Aerosmith Nine Lives CD - Import

NINE LIVES was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. "Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)" was nominated for a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

"Pink" won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal and was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video.

NINE LIVES marks Aerosmith's return to Columbia Records, the label for which it had its first round of stardom in the 1970s, and the label with which the band nearly slid off the rock and roll map altogether in the 1980s. Columbia shelled out a lot of money to woo back the now-bigger-than-ever band, and ends up getting exactly the kind of over-the-top pop-rock it was paying for. Working with producer Kevin Shirley (Silverchair, Journey), the seemingly ageless combo from Boston has made another record overflowing with sexual innuendo ("Pink", "Falling In Love [Is Hard On The Knees]"), power ballads ("Fallen Angels," "Hole In My Soul") and hard-hitting riffs ("Nine Lives," "Crash").

Continuing its recent fascination with sounds alien to hard rock (didja notice the Polynesian log drums on 1993's GET A GRIP?), Aerosmith dabbles with Indian culture on NINE LIVES. You can see it in the colorful packaging of the album, and hear it on "Taste Of India," which picks up where Led Zeppelin's classic "Kashmir" left off. The culturally confused epic features qawwali-esque vocalizing (a la Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), a sarangi (an Indian fiddle) and, of course, some old-fashioned rock and roll.

Aerosmith signed a multi-million-dollar contract with Columbia Records before they had completed their deal with Geffen, which meant that a lot was riding on their Columbia debut, Nine Lives, when it was finally delivered in 1997. During recording, the band nearly broke up, and they worked with a number of producers -- including Glen Ballard, the man behind Alanis Morissette -- before settling on Kevin Shirley, an in-house producer responsible for Silverchair and Journey. Perhaps that's the reason why Nine Lives sounds so calculated, as if it was assembled by a band trying to sound like Aerosmith. In a sense, it is -- not one of the 13 songs were written without the assistance of professional songwriters. Of course, some of the best moments of Pump and Permanent Vacation were also written with professionals, but they had an appealing, slick surface that made them infectious. Nine Lives, in contrast, is overlabored, with Aerosmith making a conscious effort to sound hip and vibrant, which ironically simply makes them sound tired. Not only are the performances perfunctory, but the songs aren't catchy -- no matter how hard it tries, "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" never develops a hook, and it is not an exception. A handful of cuts approximate the raunchy appeal of prime Aerosmith, but Nine Lives is hardly the triumphant comeback it should have been. [The 2006 German edition featured one bonus track.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Additional personnel includes: Ramesh Mishra (sarengi); John Webster (keyboards).

Principally recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York.

German import with bonus song "Falling Off."

Includes The Extra Track 'Falling Off'.

Personnel: Steven Tyler (vocals, hammer dulcimer, harmonica, piano, organ, keyboards, percussion); Brad Whitford (guitar, acoustic guitar); Joe Perry (guitar, slide guitar, dulcimer, background vocals); John Webster (keyboards); Tom Hamilton (Chapman stick); Joey Kramer (drums).

Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.

Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; The Boneyard; The Hit Factory, New York, NY.

Aerosmith: Steven Tyler (vocals, hammered dulcimer, harmonica, piano, hand organ, keyboards, percussion); Brad Whitford (acoustic guitar, guitar); Joe Perry (guitar, slide guitar, dulcimer, background vocals); Tom Hamilton (bass, Chapman stick); Joey Kramer (drums).

Rolling Stone (3/20/97, pp.83-84) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Aerosmith can be relied on to temper their...machismo with plenty of humor, heart and artistic ingenuity..."
Q (4/97, p.117) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...something of a grand opus....orchestrations galore....with this general riot of itchy solos, raucous innuendo, violent rhythm-pistons and smeared-on harmonies, Aerosmith haven't fallen far short of the mighty PUMP."