"A perfect example of a band achieving massive radio success without it feeling like a sellout." Aerosmith reclaim their glam crown on the none-more-eighties classic Pump

Permanent Vacation had shaken off the ring-rust, but Pump was where Aerosmith reclaimed their belt.

The nudge-nudge-wink-winking Love In Elevator took the pop smarts they’d picked up last time round and magnified them a hundredfold, while Young Lust and the rocket-fuelled F.I.N.E suggested there might still be some residual Class A’s sloshing around their systems.

But there was a depth to Pump that transcended its era, not least in the stellar Janie’s Got A Gun – a startlingly mature take on the impact of childhood abuse that’s impossible to imagine the Aerosmith of old tackling.

Elsewhere, Steven Tyler proved himself one of rock’s great lyricists: “Livin’, lovin’, getting’ loose, masturbatin’ with a noose/Now someone’s kicking out the chair,” he croaked on the shit-kicking Voodoo Medicine Man. Even after all this time, there was still no one like them.

"There’s some crazily good shit on that record," Tyler told Classic Rock. Young Lust? What It Takes? F.I.N.E? Love In An Elevator? Fuck me, we had collected some fine-ass marbles on that record. We actually finished 18 songs for that album, and some of them you’ll never hear. We had to bury a lot of good shit."

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Other albums released in September 1989

• Love and Rockets - Love and Rockets
• Alice in Hell - Annihilator
• Key Lime Pie - Camper Van Beethoven
• Louder Than Love - Soundgarden
• Megatop Phoenix - Big Audio Dynamite
• Mick Jones - Mick Jones
• S&M Airlinesn - NOFX
• Up to Here - The Tragically Hip
• Wake Me When It's Over - Faster Pussycat
• Brave And Crazy - Melissa Etheridge
• Foreign Affair - Tina Turner
• Quickness - Bad Brains
• Allroy's Revenge - ALL
• Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan
• Sound + Vision - David Bowie
• Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz
• Seasons End - Marillion
• Soldier of Fortune - Loudness
• The Healer - John Lee Hooker

What they said...

"Where Permanent Vacation seemed a little overwhelmed by its pop concessions, Pump revels in them without ever losing sight of Aerosmith's dirty hard rock core. Which doesn't mean the record is a sellout -- "What It Takes" has more emotion and grit than any of their other power ballads; "Janie's Got a Gun" tackles more complex territory than most previous songs; and "The Other Side" and "Love in an Elevator" rock relentlessly, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars. " (AllMusic)

" If fried brains is your idea of a rock dream, the first side will do the job at least as good as whatever raging slab is also your idea of a rock dream. For five songs, everything loud and acrid about them just keeps on coming – not even tune doctors can stave off the juggernaut. Of course, this band's idea of a rock dream is also the traditional Young Lust and Love In An Elevator – OK as far as it goes, but I could do with more Janie's Got a Gun, in which an abused teenager offs her dad. (Robert Christgau)

"Aerosmith gets no respect for locating that perfect sweet spot between the shamelessness of ‘80s sleaze-metal and the self-aware wink of proto-ironic ‘90s MTV culture. But they’ve got soul and they can goddamn write – the key changes that elevate What It Takes and Love In An Elevator heavenward, the “You’re so tight your lovin’ squeaks” in “F.I.N.E.,” the horn interjections throughout The Other Side. If you fell for Axl Rose blubbering over his Sweet Child O’Mine, wait until you hear Steven Tyler lose sleep over the abused daughter in Janie’s Got a Gun." (Spin)

What you said...

John Davidson: I was never really a fan of Aerosmith in the 70s. They were good in patches, but none of their albums really hit the spot for me. By the late 80s, though, they hit the mainstream MTV audience – of which I confess I was one – so while I didn't own this or Permanent Vacation until later, I knew the hits.

Permanent Vacation is probably the more serious album, but this one has my favourite songs. For once, the overblown 80s production seems to serve the songs rather than overwhelm them.

The album drops off a little in the latter half with My Girl and Don't Get Mad not quite making par, and the less said about What it Takes, the better. Hoodoo/Voodoo, Medicine Man, on the other hand, has improved with age and along with Janie's Got A Gun is probably my favourite song on the album. A solid 8 from me.

Chris Layton: 70s Aerosmith will always be the best. That being said, this album had some killer tracks and cool experimentation with dulcimers and didgeridoos. The Other Side really shines, with great harmonies, and fun to sing along to, Young Lust is a banger with energy and attitude, Monkey On My Back is an anthem to fighting addiction, What it Takes is nothing short of a masterpiece, and of course you have Janie's Got A Gun, which tackled a subject as serious as child sexual abuse with skill, and Love In An Elevator, with the harmonies at the end, and a Joe Perry guitar solo that shows you don't need to play with lightning speed to show off extreme skill.

There aren't any filler songs on the album, though Hoodoo/Voodoo, Medicine Man, and Don't Get Mad, Get Even are the weakest songs here. For the Geffen years, it's one of their best albums. Steven Tyler is in exceptional form, and the band is firing on all cylinders. If you were fortunate enough to catch this tour with their hotel rooftop stage, you saw a band that knew what it was doing and showed musicianship and Steven's voice and stage presence at the top of their game, without the haze of drugs hindering them. 10/10

Evan Sanders: Given that I grew up in the Boston area, I almost feel like I need to recuse myself from reviewing this one, as Aerosmith continues to be at the top of the classic rock pantheon in my home state. In my high school, tales abounded of classmates who either knew somebody in the band or were one connection away, e.g. “a kid I know went to high school with Joe Perry”.

And I’ll give my review anyway, believing that Pump perfected the 1980’s sound that was evolving on Done With Mirrors and Permanent Vacation. We all know so many of the individual songs, which have a more polished sound compared to the raw and bluesy feel of their 1970’s albums.

After many of us thought that Aerosmith was going to be another band that would just trot out their old hits on annual tours, they now had a batch of new songs and a new audience. And they did this without completely leaving their core audience, with lyrics that were still filled with innuendo and killer guitar riffs. I then wonder how many other bands have been as successful with a second act in their career, with their original lineup. 7 or 8/10 for me, as I went back to my past review of Rocks, which was 8/10. The 9/10 still goes to Toys in the Attic.

Mark Herrington: Having grown up with the 70s and early 80s feast of prog and hard rock, some of what was on offer as this decade closed out did not thrill me, and I cast around for something different. In addition, my focus shifted to marriage, kids and job changes. Consequently, distracted elsewhere, this passed me by in ‘89, when I was probably more interested in changing nappies, paying the mortgage bill, listening to the Cure’s Disintegration, and the Sisters of Mercy.

I picked up on it a few years later when my interest was piqued again in the 90s, and thought it was pretty good. Not in my all-time classic greats, but one of the better rock albums of ‘89. So, an enjoyable rock album with great hooks and swagger that passed me by at the time.

Gus Schultz: I used to love Aerosmith up until the 80s comeback. I found the music too overproduced in the typical 80s style. Tracks from this album and the rest of this time period were everywhere on TV and radio, and were an automatic dial change for me. Sure, their live act improved greatly compared to their drug-ridden 70s shows, ending the practice of Steven Tyler unplugging their opening acts' power cables (ask any member of Kansas). They certainly had plenty of help on this album from production to songwriting, not to mention from Run DMC, who helped resurrect their career with their cover of Walk This Way a few years before. That all being said, it is a well-done LP and was produced to do well for the era, but for me, it turned me off Aerosmith to a point where I don't even spin the old stuff anymore.

Robby Jackson: I’ve been thinking about how few of the great 70s rock bands were actually still relevant by the late 80s, but Aerosmith really pulled it off with Pump. It’s a perfect example of a band achieving massive radio success without it feeling like a sellout – the whole album is musically brilliant from start to finish.

That said, Bruce Fairbairn’s 'wall of sound' production is so dense that listening to it all the way through can definitely cause some ear fatigue. I found that dropping Steven’s vocals by a couple of decibels in the high-mids helped a lot. It really cleaned up that congestion and let the rest of the layers breathe. Once I made that adjustment to the mix, the album totally passed the 'Side B' test for me. Great record.

Chris Downie: There's very little to say about the MTV era of Aerosmith that hasn't already been said, running a whole gauntlet of viewpoints from triumphant comeback to the obligatory 'sell-out' jibes. In truth, the Run DMC collaboration was more pivotal than many realised back in the day, because good though it was, musically speaking, 1987's Permanent Vacation didn't do much that 1985's Done With Mirrors didn't.

Looking back at Pump, it's arguably the last album they made before the AOR demons truly possessed them. Not only is it their last great hard rock album, but it's also arguably their last truly great album, full stop. While later efforts like Get A Grip and Nine Lives have their moments, the consistency was never there again, and the sickly sweet ballads became ever more frequent, like a Monkey On Their Backs. 9/10.

Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator - YouTube

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Philip Qvist: Funny thing about Aerosmith, I know plenty of their songs, and yet I have never really explored their catalogue apart from the odd studio album or Greatest Hits compilation. That said, thanks to Steven Tyler's unique voice and Joe Perry's distinctive guitar playing, I can recognise an Aerosmith track the moment it starts playing.

To get into the mood for this review, I decided to play Toys In The Attic, Rocks, Permanent Vacation, the odd Best Of playlist and, of course, Pump, and I came to the following conclusions;

Dream On remains my favourite Aerosmith number.

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing will never appear on my best of Aerosmith list. It's an okay song, but Diane Warren is never going to be my favourite songwriter.

Toys In The Attic is the band's best album, and Rocks is not far off it.

Permanent Vacation is a superb comeback record, but I reckon follow-up Pump is slightly better - and that is where the band peaked in my opinion.

People growing up during the MTV era would recognise many songs from Permanent Vacation and Pump, and the latter is full of hits such as Janie's Got A Gun and Love In An Elevator, while most of the songs, such as F.I.N.E., simply rock.

This is a pretty good album, and I would rank Pump as their best post-1970s album. It's definitely well worth a spin. A pity we can't give half points here because I would have given it an 8.5 - so 9 it is.

Andrew Cumming: Growing up in the 80s, it was hard to comprehend just how massive Aerosmith were in the US in the 70s. As the rock revival of the 80s gathered pace, Aerosmith were keen to move from being influences to being part of that revival. Their first attempt was disappointing (Done With Mirrors), but Walk This Way gave them huge momentum, which they capitalised on with the excellent Permanent Vacation - a modern-sounding album with solid songs and a few hits.

The next step was going to be critical. Could they consolidate and turn in a really strong album? They could. Pump is as good as anything in their back catalogue. A tight 10 tracks, packed with great rockers (Young Lust, F.I.N.E., Monkey On My Back), a great ballad (What It Takes), a stellar hit single (Love In An Elevator) and some interestingly quirky songs (Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man, Janie's Got A Gun). The album absolutely rocks and still sounds good now.

The only sadness is that they never made anything remotely as good again. The follow-up, Get A Grip, was packed with hits, but at a sprawling 14 tracks, it didn't have the focus and sustained quality. Because of the sales, though, it became the template for the rest of their career with diminishing returns. Pump remains a later period landmark and can be enjoyed as one of their best albums ever.

Andrew McDonald: Discovering rock in '89, this album was a giant gateway not only to the genre but to the hallowed albums of Aerosmith past. Incredible performances all round, so much character in Tyler's vocals, plus enough cheeky, harmless smut to keep a nine-year-old grinning, then juxtaposed against violence, heartbreak and recent struggles with sobriety, it's a pretty wild ride. Fairbairn's 3D sound (Dr Feelgood was being recorded next door, so there was something in the water) makes for an instantly digestible and repeated listen.

Highly recommend the Making Of documentary. Seeing duel guitar masters in action, plus being a drummer himself, we witness how Tyler has become the twitch in Kramer's eye.

Nick Tedds: Prior to the late 80s, I always found Aerosmith albums to be rather hit-and-miss affairs. Their 10th studio album Pump is, however, classic hard rock of a consistently high standard. The pace is pretty relentless initially, and when matters do slow down a tad, Janie’s Got A Gun still hits right home. The band’s versatility is also highlighted by some of the lesser-known songs – the upbeat bluesy rhythm of My Girl, the broody Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man and the didgeridoo-led Don’t Get Mad, Get Even are often overlooked but are gems in their own right. Both the preceding Permanent Vacation and later Get A Grip had some killer tunes, but I think that Pump is an overall tighter piece of work that sits comfortably amongst some of the best albums of the period.

Keith Jenkin: The best post comeback album and the tour to support it was great. That said, give me the first six studio albums with Perry over everything else any day of the week.

Dean Doherty: Permanent Vacation is better. Love Love In An Elevator and F.I.N.E.. The rest is very good, but Permanent Vacation is far better. This was a tad of a letdown.

John Edgar: I'm in that age bracket that grew up as Aerosmith was coming up. I own it all. No brag, just fact. Consequently, I've also heard it all. From the best to the worst. Even at its worst, it was still some of the best rock around. To me, Pump is a superior Aerosmith release. It has a nice flow. I always listen to it start to finish.

Eric Schornhorst: Janie’s Got A Gun is still my favourite post-70’s Aerosmith song.

Brian Hart: Without a doubt, this is the best Aerosmith album since they got back together the second time around. The whole album rocks from beginning to end. F.I.N.E. is my favourite song from this album, but there is absolutely no filler. I remember seeing them on this tour, and they crushed Monkey On My Back and Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man. It could easily be argued that this is their best album- period.

Aerosmith - Janie's Got A Gun (David Fincher Cut) - YouTube

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Adam Ranger: Back to very familiar territory after a few less well-known albums. One of the better later period Aerosmith albums. Not as good as Permanent Vacation, but superior to Get a Grip.

In 1989, this was never far from my turntable. Great range of tunes, full-on rock songs. Bluesy swagger. And a ballad or two that thankfully are not as saccharine sweet as " Don't Wanna Miss A Thing. Lyrically, it's not surprising or challenging. Lots of innuendo and not-so-subtle lines. But also some great lyrical phrasing. Some tunes like F.I.N.E. are almost a stream of consciousness. A great rock album that has aged pretty well.

Michael Møller: My #1 Aerosmith is Done With Mirrors, beyond that, it went sour.

Mike Canoe: An album in which five dirty old men from Boston steal back money from the many Sunset Strip bands who purloined and updated Aerosmith's look and sound for the "visuals forward" '80s.

I came of musical age while Aerosmith was still doing it with mirrors and/or sorting themselves out, and had moved on to the alternative nation by the time Pump was released, so I was always a casual fan at best, but Love in an Elevator, Janie's Got a Gun, The Other Side and What It Takes were all over radio and MTV. You had to try really hard not to hear those songs, and I was never enticed to actually buy the album.

Listening to it today with my older and much more accommodating ears, it's easy to hear why many, many, many people did. Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn (Loverboy, Bon-Jovi, The Blit" by Krokus, Poison's Flesh & Blood, even AC/DC's The Razor's Edge) made an album perfect for maximum radio saturation while keeping plenty of wallop. Maybe the biggest surprise is how often horns (brass, not devil) show up and how well they fit the tunes.

Like most of the glam metal bands they begat, Aerosmith mostly wrote about sex, but that only goes so far sales-wise, and they were savvy enough to drop in a message song like Janie's Got A Gun or a high quality lighter waver like What It Takes. I think we still have my wife's cassingles of both songs.

Monkey On My Back really stands out to me. I think I could make a decent playlist about all those metaphorical monkeys. I'm pretty sure that I read a quote from bassist Tom Hamilton about how all the addictive personalities were still there; it's just that the new addiction was money. Pump made them plenty of it.

Nigel Mawdsley: A great album, although I've always felt that it loses steam on side two (of the vinyl release) after The Other Side (still good songs though).

Permanent Vacation, as some others have stated, is a better album, all killer, no filler, but Pump is still worthy of an 8 out of 10. It's a shame Get A Grip seemed a bit limp in places following on from two masterpieces.

Paul De Maria Mañas: Best album since Rocks. High energy and great songs.

Chris Elliott: Rose-tinted nostalgia helps this album. Provincial UK rock clubs for a few brief years played stuff you could dance to - and girls went - as opposed to zits, dandruff and Special Brew that dominated before. This really reminds me of that period - first proper job - something vaguely resembling disposable income - and about to become single again. One of the last hurrahs of metal/hard rock before it became best avoided.

This, alongside Permanent Vacation, is the only Aerosmith album I actually enjoy. Yes, they both have filler - but the percentage of decent fun sing-along tunes remains strong.

Do I still play it? Not really. But these days I don't wear skin-tight stripy trousers either.

Greg Schwepe: Longtime Aerosmith fan. Most likely bought this the week it was released. Know every track inside and out, from the slamming intro to Young Lust to the bluegrass-y instrumental piece stuck at the end of What It Takes. There is no shortage of rocking songs on this album: F.I.N.E., Love In An Elevator, The Other Side, the serious topic of Janie’s Got A Gun, and the grooving Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man. Even the short instrumental bridge pieces have become part of the DNA of the song they're attached to.

For Aerosmith, this was the right album at the right time. Yes, MTV started to change the musical landscape. For some bands, this was style over substance. For the stalwarts Aerosmith, who’d been up the ladder, down the ladder and were now gripping the top of the ladder again real tight, Aerosmith brought style and substance. But this time around, no substance abuse. Much was made about their being cleaned up. This often brought about the discussion: which Aerosmith is better, the drugged-out, dangerous band that brought us Rocks? Or the cleaned-up band which gave us the rocking, but smooth and polished Pump? Pretty sure this will be brought up in other reviews. If you don’t adapt, you may end up extinct.

One thing is for sure, the album is full of snappy, snarky, raunchy but not really raunchy lyrics delivered with typical Steven Tyler fashion. Tons of Perry and Whitford riffs, and the solid bass and drums of Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Everything you like about a boogie-filled, sleazy Aerosmith album.

On a Making of Pump documentary I saw, Tom Hamilton posed that it usually took the band two or three albums to lead up to something of a super calibre. Get Your Wings and Toys In The Attic led to the masterpiece that is Rocks. And now with the band getting back together, the same thing led to Pump. Done With Mirrors was “We’re back (in theory).” Permanent Vacation said “Dude, looks like we’re back.” And Pump said, “Yeah, we’re really back and we mean it.”

9 out of 10 on this one for me. Played the heck out of this in our household. And for those interested, it appears that most music streaming services interpret Steven Tyler’s rapid-fire vocal improvisation and list it as “yakakakakaw” when displaying lyrics. So now you know.

Final score: 7.31 (103 votes cast, total score 753)

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