Aerosmith: A Tale of Two bands.

[coloradodem2005]

This article is from a few years ago, but it is interesting.

Same Old Stuff or a New Beginning?
by: steven jacobetz and paul tinelli

Veteran rockers Aerosmith have returned with their latest studio album, Just Push Play. The album is flying off the shelves, but is there more to the album than the new single? Our reviewers have a disagreeance on this - read on for both sides of the story:

Just Push Repeat
by: steven jacobetz

The way you feel about modern-day Aerosmith depends on your personal musical tastes:

If you like pop/rock specifically tailored for radio and video airplay, then to you today's Aerosmith is great. Just Push Play is another album in this vein continuing in the style of 90s albums like Get A Grip and Nine Lives.

However, if you prefer a more raw, raunchy, straight guitar rock sound which is much more simply produced, then you prefer the albums from the 70s. You feel Aerosmith has sold its soul in the last 15 years in return for continued commercial success.

The history of Aerosmith is really the story of two completely different bands with these opposing musical philosophies. Amazingly, the band members are exactly the same.

The differences may stem from a lack of confidence on the part of the band members. In the mid-80s, the band was at a crossroads in its career. The reunion album, Done With Mirrors was a commercial disappointment, so the powers that be at Geffen Records made the band work with a string of collaborators, professional songwriters, in order to make the band more commercially attractive. It worked. 1987's Permanent Vacation started a new wave of success which the band has ridden since then.
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http://www.music-critic.com/rock/aerosmith_justpushplay.htm