Aerosmith - The Hi-Res Album Collection - Features Remasters 2012 (Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz)

For more than 30 years, Aerosmith has defined American Rock and Roll. Just a brief overview of their remarkable career is truly mind-boggling: over 100 million albums sold, countless awards (Grammy's, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV Awards), and a diehard fan-base in the millions worldwide. As the band embarks on yet another world tour to support their 25th release Honkin' On Bobo, they remain creatively vital, and are the platinum standard for artistic and commercial success in the music business. Through it all they have defeated the odds, silenced their critics and have undeniably withstood the test of time.

Aerosmith is the debut album by American rock band Aerosmith, originally released in January 1973 on Columbia Records. Featuring the singles "Mama Kin", "Dream On", and "Make It (Promo)", the album peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 in 1976. It would eventually be certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA in 1986.

In retrospect, it's a bit shocking how fully formed the signature Aerosmith sound was on their self-titled 1973 debut – which may not be the same thing as best-executed, because this album still sounds like a first album, complete with the typical stumbles and haziness that comes with a debut. Despite all this, Aerosmith clearly showcases all the attributes of the band that would become the defining American hard rock band of the '70s. Here, the Stones influences are readily apparent, from the Jagger-esque phrasing of Steven Tyler to the group's high-octane boogie, but the group displays little of the Stones' deep love of blues here. Instead, Aerosmith is bloozy – their riffs don't swing, they slide. They borrow liberally from Led Zeppelin's hybridization of Chess and Sun riffs without ever sounding much like Zep. They are never as British as Zeppelin – they lack the delicate folky preciousness, they lack the obsession with blues authenticity, they lack the larger-than-life persona of so many Brit bands. They are truly an American band, sounding as though they were the best bar band in your local town, cranking out nasty hard-edged rock, best heard on "Mama Kin," the best rocker here, one that's so greasy it nearly slips through their fingers. But the early masterpiece is, of course, "Dream On," the first full-fledged power ballad. There was nothing quite like it in 1973, and it remains the blueprint for all power ballads since. The rest of the record contains the seeds of Aerosmith's sleazoid blues-rock, but they wouldn't quite perfect that sound until the next time around.

Tracklist:

01 - Make It
02 - Somebody
03 - Dream On
04 - One Way Street
05 - Mama Kin
06 - Write Me a Letter
07 - Movin' Out
08 - Walkin' The Dog

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Get Your Wings is the second studio album by Aerosmith and was originally released on March 1, 1974. It was recorded between December 17, 1973 and January 14, 1974 at Record Plant Studios in New York City. Produced by Ray Colcord and Jack Douglas, the album peaked at #74 on the 1974 Billbaord 200 chart and would eventually go on to be certified Platinum three times over by the RIAA. Hit singles from the album were "Same Old Song and Dance", "Train Kept A-Rollin", and "S.O.S. (Too Bad)".

Often overshadowed by the subsequent twin highlights of Toys in the Attic and Rocks, Aerosmith's 1974 second album, Get Your Wings, is where Aerosmith became Aerosmith – it's where they teamed up with producer Jack Douglas, it's where they shed much of their influences and developed their own trademark sound, it's where they turned into songwriters, it's where Steven Tyler unveiled his signature obsessions with sex and sleaze. Chief among these attributes may be Douglas, who either helped the band ease into the studio or captured their sound in a way their debut never did. This is a leaner, harder album, bathed in grease and layered in grit, but it's not just down to Douglas. The band itself sounds more distinctive. There are blues in Joe Perry and Joey Kramer's interplay, but this leapfrogs over blues-rock; it turns into slippery hard rock. To be sure, it's still easy to hear the Stones here, but they never really sound Stonesy; there's almost more of the Yardbirds to the way the group works the riffs, particularly evident on the cover of the early 'Birds classic "The Train Kept a Rollin'." But if the Yardbirds were tight and nervy, Aerosmith is blown out and loose, the sound of excess incarnate – that is, in every way but the writing itself, which is confident and strong, fueled by Tyler's gonzo sex drive. He is the "Lord of the Thighs," playing that "Same Old Song and Dance," but he also slows down enough for the eerie "Seasons of Wither," a powerful slow-churning ballad whose mastery of atmosphere is a good indication of how far the band has grown. They never attempted anything quite so creepy on their debut, but it isn't just that Aerosmith is trying newer things on Get Your Wings, it's that they're doing their bloozy bluster better and bolder, which is what turns this sophomore effort into their first classic.

Tracklist:

01 - Same Old Song and Dance
02 - Lord of the Thighs
03 - Spaced
04 - Woman of the World
05 - S.O.S. (Too Bad)
06 - Train Kept a Rollin'
07 - Seasons of Wither
08 - Pandora's Box

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Toys in the Attic is Aerosmith's third album and was originally released in April 1975. It featured the hit singles "Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way", and "Toys in the Attic" and ranks as Aerosmith's most commercially successful studio album in the US, having sold over eight million copies. The album is ranked #229 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Toys in the Attic peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA as of 2002. It is considered to be a "landmark of hard rock" (Greg Kot).

After nearly getting off the ground with Get Your Wings, Aerosmith finally perfected their mix of Stonesy raunch and Zeppelin-esque riffing with their third album, Toys in the Attic. The success of the album derives from a combination of an increased sense of songwriting skills and purpose. Not only does Joe Perry turn out indelible riffs like "Walk This Way," "Toys in the Attic," and "Sweet Emotion," but Steven Tyler has fully embraced sleaziness as his artistic muse. Taking his cue from the old dirty blues "Big Ten Inch Record," Tyler writes with a gleeful impishness about sex throughout Toys in the Attic, whether it's the teenage heavy petting of "Walk This Way," the promiscuous "Sweet Emotion," or the double-entendres of "Uncle Salty" and "Adam's Apple." The rest of Aerosmith, led by Perry's dirty, exaggerated riffing, provide an appropriately greasy backing. Before Toys in the Attic, no other hard rock band sounded like this. Sure, Aerosmith cribbed heavily from the records of the Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, and Led Zeppelin, but they didn't have any of the menace of their influences, nor any of their mystique. Aerosmith was a gritty, street-wise hard rock band who played their blues as blooze and were in it for a good time; Toys in the Attic crystallizes that attitude.

Tracklist:

01 - Toys In The Attic
02 - Uncle Salty
03 - Adam's Apple
04 - Walk This Way
05 - Big Ten Inch Record
06 - Sweet Emotion
07 - No More No More
08 - Round And Round
09 - You See Me Crying

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Rocks is Aerosmith's fourth studio album and was originally released on May 3, 1976. It is one of their most successful albums and has been ranked at #176 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. All three of its singles ("Last Child", "Rats in the Cellar", and "Back in the Saddle") charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Rocks shipped platinum when it was released, and has since gone quadruple platinum.

Few albums have been so appropriately named as Aerosmith's 1976 classic Rocks. Despite hard drug use escalating among bandmembers, Aerosmith produced a superb follow-up to their masterwork Toys in the Attic, nearly topping it in the process. Many Aero fans will point to Toys as the band's quintessential album (it contained two radio/concert standards after all, "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion"), but out of all their albums, Rocks did the best job of capturing Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking. Like its predecessor, a pair of songs have become their most renowned – the menacing, hard rock, cowboy-stomper "Back in the Saddle," as well as the downright viscous funk groove of "Last Child." Again, even the lesser-known tracks prove essential to the makeup of the album, such as the stimulated "Rats in the Cellar" (a response of sorts to "Toys in the Attic"), the Stonesy "Combination," and the forgotten riff-rocker "Get the Lead Out." Also included is the apocalyptic "Nobody's Fault," the up-and-coming rock star tale of "Lick and a Promise," and the album-closing ballad "Home Tonight." With Rocks, Aerosmith appeared to be indestructible.

Tracklist:

01 - Back In The Saddle
02 - Last Child
03 - Rats In The Cellar
04 - Combination
05 - Sick As A Dog
06 - Nobody's Fault
07 - Get The Lead Out
08 - Lick And A Promise
09 - Home Tonight

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Draw the Line is Aerosmith's fifth album and was originally released on December 1, 1977. It was recorded in 1977 at The Cenacle (an abandoned convent) and The Record Plant. Produced by Aerosmith and Jack Douglas, it is considered to be one of the great Heavy Metal albums. Draw the Line featured the singles "Draw the Line", "Kings and Queens", and "Get It Up". It peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1978 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA in 1996.

Renting out an abandoned convent on the outskirts of New York City to record the follow-up to the hellacious Rocks may not have been the best idea, but 1977's Draw the Line still managed to be another down-and-dirty Aerosmith release. While it wasn't as awe-inspiring as their last two albums – the members have said that the music suddenly got "cloudy" around this time (due to in-band fighting/ego clashes, excessive living, etc.), Draw the Line catches fire more times than not. Unlike their most recent album successes, the band shies away from studio experimenting and dabbling in different styles; instead they return to simple, straight-ahead hard rock. The album-opening title track features a gloriously abrasive Joe Perry slide guitar riff and has been featured in concert ever since, while the punk-esque "Bright Light Fright" featured Perry's first ever lead vocal spot on an Aerosmith record. Other highlights include a reworking of the blues obscurity "Milk Cow Blues," which Perry's pre-Aerosmith group, the Jam Band, played live, as well as "I Wanna Know Why," "Critical Mass," "Get It Up," "Kings and Queens," and "Sight for Sore Eyes." Draw the Line would turn out to be the last true studio album from Aerosmith's original lineup for nearly a decade.

Tracklist:

01 - Draw the Line
02 - I Wanna Know Why
03 - Critical Mass
04 - Get It Up
05 - Bright Light Fright
06 - Kings and Queens
07 - The Hand That Feeds
08 - Sight for Sore Eyes
09 - Milk Cow Blues

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.

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.

Tracklist:

01 - Back in the Saddle
02 - Sweet Emotion
03 - Lord of the Thighs
04 - Toys in the Attic
05 - Last Child
06 - Come Together
07 - Walk This Way
08 - Sick as a Dog
09 - Dream On
10 - Chip Away at the Stone
11 - Sight for Sore Eyes
12 - Mama Kin
13 - S.O.S.
14 - I Ain't Got You
15 - Mother Popcorn / Draw the Line
16 - Train Kept A Rollin' / Strangers in the Night

Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Night in the Ruts is Aerosmith's sixth studio album and was produced by the band and Gary Lyons. The album was recorded in the spring and summer of 1979, with Aerosmith's management ordering them to go on tour midway through recording in order to generate additional revenue, having burned through their allotted recording budget. Partway through the tour, Joe Perry left the band and his guitar parts were recorded by Brad Whitford, Richie Supa, Neil Thompson, and Jimmy Crespo (who would become Perry's replacement from 1979-84).

By the time Aerosmith's sixth studio release was issued, 1979's Night in the Ruts, guitarist Joe Perry had finally left the band after years of drug-fueled bickering with singer Steven Tyler (forming the Joe Perry Project by year's end). Most of the tracks were completed before Perry's departure, with replacement Jimmy Crespo filling the few empty spaces. And while the band looks back upon this period as hazy and frustrating, Night in the Ruts is a surprisingly coherent and inspired album. Although it's not up to par with such classics as Toys in the Attic or Rocks (although it could have been if the band weren't in such a state of turmoil at the time), it was definitely leaner and more focused than their last studio release, Draw the Line. Highlights include the striking opening rocker, "No Surprize," which recounts the band's early history, as well the driving yet melodic "Chiquita," the jamming "Three Mile Smile," the furious "Bone to Bone," and a pair of covers – the Yardbirds' "Think About It" and the novelty number "Reefer Head Woman." The only lowlight is a weak cover of the Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," which was inexplicably issued as a single and included on 1980's Greatest Hits. While the album performed respectfully on the charts, the ensuing tour did little to boost sales – it was marred with canceled dates and lackluster performances brought on by Tyler's substance abuse.

Tracklist:

01 - No Surprize
02 - Chiquita
03 - Remember (Walking in the Sand)
04 - Cheese Cake
05 - Three Mile Smile
06 - Reefer Head Woman
07 - Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)
08 - Think About It
09 - Mia

Remastered by Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Rock in a Hard Place was the first album made by Aerosmith after the a two year hiatus following the departure of Joe Perry in 1979. The album peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1982 and was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1989. It would be the band's last studio album released on Columbia Records until 1997.

Rock in a Hard Place is the sound of Aerosmith at their most "out of it." Not to say it's a horrible album by any means – in fact, there are more than a few pleasant surprises – but without the guitar team of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, it didn't possess the magical chemistry of their '70s classics. Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay filled in for the departed duo, and it turned out to be the group's most studio-enhanced and experimental record up to this point. To keep up with the then-current musical climate, vocoders and synthesizers can be subtly detected, as heard on the space-age "Prelude to Joanie" and in the beginning to the otherwise tough rocker "Lightning Strikes," which served as the album's lone single/video. "Jailbait," "Bitch's Brew," "Bolivian Ragamuffin," and the title track showed the band could still rock out despite their three-year layoff between albums, a cover of "Cry Me a River" showed their gentle side, while the psychedelicized "Joanie's Butterfly" was the album's surprise highlight. But it didn't take an expert to know that Aerosmith was not the same after the loss of the aforementioned members. And so did the band, who welcomed Perry and Whitford back into its ranks two years after Rock in a Hard Place.

Tracklist:

01 - Jailbait
02 - Lightning Strikes
03 - Bitch's Brew
04 - Bolivian Ragamuffin
05 - Cry Me A River
06 - Prelude To Joanie
07 - Joanie's Butterfly
08 - Rock In A Hard Place (Cheshire Cat)
09 - Jig Is Up
10 - Push Comes To Shove

Remastered by Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes.




Done With Mirrors is the eighth studio masterpiece by American rock legends Aerosmith. The album is deemed the band’s “comeback” album and saw the return of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. One of the band’s finest releases, Done With Mirrors, features their powerful lyrics and stellar guitar work. Done With Mirrors includes the standouts “Let The Music Do The Talking” and “Shela”.

Joe Perry returned to the fold in 1985, and Aerosmith turned out their finest record since Rocks. Unlike the records that preceded it, Done with Mirrors is powered by the same smart-assed lyrics and filthy guitars that formed the core of Aerosmith's best songs. It didn't receive the commercial or critical attention that Permanent Vacation did two years later, but Done with Mirrors is the better album; it marks the beginning of their remarkable comeback.

Tracklist:

01 - Let The Music Do The Talking
02 - My Fist Your Face
03 - Shame On You
04 - The Reason A Dog
05 - Shela
06 - Gypsy Boots
07 - She's On Fire
08 - The Hop
09 - Darkness




Permanent Vacation, Aerosmith’s ninth studio album, represents a pivotal outing in their illustrious career. The group, one of America’s bestselling rock acts, has earned multiple GRAMMY wins and holds the record for most gold and multi-platinum albums by any American rock band. This seminal classic has been deemed by fans and critics as the band’s “comeback album” and includes the massive hits “Rag Doll,” “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” and “Angel.” Permanent Vacation would become one of the band’s most successful works, selling over five million copies in the United States. The album also saw milestone success overseas, becoming the band’s first album to reach both Silver and Gold status in the United Kingdom.

The much-ballyhooed reunion of the original Aerosmith lineup had pretty much fallen flat on its face after 1985's hit-and-miss Done With Mirrors. Realizing that the band simply couldn't do it alone, A&R guru John Kalodner capitalized on the runaway success of Run-D.M.C.'s cover of "Walk This Way" and decided to draft in the day's top hired hands, including knob-twiddler extraordinaire Bruce Fairbairn and career-revitalizing song doctors Desmond Child and Jim Vallance. Together, they would help craft Permanent Vacation, the album which would reinvent Aerosmith as '80s and '90s superstars. Yet, despite the mostly stellar songwriting, which makes it a strong effort overall, some of the album's nooks and crannies haven't aged all that well because of Fairbairn's overwrought production, featuring an exaggerated sleekness typical of most mid-'80s pop-metal albums. Furthermore, Desmond Child's pedantic writing often compromises the timeliness of even the best material. On the other hand, pre-fab radio gems like "Rag Doll" and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" remain largely unassailable from a "delivering the goods" perspective. But remember kids, this is Aerosmith, so that can only mean one thing: a guaranteed number of incredible tracks for any time and place. These include the earthy voodoo blues of "St. John" and the excellent hobo-harmonica fable of "Hangman Jury." And, although some of the remaining cuts lean to the filler side, both the awkwardly Caribbean title track and the cover of the Beatles' "I'm Down" are well executed. Finally, the crowd-pleasing schmaltz of "Angel" showcases the band at the peak of its power ballad cheese. A valiant effort, this album proved to be the crucial catalyst in reintroducing Aerosmith to the masses, but if you're looking for an even better example of the band's renewed strength, check out Pump first.

Tracklist:

01 - Heart's Done Time
02 - Magic Touch
03 - Rag Doll
04 - Simoriah
05 - Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
06 - St. John
07 - Hangman Jury
08 - Girl Keeps Coming Apart
09 - Angel
10 - Permanent Vacation
11 - I'm Down
12 - The Movie




Pump is Aerosmith’s tenth studio album and one of their bestselling albums in the United States. It is widely praised by both fans and critics and marked many firsts for the band including their first GRAMMY Award (“Janie’s Got A Gun”), their first #1 hit single on the Mainstream Rock charts (“Love In An Elevator”) and was one of the bestselling albums in 1990.

Where Permanent Vacation seemed a little overwhelmed by its pop concessions, Pump revels in them without ever losing sight of Aerosmith's dirty hard rock core. Which doesn't mean the record is a sellout – "What It Takes" has more emotion and grit than any of their other power ballads; "Janie's Got a Gun" tackles more complex territory than most previous songs; and "The Other Side" and "Love in an Elevator" rock relentlessly, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars. Such ambition and successful musical eclecticism make Pump rank with Rocks and Toys in the Attic.

Tracklist:

01 - Young Lust
02 - F.I.N.E.
03 - Going Down/ Love In An Elevator
04 - Monkey On My Back
05 - Water Song/ Janie's Got A Gun
06 - Dulcimer Stomp/ The Other Side
07 - My Girl
08 - Don't Get Mad, Get Even
09 - Hoodoo/ Voodoo Medicine Man
10 - What It Takes

at the HDTracks' site this album was announced as 24/44, but this is wrong. They sent 24/96 files.




Get A Grip is Aerosmith’s 1993 masterpiece. The album won two GRAMMY Awards for the hit songs: “Livin’ On The Edge” and “Crazy.” It features guest appearances by Don Henley and Lenny Kravitz. Get A Grip is one of the band’s bestselling works with sales exceeding over twenty million copies. The memorable classic was named "Album of the Year" by Metal Edge and includes standouts “Amazing,” “Fever,” “Eat The Rich,” “Livin’ On The Edge,” “Crazy” and “Cryin'”.

Coming on the heels of the commercially and artistically successful Pump, the fitfully entertaining Get a Grip pales against its predecessor's musical diversity. But it's not for lack of trying. In fact, Aerosmith try too hard, making a stab at social commentary ("Livin' on the Edge") while keeping adolescent fans in their corner with their trademark raunch-rock ("Get a Grip" and "Eat the Rich"), as well as having radio-ready hit ballads ("Cryin'," "Amazing," and "Crazy"). The problem is, it's a studied performance – it sounds like what an Aerosmith album should sound like. Most of the album sounds good; it's just that there isn't much beneath the surface.

Tracklist:

01 - Intro
02 - Eat The Rich
03 - Get A Grip
04 - Fever
05 - Livin' On The Edge
06 - Flesh
07 - Walk On Down
08 - Shut Up And Dance
09 - Cryin'
10 - Gotta Love It
11 - Crazy
12 - Line Up
13 - Amazing
14 - Boogie Man




Nine Lives is the 12th studio album by American rockers Aerosmith, released March 18, 1997. They had 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 first Columbia LP since '82. During the 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. The album peaked at No. 1 at the Billboard charts and hit single "Pink" won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance.

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.

Tracklist:

01 - Nine Lives
02 - Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)
03 - Hole In My Soul
04 - Taste Of India
05 - Full Circle
06 - Something's Gotta Give
07 - Ain't That A Bitch
08 - The Farm
09 - Crash
10 - Kiss Your Past Good-bye
11 - Pink
12 - Attitude Adjustment
13 - Fallen Angels


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