THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1978
Page 3
Aerosmith good but ‘commerciaV I Gibson
1420 TEXAS AVE.
OPEN EVERY DAY!
By BOB ASHFIELD
Aerosmith, like any other
sledge-hammer-heavy-metal rock
band, has been both heavenly
praised and sternly denounced by
anyone who casually listens to cur
rent radio airwaves. Critics either
exalt them as an exciting, rip-
snorting combination of no-hold-
barred rock blues or denigrate them
as a faulty garbage disposal, mainte-
nanced only by the youngest of rock
advocates. Alas, to anyone so be
wildered, the facts are that not only
do they possess the most dazzling
lead guitar player of the present in
Joe Perry, and the premier rock vo
calist in Steven Tyler, but that they
are a band whose sound promotes a
generation that doesn’t give a damn
who likes it.
“Draw the Line” is their fifth al
bum, two discs after they pushed
their way into the everyday life of
the long-haired adolescent with
“Toys in the Attic.” The new album
is very reminiscent of other works
by the band, exposing their definit
ive and somewhat repetitive sound,
but also demonstrates the ever-
increasing lengths they’ll take to
produce fresh, high-energy rock.
Each cut is crammed with guitar
riffs and base lines that cut against
the grain of the song, not to mention
the haunting lead and background
vocals that somehow survive it all.
The result however, is a concise
meaty, but thoroughly digestable
morsel of superb rock and roll.
The title cut is an example of a
typical no-nonsense Aerosmith
rocker, complete with lyrics that de
scribe the never-ending frustrations
of the male personna mingling with
the forever distrustful female.
(“Checkmate honey, I beat you at
your own damn game.”) Against the
backdrop of a fiesty, rhythmic din
(that only this band has the right to
make), Tyler almost mocks the in
tense musical radicalism of the band
as he virtually screeches out the last
verse in a barely intelligible ban
shee wail. “I Wanna Know Why” is a
little more low key, still sounding
like a handful of previous songs.
Stan Bronstein’s sax warms the bulk
of the tune while a quite reserved
Joe Perry sneaks in a comparatively
quiet, high-pitched guitar solo at
the end.
Turn the volume up now. “Criti
cal Mass’ eases an onslaught of
piercing harmonica (Dylan would be
proud) and soaring vocals upon the
unsuspecting listener. The band
chants “Time and Space are taking
me away,” as they experiment with
distortion as never before using dis
appearing guitar breaks, that can
only remind psychedelia lovers of
the sixties of the same in the Bea
tles’ “Helter Skelter” and “Straw
berry Fields Forever.”
Review
Turn the volume all the way up.
“Get it Up” follows with crashing
guitar and thunderous drums as the
familiar suggestive lyrics dance on
an almost uninterpretable guitar
line. After the first refrain the band
embarks on an awesome display of
screeching guitar and omnipotent
base at its undefinable best, leaving
the record owner longing for the
concert.
There do appear on the album the
regular, not quite as radical rockers
such as “The Hand That Feeds”
which really contains the best guitar
solo of the record. “Bright Light
Fright” is a solo contribution by Joe
Perry that ends the first side, but
upon consideration it would have
been better to just end it without it.
Then there is “Sight for Sore Eyes”
which is the type of song that gave
the band fame on “Toys in the Attic”
as it combines heavy metal with
pure gutsy funk almost uncharac
teristic of a white band. The
tongue-in-cheek ludeness of the
lyrics are extremely heightened by
the raw emotion and orgasmic sin
cerity that Tyler pumps them out
with, the evokes the highest of
spirits that everyday rock bands
have tried hard to reach.
Bassist Tom Hamilton’s “King
and Queens” is the real surprise and
compliments the band greatly. The
tempo is set majestically by a docile
guitar riff that builds rapidly, over
which Tyler laments of nightmares
of a former life in midevil days. Ev
erything compounds to a shudder
ing climax through which Perry
emits precise rhythmic shrieks off
his guitar that casts a chilly eerie
ness which drops to silence. Piano
introduces a beautiful guitar solo
and then builds to a powerful last
verse that comes way too soon.
With their last album “Rocks”
selling faster than any of their previ
ous records, Aerosmith was
catapulted to the top of the heap of
contemporary rock. Fans, however,
had to wait almost a year and a half
for the next release to determine if
their reign would continue. The un
believable intensity of “Draw the
Line” removes any further suspi
cion.
Still, there are the skeptics who
love only “art” and push up their
noses to any of this “unmotivated
noise.” Even Steven Tyler asks in
song, “I wanna know why, every
body with good intentions has gotta
make a fool out of me, and this is a
very good question.
Why must everyone rip the top?
Tyler answers, “They play rough,
but can t get enough, so they try to
make a fool out of me.” Instead,
Aerosmith evokes a happy-go-lucky
attitude toward the commercial
world. “Celebrate kids, we are Crit
ical Mass. We are what we are and
not what we re supposed to be.
“Time and Space are taking me
away” from all the confusion of
exactness that art mongers create. It
does not matter whether it is a Rem
brandt or not. It’s the emotion
that can only be the final test and
the band at its very least is exhilira-
ting.
Aerosmith still strives to carry the
message to what’s left of the human
world that if it feels good, do it. And
they do it better than ever.
COORS
Texas A&M University
Opera & Performing Arts Society
Tickets Available
at MSC Box Office
845-2916
Zone 1
Texas A&M
Student $3.40
Regular..... .$5.50
Zone 2
Texas A&M
Student $2.75
Regular $4.40
Zone 3
Texas A&M
Student $2.30
Regular $3.50
Thursday,
February 16, 1978
8:15 p.m. Rudder
Auditorium
TEXAS OPERA THEATRE
^Performing ROBINSON CRUSOE:;!;:;:;:;
*1
45 6-pack I
cans
Good through Saturday
BUY 1
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FREE
... university studio
115 College Main
846-8019
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Petal Patch
707 TEXAS
846-6713
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TEXAS A&M BOOKSTORE
Memorial Student Center
midnite show
TODAY
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The Battalion Classified
845-2611
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