Music From Another Dimension Review

Fresh from his ill fated "American Idol" exploits, Steven Tyler and Aerosmith have released their first album in 11 years. Boston's Bad Boy's were close to breaking up back in 2009 following yet another disagreement with Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry, but now they're back with "Music From Another Dimension."

With the new record Aerosmith have gone a completely different route to other classic rock bands such as Kiss and Rush, also with new albums this year. While they focus on their 70s styles, Aerosmith with "Music From Another Dimension" have gone back to the style of  their 90s commercial revival, reminiscent of "Get a Grip."

The album begins with a mood lifting outer space intro, before piling into the clumsily titled  LUV XXX. The bluesy rocking from the opening track is something that continues throughout the album, with Tyler's sweet as ever vocals sounding magnificent. Aerosmith then go into "Oh Yeah," a track which quite clearly was inspired by The Rolling Stones due to the vocal styles and the female backing vocals heard in tracks such as "Gimme Shelter" from The Stones. Not exactly what you want to hear from a band who are legends in their own right. 

Something Aerosmith have always done well is the power ballad, having huge success with tracks such as "Crazy'" and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing", and that doesn't change with "What Could Have Been Love."  A powerful tear jerker, but deep down it sounds like it could be Tyler's own personal ballad to Perry, with lyrics such as "leaving for a no-where bound train" implying more than meets the eye. But behind Tyler's emotional vocals you feel the track is missing that solo to really propel "What Could Have Been Love" into a classic. 

One of the early surprises from the album is "Beautiful," the backing vocals on the track compliment Tyler's rasping vocals brilliantly, reminding listeners that talent doesn't have to be produced in a studio.  Closely following this is "Lover Alot," a track which blends in with the Aerosmith back catalogue after jumping straight out of "Just Push Play."

The two most bluesy tracks from the album, "Out Go the Lights" and "Street Jesus"  are particular highlights from the album. Perry knew he was on to a winner with the guitar workouts laid down for these. "Street Jesus" is a track that is quite simply about a tramp on the streets, with an easy intro into the track the guitar and drum lines pick up pace,  and we have a fast paced Aerosmith album that suddenly make us forget that the Boston rockers  have been around for over 40 years now, two tracks that can wire themselves into Aerosmith's legacy. It's just a shame Perry's tracks where he leads on vocals couldn't match up to some of the tracks he'd written for Tyler. 

This is where the album falls short, ironically in the way that it feels too long. Perry's "Freedom Fighter" almost sounds like a country western track Tim McGraw could have performed, you have to feel this is a track the rest of the band let Perry have to keep him happy following their history. Tracks like "Freedom Fighter" remind you why Joe Perry's solo career never went anywhere. The other Perry track "Something" doesn't do much more than his other track, and reminds us all why Steven Tyler is just irreplaceable as a vocalist, Perry's style just isn't Aerosmith. 

Not all Tyler's tracks are perfect in the overstuffed "Music From Another Dimension" however, the country track "Can't Stop Loving You," is horribly out of place as a crossover ballad with Tyler's American Idol partner Carrie Underwood. The rest of the band must have had a day off from the studio when this was recorded, with lyrics seemingly chucked together because they rhyme (Hey I can’t stop loving you, 

because it’s all I wanna do). It's also one of four ballads on the album, too many for a hard rock album. 

It's better news for the rest of the album though, "We All Fall Down" and "Tell Me" are two of Tyler's cleanest vocal performances throughout the record. "Tell Me" is a slow jam looking back on previous years, again possibly a nod to the Tyler Perry feud from years gone by with lyrics such as "I think it’s time to realize it’s done."  "We All Fall Down" is a "safe" ballad, and also sounds like a rest bite for Tyler's screeching vocals on tracks previously in the album. Despite having an almost immortal voice, you're reminded he's getting on when you see him falling off stages and the likes. 

Stand out track here however is "Legendary Child." If Aerosmith were to ever write a biography and express it through the medium of music, this is it. Talking about shows they played forty years ago, and nearly losing everything after having it all, this is the track to remember. 

Finally we come to "Another Last Goodbye," where Tyler won't let us forget the incredible range his vocals have. Screeching lyrics jump out of this ballad, reminding us why Tyler is one of the best in the business. 

"Music From Another Dimension" does feel a little too long on ending, you can't help but feel the album would be a far more solid piece had the fat been trimmed from the edges. Aerosmith have tried to bring their classic bluesy rock into the modern age. Fortunately because of the digital age you can edit playlists on the fly, do this right with "Music From Another Dimension" and you could end up with a classic. 

John Terry - Really A Loss?

This week John Terry announced his retirement from international football, putting it down to a lack of support from the FA in the wake of the racism allegation made towards him from Anton Ferdinand. But will he really be missed, as a player or as a character around the England camp?

Firstly, make no mistake, the reason the court proceedings ruled in his favour was farcical. They ruled that John Terry was only repeating what he thought Anton Ferdinand said, how likely is he to be racist towards himself? So before all this, was he really the footballing role model an England captain should be? Not exactly. Having relationships with an a team mate's ex wife is hardly a way to set an example to future generations, causing a rift in camp with Wayne Bridge which caused problems in the Chelsea dressing room, as well as drawing criticism from the media as he was at the time still England's captain.

But how about John Terry the footballer? In his prime there was no doubt he was an asset to the England set up and to Chelsea, a no fear no nonsense centre back who will be remembered fondly by some as a good footballer. However I feel he, much like many others in the England camp, had played a tournament too many and think it's a shame he couldn't retire on his own terms. England have desperately needed to introduce new blood into the set up, with players like Lampard, Gerrard and Terry losing the pace and sharpness that they once had. Terry recently has become better known for his quality last ditch tackles and for the way he throws himself in front of the ball preventing shots at goal, but I feel this is because he has lost that  pace and cannot keep up with the top players in the Premiership. John Terry never had much of a football brain when compared to other quality defenders in the league, his reading of the game was never top quality and with losing his pace this makes him very susceptible to being caught out at the back. For example, the best performances he had for Chelsea were alongside Ricardo Carvalho, and for England Rio Ferdinand, players with a far better reading of the game than Terry.  Terry made up for his poor reading of the game with a never say die attitude and his willingness to put his body on the line, something he will be remembered for, but now is the right time to step aside. With players such as Cahill and Lescott stepping up and the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling being introduced amongst others, John Terry's time was about up, with the players coming in being of equal ability as players with far more time and pace on their side.

As mentioned, it's just a shame he couldn't retire from the international fold on his own terms. He put his choice down to the FA, who were merely doing the right thing in investigating a racism allegation, something high on the list of things the FA wants to eradicate. If he retired on his own terms, he would have shown himself in a far better light, but now the impression given is one that shows the "player power" mentality of John Terry thinking he is bigger than the FA.