Aerosmith Live! Bootleg CD

LIVE! BOOTLEG has been digitally remastered using Sony's 20-Bit Digital Super Bit Mapping process. This release includes new deluxe packaging with original release liner notes, photos and artwork.
Aerosmith: Steven Tyler (vocals, piano); Joe Perry, Brad Whitford (guitar); Tom Hamilton (bass); Joey Kramer (drums).
Additional personnel: David Woodford (saxophone); Mark Radice (keyboards, background vocals).
Engineers: Lee DeCarlo, Jack Douglas, Jay Messina.
Recorded live between 1973 and 1978.
Since Aerosmith had become one of America's premier rock & roll concert attractions by 1978, it was only natural that an in-concert collection was issued that year, the double album, Live Bootleg. Unlike other live albums at the time, it's obvious that not a lot of overdubbing was involved to fix up the tracks, which results in a refreshingly authentic representation of Aerosmith at the group's most drugged-out and rocking. All of the performances were taken from Tyler and company's 1977-1978 U.S. tour (with the exception of a couple from 1973), while the album's packaging and title were a joke on all the poor-sounding, unauthorized live recordings that were in circulation at the time. Just about every classic is included -- "Back in the Saddle," "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," "Come Together," "Last Child," "Mama Kin," "Train Kept A'Rollin," etc. -- as well as key album tracks ("Sick as a Dog," "S.O.S.," etc.). But the album's high point has to be the aforementioned pair of long-lost tracks from 1973 -- loose and groovy covers of the Yardbirds' "I Ain't Got You" and James Brown's "Mother Popcorn." Although the performances may lack the fire of the shorter Classics Live II set from 1988, Live Bootleg is an excellent representation of one of rock & roll's elite live acts. Note: to tie in with the careless bootleg theme of the album, the track "Draw the Line" is unlisted. ~ Greg Prato
In addition to being one of the greatest American hard rock bands of the '70s (Kiss being the other one), Aerosmith developed a reputation as one of the fiercest live acts thanks to a grueling tour schedule. Inspired by the countless unauthorized live recordings circulating at the time, the band put out LIVE: BOOTLEG, a collection of performances recorded between 1977 and 1978, in addition to a pair of early cuts from a 1973 WBCN simulcast.
Unlike many live albums that of this time period that were overdubbed and doctored, BOOTLEG is Aerosmith at its rawest. "Back in the Saddle" and "Toys in the Attic" contain plenty of ragged guitar playing. Despite the sub-par sound quality, the tracks triumph nonetheless thanks to the primal vibe generated by the band's chemistry. Yes, hits like "Walk This Way" and "Dream On" are included, but the true gems are oft-overlooked nuggets like "Chip Away the Stone," "Mama Kin," and an uncredited "Draw the Line" that overflow with Aerosmith's trademark sass and attitude. James Brown's "Mother Popcorn" and the blues classic "I Ain't Got You" (originally done by the Yardbirds), not only show the band's range, but its love of black music.Q (4/01, p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Imagine thousands of Wisconsin college jocks out of their mind on Wild Turkey and their mum's diet pills, squinting at 5 midgets playing in the corner of a football stadium..."