Aerosmith - Just Push Play

It's difficult to separate Aerosmith from their glorious/inglorious history--one that's seen more revivals than West Side Story. For better or worse, the stalwart Boston quintet carry a load of preconceptions that are impossible to shake. Thus Just Push Play begs the question: If this 12-song set was the product of a bunch of upstarts, would it cause much of a commotion? The answer: Absolutely! Working with coproducers and song collaborators Marti Frederiksen and Mark Hudson, Aerosmith have forged an album that gracefully fuses '70s hard-rock grit with contemporary gloss. The pop-infused likes of the sweeping "Jaded" and the insistent "Sunshine" best demonstrate the formula that Tyler, Perry, and company have settled on for now, while gliding strings surge over Tyler's patented screech and the no-nonsense grind of the four instrumentalists. Mailed-in lyrics and a few self-conscious nods to the times mar Just Push Play, but the pleasures to be had here overwhelm the album's deficiencies. --Steven Stolder