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Category:    Home > Reviews > Rock > Aerosmith - Honkin' On Bobo (CD)

Aerosmith - Honkin’ On Bobo

Sound: B     Music: C-

 

It’s been a while since this Boston-born band supplied me with anything I’d readily listen to.  However, I was eager to hear Aerosmith take on some of the songs that had something of an influence on their early music.  I haven’t followed their career much since the mid-90s ended, and their primary audience shifted to one comprised mainly of teenage girls.  Don’t ask me how it happened; I can’t really explain it either.  In keeping with the band’s current ideals, this album is skinny on any real substance, and it certainly doesn‘t feel like a lot of thought or care was put into it.  Thus, we have Honkin’ On Bobo.

Rather than stripping the material down to its bare bones and doing it justice, we’ve got twelve unnecessary remakes that don’t spark any interest in acquiring the originals.  This could have been a real keeper if the band got together and wrote down their thoughts on the songs, maybe what it was that drew them to include them here in the first place.  Even Metallica went through the trouble to say what influence the songs had on them when the time came for the release of Garage, Inc.  Not only that, but since this material is largely foreign to Aerosmith’s core audience, a second disc with the songs performed by their original artists (when available) would have been a nice gesture to their older fans and blues purists.

What we get instead of the extensive liner notes I’d have preferred are photos of the band striking poses in exaggerated and brightly colored suits.  The music itself becomes bland when Aerosmith puts their spin on it, effectively bastardizing the songs.  A similar-minded collection that came out this past year was The Misfits: Project 1950 album.  It’s pretty much the same case of ruining some great songs there, but Jerry Only at least had the good taste to explain why he felt the need to butcher his favorite songs from the 50’s and 60’s.

The PCM 2.0 sound quality on the disc is clean and is the average for studio albums... which is a problem in a way.  It should feel a little bit dated, alive and gritty - not plastic and polished.  I really don’t think that this band knows why they went through with this collection.  Besides, it isn’t like they have any real need to play the blues these days; they’ve got enough money to keep themselves happy for a long time to come.  I feel that George Carlin caps things off best with this quote - “I’ll tell you a little secret about the blues: it’s not enough to know which notes to play, you have to know why they need to be played.”

 

-   David Milchick


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