Baby Please Don't Go - Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: Baby Please Don't Go
Year: 2004
Album: Honkin' On Bobo

After years of talking about it, Aerosmith finally released their blues album in 2004. Did it measure up to all the hype? No. But it was a damn fine record. There were a smattering of originals mixed in with lots of standards. By standard, I mean they've been covered by almost every artist under the sun. You would think that there would be no new ground to cover. You'd be right.

Don't underestimate the power of Aerosmith though. Once Steven Tyler gets a hold of a song, it is eternally his. Steven's unique vocal stylings make any song an instant Aerosmith song. Case in point with "Baby Please Don't Go". Aerosmith takes a classic blues song and amps up the volume and the intensity. You can almost feel the dirt. It feels like the rock version of the blues played at a seedy dive.

In a perfect world, this album would have been out in the late eighties. This would have performed very well in the Pump era. Still, I'm grateful to have this album. "Baby Please Don't Go" is one of the many highlights on the album. It reminds me of their live shows. Not the ones that they put on for television spots, the ones that they put on during the grind of a tour. Those are full of little moments like this.

I'm hoping for a purging of unreleased blues tracks from the Geffen days. I doubt that it will happen, but one can dream. I never thought that this album would see the light of day. I just wish it was a little better received by the casual fans. It's a great album, once you give it a chance.

Lyrics:
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you so
Baby, please don't go

Well, your mind done gone
Well, your mind done gone
Yeah, your mind done gone left the county farm
You got the shackles on
Baby, please don't go

Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog, git you way down here
I make you walk alone
Baby, please don't go

Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you so
Baby, please don't go

Know how I feel right now
My baby's leavin', on that midnight train
And I'm dyin'

Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down to New Orleans
You know I love you so
Baby, please don't go

Crazy - Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: Crazy
Year: 1993
Album: Get A Grip

As soon as I picked up this album in 1993, I could pick out the five singles. I think it was more of a formula back then. This was the one questionable song. My friends thought I was nuts. They said it was good, but not single worthy. Fear not, I assured them. This would be a single.

I was right and they mysteriously forget the conversation ever took place. That's fine by me. I'm just happy that my ear was able to pick the singles out. I guess I missed out on an opportunity to be an A&R man. Oh well.

This was one of the trio of videos starring Alicia Silverstone. I appreciated the effort that Aerosmith took to hook in the MTV generation. That strategy wouldn't work now. There's no cohesive way to watch videos. MTV is all reality shows and VH1 is all pop culture countdowns and reality shows. I miss turning on the television and vegging out to videos for a few hours.

I would say that this is the last smash album by Aerosmith. At least exposure-wise. This album was everywhere. You know it's bad when an album track shows up in a Jim Carrey movie before he was "Jim Carrey", movie star. The thing I remember most of all about this video is the runaway tractor and the farmboy picking his nose in the car. Those seemed "Crazy", even for the video.

Lyrics:
Come 'ere baby

You know you drive me up the wall
The way you make good for all the nasty tricks you pull
Seems like we're makin' up more than we're makin' love
And it always seems you've got something on your mind
Other than me
Girl, you gotta change your crazy ways - you hear me

Say you're leavin' on the seven thirty train
And that you're heading out to hollywood
Girl, you've been givin' me that line so many times
It kinda gets that feelin' bad looks good

That kinda lovin' turns a man to a slave
That kinda lovin' sends a man right to his grave

I go crazy, crazy, baby, i go crazy
You turn it on - then you're gone
Yeah you drive me crazy, crazy, crazy for you baby
What can i do, honey
I feel like the color blue

You're packin' up your stuff
And and talkin' like it's tough
And tryin' to tell me
That it's time to go
But i know you ain't wearin' nothin' underneath that
Overcoat and that it's all a show

That kinda lovin' makes me wanna pull down the shade,
Yeah
That kinda lovin' yeah, now i'm never gonna be the same

I go crazy, crazy, baby, i go crazy
You turn it on - then you're gone
Yeah you drive me crazy, crazy, crazy for you baby
What can i do, honey
I feel like the color blue

I'm losing my mind
Girl, 'cause i'm goin' crazy

I need your love, honey, yeah
I need your love

I go crazy, crazy, baby, i go crazy
You turn it on - then you're gone
Yeah you drive me crazy, crazy, crazy for you baby
What can i do, honey
I feel like the color blue

Sick As A Dog - Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: Sick As A Dog
Year: 1976
Album: Rocks

This will be a very short post. I am extremely under the weather with some bug that been going around. This is the most energy that I've had in over 24 hours. I thought the song was appropriate enough to post. I literally feel "Sick As A Dog" today.

Lyrics:
Please, I just got to talk to you
Please, a getcha your head out of the loo
Please, and we're a long, long way from home
Please, you'd turn a young man's face to stone

Sick as a dog, what's your story
Sick as a dog, a cat got your tongue
Sick as a dog, you'll be sorry
Sick as a dog, you're really ain't that young

Please, you were much to my surprise
Please, you're the lady in disguise
Please, you're the only a friend I got
Please, you'll be the last to see me rot

Sick as a dog, what's your story
Sick as a dog, uum cat got your tongue
Sick as a dog, you'll be sorry
Sick as a dog, 'cause ya really ain't that young

Please, it's a shame you're so refined
Please, you was the last thing on my mind
Please, don't be late to take it light
Please, you're gonna bay into the night

Sick as a dog, what's your story
Sick as a dog, uum cat got your tongue
Sick as a dog, you'll be sorry
Sick as a dog, 'cause you really ain't so young

Take it light
Take it light
Take it light
Take it light
Say goodnight
Take it light

You See Me Crying - Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: You See Me Crying
Year: 1975
Album: Toys In The Attic

The first Aerosmith album that I ever bought was Toys In The Attic. I picked it out at random from a bunch of Aerosmith cassettes at K-Mart in 1988. I had slept over at my cousin's house and he had a compact disc of Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation. I listened to that and Def Leppard's Hysteria all weekend.

When I got home, I planned my trip to K-Mart to buy an Aerosmith cassette. I didn't get a CD player until 1991, so it was cassettes until then.

All I kept talking about was Aerosmith. My dad, overheard this and said, "Aerosmith? That's my music."

I had seen them on MTV for awhile, but I never really paid attention. I thought Steven Tyler's outfits were funny. He was in that big open shirt, layered, scarf phase. They were eye catching. It wasn't until that weekend sleepover, that everything just clicked.

I hurried down to K-Mart the next day. I bought Toys In The Attic for two reasons. First, it was $5.88. The Permanent Vacation cassette was $9.99. Usually the newer releases were higher and they would come down in price later on. So my plan was to stock up on the older, cheaper releases and then I would get the new release later.

The second reason that I bought Toys In The Attic first was the cover. I stared at that cover for a few minutes, taking in all the little details. I loved album covers that had a bunch of little things going on. I would study them for hours.

A quick look at the list of songs sealed the deal. I had actually heard of two songs. I'm sure I would have picked Toys In The Attic regardless. Based on the cover, I couldn't go wrong. If I hated the music, at least I had something interesting to look at.

It turned out to be the best pick I could have made. Toys In The Attic remains one of my favorite albums from Aerosmith. Over time, I would find the deeper meanings of the songs on that album. One song that stood out from the album was the last song. "You See Me Crying" was the perfect closer to the album. It was a ballad, but I had never heard it before. Even my dad didn't know the song.

It's been one of my hidden gems ever since. Occasionally, I would slip it into mix tapes. It always got a positive response. I suppose that on an album with so many great songs, there will be a few that get lost in the shuffle.

Lyrics:
You see me crying, don't let it getcha down.
You see me crying, I'm back to the lost and found.

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was it the words I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was it the words I said?

You see me crying, say your a ladies man.
You see me crying, I'm so hard to understand.

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?

You see me crying, please say you'll stick around.
And I got to be your lover, hon, let me take you to town.
And I'll show you everything that I know.
And I'll never let you go...
Cause my love is like a merry-go-around...

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Ahhh