Three reasons to hate Aerosmith (as if we needed more): "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," "Jaded" and "Just Push Play."
Anyone who has good taste in music holds quite a grudge against Aerosmith for using their dubious title of "Best Hard Rock Band" in order to make horrid musical compilations that have topped pop charts around the world.
In fact, the 34-year-old band has become even more annoying than The Rolling Stones in its old age.
Aerosmith's recent anti-rock antics have even made people forget about the band's good stuff.
What good stuff? The 1976 release, "Rocks," is one of my favorite albums - bluesy and groovy - this was the band at its best.
So can Aerosmith ever redeem itself?
It's pretty hard to restore a reputation after years of vomit-inducing hits such as "Pink."
But, "Honkin' On Bobo" is reason enough to give the band another chance.
"Honkin' On Bobo" is the band's latest release and possibly the best recording from Aerosmith in more than a decade.
This 12-track album is full of blues covers - a tip of the hat from Aerosmith to such legends as Willie Dixon, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Sonny Boy Williamson.
No matter how annoying other people find it, I like Steven Tyler's voice. In many ways, he, along with Mick Jagger, have defined what a frontman should be.
He's still got it; he can still hit those high notes; and taking into consideration all the detrimental things he has done to his body over the years, I'm pretty impressed by his talent.
The new album's title, I think, is a reference to cocaine. My seventh grade health teacher informed me of the street names of such vicious drugs, and "bobo" was one alias for crack/cocaine.
Sure, it could be a reference to the harmonica pictured on the CD cover, but the album sees fans back to Aerosmith's days of being a bar band, and the buckets full of cocaine they said they gave up years ago - so maybe it's a way of returning to their youth soberly.
I don't condone the use of cocaine, but it seems to work for most rock stars.
In fact, some of the best rock music has been influenced by cocaine - Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Robert Plant, just to name a few.
Highlights on the album include the hard-hitting cover of Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go." This song has been covered by about a million artists, but Aerosmith actually did it some justice.
The presence of legendary pianist, 79-year-old Johnnie Johnson, gives Aerosmith a right to call "Honkin' On Bobo" a blues tribute album. Otherwise, it would just be the band struggling to make their rock style blues without the help of any authentic musicians of the genre.
"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a highly energetic tune with killer rhythm and electric guitar work from Joe Perry. Tyler's vocals sound just as good as ever on this one.
There's smokin' dobro and harmonica in "Back Back Train", but guitarist Perry's vocals sound forced.
Forced vocals on a blues song are about the worst thing in the world, but I guess that's what happens when guitarist Perry opens his mouth. (Think of his dorky line in "Wayne's World 2.")
But his vocals on this tune still are better than Tyler's on the "Armageddon" soundtrack. Backing Perry's vocals is 90s alterna-rocker Tracy Bonham, which makes the song about 10 times better.
"You Gotta Move," written by Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi Fred McDowell, is another reason to check out "Honkin' On Bobo." This highly electrified version of the song is great, and features seriously hot vocals from Tyler.
"The Grind" sounds a lot like what you'd expect from Aerosmith - a lot like the material off of 1993's "Get a Grip." But most of the album is a lot more like 1970s Aerosmith than the recent Aerosmith we've all come to know and despise.
The album's final track, "Jesus Is On the Mainline" is probably the best tune on the album, with great slide guitar from Perry and steamy vocals from Bonham.
Tyler and Perry aren't the only members of Aerosmith who deserve props for this resurrection-of-rock release. Rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, drummer Joey Kramer and especially solid bassist Tom Hamilton give "Honkin' On Bobo" a seriously rich sound.
Let's just hope Aerosmith doesn't stray again from the road o' rock - and that the band members keep the clothes on their less-than-studly bods.
In short, "Honkin' On Bobo" is not a blues album. It's the sleazy, boozin' band members of Aerosmith covering great blues tunes and doing a pretty decent job of it, but by no means is it blues.
At least it's not pop music or a soundtrack.
If you liked this, you might also like: Selected albums from The Rolling Stones
Suggested listening: When you're 60, trying on clothes you would have worn when you were 20.
