Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation

The only CD I still own, that I've had as long as Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction, is Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation. The 1987, big come back album, from the now clean and sober Boston bad boys. This album is not as good as the classic Toxic Twins material from the mid 70's.

The first release from Aerosmith on Geffen records marked the beginning of Aerosmith's most commercial period. However, this album was more like the classic material than the follow ups Pump and Get A Grip ended up being. It took until Nine Lives before I liked an Aerosmith album as much as this one, and I actually listen to Nine Lives more than this album. Heart's Done Time starts the album off with a romp and ruckus, it might even be considered to have a slight country edge. It's a great lead off, but not exactly the most memorable song. It's a stock Aerosmith song. Thankfully their stock is worth listening to. I think I would have cut the song around the 3:30 marker as well. The extra minute or so of Steven's caterwauling wasn't really needed.

The next track on the album is a very typical Rock song from the time period. Magic Touch is your basic run of the mill blah, not worthy of the Aerosmith name. It sounds like Aerosmith trying to sound like Great White, or Damn Yankees. Much like the track before, this one runs on too long as well.

Rag Doll is another countryesque romp. The video makes it look like a New Orleans cat house, but the reality is that it should have been shot out on a farm, with Besty Sue in some Daisy Dukes milking a cow. I know the censors would have had a field day, but it would have seemed more authentic. I do like the drawn out Scat style signing at the end of this one.

There's a little of that old shuffle in Simoriah. It has a feel that reminds me of something from Draw The Line. It's good, but not the quality you might expect from Aerosmith, especially in the A-typical mid song breakdown with reverb.

You know the next song. It was the big comeback video, and radio single. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) is the most classic sounding song on the album. There's Rock, horns, a great beat, and a solo worth listening to, without it seeming forced. However, like most songs on Permanent Vacation the song runs about a minute too long.

St. John is a song I fell in love with the first time I heard it. It's simple, has a hard edge, and has the stink of stale beer and cigarettes in a biker bar blues. All that mixed with the Christian symbolism makes for a brutal underdog of a song, and I always root for the underdog.

The next song moves from the biker bars to the swamps. Hangman Jury is some old school, I mean real old school, Mississippi/Delta Blues mixed with 80's rock sounds. It's a great song and I don't mind the 5:33 running time on it either. Girl Keeps Coming Apart is next up. It's fast, bouncy and has a Soul kind of sound. I love Aerosmith with horns. I don't care for the silly shredding solo, that's not what Joe Perry does. He does it well, but it's not right. This is another one where I don't mind it dragging on at the end.

Which brings us to the 5:10 power ballad Angel. Oh, how the girls fell in love, and the guys sang this in the mirror, hoping to fool themselves into thinking that this song would get them chicks. This chick got Steve Tyler chicks, no one else, because they don't sound cool in this song. It's not like Dream On. This is all about selling out, and getting on MTV, back when all they played was videos.

The title track pops up in the tenth position, and is eight seconds shy of five minutes. Is that a problem for Permanent Vacation? I don't think so, at least not too much.

The song is a mix of Kokomo from The Beach Boys, and the later Eat The Rich from Aerosmith's Get A Grip. I've always liked this tune.

I'm Down is just like Girl Keeps Coming Apart, but has piano instead of horns.

The album finishes with The Movie, a fantastic instrumental from a band that really knows how to play, when you let them. It's like Kings and Queens, but without the vocals, unless you include the sound bites on the track. In my opinion this is the best song on the album, and only one of two I'm willing to go out of my way to listen to.

Permanent Vacation is not a great album, if you are an older fan. If this is the album that introduced you to Aerosmith it's pretty good. For me it just kind of falls in the middle. Acceptable to listen to, but far from a first choice.

6/10 - content

8/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias