Audio CD review:
Aerosmith - Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology

Aerosmith - Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology

Band: Aerosmith Title: Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology Rating: Release Date: 20 November, 2001 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Eat The Rich 2: Love Me Two Times 3: Head First 4: Livin' On The Edge (acoustic version) 5: Don't Stop 6: Can't Stop Messin' 7: Amazing (orchestral version) 8: Cryin' 9: Crazy 10: Shut Up And Dance 11: Deuces Are Wild 12: Walk On Water 13: Blind Man 14: Falling In Love (Is So Hard On The Knees; live) 15: Dream On (live) 16: Hole In My Soul (live) 17: Sweet Emotion (live) 18: Let The Music Do The Talking 19: My Fist Your Face 20: Shame On You 21: Heart's Done Time 22: Rag Doll 23: Dude (Looks Like A Lady) 24: Angel 25: Hangman Jury 26: Permanent Vacation 27: Young Lust 28: The Other Side 29: What It Takes 30: Monkey On My Back 31: Love In An Elevator 32: Janie's Got A Gun 33: Ain't Enough 34: Walk This Way (with Run-DMC)

Editoral Review Set against that backdrop, their '80's label switch and resurgence--and an eventual iconic, widespread acceptance even more pervasive than during their "prime"--was initially as gratifying as it was unlikely. Aerosmith's reign as America's greatest hard-rock heroes seemed all but over at the end of the '70s, the victim of internal squabbles, drug abuse, and a cocooned, decadent environment. This double-disc, 34-track compilation of the Geffen years chronicles a not-so-young band clawing their way back to the top with a hungry frenzy that shamed many upstarts half their age. With all the high points intact (including their groundbreaking rock-rap redux of "Walk this Way" with Run D. M. C. , "Rag Doll," "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Love In an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," "The Other Side," Cryin'" et al. ), this compilation offers up the expected live extras (a handful of old hits and '90's staples), soundtrack cuts ("Deuces Are Wild" and the Doors' "Love Me Two Times") and sundry rarities (including the non-album cuts "Don't Stop" and "Can't Stop Messin'," B-side "Head First," and Japan-only "Ain't Enough")--though, sadly, no "Theme to Wayne's World. " But by its waning tracks, it also documents the encroaching influences of hired-gun tunesmiths like Desmond Child and Glen Ballard, and the band's troubling tendency to hew ever closer to the middle-of-the-road as its fame burgeoned. Younger listeners may well treasure this album as a history of Aerosmith's golden years, B. D. --as in before Diane (Warren). --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Aerosmith discography, or go back to the Aerosmith tabs