When checking the exact release date of this release, I was amazed to discover how many kick ass live albums were put out in this year. As well as this there was Ted Nugent – Double Live Gonzo, Thin Lizzy – Live And Dangerous, AC/DC – If You Want Blood, and Scorpions – Tokyo Tapes – to name a few! Unlike all of those records that have either been enhanced afterwards with lots of overdubs in the studio, or completely laid down in a studio, this album (as the title suggests) is completely Live and is a total mess. Not in a bad way, you have to understand it’s just the way Aerosmith were in the seventies.
Every song seems to have been recorded at a different show, either a huge enormo-dome show or small little club shows or theaters, and it seems to have been sequenced in a random order. The band’s performances range from the amazing, to completely sloppy – and I love this album for that alone. The band’s love for chemical enhancements is well documented, and there are songs like Last Child where Tyler sounds as though he is completely off his face. Then there are killer moments like Lord Of The Flies which is superb ,and Come Together which is one of the best versions I have heard of this song.
Up until Permanent Vacation, the band was on its knees, and with the help of outside writers they made it to mega status. But there is something about the band at this time that I love – they were just a killer rock n roll band. They have written some classic tunes before Love In An Elevator that people forget. Dream On, Sweet Emotion, Toys In The Attic, and Walk This Way are all hall of fame contenders – but that was a different band.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
