Aerosmith - 'Just Push Play'
                                                                                                                                    Released in 2001 on Columbia Records

THE BAND:
Steven Tyler -lead &backing vocals, harmonica, squeeze box, piano, percussion
Joe Perry - guitar, backing vocals, hurdy gurdy, petal steel, slide guitar
Brad Whitford -guitar
Tom Hamilton -bass, fretless bass
Joey Kramer -drums

TRACK LISTING:
1.) "Beyond Beautiful" -This track opens with a hurdy gurdy type pattern. Joe and Brad both play very simple guitar patterns through the pre-verse and verse. The song really doesn't have that Aerosmith classic sound until the chorus. Also during the chorus the band incorporate a small banjo section. With each CD Aerosmith release they seem to add more and more fill in instruments.
2.) "Just Push Play" - This track opens with a sampled drum and vocals pattern. For the last couple CD's Aerosmith have really modernized their music some older fans may not like it but it really sound cool and is done in a great way. The track even though modernized it still has that classic Aerosmith vocal sound. One thing I found, and really liked was the small album scratching in the background. This track has a lot of background vocal overdubs.
3.) "Jaded" -This is the first single taken off the CD. It probably is the strongest song on the release and anyone can see way it was chosen to be the first. The track kicks off with a small drum pattern and a simple Perry guitar rhythm. The main guitar pattern of the verse as a reverb pattern, which has a relaxed feeling to the song. The song has a very strong chorus like most of Aerosmith's stuff. The bridge is just classic Aerosmith, with a small Steven duet. The chorus after the bridge the band added an echo to Stevens's vocals, which really sets the song off.
4.) "Fly Away From Here" - This first ballad kicks off with a classic sounding piano piece. During the verse Steven overdubbed the vocal line into a duet effect. Like a lot of Steven's piano ballads this one almost sounds like a lullaby through the verses. Steven has a great vocal range and this song is just one of the few that really shows it. For fill in music the band added an orchestra section, which is always cool in a ballad.
5.) "Trip Hoppin'" - From the opening drumbeat you can tell this is going back to early Aerosmith days. The band added a very cool horn section on this track. Joe really reached back to that classic Aerosmith guitar sound on this one.
6.) " Sunshine" -This is the second ballad on the CD. It has a real cool acoustic guitar pattern. Once again Steven has a duet section that was real cool. Steven's real talent really lies in knowing how to set the words up with the music. There is one of the strangest guitar solo's I believe I have ever heard on this track.
7.) "Under My Skin" -This track kicks off with another one of those sampled patterns. At times the vocals cross over from one speaker to another, which adds for a strange effect. With the studio tricks used on this track you can really here the Beatles influence.
8.) "Luv Lies" - This is the third ballad. I really liked the guitar and harmonica sound of the intro on this track. Once again Steven's words along with the bands music fit perfectly. The lead guitar patterns are real laid back and bluesy.
9.) "Outta Your Head" - This track has another sampled intro. The vocal lines of the verses are a lot like Primus, which is a real strange sound for Aerosmith. Tom Hamilton has a real cool bass line on this track.
10.) "Drop Dead Gorgeous" - This track has a very abstract vocal arrangement. The music and choruses are excellent but I really could not get by the abstract vocal sound of Joe Perry to really get into the song.
11.) "Light Inside" - This track opens with a sampled drum pattern. The vocal overdubs for this one are unreal.
12.) "Avant Garden" - Aerosmith has always closed their CD's with well-put together songs, this is no exception. The electric overtones over the acoustic really set the song off. Musically this is another Aerosmith masterpiece

     This was a real hard CD to review, Mainly because I have been a long time Aerosmith fan for many years now. So as I am writing this I am thinking about "Just Push Play" compared to all the other Aerosmith CD's they have released over the years, and came to this conclusion. Does it rank up there with the rest? Well, not really, but it is a great CD nonetheless. As a musician myself I have a blast listening to it and hearing the different instruments within each track. So going by that it is worth your hard-earned money. But if your looking for that classic Aerosmith sound, I don't think many of this songs have that. So it is really personal taste rather you will like this CD or not.