The brittleness and absence of flatness are no longer present but the overall muffled sound of the recording can be easily heard across all versions. It also has a fuller sound, which is most likely due to the inherent distortion of the format, but it simply sounds right. The vinyl reissue is superior in sonics to both the CD and streaming editions, as it has a greater sense of emotive energy that will get your body moving involuntarily. Does it sound better than the CD to my ears, yes, but how does it compare to the 2017 vinyl re-issue that I’m fortunate to own? Comparing it to the Apple Music Stream, an Apple Digital Master, it is smoother and more dynamic, yet I still wouldn’t say that this edition blows me away. I want to hear fat riffs and feel every drum beat and the CD just sounds a little too thin.
The clarity, however, is incredible, but I look for fullness of sound. Sonically, the CD is flat and brittle, meaning that it is challenging to listen to for long periods as it simply lacks the kind of emotive energy that will captivate you. Yes, the CD artwork, on the disc, is a little risqué but it’s not like Aerosmith has a clean-cut image to uphold. Speaking of the CD, it is glorious to behold for the liner notes are extensive with associated artwork that is slightly more extended than the vinyl counterpart. The house rumbled to, I assume, Steven Tyler’s guttural belch and while I haven’t taught my son to burp the alphabet, this was a priceless father-son moment. This morning I played it really LOUD on my main system. I’ve no doubt they programmed the CD to play the burp at the beginning of Get A Grip, rather than at the end of Eat The Rich, to ensure we would all keep hitting the back button. While my son may be naive with regards to many of the innuendos, laughing when Tyler speaks the words ‘come here baby’ on Crazy, I want him to know that through our shared love of music, he can come to me and discuss song meanings as he begins to understand more adult-based themes.įor the moment, however, he is content to play his air guitar when listening to Livin’ On The Edge and laughs contagiously when Eat The Rich concludes and the burp is heard at the very beginning of the following track. I also feel that it is better to have questionable subjects raised in the home, rather than in the controversial and often erroneous schoolyard. I know many people are opposed to profanity, but I strongly believe music is art, hence a ‘clean’ version is akin to an abridgement of the artist’s original intent. I also believe in the freedom of artistic expression and subsequently have never purchased a ‘clean’ version of any album. I don’t believe in taboos and while this album isn’t overly explicit, it is Aerosmith.
I said nothing, didn’t encourage him either way, and he selected Aerosmith’s Get A Grip it was a proud parenting moment.Īs a music-loving father, I try to ensure that my library of music is always accessible. Memories of this performance, and the album Get A Grip, came flooding back recently when my son decided that he wanted to go through my CD collection and find an album to listen to. Something as powerful as this first exposure, that would result in a life-long love of Aerosmith’s music, should be left to my interpreted memory and not toyed with. In my mind, it was a faultless performance and while I know that I can re-experience it on YouTube, I don’t want to. It was 1994, the Grammys were playing on television, and Aerosmith came out on stage and performed Livin’ On The Edge.