Aerosmith
Honkin' On Bobo

THE REVIEW

First off, I must admit that I know little to nothing about the original tracks performed on this album, just as I know little to nothing about the artists "covered" by the Boston group. Having said that, we can start the review of this album, released in 2004, three years after the enjoyable Just Push Play. This Honkin' On Bobo is a collection, a tribute that the Aerosmith pay to their primordial genre, the blues.

It kicks off with a bang with Bo Diddley's "Road Runner" and its captivating riff that immediately glues your ears to the stereo. The band plays brilliantly, as always, and towards the end, Tyler's singing starts to enrich itself with ear-piercing screams, typical of the singer's repertoire. Next up is a "booty-shaking track" namely "Shame, Shame, Shame" (by Jimmy Reed), one of the toughest tracks on the album... we face a full-fledged rock-blues track and Joe Perry's guitars weave riffs and small solos that make this piece truly unique. The "hot" atmosphere doesn't seem to want to drop even in the third track "Eyesight To The Blind," a non-energetic track, but it's pleasant to listen to, thanks to Steven Tyler's performance alone, who with his voice touches the limit... and surpasses it! Another booty-shaking track is "Baby, Please Don't Go," presented in a very hard-rock version. This track also shows how the "boys," despite their respectable age, still know how to get teenagers moving with tracks like this: movement and sweat, that's what comes out when listening to a blazing track like this!! Finally, the atmosphere drops significantly thanks to the slow-paced turn that the Aeros always gift us over the years: it's time for "Never Loved A Girl," a piece proposed by Aretha Franklin some years ago... Certainly, this track proves to be interesting also because, as usual, Tyler's voice is at its peak, reaching very high notes. Other than that, the band performs admirably, as they have been doing for thirty years now. "Back Back Train" features Joe Perry on vocals, and this piece ends up a bit weak, due to the absence of Tyler on the microphone, so let's move on to "You Gotta Move," another convincing track but one that can turn out to be a bit tedious in the long run, however, it's worth a listen. "The Grind" is an unreleased track in this sea of covers and neither adds nor detracts from Aerosmith's repertoire. "I'm Ready" by Willie Dixon sees Tyler's voice transform from a yelling to a hoarse one, maintaining a high effect: indeed, the strong point of this album is Steven's voice, which manages to adapt to all the tracks (even Santana's rubbish), and in this album, he proves to be in excellent shape. "Temperature" by Little Walter follows the previous pattern: hoarse but charming and engaging voice!! We're almost at the end, "Stop Messin' Around" sees Joe Perry again, this time tackling a slightly more dynamic track, yet the result isn't pleasant, even though good old Joe does his best to make his sweet anonymous voice enjoyable. "Jesus Is On The Main Line" is perhaps the most successful track in its simplicity: a few acoustic guitars, Steven's harmonica, and a nice choir as a backdrop... an interesting closing track.

To conclude, the first 5 tracks are really beautiful, tough, and create a truly explosive mix, but then the atmosphere drops, thanks to slightly lackluster tracks and Joe Perry's non-singer voice. As it is, this album loses a lot and recovers when it's too late, with the last track. The thing to save here is the singer's voice, which deserves five stars, while the rest of the band does their nice homework but doesn't reach the excellence of their frontman.