Gems

Performer: Aerosmith
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Aerosmith: Steven Tyler (vocals, harmonica, piano); Joe Perry (guitar, background vocals); Brad Whitford (guitar); Tom Hamilton (bass); Joey Kramer (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Jimmy Crespo, Rick Dufay (guitar); David Woodford (saxophone); Richie Supa, Scott Cushnie (piano). Producers include: Jack Douglas, Gary Lyons, Tony Bongiovi, Ray Colcord, Aerosmith. Digitally remastered by Mark Wilder (CBS Records Studios, New York, New York). During Aerosmith's first tour of duty at Columbia Records, the group established a reputation as America's premiere hard rock band. The group has influenced bands ranging from Guns N' Roses to R.E.M., who covered "Toys in the Attic." GEMS can be looked at as the follow-up to GREATEST HITS, the band's prior compilation. Unlike GREATEST HITS, which focused on chart hits and radio-familiar tracks, this collection leans more toward the band's harder-rocking material. Listening to early songs like the stripped-down "Mama Kin" or the fuller and more sinister "Lord of the Thighs," it is clear how Aerosmith attracted such a devoted following. As the group refined its craft, it also developed its trademark sass and swagger, best represented on the wailing "Critical Mass" and the autobiographical "No Surprize." Even on the sizzling "Jailbait," a track recorded by the post-Joe Perry/Brad Whitford lineup, Aerosmith's hard-hitting delivery is still there. Another standout is the Yardbirds' "Train Kept a Rollin'," a song that over time has almost become Aerosmith's own.

A hard-rocking, no-holds-barred American group fronted by the wiry Steven Tyler, Aerosmith plays heavy riffs with a blues underpinning. After huge hits and sold-out tours in the 1970s, the band sank into oblivion for the first half of the '80s. They returned on the crest of Run-DMC's version of "Walk This Way" in 1986, and rode back up the charts with their rehabilitated rock, cranking out slick videos to gain a new generation of fans. Having hitched their star to MTV, they took on the role of rock's elder statesmen.

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