "best of" CDs, and that the band members would die without making anything new. While all the "best of" CDs do indeed have superb songs from throughout the band's history, I craved something new. Then a few years ago, I come across this title at a local music store and being the Aerosmith aficionado that I am I pick it up and take a look to see what tracks are listed. Just Push Play? Under My Skin? Avant Garden? These don't sound like the usual products of the band. And yet it's got the winged "A" associated with the likes of Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, Whitford, and Kramer. I buy the CD, put it in my CD player, and BOOM! the chain of "Best of" albums is broken by this, a collection of fresh songs filled with edge, power, and musical greatness. The melodies breathe new life into Aerosmith, and yet the songs harbor the same quality of perfection that we've come to expect from Aerosmith. I highly recommend this CD. The more of an Aerosmith fan you are, the more you'll enjoy this. It truly deserves all five stars that I give it. But don't take my word for it. The only sure-fire way you'll find out is if you pick up a copy and find out for yourself.

After the fantastic single `Jaded' I bought Just Push Play for that song only, thinking that if anything else on the album was nearly as good then it would be worth getting. Unfortunately nothing was. Jaded has a fantastic tune, and while other songs like Just Push Play have memorable tunes, they are annoying ones that you don't want stuck in your head. Trip Hoppin' is ridiculously cheesy, and the much-lauded Sunshine is in fact over-hyped pap. Buy the single or their earlier albums instead. 2 stars, and would be 1 if it weren't for Jaded.

I love Aerosmith, and have been a great fan of theirs for many years. I was excited to hear they were coming out with a new cd, but when I finally got it home, I was really disappointed. Although none of the songs on this cd are bad, none of them will become a part of the songs I can call Aerosmith favorites. The one exception is maybe "Face", which is ironic because it's the bonus track only available if you buy the cd from 'Best Buy'. Apart from that song, Aerosmith's sound on this cd makes it seem as though they are stuck between their older style like on the cd 'pump' and their newer style like on the cd 'nine lives' and although I love both of those cd's and a lot of their other material, being stuck in the middle has taken away from their ability to write beautiful music.

The songs on this cd are never takin to any extreme, and although I was hoping to hear more of their wonderful style from nine lives, it seems this cd just doesnt make it there. I probably wont listen to this cd for too much longer before I give up on it. Dont expect any other singles from this cd. Listen before you buy, especially if you are expecting anything nearly as good as nine lives. The tracks I have listened to the most are probably "Just Push Play" "Sunshine" "Beyond Beautiful" and "Jaded".

For those of you near a 'Best Buy' store, I strongly recommend buying the cd from there so that you can get "Face". It is my favourite song from the cd, and the only song I can imagine really replaying for a long time.

This album is a prime example of what happens to old rock stars who are quickly heading down the hill. The record execs must have been sleeping for this one to get through them and out into the public. I was very disappointed. The only track I can bare to listen to is the title track, and that doesn't even sound like aerosmith. Sorry guys, looks like the good music got left behind in the early nineties and got replaced by this noise.