Classics Live and Classics Live II are a set of albums by American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Together, they constitute the band's second live offering, after Live! Bootleg . Classics Live I has gone platinum while Classics Live II has gone gold.
Classics Live | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | April 1986 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1977–1983 | |||
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
Length | 36:03 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Paul O'Neill, Tony Bongiovi | |||
Aerosmith live chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classics Live! is made up of concert recordings from 1978 and 1984. Some of the recordings include guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, who had temporarily replaced Joe Perry and Brad Whitford respectively. Different live versions of most of these songs had already been released on Live! Bootleg in 1978. Venues and dates are not listed on the sleeve, and there is only the all-encompassing and vague statement "These songs were recorded at various concerts between 1977 and 1983." It is not listed which of the four guitarists played on which tracks.
The studio track "Major Barbra" was originally recorded for the album Get Your Wings but remained unreleased. An alternate version is available on the compilation Pandora's Box .
All songs recorded at the Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, February 14, 1984[ citation needed ], except where noted.
All tracks are written by Steven Tyler, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Train Kept A-Rollin'" | Tiny Bradshaw, Lois Mann, Howard Kay | 3:22 |
2. | "Kings and Queens" (Boston Music Hall in Boston, MA March 28, 1978[ citation needed ] and re-recorded[ clarification needed ]. Original recording appears on the compilation Pandora's Box ) | Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Jack Douglas | 4:46 |
3. | "Sweet Emotion" (Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV, Dec. 12, 1982[ citation needed ]) | Tyler, Hamilton | 5:13 |
4. | "Dream On" (Capital Center, Largo, MD, Nov. 9, 1978[ citation needed ]) | 4:50 | |
5. | "Mama Kin" | 3:41 | |
6. | "Three Mile Smile / Reefer Head Woman" | Tyler, Joe Perry / Lester Melrose, J. Bennett, Jazz Gillum | 4:54 |
7. | "Lord of the Thighs" | 7:05 | |
8. | "Major Barbra" (Studio Outtake) | 4:02 |
Classics Live II | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | June 1987 [4] | |||
Recorded | 1978–1986 | |||
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
Length | 38:47 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Paul O'Neill, Aerosmith | |||
Aerosmith live chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [6] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [7] | 84 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [8] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Classics Live! II mainly features tracks recorded at a New Year's Eve show in 1984, with all five original members once again reunited. The other two tracks were the first track of 1985s Done with Mirrors , "Let the Music Do the Talking", and a rendition of 1977s "Draw the Line" from California Jam II. Aerosmith photography by Paul McAlpine
All Songs recorded at the Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, December 31, 1984, except where noted.
All tracks are written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Back in the Saddle" | 4:40 | |
2. | "Walk This Way" | 4:21 | |
3. | "Movin' Out" | 5:44 | |
4. | "Draw the Line" (California Jam Festival, Ontario Speedway, Ontario, CA, March 18, 1978) | 4:46 | |
5. | "Same Old Song and Dance" | 5:45 | |
6. | "Last Child" | Tyler, Whitford | 3:42 |
7. | "Let the Music Do the Talking" (Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA, March 12, 1986) | Perry | 5:44 |
8. | "Toys in the Attic" | 4:03 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [9] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
In 1998, Classics Live! Complete was released outside the U.S, compiling the two albums on one CD.
Classics Live: Complete | |
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Live album by | |
Released | August 1998 |
Recorded | 1977–1986 |
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock |
Length | 76:50 |
Label | Columbia |
Producer | Paul O'Neill, Tony Bongiovi |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rocks is the fourth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on 3 May 1976. AllMusic described Rocks as having "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking." Rocks was ranked number 366 on the updated Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. It has influenced many hard rock and heavy metal artists, including Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and Nirvana. The album was a commercial success, charting three singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of which reached the Top 40. The album was one of the first to ship platinum when it was released, and has since gone quadruple platinum.
Toys in the Attic is the third studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on April 8, 1975, by Columbia Records. Its first single, "Sweet Emotion", was released on May 19 and the original version of "Walk This Way" followed on August 28 in the same year. The album is the band's most commercially successful studio LP in the United States, with nine million copies sold, according to the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 228 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album's title track and their collaboration with Run-DMC on a cover version of "Walk This Way" are included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".
Draw the Line is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on December 9, 1977. It was recorded between June–October in an abandoned convent near New York City. The portrait of the band on the album cover was drawn by the celebrity caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Night in the Ruts is the sixth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 16, 1979, by Columbia Records. Guitarist Joe Perry left the band midway through the album's recording.
Get a Grip is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released in April 1993 by Geffen Records. Get a Grip was the band's last studio album to be released by Geffen before they returned to Columbia Records.
Aerosmith is the debut studio album by the American rock band Aerosmith, released on January 5, 1973, by Columbia Records. "Dream On", originally released as a single in 1973, became an American top ten hit when re-released on 27 December 1975. The album peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard 200 album chart in 1976.
Get Your Wings is the second studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 15, 1974. The album was their first to be produced by Jack Douglas, who also was responsible for the band's next three albums. Three singles were released from the album, but none reached the singles charts.
Greatest Hits, later re-released as Greatest Hits 1973–1988, is the first greatest hits compilation album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released by Columbia Records on November 11, 1980.
Rock in a Hard Place is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on August 27, 1982, by Columbia Records. It was certified gold on November 10, 1989. It is the only Aerosmith album not to feature lead guitarist Joe Perry, following his departure from the band in 1979. Rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford also left during the recording in 1981. The band spent $1.5 million on the recording of this album, which saw them reunited with producer Jack Douglas.
Done with Mirrors is the eighth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 4, 1985. It marked the return to the band of guitarists Joe Perry, who left in 1979 and Brad Whitford, who departed in 1981. The band's first album on Geffen Records, it was intended as their ‘comeback’. However, the record failed to live up to commercial expectations despite positive reviews.
Pump is the tenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Geffen Records. The album peaked at No. 5 on the US charts, and was certified septuple platinum by the RIAA in 1995.
Hard Rain is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 13, 1976 by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue.
"Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1975 on their third studio album Toys in the Attic by Columbia Records. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale success for the band that would continue for the remainder of the 1970s. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton, produced by Jack Douglas and recorded at Record Plant studio.
Gems is a compilation album released by Aerosmith in 1988 under the label Columbia. It was the first compilation of studio material since 1980's Greatest Hits. Concentrating mainly on heavier material than the radio-friendly singles output on Greatest Hits, the album is noted for the inclusion of the 1978 studio version of "Chip Away The Stone" – previously released as a single from 1978's Live! Bootleg, only a live rendition of the song was released at the time. Originally scheduled for release on November 8, 1988, the album was delayed one week and issued on November 15, 1988.
"Mama Kin" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith, which appears on their 1973 self-titled debut album. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler. It was a staple of Aerosmith concerts and appeared on several live albums.
American rock band Aerosmith has released 15 studio albums, six live albums, 16 compilation albums, and two extended plays. Aerosmith was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970 by vocalist Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Ray Tabano, bassist Tom Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer. Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford in 1971. Other than a period from 1979 to 1984, this lineup has remained the same.
"Train Kept A-Rollin'" is a song first recorded by American jazz and rhythm and blues musician Tiny Bradshaw in 1951. Originally performed in the style of a jump blues, Bradshaw borrowed lyrics from an earlier song and set them to an upbeat shuffle arrangement that inspired other musicians to perform and record it. Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio made an important contribution in 1956 – they reworked it as a guitar riff-driven song, which features an early use of intentionally distorted guitar in rock music.
Live! Bootleg is a double live album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in October 1978. While most of the performances were drawn from concerts in 1977 and 1978, "I Ain't Got You" and "Mother Popcorn" were taken from a radio broadcast of a Boston performance on March 20, 1973.
"Let the Music Do the Talking" is a song recorded by The Joe Perry Project in 1980 and later re-recorded by the re-united Aerosmith in 1985. It was written by Joe Perry.
The Back in the Saddle Tour was a comeback concert tour by American rock group Aerosmith, which had been relatively inactive for several years. The tour began on June 22, 1984, in Concord, New Hampshire and ended on January 18, 1985, in Columbus, Ohio.
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