Yes The Ladder released

The Ladder Yes

Released: September 28, 1999 Peak: 99 US, 36 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Homeworld (The Ladder) [9:32] (1/3/99, --) It Will Be a Good Day (The River) [4:53] Lightning Strikes…She Ay (Do Wa Bap) [5:35] (1999, --) Can I? [1:31] Face to Face [5:02] If Only You Knew [5:42] (10/31/00, --) To Be Alive (Hep Yadda) [5:07] Finally [6:01] The Messenger [5:12] New Language [9:19] Nine Voices (Longwalker) [3:22] Lyrics by Anderson. Music by Anderson, Howe, Sherwood, Squire, White, and Khoroshev. Total Running Time: 60:26 The Players: Jon Anderson (vocals) Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals, mandolin, banjo) Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals, harmonica) Alan White (drumers, percussion, backing vocals) Billy Sherwood (guitar, backing vocals) Igor Khoroshev (keyboards, backing vocals)

Rating: 2.964 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

About the Album: Yes’ 18th studio album featured the same lineup which recorded the poorly-received Open Your Eyes in 1997 and the group which hit the road for the band’s 30th anniversary tour. White reported that the band lived in different apartments in the same building during the recording and travelled to and from the studio together – something they hadn’t done since 1977’s Going for the One. WK Bruce Fairbairn was brought in to produce the album. He’d previously produced such albums as Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and New Jersey as well as Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip. He also worked with AC/DC, Blue Öyster Cult, Chicago, the Cranberries, INXS, Kiss, Loverboy, Poison, the Scorpions, and Van Halen. He died unexpectedly during the making of the album. Yes dedicated the album to him. Anderson and Howe performed Nine Voices (Longwalker) at his funeral. WK That song was based on a 1978 spiritual-led walk across the United States which was organized by the American Indian Movement to support tribal sovereignty. Anderson befriended a participant named Long Walker and wrote a song about the nine tribe members and the song they sing “to bring forgiveness in the world.” WK Homeworld (The Ladder) resulted from the band’s discussions with Sierra Games about licensing a track for their game Homeworld. The song, with Anderson’s lyrics inspired by the game’s themes of science fiction, space, and the search for a new home, was featured in the game’s end credits. WK All Music Guide’s Bret Adams called it a “tight performance” AMG while The Daily Vault’s Jason Warburg said the song showed how the group “can unquestionably still tackle the sprawling, multi-themed rock numbers that were once its bread and butter.” WK However, Warburg also said the band was struggling to define itself, but blended their 1970s progressive sound with their pop-oriented 1980s fare better than they had on Open Your Eyes. Adams agreed that “The Ladder is a synthesis of the best traits of the experimental Fragile era and the pop-oriented 90125 era.” AMG Adams considered Face to Face, in which “Squire lets loose with a sputtering bassline,” to be the strongest track. AMG Band biographer Chris Welch commended the track for “some of the most joyful playing heard on a Yes album in many moons.” WK Adams called New Language “the best long song… thanks to a clever arrangement giving all six members an opportunity to demonstrate their talents.” AMG He considered If Only You Knew, which Anderson wrote for his wife, “a sweet, straightforward love song” AMG and noted The Messenger “has a smooth, funky feel – a remarkable feat considering prog rock is usually considered the ‘whitest’ rock genre.” AMG The Ladder largely “received a warm reception from critics who saw the album as a return to creative form.” WK Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Gene Stout called it a “bright, optimistic album” WK and the Daily Herald’s Rick Baert considered it a return to the band’s musical roots. Adams questioned the roles of Khoroshev and Sherwood. He said “it occasionally seems the purpose of Khoroshev’s keyboards is providing a variety of sonic textures instead of functioning as a lead instrument.” AMG He did acknowledge that Sherwood’s “second guitar tends to flesh out the sound.” AMG Both were gone after this album. While touring to support The Ladder, Khorshev was dismissed because of backstage sexual harassment. Sherwood left after the tour, but returned in 2015. Notes: The Japanese release included live performances of “I’ve Seen All Good People” and “And You and I.” The 2000 Limited Tour Edition included additional versions of “Homeworld,” “The Messenger,” and “All Good People.”

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Bret Adams WK Wikipedia First posted 7/25/2021.

Aerosmith’s Pump released

First posted 4/2/2008; updated ?.

Pump Aerosmith

Buy Here:

Released: September 12, 1989 Peak: 5 US, 3 UK, 2 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.1 UK, 11.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Young Lust (Tyler, Perry, Jim Vallance) [4:18] F.I.N.E. (Tyler, Perry, Desmond Child) [4:09] (11/25/89, 14 AR) Going Down/Love in an Elevator (Tyler, Perry) [5:39] (9/2/89, 5 US, 1 AR, 13 UK, 13 CN, 33 AU, gold single) Monkey on My Back (Tyler, Perry) [3:57] (4/14/90, 17 AR) Water Song/Janie’s Got a Gun (Tyler, Tom Hamilton) [5:38] (9/23/89, 4 US, 2 AR, 76 UK, 2 CN, 1 AU) Dulcimer Stomp/The Other Side (Tyler, Vallance, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) [4:56] (6/16/90, 22 US, 1 AR, 46 UK, 22 CN, 73 AU) My Girl (Tyler, Perry) [3:10] Don’t Get Made, Get Even (Tyler, Perry) [4:48] Hoodoo/ Voodoo Medicine Man (Tyler, Brad Whitford) [4:39] What It Takes (Tyler, Perry, Child) [5:11] (1/13/90, 9 US, 1 AR, 15 CN, 46 CN) Total Running Time: 47:22 The Players: Steven Tyler (vocals, keyboards, harmonica, percussion) Joe Perry (guitar) Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar) Tom Hamilton (bass) Joey Kramer (drums, percussion)

Rating: 4.346 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings) Quotable: “Rank[s] with Rocks and Toys in the Attic.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards:

About the Album: 1987’s Permanent Vacation heralded in the second wave of Aerosmith, the return of the original lineup in one of rock history’s greatest comeback stories. While that album “seemed a little overwhelmed by its pop concessions, Pump revels in them without ever losing sight of Aerosmith’s dirty hard rock core.” STE For Pump, the band set out to explore “a rawness that had been glossed over for a commercial sound in Permanent Vacation.” WK As guitarist Joe Perry said, “We wanted to strip off a little fat we felt on our last one.” WK The result? Q magazine called it “the year’s best metal album,” WK noting that “it took a bunch of hoary, addled old stagers like Aerosmith” to “hoist the heavy metal crown from the likes of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi.” WK Rolling Stone called Aerosmith “the reigning kind of the double entendre” WK but said Pump “has more going for it than locker-room laughs, such as the vintage high-speed crunch (circa Toys in the Attic) of Young Lust…[and] the sassy slap ‘n’ tickle of My Girl.” WK Part of the success of Vacation was due to producer Bruce Fairbairn, who returns for Pump. At his suggestion, the band brought in outside songwriting help from Desmond Child (Loverboy, Bon Jovi) and Jim Vallance (Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi) for the previous album. Both songwriters show up again here – Child on What It Takes and F.I.N.E. and Vallance on “Young Lust” and The Other Side. Two of those songs were top 40 hits. “What It Takes,” which “has more emotion and grit than any of their other power ballads,” STE hit #9 on the U.S. pop charts while “The Other Side” reached #22. Both songs also topped the album rock tracks chart. “The Other Side” gave Aerosmith some legal troubles when the famed Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland threatened to sue the band because of similarities between the melodies of “The Other Side” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love.” Aerosmith ended up adding them to the songwriting credits. WK The album’s two biggest songs, however, were penned solely by the band. Lead single Love in an Elevator, like “The Other Side,” rock[s] relentlessly, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars.” STE The song was a top-five pop hit and, surprisingly, Aerosmith’s first trip to the pinnacle of the album rock chart. “Janie’s Got a Gun tackles more complex territory than most previous songs” STE with its no-holds-barred glimpse into incest and murder. It was also a top-five pop hit. It also gave Aerosmith its first Grammy – for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. They went on to win the award three more times. Notes: An alternate version of the album included a hidden instrumental track after “What It Takes” while the Japanese version added the song “Ain’t It Enough.”

Resources and Related Links: Aerosmith’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia

Bon Jovi hit #1 with “Livin’ on a Prayer”

Livin’ on a Prayer Bon Jovi

Writer(s): Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 25, 1986 Peak: 14 US, 14 CB, 13 GR, 13 RR, 12 AR, 4 UK, 12 CN, 3 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.4 US, 1.8 UK, 6.29 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1004.1 video, 1272.55 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Bon Jovi started in 1983, releasing two albums over the next couple of years and building a following as a platinum-selling hair band. For their third album, they brought in producer Bruce Fairbairn because, as Jon Bon Jovi said, “he just had that same Jersey gutter attitude as us.” FB Fairbairn noted that “while their previous record had been good, …the songs weren’t as strong as they could be. Specifically, they didn’t have songs on their records that were radio-oriented.” FB That was no longer a problem with the resulting Slippery When Wet album. On the strength of three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 the album sold 20 million copies and gave Bon Jovi international fame. The first single, “You Give Love a Bad Name,” was a #1 hit, but the follow-up – “Livin’ on a Prayer” eclipsed it, becoming the band’s signature song. It was the only song in 1987 to spend more than three weeks atop the Billboard charts and Cashbox named it song of the year. In an online poll in 2006, VH1 viewers named it the greatest song of the ‘80s. WK Lyrically, the song focuses on a working-class couple struggling to make ends meet. Tommy and Gina were inspired by real people who Jon Bon Jovi and Desmond Child, a co-writer on the song, knew. WK Initially, Jon didn’t like the song, thinking they might pawn it off on a soundtrack. FB Fairbairn fought for including it on the album and after they re-recorded the song with the inclusion of a talk box – an effect featured prominently on Peter Frampton’s “Show Me the Way” a decade earlier – the band thought they had a single on their hands. FB The song experienced an unusual revival in 2013. A video shot at a Boston Celtics’ game showed basketball fan Jeremy Fry enthusiastically dancing to “Livin’ on a Prayer.” When it went viral and drew millions of views worldwide, the song the re-charted, hitting #25. SF Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 660. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/1/2019; last updated 7/25/2023.