Aerosmith
A Little South Of Sanity

THE REVIEW

"Armageddon" has recently been released in theaters, we are in 1997 and Aerosmith had "participated" in the movie (in which, coincidentally, one of Tyler's daughters also took part) by including some songs, including the commercial ballad "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and from that moment on, many considered this band to have "become commercial."

In the same year, the band released an album titled "Nine Lives" and this live album aptly titled "A Little South of Sanity." The first of the two mentioned works is a product in which Tyler & co. change style and shift from hard rock to a more catchy and consequently more commercial pop rock. In this live album recorded during some tours of the '80s and more recent ones, the band tries somehow to refute the fans' criticisms, succeeding only partially, in my opinion.

As we move forward, the percussions that gradually get stronger lead us to "Eat the Rich", which immediately seems perfect, but Tyler doesn't perform the chorus very well and consequently, even the rhythm, including Joe Perry, gets out of sync. It is always the guitarist who makes up for it with excellent solos. After this not-so-brilliant execution, the powerful riff of "Love in a Elevator" stands out, and Steven acts silly here, but still sings quite well, however, the difference is again made by the trusty Joe, along with Brad and Tom. The two "Falling in Love" (well executed, but I won’t comment on it because it's the same as on the record) and "Same Old Song and Dance", which is really perfect, more energetic and also tougher, with the usual instrumental interlude, follow. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, the singer has remained somewhat in the background up to this point, but he redeems himself with "Hole in my Soul", an amazing key and much better than on "Nine Lives", even "Monkey on my Back" is perfect, with spine-chilling high notes and screams. Drum beats arrive and Joe Perry performs the riff of "Livin' on the Edge" quite faithfully and the frontman fuels this ballad while keeping a lower profile, "Cryin'" in my opinion isn't very brilliant, Tyler "throws down" the chorus and consequently it doesn’t turn out very well. "Rag Doll" is only more "raw", but it remains a rather indifferent execution. It's not the same for "Angel", much sweeter, and the singer is as good as it gets, unfortunately "Janie's got a Gun" loses energy and it isn’t a good performance. "Amazing" beautifully closes disc 1.

The first thing we hear on the second disc is the riff of "Back in the Saddle", excellent, "Last Child" is less energetic than needed, but Joe and Brad delight us with endless solos. With "The Other Side" the level drops, and it's rescued by the guitarist's vocal performance. This is now the best moment of the disc: his majesty "Dream on", incredible Tyler at the microphone. I’ve never liked the ballad "Crazy" and continue to dislike it even if well performed. The worst moment is "Mama Kin", dreadful in this version, poor voice and effective only in the chorus. Unfortunately, even "Walk this Way" is weak, "Dude" is played, but not sung as well. Another redemption for Tyler who performs "What it Takes" alone in the first part with a very high note. "Sweet Emotion" closes this modest live quite decently.

Aerosmith lost the shine of yesteryear and here, even though they've improved technically, they no longer have the same energy. At least when listening to this CD, because "Rockin the Joint" will prove me wrong.