Customer Reviews

Live Texas Jam '78 [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great video with great versions of "Seasons Of Wither", "Walkin' The Dog", and "Milk Cow Blues". Here is the set list:

1) Rats In The Cellar
2) Seasons Of Wither
3) I Wanna Know Why
4) Walkin' The Dog
5) Walk This Way
6) Lick And A Promise
7) Get The Lead Out
8) Draw The Line
9) Sweet Emotion
10) Same Old Song And Dance
11) Milk Cow Blues
12) Toys In The Attic
13) Lord Of The Thighs (Credits)

You can find "Lord Of The Thighs", "I Wanna Know Why", and "Big Ten-Inch Record" from this show on "Pandora's Box" box set.

On July 4th, 1978, Aerosmith took the stage at the original Texxas Jam after a long and excruciatingly hot day with Head East, Van Halen, The Motor City Madman, amongst others. Aerosmith was headlining that particular evening, as they had done at Cal Jam a month prior. They were on tour for their album "Draw The Line."

In the video "Aerosmith Live Texxas Jam," several songs are edited out, but on the tape the set opens with "Rats In The Cellar" with Stephen Tyler spinning excitedly around the stage, before royally screwing up on the lyrics of the gutter-rock anthem.

The band - Tom, Brad, Joey, Joe - all perform quite admirably. Stephen Tyler didn't.

The video progresses through "Seasons Of Wither," (in which Stephen's voice breaks like a teenager's) "I Wanna Know Why," (which features great instrumentation, but Stephen repeats the second verse twice) "Walkin The Dog," (which is done quite well) "Walk This Way," (Stephen screws up the lyrics - "School girl sweety with a classy kinda sassy with the skirts climbin way up the knee/Singin hey diddle diddle with the kitty in the middle of the swing like ya didn't care") "Lick And A Promise," (Stephen doesn't remember any of the lyrics, and presents us with sort of a vocal collage) "Get The Lead Out," (decent!) "Draw The Line," (quite good) "Sweet Emotion" (Stephen's voice gives out a little), and "Same Old Song And Dance," which is quite well done.

That ends the first set. Then the band reappears for a two song encore. "Milk Cow Blues." Ted Nugent solos, but apparently Stephen had just ingested some mind-altering substances, and yelled out "Mr. Whitford!" as Mr. Nugent did his thing.

Then they go into "Toys In The Attic," which they perform adequately, and that's that.

All in all, the video was a fascinating look into what Aerosmith was like BS, before sobriety. (I was born in '82, so that's pretty much all I've experienced)

Maybe not studio quality, but fascinating and very much entertaining.

- Brandon Thorp END

Remember the old saying, "Drugs brings out the best in live bands." OK, maybe that was never said before...

Aerosmith headlined the Live Texxas Jam '78 concert. This VHS will give older fans nostlagic trips all day. Aerosmith in the 1970s, from what I've heard/read, were the greatest live band in the world. They had more of an edge - reckless like crazy! I still think they are the greatest band (live/studio) in the world...

The 70s were the glory years for Aerosmith. But it got ugly. In the late 70s, the band was crumbling. After all those years, the drugs caught up. Egos were clashes. The wives were fighting. Everyone was snorting away their fortunes. Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were neglecting one another.The band miserably failed to follow up on their multi-platnium selling album ROCKS with a ...poor, half-hearted effort in DRAW THE LINE.

Live Texxas Jam is a good example of Aerosmith allowing the drugs to take over. The band is wasted. The close-ups on Steven and Tom Hamilton are pretty bad. Steven screws up the first couple of lyrics on "Rats In The Cellar." I frequently notice him shouting out "mumba-jahba" for substitutes to lyrics he doesn't remember. Steven's swinging his mic stand, nearly hitting Joe Perry (on purpose) in the process.

BUT THE ENERGY....AAAHHH THE ENERGY....

This VHS is classic. As a teenage fan, I cherish this VHS because, well, I wasn't around during the band's glory years. So, what are my favorite songs on this tape? All of them of course, but "Season's Of Wither," "I Wanna Know Why," and "Walkin The Dog" are the songs I most often anticpate while watching.

Sure, 1978 wasn't Aerosmith most memorable year, but it sure is fun watching them on stage - raw, uncut and kicking [butt]...despite their condition.

This VHS is a must for all Aerosmith fans.

*I will be reviewing all of Aerosmith's albums over time, so make sure you remember my name*

This is everything a stadium concert in the 1970's was.

I saw Aerosmith several times between 74 & 89 from clubs to stadiums and think this tape is very cool. Tyler never learned to keep his eyes open until the mid-80's when they gave him a bigger stage to play with. He forgets some lyrics, but how can you expect the insane mind that writes those lyrics to remember anything!

This was Aerosmith. If you want to see what it was like, this is a great place to start and the perfect band to start with.

On the other hand, this video represents Aerosmith at their jamming and grooving best from the 70's. This would qualify for a 5 star rating. Sadly, I'll have to subtract a couple because of mr. Tyler's condition (he forgets/screws up lyrics, his voice breaks, and he yells out the wrong guitarists name during a solo).

Still, interesting and entertaining, and I shouldn't complain about performers conditions... I'm a Johnny Thunders fan.

If you listen to some songs his guitar is turned down. When I read the book "Walk This Way" it mentions that during the concert Joe was so high he couldn't play the songs. In particular if you listen to "Walk This Way" the sound board man turned him off and The keyboardest played his part on the keyboard during the verses.

In 1978 Aerosmith headlined this concert. I found this tape very enjoyable and shows new Aerosmith fans what their shows used to be like and it shows Aerosmith's diehard fans some of their greatest hit like, "Walk this way","Walkin' the dog", and "A Lick and a Promise". I highly suggest this video if you are a die-hard Aerosmith fan like me.

I watched The Texas Jam. What I saw was an immensely accomplished band's journey through terchnological adversity and stage adjustment to ultimately go on to hit a stride that was (and is) yet another example of their claim as one of the best live acts in rock and roll.
The opening two songs find Steven Tyler struggling with what seems to be a compromised sound system that is putting out significant feedback while the rest of the band is in full speed. Over the course of the next 50 minutes, the viewer will watch (in amazemant, perhaps, as I did) as Tyler quickly adjusts while relying heavily on Joey Kramer's (who had an awesome show) and Joe Perry's support.
Tyler's riff in "Same Old..." ROCKS and Sweet Emotion is as tight as one wants it to be in a live performance. Tyler has been critisized in this review forum for a questionable performance and questionable internal chemistry. Perhaps he was stoned. Who knows. Who cares.
This video will show you the talent that, in 5 years, took this band from a bar act in Boston to headlining in front of 150,000 people. If you want to see a song performed exactly like it listens on the album, go watch a Brittany Spears concert video. If you want to see how a real professional live band pulls together when there is no net and gets it done, watch this video.

What a great show this would have been to attend. There are no finer performers than Aerosmith. This show kicks ass. The only thing that could have made the tape better is if they had just let the cameras roll, limited the editing and given more behind the scene footage.
I've noticed a few reviews on Amazon mention how Tyler "royally screwed up on the lyrics of songs"(barbara smith knows who I'm talkin about). What the hell is she crowing about? Here's one of the biggest talents in the history of rock in rare form and gettin' it done. Tyler is riffin' and rollin'. Let him do his thing.
Someone else named MG wrote "where's Joe?" and called the tape a disappointment. I would call him a disappoinment claiming he even knows who Joe Perry is. The kid should be pistol whipped and dragged by mule through the streets of Boston. Joe Perry is rockin' 150,000 fans and is part of the reason it was the hottest day recorded in a decade. He lit the place up with his brilliant performance.
Anyone who fails to understand that this is a classic performance in the history of rock should be forced to watch Michael Bolton videos until their eyes bleed.

MG, when I got this tape many years ago, I watched it and was horrified that there was NO Joe Perry guitar coming through on the tape!! Could NOT believe it. Anyways, I was playing on a early generation Hi-Fi VCR (an Akai) and when I played it on a different VCR it was PERFECT. Don't know why, but it was. As for the show, I love it, if you only watch one song watch Seasons of Wither--simply brilliant! If you are a Aerosmith fan, I can't see how you would be disappointed in this show, are there glitches? Yes, do we care? NO, it ROCKS.