Nine Lives [Enhanced, Extra tracks]

Despite what some people think about this album I think that it has a good mix of different styles, which means that it never gets boring. I listened to this album constantly when I was on Holiday, and it has never left my cd player since my return home, that's how good it is, you can't tire of it!

The space between 'Nine Lives' and 'Get a Grip'(their last studio album) seemed eternal but after listening to this album it all seemed worthwhile. As a fan who has collected every album in their career I was amazed that this album was so good! There are a few things that you can pick at on the album (e.g. The tedious 'Taste of India' or the bland 'Full Circle' & the obvious 'Hole In My Soul') but what we have here are the Boston Boys best work since 'Rocks'. 'Nine Lives' & 'Falling In Love' are the perfect beginning of a simply brilliant album and the rest are varied enough to simply love to listen straight through again and again. Worthy of Note are 'The Farm' & 'Crash' which are quite simply head rockers, the silky smooth 'Ain't that a bitch' and the bluesy Joe Perry vocals on 'Falling Off'. If you have a fleeting interest in Aerosmith I'd advise you to get this one!

Along with the Rolling Stones, no-one has taken the core-roots of rock laid down by Led Zeppelin, Yardbirds etc, better than Aerosmith. Recorded at a time in their lives when normal people think about slowing down, this is a stunningly fresh and energetic album that rocks possibly harder than they ever have done. Despite it's very difficult writing and recording (the band swore they'd never make an album like this again) this, somehow, miraculously, hangs together very well indeed.

This album spawned two hit singles which now sit comfortably alongside the rest of their back catalogue in their live shows ("Hole In My Soul" and "Falling In Love"). Even better are the rest of the tracks, especially "Nine Lives", "Taste Of India", "Kiss Your Past Goodbye"and "Pink" with the lighter-waving anthemic "Fallen Angels" to close. What strikes most is that this album is not overshadowed by their more famously good albums ("Pump", "Toys In The Attic", "Grip" & "Rocks") - the sound is unmistakably Aerosmith, but somehow different, more experimental, and even heavier than earlier efforts.

A more convincing return to form than the Rolling Stones "Bridges To Babylon" (or indeed any album released by the Stones since the 1970's) this album shows the extent of the Toxic Twin's rock n roll committment and determination to continue creating. This is the heaviest album Aerosmith have ever (will ever..?) made, and shows truly awesome musicianship, especially from Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton (guitars and bass, respectively). Parts of this album are truly savage, raucous and chaotic, but there's an unmistakable Aeromsmith 'grind' to the riffs, and a wink in it's eye. Lyrically as perverted as ever, Steven Tyler puts down some truly incredible vocals - his inimitable screech on "Nine Lives" (combined with his cat-hissing [you'll have to hear it to know what I mean here] is probably the best introduction to what follows.

"Just Push Play" is arguably a better, more rounded album, but somehow Nine Lives is more interesting. Probably because it was born out of chaos, mayhem, legal wrangling, fights... Its more of a "second childhood crisis" than a "second childhood" -gloriously screwed up, but having great fun...