The 15 best Aerosmith songs of the 90s

If you didn’t like Aerosmith’s 80s catalog, then chances are you hated their production from the 90s.

After a miraculous comeback with 1987 Permanent vacationthe newly sober rockers were eager to keep the good times rolling. They continued their upward trajectory with 1989 pump and 1993 Keep the gripthe latter became their first No. 1 album in the United States. They returned after another four-year hiatus with Nine Liveswhich underperformed its predecessors but still sold a respectable 2 million copies. In hindsight, it was just a warm-up for their first and only chart-topping single, the controversial “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

Two factors were responsible for Aerosmith’s career revival: outside songwriters and oversized power ballads. Unsurprisingly, these melodramatic love songs – which became even more popular in the ’90s – alienated many of their fans from the start, who longed for the sleazy, drug-fueled hard rock of their ’70s heyday.

However, critics who write off Aerosmith’s ’90s catalog risk missing several underrated hard rock gems, as well as some admittedly excellent ballads. It’s time to put your skepticism aside and listen to the top 15 ’90s Aerosmith songs again.

15. “Hole in my soul”

Out of: Nine Lives

The blockbuster ballad Nine Lives only reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it is certainly Sounds like a huge hit, full of big choruses and lively storytelling. The lead guitar work is more than a little reminiscent of “Dream On,” but Steven Tyler makes up for this with some clever vocals and clever turns of phrase, such as: “I know there were all kinds of shoes under your bed / Now I sleep with my boots on but you’re still on my mind.”

14. “Keep going down”

Out of: Keep the grip

Joe Perry makes a welcome appearance at the microphone Keep the grip B-side that reminds listeners why he is an integral part of Aerosmith’s sleazy blues-rock boogie. The guitarist is the picture of cool here, balancing the high-watt riffs with his deep Boston accent. The extended outro solo is one of his fieryest; it’s a damn shame Aerosmith took this song off their setlists after the Keep the grip Trip.

13. “Say goodbye to your past”

Out of: Nine Lives

Aerosmith dedicated themselves to alternative rock on Nine Lives to great success, earning a Grammy for the breezy single “Pink.” “Kiss Your Past Good-bye” operates in a similar mode: a mid-tempo ballad with strumming guitars and wistful lyrics. But it’s just a shade less overtly commercial, trading the harmonica for quasi-psychedelic lead guitars and some of Tyler’s best howls.

12. “Falling in love (is hard on the knees)”

Out of: Nine Lives

With its tongue-in-cheek ambiguities, fast-paced riffs and stormy horn arrangements, “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)” bridged the gap between Aerosmith’s hard rock heyday in the ’70s and their renaissance in the late ’80s. And with lines like “My old libido blew a transistor / I feel like a fuck hit meTyler, 48, proved that he had no interest in “aging gracefully.”

11. “Shut up and dance”

Out of: Keep the grip

Tyler and Perry co-wrote “Shut Up and Dance” with Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades, resulting in a slick piece of dirty pop metal. The song glides along with a blunt groove, fiery guitar work and some delightfully ridiculous lyrics (“When you split hairs with Mr. Clean / It’s like getting a head under the guillotine“). Bonus points for appearing in Wayne’s World II.

10. “Fever”

Out of: Keep the grip

What could be a greater sign of validation in the mid-90s than Garth Brooks covering his song? With its breakneck pace and relentless riffs, “Fever” is one of the hardest rock songs on Keep the gripbut his stormy harmonica and bucking bronco energy betray his country DNA. And in case anyone thinks Tyler has mellowed out in his middle years, “Fever” contains the Hall of Fame lyric: “The kick you get from the crack don’t last / I’d rather overdose off her ass.”

9. “Pull yourself together”

Out of: Keep the grip

Aerosmith returns (somehow) to their 70s hard rock roots on Keep the gripThe title track is a groovy raunch-rocker that oozes attitude. Joey Kramer lays down a martial beat, while Tyler’s tight, boastful raps recall the unrepentant sleaze of “Walk This Way.” The distorted guitar screams in the middle of the song are a refreshing change from the album’s more scholarly moments.

8. “Crying”

Out of: Keep the grip

“Cryin'” wastes no time with subtlety. It opens with a gigantic horn arrangement on “10” and overwhelms listeners with one lighter-wielding hook after another. Tyler sings with such throat-shredding conviction that it sounds like his head is about to burst off his neck. It’s the best pop-rock melodrama and the ultimate Aerosmith ballad of the comeback era (if not the best).

7. “You have to give something”

Out of: Nine Lives

Aerosmith was heavily criticized by purists in the 90s for “selling out,” but Nine Lives is much weirder and harder than most fans realize. Case in point: “Something’s Gotta Give,” a hard-hitting rock song full of dirty guitar and bluesy harmonica riffs. The drums pound like a freight train and Tyler’s call-and-response vocals are seductively catchy. The chorus goes: “Does the noise in my head bother you?” – even provided the title for the singer’s 2011 memoir.

6. “Crash”

Out of: Nine Lives

“Crash” is undoubtedly one of the heaviest songs Aerosmith has ever written. It’s a full-throttle thrasher with some of Tyler’s most nonsensical lyrics.I do tons of colon blowjobs / I stuff it in every hole / I’m miles high and so am I / I watch Jimi kiss the sky.” It only gets weirder from there. Paired with a few blistering guitar solos, “Crash” is a high-velocity middle finger to critics who accused Aerosmith of going too soft.

5. “I don’t want to miss anything”

Out of: Armageddon: The Album

We know you’re upset. We know this chart-topping ballad written by Diane Warren is anathema to old-school Aerosmith fans. But here’s the thing: We don’t care, because if you separate “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Aerosmith’s hellish past, it’s a masterful pop song featuring one of Tyler’s best vocal performances ever. Just listen to the final chorus, where he wails, “Because even if I DREAM of you.“Nobody else could sell this song the same way.

4. “Nine Lives”

Out of: Nine Lives

Name your album Nine Lives would have come across as a total cliche in the hands of a weaker band, but for a group of rock’n’roll veterans like Aerosmith, it made perfect sense. The album opens with the defiant title track, full of blistering, rollicking screams from Tyler. Perry and Brad Whitford trade heart-wrenching riffs, and Kevin Shirley’s raw production accentuates the track’s heaviness. When Tyler sings, “Nine lives, live for 10,” you can’t help but believe him.

3. “Crazy”

Out of: Keep the grip

Structurally, “Crazy” is practically a carbon copy of “Cryin’,” right down to the five-letter title that begins with the same two letters. The two songs are only one song apart on Keep the grip only highlights their similarities. But “Crazy” is the more organic of the two, recalling Aerosmith’s blues-rock roots with Tyler’s rapped lines and mournful harmonica flourishes. His falsetto singing towards the end of the song is the icing on the wonderfully melancholy cake.

2. “Eat the rich”

Out of: Keep the grip

It’s a palpable irony that Aerosmith, a band of multimillionaires, would put an anti-capitalist rock anthem on an album that sold 20 million copies worldwide. But “Eat the Rich” is so successful partly because it sounds ironic, and partly because Aerosmith, no matter how many millions they made, were always a band of down-to-earth hedonists at heart. More importantly, the track features some of their most aggressive riffs and a King Kong-sized stomper. The climax punchline is: “So take your Grey Poupon, my friend, and shove it up your ass!” — has aged like fine wine.

1. “Isn’t that a slut?”

Out of: Nine Lives

In a fairer world, “Ain’t That a Bitch” would have been one of the greatest ballads of Aerosmith’s career, outshining most of their lovelorn hits of the past decade. Smoky, soulful, and with a hint of after-hours regret, it’s one of the rawest tracks from their post-comeback era. Tyler screams his heart out in one of the best performances of his career; it’s honestly insulting that he sounds this good at nearly 50. The scat-sung outro is unlike anything they’ve ever done, a reminder that even when they were working with outside songwriters, their sound was still unique.