'Aerosmith - Box Of Fire- CD6 - Live! Bootleg (1978) Remaster (2009)'!

'Aerosmith / Live! Bootleg (1978) Remaster (2009)' Review!



'Live! Bootleg' was a good idea, and came at a much needed time for a break for the band. However, the timing could not have been worse as far as most fans at the time were concerned. With many an 'Aerosmith' bootleg already available for years on the black market, or in the underground at Second Hand Record Shops everywhere, especially in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio, what could persuade fans to want to grab this one? And, with rumours abounding of the imminent departure of Joe Perry from the band to replace of all people Ace Frehley in 'Kiss' thanks to Joe's work on Gene $immon$ solo album, and especially the song, 'Tunnel Of Love', and the surprising success of Frehley's 'New York Groove', then it was no suprise that most saw this as the last nail in the coffin of the band, 'Aerosmith', at the time. Still, the band along with Columbia Records went through a painstaking process of choosing what songs should go on this release. Alas, therein lies the problem of 'Live! Bootleg'! With every song considered a Hit, and The Smithers not being a Singles Band, then which songs should go on a live release? My choice would have been to release one of the great shows recorded in its entirety from the 'Draw The Line' tour. The powers-that-be chose instead to release a few unreleased album songs, and songs the band had not necessarily played live often - their Hit singles. The result is an album of great songs that at times don't sound very live, and at other times don't sound very cohesive together. That makes sense, when one considers that two of the 'new' songs were recorded in 1973! 'I Ain't Got You' & James Brown's 'Mother Popcorn' certainly are excellent performances, and prove that the band could crossover with the best of them, but they didn't exactly represent the live sound of the band in 1977-78. Their latest single, 'Come Together' b/w 'Chip Away The Stone' is on offer in live performances culminated from two different shows - a small club gig, so secret that nobody showed up (as the liner notes say), for the former, and the California Jam 2, for the latter. It's pretty darned hard to get 25 people to sound like 200,000, and again that is the range of problems presented on this disc. Of course, the performances are top notch, nothing can be said to the contrary, but with a personality like Steven Tyler one surely would have preferred more stage banter, if at all possible, considering his condition in 1977-78! Yes, the whole play on the bootleg part of the album is hammed-up with bottle-rings & cigarette-burns on the jacket, and the obligatory extra-song not listed in the albums credits in 'Draw The Line', also from the California Jam 2 set. Why no 'Same Old Song & Dance' on this remaster one can only wonder? In any case, I personally believe that the highlights on this disc are the live performances from Indianapolis from 1977, and perhaps that is the show that should have been released in its entirety, as I mentioned before, with missing cuts like 'I Wanna Know Why'. Just check out 'S.O.S. (Too Bad)', 'Mama Kin' & 'Train Kept-A-Rollin'' (Detroit) for the proof in the pudding! Yet again, this would turn out to be the last product with the five main Smithers that we had come to love for about six years, and their reformation on the 'Back In The Saddle' Tour in 1984! In any case, as Steven would say, "Good night, Mama! Good night, up there! Good night, you're f***ing beautiful! Good night!" - Rick Wilson, former Rock Radio Journalist with Radio Canale Grandé.



01. Back In The Saddle: live '77 Indianapolis (1978) ***** Shake a tail-feather!

02. Sweet Emotion: live '78 Chicago (1978) ***** Joe on talkbox for all posterity!

03. Lord Of The Thighs: live '78 Chicago (1978) ***** Brad the bard, wailing away!

04. Toys In The Attic: live '78 Boston (1978) ***** Great Rocker live!

05. Last Child: live '78 Boston (1978) ***** Is it live, or is it Memorex? lol

06. Come Together: live '78 Waltham, Massachussetts (1978) ***** Was anyone there?

07. Walk This Way: live '78 Detroit (1978) **** Here, the talkbox prooves a bit too intrusive on Steven's vocal!

08. Sick As A Dog: live '77 Indianapolis (1978) ***** With Tom Hamilton on guitar live?

09. Dream On: live '77 Louisville (1978) ***** Did Steven see the dream ending?

10. Chip Away The Stone: live '78 Santa Monica, California (1978) ***** Nice live version!

11. Sight For Sore Eyes: live '78 Colombus (1978) **** Could have done with another tune instead!

12. Mama Kin: live '77 Indianapolis (1978) ***** Great rockin'!

13. S.O.S. (Too Bad): live '77 Indianapolis (1978) ***** Another nice Rocker live!

14. I Ain't Got You: live '73 Boston (1978) ***** Nice Soul cover!

15. Mother Popcorn: live '73 Boston (1978) ***** James Brown tribute ahead of its time!

16. Draw The Line: live '78 California Jam 2 (1978) ***** Nice hidden track!

17. Train Kept-A-Rollin' / Strangers In The Night: live '78 Detroit (1978) ***** Blistering live version!

18. Adam's Apple: live '77 Indianapolis (1991) ***** Nice extra!