Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension! (review)

Aerosmith are back with their first album of all-new material since 2001's Just Push Play.  There are many reasons as to what the hell took them forever to do this, but the long story short is that Aerosmith never really gets anything finished when they say they will.  Still, I've been looking forward to this album since the first single dropped last Spring.  So let's take a look at Music From Another Dimension!

Music From Another Dimension!... in my man-cave.

The Good: There's some really cool rock songs on this album.  In fact, MFAD seems to span the band's entire career.  You've got fist-pumping rockers like "Luv XXX" and "Legendary Child".  You've got the radio-friendly ballads like, "What Could Have Been Love" and "We All Fall Down".  There's the experimental, what-the-hell style on "Beautiful", and there's also the straight-forward "Oh Yeah" - a song that reminds me of their first album in many ways.
Speaking of the 1970s, if you're that person who always says, "Aerosmith sucks and hasn't done anything good since the 70s", then you'll like the blistering "Street Jesus".  Trust me.
For me, the standout track has been "Out Go The Lights", which used to be an outtake called "Guilty Kilt".  I've been listening to that outtake for about 15 years now and always wondered why it was never finished into a song.  Now that it is, Out Go The Lights really does capture the feel of the band.
Pretty much encapsulates the band's entire career, right?  Oh, what about a cross-genre collaboration like they did with Run DMC.  Yep, that's on here too - in the name of Carrie Underwood.  I've got no problem with Aerosmith doing a little country. They've always had a little touch of country in them here and there.  And since today's country music is really just classic rock, it makes too much sense.  When the song, "Can't Stop Lovin' You", hits radio it will no doubt be a sing-along hit that could result in Steven Tyler nailing as many twenty-somethings as he'd like.  Makes you wonder why every guy on the planet doesn't go country.
Music From Another Dimension really succeeds in its sound though.  The guys in Aerosmith are actually playing in the same room together this time.  They recorded this as a band.  And for the first time in twenty-five years or so, everyone on the roster has a writing credit somewhere.  When Tyler sings the ballads, you can feel the pain in the lyrics ("Another Last Goodbye" might just make you tear up a bit).  We haven't felt that from Tyler in a long time, as he seemed too focussed on making a hit before.

The Bad:  The album does run a little long and could've been cut down to ten songs, or separated as two albums.  There are five bonus songs kicking around on various deluxe editions, so we could have had two ten-track albums.  Music From Another Dimension really doesn't hit a drag until "Freedom Fighter", with vocals by Joe Fuckin' Perry.  This song about Invisible Children in Africa shows us why there aren't many politically charged anthems on Aerosmith records.  Even background vocals from Johnny Depp can't save this song.  Perry pretty much kills the record again with "Something" a mere two tracks later, which is a real shame because better lyrics and vocals by Tyler would've made that one a really cool old style rock song.  The guitars are nice n' dirty on it. There's usually a Perry-vocal song on the albums that gets skipped over so having two (3 if you count bonus tracks) is just overkill.
I mentioned the five bonus songs, and a couple of them could have easily replaced the Perry tunes to strenghten the album up.  But then again, as we've mentioned before, this album seems to represent the band's entire career, and Joe Perry did have two solo eras of his career, so maybe that's what they're trying to say here? 
I think the album title is a little silly, and might have been better if it was just called "Another Dimension".

The Verdict: If you're looking for the next "Rocks" or "Toys In The Attic", this isn't it.  And really, that's not possible to get anymore from Aerosmith.  The band grew up and changed tastes.  They aren't nearly as pissed off about everything as they were back in those days.  But Music From Another Dimension is definitely worth picking up.  If you've ever liked Aerosmith then there's something for you on this album.  You can hear their Beatles influence all over the place.  And shell out the extra three dollars for the deluxe edition.  You get those bonus songs, 2 of 3 are really good, and a DVD with live footage and interviews. 
Music From Another Dimension is Aerosmith's last album under contract with Sony.  So it might be their last album, for all we know. I don't see the band ever stopping, but with today's multi-distribution paths, I wouldn't be surprized if they started releasing online singles and EPs on their own terms.  At least that way we wouldn't have to wait eleven years for new Aerosmith music.