Release Date: November 6, 2012
Rating: 2/5
Their first album in eight years, Music From Another Dimension!, brings something new to Aerosmith’s 70’s style, though not always in a positive way.
Released on Nov. 6, Music From Another Dimension! is a huge step forward for the band, not only because it highlights its 42 years of performing, but also because it presents something the band hasn’t done in a while.
Aerosmith’s last album, Honkin’ on Bobo, was released in 2004 and diverged from its typical classic rock style, infusing it with more blues and jazz influences. That album performed well, but was composed mainly of covers. Music From Another Dimension! features only all-new material, making it Aerosmith’s first truly original album since 2001.
However, the first song, “LUV XXX,” didn’t give me the best impression of what is to come. It starts out with a strange Twilight Zone-esque voice talking futuristically. I started to get freaked out, until a fresh breath of guitar riffs suddenly broke out and revealed Aerosmith’s classic rock style.
There were some cool guitar solos, but nothing that broke away from the song, which was just a little too slow, and came off sounding tired. Then, it picks up with the next song, “Oh Yeah,” which has more of a beachy, summer feel. A soulful choir repeats the song’s title, “oh yeah” over and over behind the band’s tambourine splashes and drawling vocals.
Later, at track five, I remember again Aerosmith’s renowned fun rock feel. The guitar part is fun, and even got my head bobbing at times.
However, the ending was horrible. For at least a minute, the same melody is repeated; with singer Steven Tyler adding small changes that just weren’t enough to make me feel like the song was going anywhere. I felt like this part of the song lasted an hour while I waited for it to fade away.
“Legendary Child” has a promising 80’s feel to it, with swaying vocals and abrupt guitar parts juxtaposed expertly. One of its lines, “I took a chance at a high school dance,” was familiar, so I looked it up and found that the band had creatively stolen it from one of their hits, “Walk this Way.”
The album got better from there, with the fun track “Street Jesus.” This more classic song had a southern feel, with a very broken-up singing and guitar combo punctuated with crashing cymbals.
The next song continued to exhibit this Southern feel, with Carrie Underwood joining the mix. “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” was a neat blend of country and rock and roll. Then, “Lover Alot” brought back the grunginess with its screeching vocals and fascinating drum part.
My favorite song, “We All Fall Down,” was very emotional and finally diverged from the repetitive love/breakup-themed songs with its interesting moral message. The song wrapped up with a faraway ending that seemed to tiptoe away.
However, after “We All Fall Down” things began to…well, fall down.
The 15th song on this album, “Another Last Goodbye,” sounded way too girly. The beginning was very strange, with a flute and piano duet that reminded me of Jon Brion, except ditzier. It didn’t seem to be Aerosmith’s style at all, and I felt it was the most typical of love songs.
My opinion just worsened with “Oasis in the Night,” where Tyler’s voice could very well have been replaced with an elderly man croaking out lyrics. I hate it when I hear someone who just has to cough to make his words come out more clearly, but for some reason they never do.
This song was the epitome of that pet peeve. I wish I could have gotten past it, and enjoyed the wavering music behind the voice, but some things can’t be ignored.
Nothing really stood out to me about Music From Another Dimension! What I love about Aerosmith is their old style of music, back from their heyday in the 70s. However, this was barely mentioned in their newest album.
