Customer Rating:  
Summary: Not bad, not great
Comment: Live albums of the 1970's (and even today) usually serve one of three purposes;
A) Preserving a legendary performance or tour (Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, The Rolling Stones Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East, 4 Way Street-CSN&Y, One More From the Road-Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Last Waltz)
B) Unearthing a previously undiscovered gem (How the West was Won-Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, The Grateful Dead's Dick's Picks sets, Neil Young at Massey Hall)
C) As a stopgap between albums that aren't ready yet
Live Bootleg falls into category C. Aerosmith's follow up to Draw the Line was delayed indefinitely and they were committed to a summer tour that included numerous makeup dates for postponed shows. Rather than do a "Frampton Comes Alive"-esque album, Aerosmith instead released a gritty, no nonsense recording that often sounds like its title. Live Bootleg is a hit and miss affair musically. Compiled from various shows dating back to 1973, it's clearly not intended to be a definitive representation of a single show. Steven Tyler's voice is raggedy and he ad-libs lyrics throughout, and Joe Perry's guitar seems set on perpetual growl. The material is a cross section from their first 5 albums along with a few covers thrown in, plus a live version of the rare "Chip Away the Stone". And just as on the original vinyl, "Draw the Line" is still not listed even though it is there.
It's ironic that the oldest tracks here are the best. The version of the Yardbirds "I Ain't Got You" and James Brown's "Mother Popcorn" comes from a 1973 Boston club date recorded by WBCN radio. Having heard this entire show in bootleg form I can attest this was a smokin', well recorded (for 1973) performance when the band was young and hungry. One warning though, this is not the complete version of the song, a few minutes have been trimmed off, probably due to vinyl time constraints (it would've been nice if for the CD those few minutes were restored).
Aerosmith is one of those band that's never been served well by live recordings from their "prime era" (1975-77). Fans got a small taste of this back when the "Pandora's Box" set was released and it included 2 songs from their legendary Cincinnati radio concert from 1971. And a version of "Write Me" recorded at the old Boston Garden in 1976. If they really wanted to put out a great live album I'd look for the full WBCN show. I suppose the best way to look at this is the way Jimmy Page viewed "Song Remains the Same"; `it's not a great album, but it shows where we were at a certain time and place'. Also remember that just like Zeppelin, there's bound to be a better Aerosmith show somewhere in their archives "How the East Was Won" perhaps?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best. Album. Ever.
Comment: If you are ever asked to explain what rock music is all about, simply hand them this album. There is nothing more to day.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great content but poor sound
Comment: The choice of tracks is quite excellent, the music too but the sound is horrible. Just compare to other live recordings of the same era and you'll see by yourself. I would recommand the double live album A little south of Sanity, you'll have all the best of the band with an amazing live sound. One of the best pure rock album containing the essential of the band. The best of Live Bootleg is on A little south of Sanity but you'll have one of the best live sound that I ever listen too, it sound loud and clear.
Customer Rating:
Summary: reallyreallyrealreally!!
Comment: For y'all wonderin' why these guys are covering "Come Together"... Around this time there was this horriffic attempt to make The Beatles Sgt. Pepper into a movie with...The Bee Gees!!!!!!!! Peter Frampers (who was riding high on the success of hs own live album) and other people popular in the rock biz at the time which included thebadboysofbeantown doing their take on Come Together. Hey they knew the song, why not whip out on the kiddies in concert, right?(Yes I know Come Together isn't on Sgt Pepper's...did I say it was hollywood movie?)
I remember diggin' this slabawax when it came out. Skippin' outta school to the kid's house with the loudest stereo... using an apple as an implement of destruction...
This recording is monumental for all the reasons listed by others already, especially the going down in flames feeling that you get on some of the tunes. Hangin together, sometimes just by a thread, (but that's what live is all about), the possibillity that the thread might snap, or, better yet, snap back. The narcotics and alcohol consumed during the time period that this stuff covers, let alone on the nights it was recorded...use your immagination and then multiply it...hell these guys named THEMSELVES the toxic twins!!
This is real swaggerin' rocknroll, as it should be...balls out...HANGIN' out, looser than pam anderson's...
ring finger and feedbackbooze&drugdrenched.
Gotta say though, I find the jb cover rather tedious and so totally uneeded and self indulgent. You're white and from Boston, you wish you had half the effortless soul James Brown had. Stick to what you know and what you do well. As a white person I found tyler's wailing quite annoying.
Other than that, a true document of excess, musical and otherwise.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rock This Way
Comment: In my opinion, this album gives the boys in the attic reason to be called "America's Rolling Stones." Aerosmith, like the Stones, started off as a blues band, and for this reason, holds up very well live. This album is pure meat and potatoes rock, with tasty guitar chops all over the place; in particular, "Lord of the Thighs" brings a truckload of guitar mojo to the party. I always liked the additional "muscle" that live albums provide, and this album is no exception. I also like that fact that there are no long monologues by the singer or extended solos by any member of the band; song for song, this album is all about the band working together as a tight blues rock unit. You will also get some gems that you may have never heard before, like "Ain't Got You." This album showcases a band that made it's reputation as one of the favorites on the road during the seventies; this was an era when a band either sunk or swam based on the strentgh of its live performances. Great songwriting, tight performances, and a legendary frontman make for an album that you will want to listen to over and over again. Train keeps a rollin' on this one.
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