Honkin' on Bobo [ENHANCED] [LIMITED EDITION]

Aerosmith (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 30, 2004)
• Original Release Date: March 30, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Limited Edition
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0001FR8H2
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #163,289 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Aerosmith are one of the few arena-sized bands still capable of playing it down-to-earth when the occasion calls. For Honkin' on Bobo, the boys return to their bar band roots (and fire a warning shot at Jack White) with this set of classic blues and soul covers generously peppered with harmonica, horns, and boogie-woogie piano. For years, Aerosmith sprinkled similar ditties on their LPs, but devoting a whole disc to material associated with John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell, et al? That takes chutzpah--and they've got it to spare here. "Shame, Shame, Shame" is a finger-waggin', hip-shakin' romp, while "Baby, Please Don't Go" starts out spooky, then escalates as Steven Tyler builds to a full-throttle holler with Joe Perry's guitar blazing his backside all the way. Tyler even snatches one signature song ("Never Loved A Girl") away from the Queen of Soul...at least for a few minutes. --Kurt B. Reighley

Product Description

This package will have a special keychain with a harmonica.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God, I've been waiting for this, October 23, 2004

By	V. Shekinah - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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. ;)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars + 1/2 stars...Ranks Among the Band's Best Albums, April 9, 2004

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rock 'n' roll masterpiece, March 31, 2004

By	James Dixon "Jimmy" (Morgantown, WV) - See all my reviews

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.