A Little South Of Sanity

10/20/1998 3:00 AM, LAUNCH
Rob O'Connor

Aerosmith's first live album, Live! Bootleg, was one of the sloppiest, drug-addled recordings in the history of sloppy, drug-addled live albums. Now 19 years later comes this two-disc extravaganza where you can be assured that the group has made sure to spit-shine and polish the rough edges. Why the heck not? They regularly employ off-stage keyboard guys to trigger their back-up harmonies anyhow. As the definition of what constitutes a live performance ever changes, the definition of the bloated hit-filled double album remains the same. "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," "Love In An Elevator," "Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)," "Janie's Got A Gun," "Cryin'," the 23 tracks are smartly chosen for those following such things. It's one loud, guitar-driven mess without a hint of spontaneity anywhere. Unless, of course, some mush-mouthed Steven Tyler rants count. Which, of course, they don't.