1. Nine Lives
2. Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)
3. Hole In My Soul
4. Taste Of India
5. Full Circle
6. Something's Gotta Give
7. Ain't That A Bitch
8. The Farm
9. Crash
10. Kiss You Past Good-Bye
11. Pink
12. Attitude Adjustment
13. Fallen Angels
Aerosmith - Joey Kramer interview
NOTES
Date: March 18, 1997 Amazon.com
Nominated for a 1998 Grammy award for Best Rock Album and featuring the single,
"Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)," nominated for a Best Rock Performance,
Nine Lives is Aerosmith's first album in their lucrative re-signing to Columbia
Records. Together over 25 years, the Boston band has always been known for their
gritty sex anthems, hard-buckling rhythms, and bic-flicking power ballads. Not nearly
as flat-out rock as previous releases, Pump or Get A Grip, Nine
Lives experiments with a multitude of instruments, including hammered dulcimer,
Indian fiddle, and Chapman stick. This Noah's Ark approach allows the band to experiment
within its rock parameters with the appropriately titled "A Taste of India."
They haven't sworn off the ballads ("Fallen Angels" is what you'd expect)
and they still riff like the Aerosmith of old ("Crash"). -
-Rob O'Connor
Rolling Stone (3/20/97)
...Aerosmith can be relied on to temper their...machismo with plenty of humor, heart
and artistic ingenuity...
Aerosmith, Nine Lives- Linda Scott
(Columbia)
If the current crop of rock musicians is depressing you, or if you think your money
isn't buying you much entertainment, then get out and get Nine Lives, the
latest, greatest album from Aerosmith. When Da Boys from Boston are on a groove,
their albums rock. Nine Lives was two years in the making, getting that groove.
Manager: fired. Producer's work: discarded. Substitute drummer's work: discarded.
Despite dire predictions, when the band got together with new producer Kevin Shirley
(silverchair, Journey), the groove was there, 13 tracks ripped out, and Nine Lives
is possibly the best Aerosmith album yet.
First of all, it's good just to hear them again. Steven Tyler's vocals are as sharp
as ever. Cool lyrics have the trademark Aerosmith sexual double meanings that leave
you smiling and the sticker people confused. The rest of the guys? They are absolutely
right on. Lead guitarist Joe Perry still smashes those solos although they don't
seem as plentiful here or mixed high enough for Perry fans. Brad Whitford is still
one of the best rhythm guitarists around, and Joey Kramer sounds like he is playing
with sticks of dynamite. Tom Hamilton gives a solid bass underpinning to every song.
The music and the vocals and the lyrics are perfect. A number of listens are needed
to get everything so you won't be setting this cd aside after one play.
Leading off is "Nine Lives" which is a real Aerosmith rocker. This one
has got to be a single sometime. Next up is "Falling In Love (Is Hard On Your
Knees)", the first single. It's getting a lot of rock airplay now so if you
aren't singing along with Steven by now, you might try the Alternative Section. "Hole
In My Soul", "Kiss Your Past Goodbye" and "Full Circle"
are midtempo ballads that remind of "Crazy" - but hotter. Then there are
some new kinds of sounds for Aerosmith: the punky "Crash", the industrial
(Joey Kramer on the trashcans) "Something's Gotta Give", the eastern "Taste
of India", and "The Farm" with Wizard of Oz samples. Aerosmith tries
out this and that, but everything still has great rock roots. Nine Lives will
lift your spirits because as Joe Perry says, "We don't play mope rock. We're
here to entertain."
The US disks have an enhanced cd section which is a lot of fun to play with. This
is an interactive section, not just text and pictures to look at. You can play along
with the band using your space bar or your virtual pick (available free through the
web site). You get a rating as you move through the song, like "miserable"
or "too laid back" showing you it ain't easy to keep up with Joe Perry.
If you like rock and Aerosmith, then you'll love their latest album, Nine Lives.
by Marcus Errico
Mar 17, 1997
It's been so long since they've released new material, you'd
think that Aerosmith has been on permanent vacation since 1993's Get a Grip.
But the bad boys from Beantown are back tomorrow with the massively hyped Nine
Lives, and retailers are praying the new CD performs up to the group's platinum
standards.
The troubled history of Nine Lives is the stuff of legends. Originally scheduled
for release in 1995, it kept getting pushed back last year as Aerosmith seemed on
the verge of self-destruction--a period frontman Steven Tyler has called "a
nightmare."
First, drummer Joey Kramer suffered a nervous breakdown after his father died. Sony
hated the sound of the album-in-progress, saying it lacked edge. In turn, the band
axed ultra-hot producer Glen Ballard--fresh off the success of Alanis Morissette's
Jagged Little Pill--and replaced him with Journey producer Kevin Shirley.
Shortly thereafter, the band dumped longtime manager Tim Collins. Collins subsequently
questioned the band's work ethic and also suggested that Tyler had tumbled off the
wagon. Tyler has steadfastly denied the allegations.
There was also the pressure of the Contract. Back in the early '90s, when record
companies were throwing money at big-name acts, Aerosmith signed a $30-million, multi-album
deal with Sony's Columbia--the label that first signed the band in the 1970s. Many
scoffed at Sony for ponying up so much for an act whose members would be pushing
50 by the time they released their first album.
It's now up to Aerosmith to prove cynics wrong. Nine Lives is the first recording
under that pact. The band will debut the new album at a monster kick-off party Tuesday
in New York, which will be simulcast at the official Aerosmith web site. The boys
will then prepare for an 18-month world tour that should hit the states this summer.
Analysts are predicting Nine Lives' sales to top out around 2 million--solid,
if not spectacular, numbers in a time of industry uncertainty. "Does anybody
care about Aerosmith any more?" asks one music executive. "It might not
matter...(Aerosmith) is promoting the hell out of this record and they're going to
tour like a motherfucker." Adds a Tower Records manager, "Aerosmith has
a strong fan-base...Their albums are consistent sellers."
So far, critics have had mixed response to the disc, but most agree that if you like
old Aerosmith you'll like the new version.
Or, in the words of one contributor to the band's newsgroup, "Aerosmith kicks
ass and will live forever."
Official Web site of Aerosmith - http://www.aerosmith.com