CD Review: Music From Another Dimension, By Aerosmith

I just finished my first complete listen to the brand new Aerosmith release, called Music From Another Dimension.  Before I go too deeply into my thoughts on the album, I have to tell you right off the bat that if you have been a fan of the band since the beginning, or even just for a few years, then you will not find anything on this record that is unexpected or out of character for The Boston Bad Boys.  Dimension adds up to a little over an hour's worth of standard Aerosmith party rock, with several of their trademark ballads thrown in for good measure.

I have to confess that my first listen to this one left me with mixed feelings.  I think for me, that this is one of those albums that will have to grow on me in time.  There is some very good material here, and some of it even hearkens back to the classic Seventies Aerosmith, but my first impression is that there is also quite a bit of filler.  And as has been the case with the Aerosmith albums of the recent past, the band is once again guilty of ballad overkill.  One in particular, a duet with Carrie Underwood called Can't Stop Loving You is especially vomit inducing!  To be fair and honest, they do have a way with a ballad, and I have enjoyed many of them, but there are just too many already!  You are supposed to be a rock band, guys!

There is some good news here, though.  Remember when I said that there was some good material?  Well, the songs that are good do a great deal to help make up for the album's other shortcomings.  The opening two tracks, LUV XXX, and Oh Yeah are both rocking numbers, as is the song Legendary Child.  Thus far, my favorite track on the record is a tune called Out Go The Lights, which really has the classic Aerosmith funky rock swagger!  Also on the good side, all of the individual performances are pretty strong for the most part, particularly Joe Perry's guitar work.

In the end, longtime fans will only find more of what the band is known for.  There isn't really anything new or different, but the album is still enjoyable.  I do think it could have been a lot stronger if they had "trimmed some of the fat," so to speak.  Getting rid of a few songs, specifically a couple of the overly-abundant ballads, would have highlighted some of the stronger tunes, and perhaps made the album feel just a little less bloated.  The bottom line for this one is that it's a decent and mostly pleasant listen, but I don't think that it can be counted as one of Aerosmith's true killers!  I'd have to give it an average rating of about three-and-a-half stars.