Permanent Vacation

Ahh, the much-ballyhooed Permanent Vacation. Granted, it's a lot better than the previous two albums (Done With Mirrors and Rock in a Hard Place) but it's nothing compared to Toys or even Draw The Line. This is the birth or the new pop Aerosmith, the Aerosmith headed by John Kalodner (John Kalodner: John Kalodner?). This is the new Jim Vallance and Bruce Fairbairn Aerosmith. On the whole, it's not bad and it sure was a big hit in the late 80's. But let's be fair -- if Aerosmith had come out with Rocks in 1987, would it have gotten airplay? Of course not. This was Aerosmith in survival mode. If we'd known back then that Aerosmith wouldn't ever go back to their old sound, I think we would have been a lot less excited.

"Heart's Done Time", the opener, ain't bad. It's got some rock to it. The next track, "Magic Touch" also ain't band. I prefer both songs to the well-known hits. Then it's "Rag Doll". Damn, I'm so sick of that song. I never liked it even when it was new. I think it's filler. This is followed by some true filler, "Simoriah", one of the many tunes on this album that were never played live (Joe Perry's big beef with the album is that half of it wasn't played live). "Dude (Looks Like a Lady" is another tune I never really liked. I know it's a huge hit, but come on...the Aero of old never would have written this garbage. It'll never make my desert island tape. It's the kind of Aerosmith song that people know, therefore, people want to have it. Shame it's not "Coney Island Whitefish Boy".

"St. John" - more filler. "Hangman's Jury" is pretty good though, a nice bluesy swampy acoustic number. This is followed by "Girl Keeps Coming Apart", a song which, aside from some killer playing by the boys in the backline, is skip-worthy. The song keeps falling apart. Up next is the last of the singles, "Angel", a song which I actually like a lot. I like the lush production, I love the choruses, the verses, and the solo. I think this song is still pretty excellent. It's no "Dream On", but it's about as close as the band have come since then.

The title track is next, a catchy number with no outside writers and co-written by Whitford. This is proof that Aerosmith are at their best when they are just five guys writing and playing together. There's some embellishment with jungle noises and tropical sounds, but the song is a winner. Another winner is the Beatles cover "I'm Down", but I don't know why they needed to pad the album out with a cover. Still, totally listenable. The final track is a lame instrumental called "The Movie". Honestly, most Aerosmith instrumentals are boring. They're just not that kind of band. This ends the album on a decidedly dull note.

I give the band credit for sobering up, and working hard on this album. Fairbairn (rest in peace) was known as a bit of a taskmaster, he made his bands work hard, and I'm sure Kalodner did too. I think that they were so desperate for a charting hit that they lost sight of the roots of Aerosmith. Songs like "Rattlesnake Shake" or "Nobody's Fault" sound like a completely different group of guys than the band on Permanent Vacation. As a result, I rarely play this album today. I can't remember the last time I played it. After all, when I can't turn on the radio without hearing "Dude" and "Rag Doll", why would I want to?

3 stars.