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 A decent compilation of 'single edits' February 19, 2005
M. McM (Los Angeles, CA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The previous reviewer is correct. In fact, the compilation as a whole favors 'single edits.' That is, album versions of songs were edited to make them shorter and then released as singles, and that's what they use here.
Problem is, back in the 1970's, to make a 'single edit,' you didn't cut the master - that would've been VERY bad. Instead they would dub the master on to a new tape and make the edit on the copy. The cut-up copy would then become the master for the single. Sometimes they even throw in some compression and bad EQ during the dubbing when making the 'single edit.'
So why should anyone care? Because it explains why the sound quality on this compilation is inferior to the CDs of the actual albums.
Aerosmith was a great hard rock band in the 1970's, their creative peak, but you're better off with other compilations. Better yet, get "Toys In The Attic" or "Rocks." "Toys In The Attic" has their biggest, best-known hits, and it's probably the one with the most mainstream appeal. "Rocks," though, is their best album. Both are essential Aerosmith.
 The Greatest hits of their first era February 13, 2006
Eddie Lancekick (Pacific Northwest)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
To this day it's my favorite "Greatest Hits" album from this band. This one features their covers of the Beatles songs "Come together" and "Kings and Queens" which despite being covers are given a new spark by Steven Tyler and the boys. The early hits are here, as we find ourselves enjoying the raw and ever so powerful tracks like "Sweet Emotion" "Same old song and dance" and "Walk this way". Ten tracks in all on this greatest hits package of their early material, and when compared to their entire discography tends to fade into the background, it still is the start of the machine that we came to know as a supergroup called AEROSMITH.
Perfect for any Aerosmith Fan October 29, 2005
Lisa Shea
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Aerosmith has been creating hits for several decades, and this CD gathers up some of their most popular songs. It's important that this was put out back in 1980! Certainly they have had MANY hits since then. Heck, they had more than 10 hits at that point, even. Still, people were asking for a Greatest Hits collection at the time, and they loved having one to buy.
These are NOT the full length album versions of songs. These are the "singles" versions. Actually for fans, that is a great thing. If you want the full length album version, you can buy the album. Without this collection it might be really hard to hear the version you remembered from the radio.
People always argue over what songs count as hits to go on a collection. I found this group a quite nice group, and I own the other albums as I said if I want to listen to another song not in this set.
Dream On is of course an epic classic, I just love this song. "Dream until your dreams come true!" It's great for blasting in the car as you cruise down the highway, looking to get that new job or boyfriend or whatever it is you're seeking. On the flip side, "Same Old Song and Dance" is a little more callous, that life gives you junk to deal with sometimes - so you deal with it.
"Sweet Emotion" is the kick-butt longing that just about every human has had at some point in life, when you see someone in a club and you just want to be with them. Then comes "Walk This Way" which I really love, with its cool strut-sound that is perfect to dance to.
Really, every song here is great, right up until the ending "Remember" song full of angst and plaintiveness. It's the perfect ending to the collection of songs that span the emotions through dreams, losses, lust, and heartache.
Well recommended to go with your other Aerosmith CDs!
Chopped Up & Butchered June 4, 2009
haskpts
AEROSMITH - GREATEST HITS
1 Dream On [Aerosmith]
2 Same Old Song And Dance [Get Your Wings]
3 Sweet Emotion (Edited version) [Toys In The Attic]
4 Walk This Way (Edited version) [Toys In The Attic]
5 Last Child [Rocks]
6 Back In The Saddle [Rocks]
7 Draw The Line [Draw The Line]
8 Kings And Queens (Edited version) [Draw The Line]
9 Come Together [Was on Live Bootleg]
10 Remember (Walking In The Sand) [Night In The Ruts]
* Don't think mine is the remastered version all I see is a publishing date of 1986.
REVIEW: This is a classic example of one of those hits compilations that was excellent back in the days of vinyl records, but in this day and age, where you have compact discs and can easily fit up to eighty minutes of music on one of them, this set just falls flat. I am extremely disappointed to see that the record company didn't do an expanded edition with additional tracks to fill in all that extra running time on the CD. Nonetheless, it is a solid, filler free compilation with what it does offer you. Let's take a look at each of the albums, and see what they serve up!
AEROSMITH (1973) - Tracks Present: Dream On
Comments: This song was Aerosmith's first big hit, and rightfully so. But why is it the only track included from the debut!? How they could omit Mama Kin is beyond me, being that it was a very popular song in its own right. Dream On IS the best song from the debut the band could have selected, but why stop there?
GET YOUR WINGS (1974) - Tracks Present: Same Old Song And Dance
Comments: Everything I said about the debut album is also true here. Same Old Song And Dance was the biggest hit and all around best song on the album, but it wasn't the only good song or big hit! The compilation really would have benefitted from Train Kept A Rollin', which sadly, is missing in action. You can't represent ANY Aerosmith album with a single track from each! [Hask says: I do recall I liked Lord Of The Thighs ... back in the day when I had the eight track.]
TOYS IN THE ATTIC (1975) - Tracks Present: Sweet Emotion (in edited form), Walk This Way
Comments: Two big hits, but they could have done so much more. Walk This Way is the quintessential Aerosmith classic, no question - but edited down from 3:40 down to 3:12. Sweet Emotion is a similarly loved song, and rightfully so. But why is Sweet Emotion edited!? The original is 4:34 this edited version is 3:12. There is no excuse for this, period! And while were at it, where are the title track and Big Ten Inch Record? These omissions, as well as a classic hit being edited, are totally unforgivable.
ROCKS (1976) - Tracks Present: Last Child, Back In The Saddle:
Comments: It's the same story all over again. Two big hits from the album in question, but there were other choices that would have made fine additions to the album. Rats In The Cellar is the omission from this album that hurt me the most. All the more reason this compilation is long overdue for expansion.
DRAW THE LINE (1977) - Tracks Present: Draw The Line, Kings And Queens (in edited form)
Comments: I'm not going to lie. From this album, the person compiling this set could not have picked two better songs with which to represent the band? The problem? Kings And Queens is edited, slicing off the awesome guitar intro. These edited versions are a huge thorn in this compilation's side. Edited stuff belongs on the radio, not on compilations!
NIGHT IN THE RUTS (1979) - Tracks Present: Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)
Comments: One song from this album? That's all we get? While I'm not going to deny that this is an excellent song, it just isn't enough, nor is it necessarily the best choice. I was surprised to see No Surprize, Cheese Cake, Mia, Or Chiquita didn't make the cut. Personally, I think any one of these songs probably would have represented this album better than the Shangri-Las cover the compiler decided to go with.
Other Tracks - Tracks Present: Come Together
Comments: Come Together was pulled from the 1978 soundtrack to the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That soundtrack, appropriately enough, featured various artists covering Beatles songs. Aerosmith's cover of this standard is one of the few pieces from that soundtrack that really stood out. And with the release of Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, at long last, the piece was finally available on an Aerosmith album! A nice addition to the compilation.
I am glad to see that this compilation kept the songs in the original release date orders, however I am extremely disappointed to see that the record company chose not to do an expanded edition. They had a ton of room on the compact disc format to do so, and with all that space, there is no excuse for the omissions or the edited versions of some tracks being featured here. It's also worth noting that nowhere on the packaging does it indicate that these tracks are edited versions. Likewise, there are no unreleased tracks, meaning if you bought all of the albums, you're not going to find anything new here (except for the edited versions, and honestly, who wants those?).
Aerosmith - THE BEST OF December 6, 2008
MARCOLA (Somewhere in Time...)
I've been listening to AEROSMITH since the early 80's.
This album truly has the classics on it.
I rate this CD a 9 from 1to10!!
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